Chapter 4 AN UNEXPECTED REACTION

KAEL'S POV

I hated crowded clubs.

The noise, the unnecessary attention, and the number of idiots who thought shouting over music was a reasonable way to hold a conversation. Give me a private suite, a bottle of JD, and a few hours without anyone disturbing me, and I'd be perfectly satisfied.

Unfortunately, my brothers had other ideas.

Zayne loved places like this. The louder the music and the shorter the dresses, the happier he seemed. The man could spend an entire night entertaining himself by flirting with women whose names he wouldn't remember the following morning.

Draven wasn't particularly fond of the crowd either, but he tolerated it better than I did.

Personally, I couldn't care less where they chose to spend their evenings.

As long as I was home by midnight.

Stranger's business had never been my favourite thing to deal with. It was a fucking hassle, and I had no intention of wasting another minute of my night discussing it.

The moment we entered the club, however, my attention landed on the woman sitting alone at the bar.

Beautiful.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind.

She had long white hair falling over her shoulders, pale skin, and a figure that made it difficult to ignore her. She sat with a glass in her hand, seemingly oblivious to the people around her.

I barely gave her a second look before Zayne nudged my shoulder.

"There's our table."

I followed his gaze.

He was pointing towards the empty seats beside the woman.

"Seriously?" Draven muttered.

"What?" Zayne grinned. "You want to sit somewhere else?"

"I want to sit somewhere quiet."

"Then go home, brother."

I ignored their exchange and headed towards the seats. If they wanted to entertain themselves, they could do so without dragging me into it.

Zayne took the seat closest to the woman, while Draven settled beside him.

I sat opposite them, poured myself a generous glass of JD, and leaned back.

"Hello, beautiful," Zayne greeted her.

The woman turned, her gaze travelling over him before a slow smile appeared on her lips.

"Hello, handsome."

Zayne's grin widened.

"Well, that's a lovely way to start the evening."

Draven chuckled. "Don't encourage him."

"Jealous?" Zayne asked.

"Of you? Never."

The woman laughed, and I took a sip of my drink.

She was clearly intoxicated.

Not that it concerned me.

"Are you here alone?" Draven asked, his voice considerably softer than Zayne's.

"Do I look like I brought an entire village with me?" she replied.

Zayne burst into laughter.

"I like her already."

"That's unfortunate," Draven said. "You like everyone."

"Not everyone. Just the pretty ones." She said, so confident…too confident for a woman. I dislike that.

Her eyes moved between them.

"You're both handsome. Is that a family thing?"

"Something like that," Zayne replied, leaning closer. "I'm Zayne, by the way. This is Draven, and the miserable one over there is Kael."

I lifted my glass slightly.

"Don't mind him," Draven added. "He's always like that."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Unpleasant."

Zayne laughed again.

The woman turned towards me, studying my face.

"Kael," she repeated, as though testing the name. "You're handsome too. You just look like you need a hug."

I almost choked on my drink.

Zayne slapped the table.

"Finally! Someone said it!"

I gave him a cold look.

"Enjoy your evening, Zayne."

"Oh, I intend to."

I returned my attention to my glass.

The woman was already smiling at him again, her fingers playing with the stem of her drink.

She had an unusual confidence for someone who could barely keep her eyes focused. Zayne seemed entertained by it, while Draven kept glancing at her nearly empty glass.

"Maybe you should slow down," Draven suggested.

She waved him off.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"That's what everyone says before they start making terrible decisions."

"Are you always this boring?"

"Only when someone is trying to drink themselves into a hospital."

She laughed, then turned towards Zayne.

"At least your brother knows how to have fun."

"Which one?" Zayne asked, placing a hand against his chest. "Me?"

"Obviously."

He leaned back with a satisfied smile.

I took another sip.

It was exactly the kind of nonsense I had expected from him.

Then the woman reached for Zayne's hand.

Before either of them could say anything, she pulled it towards herself and placed his palm against her chest…opened her shirt and let Zayne grab her boobs.

Fuck, she's wild.

She was smiling as though she had just handed him a present.

Zayne's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, hello there…you are such a brave naughty woman..”

But her smile disappeared.

Her brows drew together, and her fingers tightened around his wrist.

"What the hell?"

Draven straightened.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

Her breathing had changed. She pressed a hand against the centre of her chest, her lips parting as though she were struggling to draw in air.

I lowered my glass.

Something was wrong.

A strange pressure suddenly settled beneath my ribs.

I stiffened.

The pain came without warning, sharp enough to make my fingers tighten around the glass. My chest burned, and for one ridiculous second, I couldn't hear the music or the conversations surrounding us.

I looked down.

What the fuck?

My wolf, which had spent most of the evening curled in the back of my mind, suddenly surged awake.

Its claws scraped against my insides.

Mate.

The word slammed through my head.

I went still.

No.

Absolutely fucking not.

My gaze snapped towards the woman.

She was staring at her chest, her face twisted in confusion. Zayne had released her hand, and Draven was now leaning towards her.

"Hey, look at me," Draven said. "What's happening?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know….who are you three?" She asked, like we three, the reason she was having the reaction she was having.

Another wave of pain struck my chest…fuvkz What's this?

My glass slipped slightly in my grip.

For the first time that night, I looked at her properly.

And my wolf did something I had never seen it do before.

It lowered its head.

Not in submission.

In recognition…

Mate…