Page 19 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

Dante sank into the plush, dark velvet couch, casually pouring himself a glass of vodka with a hint of cranberry from the carafes resting in ice-filled buckets nearby. He leaned back, stretching out as his eyes swept over the crowd below.

I shifted my gaze to Celeste, standing off to the side, her aloof demeanor grating on my nerves. I shouldn’t care, but I did. Most omegas relished being treated like royalty, and even though this date was staged, I wanted some kind of reaction from her. Maybe she’d been courted by so many packs that she was immune to all this.

I studied her closely - her posture, where her eyes wandered - looking for any subtle hint of what she might really be feeling. She was on scent blockers, which was a relief. Considering how stunning she looked tonight, things could’ve escalated quickly if she perfumed for some reason. Not that it stopped the irritation building in me, especially with the mated alpha bodyguard stationed just outside. Even that guy seemed to rub me the wrong way.

I didn’t want any other alphas near her. And I’d never felt quite this protective over anyone we’d courted before. I tried hard not to let the idea of the alphas in the crowd below bother me. At least she was with us, showing the world that we were a worthy pack. I’d been looking at her so long that I didn’t realize just how much I was gawking until my eyes moved back up and saw her looking at me with a cool glare.

“Enjoying the view?” She spat out, and suddenly my body was hot. Whether from anger or the desire to lift her push her up against the wall and show her just how dominant I could be, I wasn’t sure.

I stood up straight and walked toward her, stopping just inches from where she stood. I looked down at her eyes, which flashed with uncertainty for a moment, then went back to her defiant glare. With a loving smile, I draped my arm around her and leaned my head in. With my free hand, I pushed back her hair and leaned in until my lips were at her ear.

“Just observing how poor of an actress you are, sweetheart.” I whispered, then gave her a quick kiss on the temple before looking out at the crowd. I felt her stiffen beneath my arm. Celeste's breath caught for a moment, her defiance wavering.

“Poor actress, huh? Because you guys aretotallynailing the ‘infatuated pack’ vibe.” She said sarcastically.

I looked back at my pack. She had a point - wedidneed to act like we enjoyed being here with her, or this charade wasn’t going to work. I chuckled, turning to let my gaze fix on the crowd. “Right, let’s have a drink, shall we?”

I reached for her hand, gently threading my fingers through hers. I could swear she let out a little gasp. Her pupils seemed to dilate, and I was more confused than ever. This woman acted like she was made of stone, but the tiniest things made her crack. What was she really feeling?

We reached the large couch, and I helped her take a seat in between Liam and Dante.

“Champagne?” I asked, and she gave a quick nod. We knew from our research that this was her favorite drink, although she was reported to imbibe in all types of alcohol. I popped the bottle and poured her and the rest of my pack a flute before sitting at the end of the couch.

“Cheers!” Liam said, his square jaw set into a grin, and Celeste scowled briefly as he clicked his glass with hers. “At least try to enjoy yourself.” He said to her, and she plastered on a much too large smile at him, giving him doe eyes as she grabbed onto his arm in an over the top display of affection. My cock twitched in my pants at the sight. Before I could think too much about it, the club’s DJ started to speak.

“Good evening everyone, we have some special guests tonight! The rumors are true - and we have proof right here in Club Instinct! Give it up for Celeste Harringday and Pack Lockwood!” His voice was drowned out by cheers as he pointed toward our VIP section. The crowd below gasped and murmured, their phones flashing as they tried to get pictures of us. “And to start off our evening, a very special performance by the Beta Burlesque Brigade!”

The lights dimmed and the stage was suddenly taken over by a group of scantily clad betas. They held out large feather fans as red lights lit them from behind. Sultry music began playing, and my pack moved closer to Celeste on the couch, trying to sell our date in case anyone was watching.

The burlesque troupe began to perform, and long ribbons unfurled from the ceiling as several more dancers dropped down, doing acrobatic movements as they all put on a show. Liam put his arm over Celeste’s shoulder as we sat back to watch.

I smiled to myself. Even if she hated us, this arrangement was already redeeming our reputation. And soon, we would be the most eligible pack in this province. Even if I was having trouble imagining anyone other than her in the middle of us all.

Chapter 13

Celeste

The date was going to rip me apart. My body and mind were in competition, being pulled in opposite directions. Everything about how they were treating me made my omega senses keen, but the knowledge that, in reality, they actually hated me made it all that much more painful.

Whenever they opened a door for me, presented me with their arm to steady myself, and hovered over me protectively, I wanted to grab onto them and never let go. And their scents, my Gods. Alpha pheromones grew stronger when they were near an omega, but I almost couldn’t handle how good it smelled to be surrounded by them. I never realized before how much a scent match screwed with your hormones. I was halfway ready to forgive them of everything and just beg them to take me to bed, bite me, and keep me forever. That’s how much my omega side wanted them.

But I was stronger than that. These men planned my downfall, tried to have me kidnapped, and wanted to take over the market share and put my company out of business. I had to remember that, scent matches or not. I kept up my act for the public, giving the pack puppy dog eyes and fawning over them.

Halfway through the burlesque performance, I noticed how even though we had been acting all this time, they were still so tense. Their eyes shifted around, watching for any danger. I knew this was an alpha thing - plenty of packs did this when they had an omega with them. So even if they did hate me, they were also still struggling with their instincts. Which gave me an idea - if I had to go through torture, so would they.

With a sly smile, I leaned into Liam’s side, letting my fingers curl around his bicep as I sighed and melted against him. The contact soothed the ache of being near my scent match - it calmed something primal in me. But more than that, it clearly got to him too. I caught the subtle twitch of his jaw, the way his eyes flicked toward me, his body tense with restraint. Slowly, I ran my hand along the length of his arm before lacing our fingers together, resting my head against his shoulder. He felt amazing.

“What are you doing?” He whispered out of the side of his mouth. I nuzzled into him, relishing in his scent while knowing I was riling him up.

“Playing the part. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” I replied, a small shiver running through my body at the thrill of finally being close to my mate. Liam shifted next to me, swallowing as his eyes looked between me and his pack mates, their usual green even more alive than usual under the club lights.

“Oh, come on, you want it to be realistic, right?” I said as I leaned in closer, my lips brushing his neck. He let out an involuntary groan.

Ha! Hewasaffected. And I wanted to make him feel just a fraction of the pain I’d been holding inside me ever since I first smelled them. I reached around the back of his neck, grazing my hand through his hair and touching him like any love-sick omega would.

“Celeste.” He growled softly, and I looked across at Vigo who was watching me with a burning gaze, his eyes unable to look away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that even Dante, who so far had ignored me as much as possible, was paying attention.

“What baby? We’re on a date, I just want to show you how much I adore you.” I said before leaning in and giving his ear a slight nip. His entire body jerked and I snickered as he balled his fists. His scent burst out of his glands, and I had to bite back my own moan as his woodsy, masculine scent filled my lungs. If I hadn’t taken double suppressants every day since arriving at their place, I’d have let out a puddle of slick just now. Every moment of teasing him was turning me on and giving me vindication for how they’d treated me. My omega instincts were pleased, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching down to his thick leg, risking making him even more turned on. One thing I knew how to do very well was please an alpha.

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