Page 47 of Claimed By the Feral Wolves

I smile. “I’m sure they did. Deep breaths.”

A servant appears at our side, dressed in white and black. “Miss Addilyn? Right this way.”

Addilyn flashes me an excited look weaved with nervousness and sweeps away. I watch her go in a sleek pink gown, gems glowing against her throat, and pray she gets her table full of ferals. For now, she's seated at an empty table on the other side of the room. Other omegas have already been scattered at different tables around the room, waiting for when the men are allowed to join us.

A servant speaks to another servant beside me. “Tell the males. All the females have arrived.”

Then he takes off, and I’m left standing, wondering what to do next.

“Miss Faye?” a servant says, bobbing her head beside me.

I nod.

“This way, please,” she says, heading between tables.

The room smells amazing, and I follow the servant who greeted me to a table in the center of the room. When we arrive, my brain instantly counts the chairs, my skin going cold. Six chairs. One for everyone—including Kurt.

I take a shaky breath and sit, tucking the skirt of my pale blue gown under me as I do. To pass the time, I smooth down my hair, pick a piece of lint from my shoulder, and run my fingertip over the lace edging on the tablecloth. None of it calms my nerves. Soon, I’ll be seated for a fancy meal with four men who I have confusing feelings for, and one man I hate.

The door to the ballroom opens, and my gaze snaps to the person entering. My racing heart continues to race for completely different reasons when I spot Ezra in a black suit, looking like some kind of ridiculously beautiful model. Sometimes I can’t believe he doesn’t want a mate. He seems like exactly the type of man whoshouldhave a mate.

“Faye,” Ezra greets. He frowns as he nears the table, and I raise an eyebrow at him in question. “I’d hoped to get here before you, so I could pull the chair out for you.”

“The servant did it,” I say, but I stand, pushing the chair back into the table. Ezra laughs in surprise. “But go right ahead.”

Ezra comes to my side of the table, and I smell his scent like a fine cologne washing over me. It makes my eyes prick with familiarity, and I laugh as he pulls the chair out with a flourish, sweeping his hand in a gesture for me to sit. Once I’m seated—again—he pushes the chair forward so I’m at a comfortable distance from the table.

The door opens again, and in walks Xander. He’s wearing a shirt now, a white one, with a blue jacket that matches the deep blue color of his eyes. The jacket strains at his shoulders, looking like it might be one size too small, but then, it might be. I have a feeling the clothing people probably outfitted him for a suit for tonight, without having the time to adjust one to fit his large body.

“Hey,” Xander says, glancing between Ezra and I, Ezra’s hand still on my chair. “I will help with the chair.”

The earnestness in his voice melts my heart. He seems like a man of few words, and I feel kind of honored he chooses to share some of those words with me.Who knew such a big, rough man could be so gentle?

I laugh and stand up again, unable to control my giggles as Xander repeats the entire process while Ezra takes his seat to my left. When I am, once again, seated, Xander takes the chair to my right, but now Cayson is approaching the table, wearing a black suit with a pink shirt. He’s clearly watched the whole show. There’s a twinkle in his eyes that tells me he’s in a mischievous mood.

“Oh yeah,” he says, his voice low, “get that sweet ass out of the chair, Faye.”

I roll my eyes, but the low timbre of his voice sends a roll of arousal through me. Desperately, I try to tamp it down—I don’t want everyone at the table knowing I’m turned on, but it’s too late. Their eyes all look a little darker, a little more intent on me.

Cayson helps to tuck me into the chair, as well, making a spectacle of our table. It’s minutes before supper is set to be served, and there are still two empty chairs at the table—Kurt and Maverick are missing.

“Faye,” someone says, appearing at my side, and my heart jumps when I turn to see Addilyn, her eyes lit up with amusement, a hand clapped over her mouth. She leans down, whispering in my ear. “First, I got seated with the brothers. Second, and you’re not going to believe this, but someonepeedon Kurt’s clothes!”

“What?” I ask, sucking in a breath, then letting out a breathy laugh.

“I heard this girl at another table say he was absolutelyragingin the hallway, calling the housekeepers incompetent assholes. Apparently, his room is a complete mess, too.”

“Who would do something like that?” I ask, my eyes wide.

The entire reason we’ve had so much trouble handling Kurt is due to his father’s powerful position. Anyone who was willing to do something so direct to the son of a very powerful alpha clearly has some balls.But who?

I realize all the men at the table heard this little bit of gossip when I glance over and see Cayson laughing, his hand over his mouth, Ezra shaking his head, and Xander looking confused.

Addilyn gives me a wink, then skips back to her table.

“Kurt is Faye’s remaining mate?” Xander asks, probably remembering him from his tantrum when drawing straws.

“Technically, for now, but he’s also an asshole who definitely deserved for his clothes to be pissed on,” Cayson says, letting his head fall back against the back of the chair. “Oh, this is too good.”

---