Reconciliation by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Seventeen
Seth had taken Luka’s words to heart. He had monopolized his mate and would’ve been perfectly happy with just Luka in his home for eons if Luka had been content. But he reminded himself the wolf shifter was very young, and wolves were social animals – even loners like Luka had been. Then there was the doctor work. That had to involve his mate being around people a lot of the time. Luka had talked about some of his funnier experiences, which Seth didn’t think were funny at all, but a common thread in all those stories were that they involved other people.
So, we’ll freaking socialize. Seth wasn’t keen and he wasn’t going to lie and say he was. The thought of being trapped in a room with crowds of people was not any part of his happy place. But once Luka had taken care of the bill, he’d escorted his mate away from the bright lights, and after checking no one else was around, translocated them to the club Paulie had recommended.
It was as crowded as Seth feared, and what was worse, there was a line of people waiting to get in. Queuing was a new experience, and not a pleasant one, but it was worse when they were finally let inside. The noise was horrendous, hitting Seth’s ears like a wave.
“How on earth can you cope with this racket?” Seth had to bend over so Luka could hear him.
“Let’s get a drink and find a quiet corner so we can get our bearings.” Luka grinned up at him, tugging on his arm. Seth let himself be dragged along, being jostled by people on all sides. The crowd in front of the bar was six deep, but Luka didn’t seem to mind waiting. He was happily watching men and a few women, of all sizes and shapes, throwing themselves around the dancefloor, or clustered around tables chattering with friends in excited high pitch sounds that sounded more like the squeals of a dying pig than a human having fun.
This is a punishment. I’m being punished for… Seth couldn’t think of anything he could’ve done to justify such cruel and inhuman treatment. If the noise level wasn’t bad enough, the stench of colognes, thinly hidden sweat, and alcohol was enough to turn his stomach. What I wouldn’t give for a breath of fresh air.
A big man, dressed entirely in leather, jostled Seth’s shoulder, causing him to growl. The man turned, arrogance and anger written all over his bushy face, but a lot of that arrogance disappeared as he had to crick his neck to see Seth’s face. “Sorry, bro,” the man mumbled as he tried to disappear into the crowd.
“Idiot,” Seth mumbled, but the crowd in front of him was moving and he finally found himself at the bar. Grabbing two beers on tap, Seth threw some cash on the counter, and scooped up the drinks, looking for Luka as he turned.
He was nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck.” Seth scanned the crowd. There were people everywhere. Having that mating light would be handy right now, Seth thought as he got jostled by even more people trying to get to the bar. The urge to force a wind blast through the party goers was intense enough to make his fingers itch. Dark hair, what color shirt was he wearing? Pale pink. Black pants. There were at least a dozen short men with dark hair within fucking touching distance, but none of them were his mate.
“Luka?” Seth was not about to make an ass of himself, but as he wiggled his way through the crowd, holding the beer glasses above heads so as not to drop them, he was tempted to use his god tone. Unfortunately, the last time he’d done that, during a famine in ancient Egypt, mortals were so overwhelmed they’d all fallen to their knees in fear.
“Fuck, where is he?”
“Looking for someone special, big boy, or will I do?”
Seth looked down to find a short person of indeterminate age, young and blond with makeup around his eyes that reminded Seth of Ra when he was being adored by the masses.
“You are not Luka.” Seth dismissed the youngster and continued scanning the crowds.
“Hey, I’m a catch, big guy.” The man was now plastered to Seth’s front, making Seth feel slightly ill. “I’ve got lips wide enough to suck like a hoover, and my ass will hug your cock like your mama did.”
“I don’t have a mama, and I have no idea what this hoover is you mention. Now would you please step aside. I’m here with someone and I must find him.”
“What does this someone of yours look like?”
Seth eyed the youngster. Can he help me find Luka? “Shorter than you, by three of your inches maybe. Pale pink shirt, black pants, dark haired with deep brown eyes.”
