Page 76 of Taken By the Pack

“There they are.” Her voice is light, eager. Then she’s slipping through the press of bodies, and I follow, watching the way heads turn as she moves.

Jake’s the first to react when she gets to the table. His grin is easy, hands already reaching for her. “Took your time.”

She leans down, kisses him slowly. Then Ash. My jaw ticks, watching her slip between them like she was made to fit there. And to think that was how this started for all of us—a fake bond to protect her from other Alphas.

“Did you wait long?” she asks, smoothing a hand over Jake’s chest.

Ash shakes his head. “Just got here.”

She slides into the booth, and I sit next to her, draping an arm along the back of the seat. The waitress barely has time to stop before she’s ordering beers and a round of tequila shots.

Ash raises a brow. “Starting strong?”

She grins, eyes bright. “It’s a celebration.”

The shots come fast, tiny glasses lined up in a neat row. She grabs the salt and the lime, then turns toward me.

“Hold still.”

I do. Mostly because I want to see what she’s planning.

She shakes a little salt on my throat, then leans in and licks it off. My jaw tightens. Jake chuckles, already reaching for a lime.

“My turn.”

Her head tips back, laughing, before she tilts toward him. He does the same thing—salt, lick, tequila. Ash follows. By the time she gets her own shot, her cheeks are flushed, lips curved.

“You good?” I ask, watching her tongue flick over the edge of the lime.

She nods, voice husky. “More than good.”

The night blurs after that into a little more drinking and a lot more touching. She’s got Jake’s hands on her waist, Ash murmuring something low near her ear. And then?—

“Dance with me,” she says, turning toward Jake.

He doesn’t hesitate. He just takes her hand and pulls her toward the floor.

I sit back, watching them move. She’s easy in his hands, laughing as he twirls her, pressing close, grinding against him with the beat. Ash watches too, sipping his beer, eyes dark.

“She’s something,” Ash mutters.

Yeah. She is.

By the time she comes back, she’s breathless, hair slightly messy, lips parted.

She flops onto the seat next to me, and I waste no time sliding my hand under the table for a little tease.

Her breath hitches. She swats at me. “Behave.”

I smirk. “Not likely.”

Another song starts, something with a deep, slow bass, and she shifts, turning toward me. “I want you all with me.”

Jake’s already standing. “Let’s go, then.”

Ash mutters something under his breath but follows.

The floor is packed, bodies swaying, the air warm. She moves between us, pressing her back against me as Jake grabs her waist. Ash is right there too, close enough that when she shifts, her fingers graze his.

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