ChapterTwenty-Three
Briar
The event center was gorgeous. Windows lined every wall, and chandeliers hung throughout the room, giving it a brightness that made everything sparkle. It was a sea of formal wear, and I was glad it was crowded, meaning we wouldn’t stand out quite so much.
“Tickets?” a man in a suit asked when we approached, so Graham handed over the stack.
“Pack Crane?” the man clarified, stylus poised over his tablet to add us to the roster.
“Yes,” Graham confirmed.
“Welcome. You’ll find the charity auction tables on the east wall. Dinner begins at seven sharp. Tables are marked with pack names. Yours is up front; it seems you’ve been placed at the mayor’s table.” He was already waving us off, oblivious to my impending panic attack. Ellis wrapped my arm around his and gave me a gentle squeeze, guiding me into the room.
“It’s going to be fine, Briar. You don’t have to sit with him,” he said. “The moment we get what we need, we’re out of here.”
“Okay,” I whispered back. It was unfair that even the sound of his title sent me into an emotional tailspin. The man didn’t deserve the power he still had over me.
“Let’s check out the auctions. I believe you mentioned one you’d like us to invest in this year?” Graham said, holding out his arm. I gratefully accepted it, and Ellis let me go.
“Yes,” I said, giving him the details. The auction tables were filled with items, each displayed with a fancy sign up sheet so that attendees could place their silent bids. Alongside everything else was a sign-up sheet for donation; people could volunteer to support a charitable cause out of the goodness of their hearts—or at least that was the surface rationale. Really, in this sort of crowd, both the donations and auction items were another sign of status. You might not be verbalizing the money you had, but others would see it nonetheless. I barely held back my gasp at the astronomical number Graham pledged. Knowing my pack was wealthy was one thing, but seeing it like this was another.
“Briar!” I eagerly whirled around when I heard Katelyn’s voice. She was walking over with an older man in tow. “This is my dad.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. Thanks for all you do for the kids here,” I said, meaning every word. This kind of program would change lives.
“Why thank you.” He grinned, eyes wrinkling around corners into familiar lines. This was a man who smiled often. He was clearly where Katelyn got her warm energy. “I’m just ecstatic they accepted us for this function. It’ll mean the world to us and the kids.”
“You deserve to be here,” Graham said, shaking his hand. “I’m happy to donate to such a company.”
“Thank you for the donation,” he said. “And you are?”
“Briar’s mate, my name is Graham Crane,” he said. “If you’ll excuse us, we have to track someone down before dinner, but I hope we see more of you tonight.”
“You as well,” he said before something else caught his attention. He started to drag Katelyn through the room, her laughter trailing after them.
“I just saw Vivian coming closer. Let’s avoid her for now,” he hissed as he dragged me back toward the bar. The line was long, but it gave us something to do while everyone milled around.
“This place is so fucking full of ego, it smells of it,” Miles noted when he stepped up beside us. A cloud of lust hit us, and both of our noses wrinkled in disgust. Having the ability to smell emotions should make people be a bit more circumspect in crowds, yet here we were. I wasn’t even sure who was lusting after what. Had someone seen an attractive person in the crowd, or was it a lust for money and power? When you were rubbing elbows with the city’s privileged elite, it was anyone’s guess as to the source. Either way, I wanted out as soon as possible.
“We need to be out before dinner,” I said with a shudder. “No part of me wants to sit through that monstrosity.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said. “These functions are always insufferable. I’ll be glad to be done with them now.”
“Briar?” The blood drained from my face at the sound of my mother’s voice.
“No,” Liam’s voice cut in as he hurried over. “You don’t get to exile your daughter, which is possibly one of the biggest offenses in parenting that I’ve ever heard of, then try to talk to her now. Walk away, woman.”
“How dare you speak to your mother that way!” my dad seethed, stepping in.
“How dare you exile your daughter for money,” Liam shot back.
“You know, I never thought I’d get this opportunity,” Tallon said, stepping around me to face off with my dad. I hadn’t realized they’d caught up to us, though I couldn’t say I was unhappy about having more backup.
“For what? Who are you?” Mom bit out, her voice shaking now that she was flustered.
“Tell me. How did you learn that your daughter was assaulted, then promptly take money from her attacker? Then, to top it all off, you kick her out, rendering her homeless! Was the money worth it? How do you sleep at night?”
“I sleep just fine,” he growled. “She’s capable of saying no, and we didn’t deserve to be punished for her lack of willpower.” His indignation was laughable, or at least it would have been if I wasn’t so fucking furious.
“Don’t you dare blame me for his actions.” My blood was boiling, and I had to take several breaths to calm down.
My dad’s gaze flickered to mine, his mouth set in a thin line, but he didn’t dare speak to me. What could he say at this point?
“Kindly fuck off before I take you out back and teach you how a real alpha protects his family,” Wells warned. There was a command in his tone that made my parents’ faces pale. Good. I hope they think about this moment every day for the rest of their miserable lives.
When they were out of sight, I finally took a deep breath. Liam hugged me before rushing off to make sure they didn’t come near us again.
“Can we wrap this up soon?” I quietly begged. Completely unintentional, a whine slipped out, setting the alphas’ backs even straighter. They closed in around me, giving me comfort, until my emotions evened out.
“We’ll try,” Graham promised. “We need to linger near the mayor first, draw him in.”
“Easy enough. He just saw us,” Ellis said. He pointed across the room at the mayor. He was practically foaming at the mouth, fury in his gaze. All my sadness washed away at the sight, replaced by determination, and I gave a sweet smile. Sure enough, the moment he saw it, he practically shoved his way through the crowd, Vivian popped up out of nowhere to intercept him, but her efforts were met with some kind of angry response.
Ellis gripped my arm, and her eyes narrowed in with a flicker of anger, then confusion, then shock as she realized who stood around me. A confidence I didn’t know I could channel went through me. They weren’t going to win this. It could have been my men at my back or the microphones that Graham and Beckham had sewn into our clothes that helped, but it didn’t matter.
“Let’s go to the balcony,” Ellis suggested, moving us out of line and toward the open door. It was the only thing keeping the overfilled room from being stifling. The outside air was chilly enough that Ellis gave his coat to me to stay warm. It took less than five minutes for the mayor and Vivian to make their way through the crowd. When he approached, he tried to get close to me, but my pack stepped in front, with Wells and Ellis blocking me off while Graham had my back.
“I’d like you to step away from my mate,” Ellis said evenly.
“She isn’t your mate,” he hissed. His volume was low enough right now that I knew it wouldn’t carry, but that wouldn’t last long.
“I told you that you were exiled. How dare you show your face here of all places!” Vivian cut in.