Page 154 of Defiant Beta

He presses a kiss on each knuckle, and I swear my heart flutters with each soft caress.

“What were you doing here?” he asks, releasing my hands.

“Setting fire to the school.”

His expression is utterly blank, but I know what he’s thinking. I know what they’re all thinking.

“Don’t look at me like that. No school means no more omegas bonded to alphas who will treat them like shit.” I pause. “Well, I guess there will be, just not here.”

Which reminds me. I reach into my bra and pull out the lighter that somehow survived me hanging over the edge of a building, and has been poking me relentlessly in the right boob.

Three alphas look at the lighter, then at me.

“What? I needed it.” I tuck it in Levi’s pocket for safekeeping.

Xavier makes a sound that is both a laugh and a growl, then pulls me into his lap and gives me a bruising kiss.

“Was that supposed to convince me to stop blowing things up?” I ask him, licking my lips. “Because I think it had the opposite effect.”

A gust of wind snakes under the jacket I have draped around my shoulders, and I shiver.

Vincent gets to his feet and picks me up, gathering me to his chest. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

He insists on carrying me down, even though I tell him I can walk. I don’t complaintoomuch because a girl could easily get used to this protective alpha behavior.

We step out of the clock tower into an unfamiliar world filled with flashing lights, the thick smell of smoke in the air, and people sprinting toward the parking lot.

“What’s going on?” I frown.

I hadn’t noticed Cian standing under a tree near the ballroom until he walks over and stands beside us. Citrus and sweet licorice tickle my nose. He’s the quietest of Everleigh’s scent matches, usually silently observing the world through serious, dark green eyes.

He gives me a once-over, confirms I’m okay, and then turns to watch the people in ball gowns and suits running toward the parking lot.

“Someone called in a bomb threat. Someone else might have lit a firework in a storage cupboard, which led people to believe that it was a bomb about to explode.” He glances down at me, expression blank. “Of course, it could have been the same person, but I have no clue about that.”

I can’t be the only one staring at him, my mouth hanging open.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and calmly observes the panicked crowds fleeing for their lives.

“You didn’t tell him to do this?” Levi asks me.

“No, I didn’t ask him to do this.” But it’s pretty fucking hard not to be happy that Cian has done the thing I came here to do.

No omega is being matched to an alpha tonight.

A slow smile stretches across my face, and I lightly punch Cian in the arm. “I think you just became my favorite.”

“Don’t be shy about saying that to Kylian. He knows he’s your favorite and loves nothing more than to rub it in all our faces.” Cian pauses. “Repeatedly.”

Still grinning, I rest my head on Vincent’s shoulder with a happy sigh as I watch everyone sprint into the night. “Best day ever.”

Four alphas stare at me.

I clear my throat. “Um, after the part where I nearly died.”

“You nearlydied?” Cian asks, his face alarmingly blank.

Shit. He’s going to tell Everleigh, and my sister will sit on me to stop me from getting into any more trouble, probably for the rest of my life.

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