Page 46 of Connected

“Okay. Digby, you are sure you don’t mind about Riley?”

“No. No, I told you I’m good with him now—kinda. Sorry, I am tryin’ all right, but… well, he’s still kind of a freak.”

“Yeah, but he’s my friend. Digby, I want you to make him feel welcome. So, please say you’ll try and be nice? This is gonna be a great way for you all to get to know each other and have some conversation—some bonding time.”

“Right… Bondin’ time… yeah, sure I can do that. Like I said, I’ll go wait in the limo.”

Digby heads down the path muttering to himself,Fuckin’ shifter freak.He smiles, looking at the large white limousine parked in the street. “Fuckin’ asshole show-off, Rhys.”

“Hey Diggs, what’s goin’ on? Where’s Kat? Oh no… no, please tell me you two didn’t get in an argument already? Hell, can we not just go out without—”

“No, Zak, I’m on my best behavior. Kat—she’s um… she’s calling the shifter-freak.”

“She’s callin’ Riley. What? Why?”

“She wants to pick him up—give him a ride to the club in the limo. I know… hey, don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Wait… he’s comin’ inherewithus? He’s goin’ to the club withus. Hell no! No, way. Digby, I am not arrivin’ with some shifter-freak.”

“Z-Zak… don’t. R-Riley is nice.”

QT puts his hand on his arm to calm him, but Zak dismisses him, giving the younger omega a hard stare. “What the fuck do you know about him?”

“I… I t-talked to him. Zak, he’s Kat’s fr-riend b-be nice.”

“Hm… we’ll see, but I can’t say I’m happy about it.”

“Hey guys,” Kat smiles as she climbs inside the car. “So, I told Riley and Quinn we’d pick them up… Oh my God, this limo is fuckin’ amazing!”

“Yeah-yeah, it’s great, isn’t it? Kat, come here, you need to listen to this sound system. It’s like havin’ your own fuckin’ DJ in a car and… Ta-dah! We have a fully stocked mini-bar. May as well take some with us?” Zak grins excitedly.

“Why?” Oz frowns. “Rhys is paying for all the drinks at the club tonight. So why the hell would we need to take the minibar with us?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Zak,” Digby grins. “So, just remember boys, you really need to milk those bar tabs tonight. If he wants Kat to boost his profits, then he’s gonna have to pay big.”

Kat seats herself next to Digby on the long leather seats and looking up she notices the boys staring at her—not aware the split in the front of her dress has uncovered her legs all the way to the top of her thigh. “What?” she frowns, looking at their open mouths. “Oh, for God’s sake guys, will you stop gawping, it’s not as if you’ve never seen a woman before.”

“No, it’s just you. Kat, look really fuckin hot,” Zak grins with a wink. “I meanreallyfuckin’ hot.”

“Thanks. I feel kinda hot—literally. I think I’m a little nervous, with all this attention. I can’t imagine how Alyssa did this all the time?”

“Well, I have to say, one thing about Lissy is she loved the attention. Man, she would have loved tonight… You know what… let’s not actually talk about that tonight. Let’s get this party started.”

Digby pulls a bottle of champagne from the small fridge and the guys sip, passing it around the group.

“To the full moon,” Zak raises the bottle in the air, “it’s gonna be a good one!”

Digby howls loudly and Kat smiles she’s happy and contented being with all her boys.

Zak glares at Quinn as the limo pulls up outside the front of the club. “Hey, so where the fuck do you think you’re goin’?” He holds him pinned against his seat as all the other guys get out. “You know… I can’t believe you actually had the fuckin’ audacity to get in here with us.”

“Well, Kat asked Riley to come, and as I was gettin’ a cab with him—”

“Yeah, and you know what… You should have still got the damn cab. If you were any sort ofpropershifter—you’d know your fuckin’ place and you’d have told that freak brother of yours not to accept the offer and get his own damn cab. In fact, if you had your head screwed on, you’d have told him not to come at all. Quinn, a quick word of advice—you need to make it clear to your dumb-fuck brother, Riley, that he and Kat, there’s never gonna be anythin’ between them. She’s a wolf—an alpha wolf. Hell, she’s a fuckin’ Blood-Alpha wolf. You do know what that is right? That’s like the top of the food chain and you… you’re a fuckin’ low-life shifter—a drug-dealing shifter asshole.” Zak takes a breath and glares. “Ah-ah, Shhh… oh yeah, I know all about what you do, supplyin’ Rhys with hospital meds. No, no, don’t give me bullshit about that—I know all about that. But your brother, he’s not even a fuckin’ shifter. So where does he rank? I’ll tell you where—nowhere! Does he think he can just invite Kat out whenever he wants? Because no. No, she and Digby are bonded. So, you need to make sure the message registers—his presence is not required.”

“Yeah, but she’s the one who called him, she—”

“I don’t give a fuck whatshedid. You so know Digby’s fumin’—about this, tonight. Oh, sure, for appearance’s sake he’s playin’ nice, but… if your brother keeps pushin’ it, well it won’t take much for Diggs to lose it and snap his arms off. You get me?”

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