Three marks, one mate

Twenty seven

Desiree POV

The moment we stepped into the club, everything changed.

The music was loud, so loud it seemed to pulse through my entire body, the heavy rhythm vibrating beneath my skin and settling deep within my chest. Bright lights flashed across the room in shifting colors, illuminating bodies pressed together on the dance floor, moving without hesitation, without restraint, as though nothing else in the world mattered except the moment they were lost in.

For a second, I simply stood there, taking it all in.

It was overwhelming. Strange but also exciting.

Everyone seemed completely absorbed in their own world, their laughter blending with the music, their movements free and unguarded in a way I had never seen before.

“Wait here while I get you ladies something to drink,” Ethan’s voice came through, softer than the music but still clear enough for us to hear.

I turned slightly, watching as he leaned closer to Avery, his hand brushing lightly against hers before he disappeared into the crowd, his presence swallowed almost instantly by the sea of moving bodies.

For a moment, we stayed where we were, the three of us standing together, taking everything in.

Then I exhaled slowly, my body already beginning to respond to the rhythm around me.

“Why don’t we have something like this in the pack?” I asked, my voice carrying a mix of curiosity and quiet excitement as I swayed slightly, unable to stop myself from moving along with the music.

The beat was addictive.

It pulled at me.

“With the outfits we’re wearing,” Avery said, her lips curving into a knowing smile, “the men would lose their minds seeing another man anywhere near their mate.”

I let out a soft laugh, the thought instantly bringing images of Brandon, Grayson, and Zachary flashing through my mind—their possessive gazes, the way their expressions darkened whenever someone so much as looked at me for too long.

“You mean the way Ethan wouldn’t let you come here alone unless he was with you?” Daphne teased, nudging Avery lightly.

Avery rolled her eyes, though the small smile tugging at her lips gave her away completely.

We all laughed, the sound blended easily with the energy of the room, and for the first time since we left the pack, I felt unbothered, like every one of my troubles was gone.

“Here, ladies,” Ethan said as he returned, his voice warm and effortless despite the chaos around us, and we each took a drink from his outstretched hands, murmuring our thanks before I lifted mine to my lips and took a cautious sip, only to be pleasantly surprised by how cool and refreshing it tasted, the sensation spreading through my body and loosening the last bit of tension I hadn’t realized I was still holding onto.

Avery barely had time to enjoy hers before Ethan pulled her gently toward the dance floor, their fingers naturally intertwining as though they had done this a thousand times before, and I found myself watching them for a brief moment, something soft and almost wistful settling in my chest as I realized how happy she looked, how easily she fit into his world, and before I could stop myself, a quiet thought slipped into my mind—I wished my mates were here too.

“Sorry, ladies, but I’m stealing your friend for a bit,” Ethan said with a playful smile, already leading Avery away, and I simply nodded, waving him off as he disappeared into the crowd with her, leaving Daphne and me standing together as the music swelled around us.

We didn’t stay still for long, quickly giving in to the rhythm as we began to dance again, our laughter blending with the music as we moved more freely now, swaying our hips and cheering each other on, the earlier tension replaced with something light and exhilarating, something that made me feel alive in a way I hadn’t expected.

“I forgot to tell you something,” Daphne said suddenly, her voice cutting through the moment as her movements slowed until she came to a complete stop, and something in her tone made my chest tighten instantly.

I turned to her, my brows pulling together slightly as I studied her face, noticing the flicker of guilt in her eyes. “What happened?” I asked, my voice softer now but laced with concern.

She hesitated for a second, as though debating whether to say it, before finally letting out a quiet breath. “The guys know where we are… I told Kyle.”

For a moment, everything around me seemed to fade, the music dulling into the background as her words settled in, my thoughts scrambling to catch up. “How… when?” I asked, though I wasn't even sure what I was trying to understand.

“When we were at the restaurant,” she explained, her voice low and apologetic, “Kyle mindlinked me, everyone was already looking for us, so I told him where we were… I didn’t want them thinking something bad had happened.”

I stared at her for a second longer before exhaling slowly, the initial shock easing into understanding, because deep down, I knew she had done the right thing. “Then we are definitely going home to very angry mates,” I said, a small smile tugging at my lips as I tried to lighten the weight of the moment.

Daphne groaned softly, but I nudged her playfully, pulling her back into the music as we resumed dancing, though this time, a part of me remained aware, my thoughts drifting back to Brandon, Grayson, and Zachary, imagining their reactions, their anger, their possessiveness—and strangely, the thought didn’t entirely scare me.

It made my heart race.

I had barely settled back into the rhythm when I felt it, a presence behind me, too close, too unfamiliar and my body reacted instantly, stiffening as a man moved in behind me, attempting to match my movements in a way that made my skin crawl.

I shifted away immediately, putting distance between us, but he followed without hesitation, his persistence igniting irritation within me as the sharp scent of alcohol reached my senses.

“Read the room,” I said firmly, turning slightly toward him, though I knew the music swallowed most of my words. “I don’t want to dance with you.”

He either didn’t hear me or chose not to, because within seconds, he was closer again, his movements clumsy but deliberate, and before I could react, Daphne grabbed my hand and pulled me toward another part of the floor, clearly trying to get us away from him.

For a brief moment, it worked.

Then he found us again.

“Stop playing hard to get,” he slurred, a crooked grin spreading across his face. “I promise I’ll treat you real good.”

Disgust twisted in my stomach, sharp and immediate, and I felt my wolf stir restlessly beneath my skin, anger rising with every second he continued to ignore my refusal.

“Leave her alone,” Daphne said, stepping forward as she pushed him back slightly, but instead of backing down, his expression darkened with something ugly.

“You don’t have to be jealous,” he mocked. “I can handle both of you.”

That was it.

“Get out of here,” I said, my voice dropping, laced with warning as my eyes locked onto his, my patience completely gone.

For a split second, I thought he might finally listen.

Instead, he grabbed me.

His grip was sudden and rough, pulling me against him without warning, and everything inside me snapped at once—anger, instinct, the overwhelming urge to let my wolf loose and tear him apart for daring to touch me.

Before I could react, a sharp crack echoed through the noise.

The man’s grip vanished instantly as he cried out in pain, his body jerking away from mine, and I barely had time to process what had happened before a voice, cold and filled with restrained fury, cut through everything.

“She told you to leave her alone.”

My heart slammed violently against my chest as recognition hit me even before I turned, a mixture of shock and relief spread through me

Because I knew that voice.

And from the way it sounded, someone was about to lose control.