“Oh, babe, you won’t find your missing honey in here.” The youngster laughed. “Have you seen this crowd? It’s Bear night and all those hairy darlings are out looking for a new face. Face it, your best bet would be to hang around by the bathroom and hope that honey of yours is cute enough for someone to drag him in there for a blow job. Come on.” The youngster tugged at Seth’s arm, but Seth refused to move. “You might not be hairy but you’re big enough to get my juices running. You can dance with me so I can wow you with my moves.”
The dance floor. “Here.” Seth shoved the two glasses of beer at the youngster, pushing him backwards before pressing through the crowds, maybe with a touch more force than necessary. He could hear the youngster yell at him, but Seth didn’t care. Having that person pressed against him, sex evident in his glazed eyes… Seth shivered. He’d never felt so dirty, or nauseous.
It was worse on the dancefloor. It was like a clothed orgy, although in some cases those clothes weren’t doing a good job of covering the parts they were intended for. People writhing, flashes of skin and teeth, reminding Seth of snakes caught in a pit with nowhere to go but under and over each other. Men and women, big and small, jammed like salmon on a run all moving in a way that Seth didn’t recognize as dancing at all.
No sign of his wolf anywhere.
He wouldn’t leave me. Seth knew that. Luka was happy with him, and he wouldn’t have just gone off with someone else. Think, you idiot, think. Luka would hate the touch of another as much as I did. Which means…
Ignoring the throngs on the dance floor, Seth pushed his way through more people towards the darker corners of the club. It was easier this time, the club goers moving out of his way and that probably had a lot to do with the look on his face. Seth was livid. He knew someone was preventing his Luka from being by his side, and that was a killing offense in his book.
There was a small hallway leading to the bathrooms, and there was a queue there too. But to the side, slumped against the wall, was another dark-haired man being fussed over by a couple of his friends. It wasn’t the man’s looks that caught his attention, or the blood on the man’s t-shirt, it was the flash of torn pink the man was holding to his nose.
“You there.” Seth stood in front of the three men, causing one of them to jump and let out a startled squeak. “You’ve been hurt. What happened?”
“It was Jory,” one of the hurt man’s friends said, pointing past Seth to the dancefloor. “He’s a brute and poor Regan, all he said was no he didn’t want to dance. We all know what that asshole’s like, and he shoved Regan and pushed him really hard and then…”
“No.” Seth made a slashing movement through the air. “You said no, someone got violent, they should be dealt with. Take it up with the bouncer. That pink rag – where did you get it?”
“Oh, the guy was an absolute hero.” The other friend who was dressed in a glittery jacket with nothing underneath fisted his hands over his heart. “Little guy, never seen him in here before, but he must’ve seen what Jory was doing and he just flew across the floor…”
“I swear it was like he had wings or something,” his friend agreed. “He weighed like no more than a hundred pounds, but he pushed Jory away – pushed him like the brute was nothing and then brought Regan over to the bathrooms here. We couldn’t get in, but…”
“He tore his shirt off,” glitter guy cried. “It was so romantic. Ripping his shirt, holding it to Regan’s nose… oh, if I wasn’t into beards, I’d have offered to have his babies. He was just so…”
I hardly think you’re capable of childbirth. Seth cut in. “Where’s your hero now? He’s not here.”
“Oh no. He isn’t.” Glitter guy looked around. “He shouldn’t be far away. Some guy, looked a bit like your brother actually, but nowhere near as big, and did you cop a look at that gold shirt? Anyhow, that one grabbed our hero by the arm and dragged him off. Most rude if you ask me.”
“Looks like my brother.” Seth inhaled sharply, his magic tingling as he let out his breath, weaving a spell around the men and the air around them. The symbol of a falcon shimmered briefly and then disappeared, leaving Seth grinding his teeth in fury. My fucking brethren seriously need to learn to leave me and my mate alone.
