Page 41 of Challenged Mate
“Hey, girl,” Kayla replied, hopping off the stool to give her a quick hug before returning to her seat.
“Hello to you, too, Jenny,” Chase drawled.
Jenny shot the blond a smirk. “Hey, Boss. Good to see you. You remember Debbie?”
“Of course,” he replied, shooting the girl behind Jenny a devilish smile. “I still don’t see what a nice girl like you is doing with a ball-buster like Jenny.”
“Well, I don’t have balls, so that’s not really a problem for me,” the redhead replied with a shrug.
Kayla barked a laugh. I chuckled, too.
“Clever,” Chase grinned. “Dance with me?”
“And be mauled by the jealous females vying to become your mate?” Debbie countered with a firm shake of her head. “No, thanks.”
Chase pouted. “But I want to dance.”
“Dance with Blair,” Kayla suggested.
“I’m not really a dancer—”
“No way!”
I whirled on Chase, eyes wide. “Wow. Rude much?”
He had the decency to wince. “No offense, Blair, but I’m not interested in having my ass kicked by the alpha for dancing with you.”
Anger flared. I felt the warmth of my power respond to the emotion. I pushed it down.
“The alpha doesn’t own me,” I snapped.
“I’m not saying he does,” Chase quickly backpedaled, but the damage was done. He continued anyway, “Look, I didn’t mean to insult you. I’m sorry.”
My nostrils flared, but I muttered, “It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine.
I hadn’t even met the alpha yet, but he’d obviously taken the time to instill fear in the males of the pack to stay away from me. Like I was his freaking property.
What an asshole.
Kayla, Jenny, and Debbie watched me and Chase uneasily. When it became obvious we weren’t going to devolve into a screaming match, or something equally as dramatic, Jenny cleared her throat and introduced Debbie to me.
“Blair, this is my girlfriend, Debbie. Debbie, this is Blair Hemmings.”
Debbie held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I heard you handed Chase his ass the other day. Wish I could’ve seen it.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be another opportunity soon,” Kayla offered between sips of wine. “Chase looks primed for another ass-kicking.”
The girls laughed while Chase’s lips turned down in a melodramatic frown.
I managed a small smile, appreciating their efforts to lessen the tension around us.
“Thank you,” I took Debbie’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Seeing an opportunity to escape, Chase excused himself to speak with a friend who entered the club, leaving the four of us to talk.
“How are you adjusting to living in Alaska?” Debbie asked after she ordered a mojito from Hank. Jenny didn’t order anything. Apparently, she had an early morning training session and needed to be on top of her game.
