Page 18 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

“It’s a two way street, princess. I’m sure people are going to be wondering why you’re shooting death glares at us all night!” He spat out his words and I could almost see the hackles rising between the two of them.

“Alright, everyone take a breather. Remember, we are working toward a common goal here. We get our image fixed, and you get to keep your dirty company secrets hidden.” Liam’s voice interrupted the tension. He was our leader in many ways, and knew how to handle all kinds of personalities. We’d need his level-headedness tonight. “But she’s right, we can’t go out with her if we don’t make this look like it's a real courtship.” He had a point. I sighed and took a step forward, offering my arm.

“Here, let me help you. Those heels look dangerous.” I said, motioning to her designer shoes with a needle sharp heel.

“Thank you. They are only dangerous for alphas who don’t know how to behave.” Celeste responded, taking my arm and tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I do get a bit stabby if I sense one going feral.” She shot a look at Dante, who seethed as we walked by him to the garage.

“Watch it, omega.” I said, giving her a look. This woman was already pushing my buttons, and the worst part was that I wasn’t exactly hating it. I clenched my teeth as I tried to rein in my overly horny alpha instincts.

“Well, if this is how rudely you all act when you’re with an omega you are supposedly courting, then no wonder you’re having to blackmail someone into dating you.” She quipped, and I felt our hackles collectively rise. She was going to be so damn difficult to deal with. Liam shot Dante and I a look over her head, and I took a deep breath. I couldn’t let her see that she was getting to me. So I shut my mouth and helped her to the awaiting car.

It was strange, helping her into the luxurious black sedan as the beta driver opened the door for us. It felt like how a real date should feel, and as we went through the motions I felt the ache of need coming from deep within me. This was what I had been missing - taking care of an omega, treating her to a night out, making sure she was protected by my pack. But it shouldn’t be this omega. This woman was everything that was wrong with our society, and yet I still felt the tingle of excitement rush through my body when my hand grazed her back as she entered the car. I needed to keep it together.

We got in and closed the partition so that the driver didn’t have any suspicions about our “date.” It would be hard enough to act like we were into her in public, with all the cameras flashing. Liam and Dante were in their own row of seats while I sat across from Celeste. She looked out the window, ignoring our presence and generally acting like we didn’t exist. That was fine by me. I was just glad we got her out of the house. Elijah had planned to snoop around and see what he could find from her room tonight. We didn’t expect her to be stupid enough to leave her laptop out and unlocked, but one could always hope.

Celeste crossed her legs and rested her face in her hand, her elbow near the car window. The way she was facing me, I could almost see straight up her dress with how her legs were crossed. And I had to admit, her legs were sexy, smooth and absolutely killing me. I had to avert my eyes to stop myself from thinking about how great they would feel wrapped around my waist. She was the enemy, damn it! If my pack knew how hard it was for me to stay focused around her they would toss me out of the car.

The driver finally slowed down, and I could see the club nearing. There was a line outside, but we weren’t worried about that. We’d purchased a VIP table and tipped off the media that we'd be at this club tonight. I knew that photographers would flock to get a photo of the former enemies on an outing together, but what I didn’t expect was the sheer number of them. There were more paparazzi lingering around than there were actual patrons trying to get into the club.

The driver opened the partition as he pulled up. “You’re going to have to get out here. Any closer and they’ll swarm the vehicle. It’s a safety issue.” He added apologetically. Liam nodded and moved to open the door.

“We’ll call you when we’re leaving. Pull up around the back when you pick us up.” He said as the driver nodded. Liam and Dante looked at me, slightly concerned as the wave of photographers looked toward our black car. “Now.” He ordered, and Dante quickly flung the door open while we filed out. I held my hand out for Celeste, and she miraculously took it without a snide comment. As she stepped out of the vehicle, it was like a tsunami of people rolling toward us.

“Celeste! Over here!”

“Celeste! How did you find out the truth about Pack Lockwood?”

“Liam, Dante, over here!”

“Vigo, can you give us a comment on your relationship?”

Paparazzi continued yelling at us, trying desperately to get a reaction as their cameras snapped over and over, the lights blinding me as we tried to get to the club. It all happened so quickly that we instinctively formed a circle around Celeste, our bodies acting like a wall as we made our way through the sea of flashing lights and shouting.

I looked back at Liam, his face showing an outward facade of being in charge and relaxed. Only our pack members would know the truth through our bond, that he was feeling unease and shock at how crazy people were acting at the sight of us with Celeste.

“Do you think they’ll touch her?” I said under my breath to him, worried about how close the photographers were getting. They brushed up against us, and I was half concerned that they would reach through us and snatch at her to get a reaction. Celeste somehow looked unfazed, as if all of this was routine.

Liam’s smile was calm and confident as he answered through his teeth to me in a low voice.

“Let’s just get her inside, quickly.” He turned and waved at the photographers, who were inches away from us.

“Gentlemen, please give us some room to escort the lady inside.” His voice was loud, cutting through the chaos around us. “We are on a date, as you can see.” The paparazzi gave out a loud buzz of excitement at his admission of our date, but thankfully, they stepped back a little.

We reached the front of the club, where the security spotted us and quickly opened the door. I reached back to wrap my arm around Celeste’s shoulders, flanking her with Liam while Dante protected her from everyone behind us. Ultimately, we were able to get inside in one piece. The door closed, and the low lighting instantly felt better for my eyes.

Someone from the coat check spoke to us, but I turned to face Celeste. Her demeanor was calm and natural, as if we hadn’t been nearly trampled by people desperate to snap a photo of every conceivable angle of us. She reached into her clutch, pulled out a compact mirror and opened it, looking at herself briefly before snapping it shut.

“Is this normal for you?” I asked as the manager approached us. She shot me a look, then rolled her eyes.

“Welcome to the big leagues.” She replied, then breezed past us to greet the manager.

“Miss Harringday! Welcome back!” The tall man said with a smile. I could tell by the way they interacted that she was a valued guest. I felt a slight twinge in my stomach. Of course she would be a regular at this club. We’d planned the date thinking it would give us a great photo op, but also because we wanted to send a message to her. We wanted to show her that despite everything she’d done to stop our success, we still had value. But she’d been here before, many times. This ‘date’ wasn’t impressive to her. It was probably just another regular weekend outing in her eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re back. And with Pack Lockwood!” He said as he turned toward us, his hand out to shake each of ours. “I’m Ralph, I spoke with you on the phone. Come right this way. Your section is ready for you.” He led the way down the club hallway, where we could hear the deep bass pumping from the dance floor. We were brought up the stairs of a small staircase that opened up to a private balcony, which overlooked the venue. We spread out in the VIP area, looking down at the people below as they moved under colorful lights, where a massive chandelier hung down from the ceiling and cast the reflection of light all over.

“This is Robert, your private security for the night.” Ralph said as he motioned to a large bonded alpha at the door of our private section. “We’ve already set out your drinks, but the server will be with you shortly in case you need anything else. Enjoy.” With those parting words, Ralph exited our section and nodded at his staff. Robert followed him and closed the door, guarding it from the outside to give us privacy.

I looked at the rest of my pack, who were past the drama from our paparazzi arrival and now fully focused on how nice our section was. We had a great view, and the best part was that people could look up and see us, but not get too close. We’d specifically picked this club because of the clientele. Club Instinct was the playground of the creme de la creme in our society - full of anyone and everyone who could see us and verify that Celeste was actually out with our pack.

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