Page 72 of Claimed By Blood

“I’m sorry,” Noha says, breaking the heavy silence as she starts the car and pulls out of the garage. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No… it’s okay,” Immy says before I can. “I figured it out a while ago, when I was doing some… re-evaluating of my life choices.”

When she realised that nothing she did would appease Cain and started to regret betraying me.

I stare at the poorly lit tunnel beyond the window as I think it over.

CHAPTERTWENTY

FINLEY

Isit wrong that I feel better the farther I get away from the pack?

Of course it is.

I’m an omega. We don’t do alone time. It’s not something we need. We thrive on being around our pack, on caring for others and soothing the frayed emotions that inevitably arise between the more dominant lycans.

But God, Ineededthis. It feels like the farther I get from the rest of them, the clearer my thoughts become. Without the alpha around, my instincts are free to relax and stop focusing on the undercurrent of negative emotions surrounding him. Of course, logically, I know what’s going on in Gid’s mind. But it’s weirdly easier to empathise with distance.

Perhaps because my own shit isn’t fucking with me at the same time.

I’m no idiot. I know I struggle with emotional rejection. I also know that Gideon is only shutting me out because he’s shuttinghimselfout. Throwing himself into his work to avoid dealing with his mistakes has always been his MO.

Most of the time I can deal with his baggage, but I’d been pretty vulnerable during sex—open in a way I knew would help him to shake the urges he was resisting—and his rejection afterwards just hit me.

“We’re here,” Noha announces, and I think I hear relief in her voice.

I don’t blame her. She’s been stuck in a car with three people who were all mired in their own thoughts for the entire trip.

She pushes open her door, and the scents of the city rush into the car. Street food and the fumes from the older vehicles they use in this part of the world assault my nose.

“My contact who delivers our blood supplies won’t be here until later,” Noha says. “But the bar is still open.”

“Sounds good,” Immy says, her face lighting up with a smile I’m not quite sure is genuine.

But hell, it looks more convincing than Evie’s.

None of us are really dressed for going out, but neither is Noha, but she doesn’t let it bother her as she leads us out of the underground garage we’ve parked in and up to the street level. Immediately, our small group is engulfed by the crowds. Wherever we are, the late hour doesn’t seem to have put off the inebriated humans. There are a few lycans here and there, and—more worryingly—a few vampires as well, but the majority of the crowds are humans.

Noha ignores them all, heading straight to the line that winds around the edge of the building across the street. When she goes to join the end of the queue, Immy surprises us all by dragging her away and towards the door instead.

The bouncer says something, but Immy just smiles at him and pulls out a black metal card from her pocket. I barely have time to recognise Cain’s mark on the front before she puts it away and the bouncer—now pale as a ghost—unclips the barrier to let us all through.

“Are you mad?” Evie hisses.

“He’s not going to hear about it,” Immy protests. “Come on, plenty of Cain’s favoured generals have similar passes. That guy is probably used to seeing them, given this is clearly an immortal establishment.”

Shit. She’s right.

Everywhere I look there are vampires and lycans, mingling… feeding. The few humans in here are clearly wealthy, or beautiful, or both.

I turn to stare suspiciously at Noha, who shrugs. “You don’t have to worry about being recognised,” she insists. “We’re a long way away from the Court here.”

Don’t have to worry about being recognised?!She does realise that Evie and Immy’s faces have been all over the media since their return a month ago, right?

This was such a bad idea.

I can see Evie agrees with me, but I can also feel her unease down the thrall bond. The closer I listen to our link, the clearer her feelings become. She doesn’t want to offend Noha, or draw more attention to us by insisting we leave, but at the same time, she knows that this is just about the most reckless thing we could’ve done.

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