Page 68 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
What do they think is happening right now?
Mason is among them, watching me with concern. Clayton’s growl intensifies and he readies himself to launch at me once more. Jasper widens his stance, ready to defend me. Mason steps forward, but surprisingly he’s pushed aside as Olivia charges through the crowd. Without hesitating she grabs Clayton by his jacket collar and pulls him backward, throwing him against the wall. The crowd of onlookers jump aside so as not to get hit.
“Submit,” she commands, and I have no idea if she’s defending Jasper or helping him defend me. She’s been a colossal dick to me since the Yule Ball; why would she be jumping in to save my ass now?
Clayton snaps his jaw, which is beginning to look more and more wolflike as the situation escalates.
“Submit!” Olivia bellows.
Katie, Todd, and Simon come running out onto the balcony, quickly taking in the situation, and—bless their cotton socks—the bro twins position themselves in front of Clayton as well, claws at the ready.
Clayton twists his muzzle, clearly thirsty for my blood, but surveys his position. He’s ridiculously outnumbered, and with a final whimper, he begins to settle. His features shrink back into human form; he retracts his claws and loosens his muscles.
“Take him to my room,” Jasper says. “I’ll deal with him there.”
Todd and Simon each take one of Clayton’s arms and walk him through an opening in the crowd. He doesn’t struggle—in fact, he looks a little weak on his feet. Maybe the liquor is running its course.
Jasper turns to me, clearly distressed. He takes a step in my direction, then glances at the wolves still lingering in the doorway. There are too many eyes on us––he stops far enough away that he can’t touch me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I… I think he was drunk.”
“I’ll deal with him.”
Olivia steps up to Jasper’s side. “Go,” she says. “I’ll stay with him.”
Maybe Jasper catches my shocked expression, because for a moment he hesitates.
“You’re sure you’re okay? He didn’t hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Okay, thanks,” he says, giving Olivia a nod. Jasper walks through the remaining crowd, ignoring their stares, as if they aren’t there.
“You want to sit?” Olivia asks, and for the first time in weeks, she resembles the girl I met at the Blue Moon Festival.
“That’d be great.”
“Max,” Katie says coming over, accompanied by Mason. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“He looked pretty wild,” Mason adds.
“I’m fine, you guys should go enjoy the rest of the dance. Don’t let that dick ruin it.”
“I should probably go see if Todd and Simon have made it back safely. You’re sure you’re fine?” Katie asks.
“I got him,” Olivia says, continuing to bewilder me with how nice she’s being.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave his wing of the compound,” Mason says.
“Thanks.”
It’s kind of cool that everyone’s got my back—no, actually it’s really cool. And it makes me start to think that maybe Jasper and I don’t need to be a secret, if this is the way people react. I’m especially impressed with Olivia as she gives a nod to my friends and leads me toward a stairway off to the side of the balcony.
We leave the glow and music of the ballroom behind as we descend to a round platform with waist-high stone walls and a bench. It’s the perfect lookout spot for stargazing and taking in the mountains.
“What an asshole!” Olivia says as we plonk down on the seat. “I’ve been waiting a long time for a reason to wail on him.”
