Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother Chapter 17

Erin's POV

My breath caught in my throat as our eyes locked across the crowded club. Even from this distance, Derek's presence left me dizzy and off-balance.

His steel-gray eyes held mine with an intensity that made my skin flush hot despite the club's air conditioning. A shiver raced down my spine, part terror, part something far more dangerous—desire.

The moment shattered when someone tapped my shoulder, breaking the invisible thread that seemed to connect us across the room.

I blinked rapidly, feeling as though I'd been yanked back into my body from somewhere else. I turned to find a bartender looking at me expectantly, his face blurring slightly as my wolf reluctantly retreated.

"What can I get you?" he asked, raising his voice over the pounding music that suddenly seemed too loud.

"Water is fine," I replied, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears. My fingers trembled as I clutched the edge of the bar, desperately trying to ground myself in reality.

Amy appeared at my side, rolling her eyes dramatically. Her familiar scent helped push back the lingering traces of cedar and leather that had filled my senses moments before.

"Water? I think you should have a real drink tonight," she said, nudging me playfully.

"But I don't drink," I protested. I'd never wanted to dull my senses before, never wanted to risk losing control.

But tonight, with the weight of rejection crushing me and Derek's eyes still burning into me from across the room, losing control suddenly seemed like sweet relief.

"Come on," Amy insisted, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "You just went through your first full transformation. You're a real adult werewolf now. You can have some fun in your life."

She squeezed my arm. "Forget all about Derek and Bradley drama for one night. Let's have some drinks, okay? Then we'll dance."

"I'll make sure you get home safe," Jack promised, appearing behind Amy.

"No need," Amy said with a mischievous grin. "I already got permission from my parents. We're going straight to my place."

I hesitated, glancing back toward the VIP section. Derek was still watching me, his expression unreadable. Maybe Amy was right. Maybe I deserved one night to forget about these things.

"Fine," I conceded. "One drink."

Amy whooped in delight and turned to the bartender. "Three Wolf Bites, please!"

The bartender nodded, quickly mixing a clear liquid with something that glowed slightly blue under the club lights.

When the drinks arrived, I stared at mine suspiciously. The scent was potent—sharp alcohol mixed with something herbal that made my nose tingle.

"Bottoms up!" Amy declared, raising her glass.

I took a tentative sip and nearly choked as liquid fire scorched its way down my throat.

My wolf recoiled violently, like an animal caught in a trap, howling her displeasure through every nerve ending in my body. The sensation was so foreign, so unexpected, that for a moment we were both paralyzed by it.

"My throat is burning!" I gasped, eyes watering, the words scratching past my raw throat.

"You'll get used to it," Jack assured me with a knowing smile, taking another sip of his own drink. His eyes reflected blue in the club lights, making him look almost feral.

I took another sip. This time, I braced for the burn, and it felt different. The liquid heat spread through me, and my wolf paused her frantic pacing, suddenly curious.

By the third sip, she had stopped protesting quite so loudly, instead watching with wary fascination as our shared senses began to blur at the edges.

By the time I finished the glass, a delicious warmth had spread through my limbs, melting away the rigid control I'd maintained for months. The club's jarring sensory assault softened, the harsh edges blurring into something almost pleasant.

The music no longer felt too loud, and the mixture of unfamiliar wolf scents became less offensive. In fact, there was something oddly freeing about being surrounded by so many wolves, all letting loose without worrying about Pack politics.

"Another?" Amy asked, already signaling the bartender.

"I shouldn't," I said, but my protest lacked conviction. The second drink went down easier than the first, and the third easier still.

"Let's dance!" Amy grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the crowded dance floor.

"Hey! What about me?" Jack called after us.

"Do you need a special invitation, omega boy?" Amy teased, her eyes sparkling.

\---

As we pushed through the throng of bodies, I caught the glares of several higher-ranking female wolves, their disapproval hitting me in waves of sour-scented hostility.

Several male wolves, on the other hand, watched with undisguised interest, their gazes sliding over my body like physical touches that made my skin prickle.

Those stares would have sent me scurrying to the darkest corner, head down, shoulders hunched, trying to make myself invisible. But tonight—whether from the liquid courage burning through my veins or simply bone-deep exhaustion with caring what others thought—I found myself not giving a damn.

The music wasn't just sound anymore—it was a living thing, a heartbeat that synchronized with mine, vibrating through the soles of my feet and up into my chest.

My wolf, who had spent months cowering and whimpering inside me, suddenly sprang forward with unexpected joy. For once, we weren't fighting each other—we were dancing together, a perfect harmony of human and wolf.

I closed my eyes, raising my arms above my head, my body swaying and spinning with an abandoned grace I hadn't known I possessed.

My hips rolled with the beat, my hair coming loose from its pins to whip around my face. I wasn't thinking anymore, wasn't planning or worrying or regretting. I was just... being. Just dancing. Just free.

I lost track of time as we danced, the alcohol making everything pleasantly hazy. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the crowd was thickening, wolves gathering around the VIP section where a large cake decorated with moons and wolves had appeared.

Midnight approached, and the entire club began counting down. When they reached zero, the lights dimmed until only blue illumination—mimicking moonlight—remained.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the DJ announced, "let's celebrate our birthday girl, Amy, on her first full moon after coming of age!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Amy was ushered toward the cake. I clapped along, genuinely happy for my friend despite the hollow ache in my chest.

When the lights came back up, I noticed Amy staring at Jack with an expression of pure shock, as if she'd just witnessed the Luna herself materialize. Her eyes flickered gold—her wolf clearly visible just beneath the surface.

In that moment, I understood exactly what was happening.

"My wolf recognized you..." she whispered to Jack, her voice trembling with awe and fear and wonder all at once.

I felt hot tears welling in my eyes, a complicated knot of emotions tangling in my chest. Tenderly, I pushed Jack toward Amy.

Their wolves had recognized each other at the perfect moment—Amy's birthday, under symbolic moonlight, surrounded by friends and celebration.

Not all wolves were like the Stone brothers, it seemed. Some actually embraced their Soul Bonds when they found them.

Amy cut the cake with trembling hands, feeding me the first piece, then offering one to Jack with a shy smile that I'd never seen on my confident friend before. Their fingers brushed as he accepted it, and the connection between them was almost visible.

I drifted away to give them privacy, finding myself back at the bar. The bartender kept my glass filled with the glowing blue liquid without me having to ask.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Amy and Jack kissing, their wolves clearly responding to each other—a beautiful, sacred communion of souls that made the air around them seem to shimmer.

I forced myself to look away, the sight too intimate, too precious, too painful to witness.

It was a visceral reminder of what I'd once thought I had with Bradley, back when people smiled indulgently and called us "the perfect werewolf couple."

The memory of finding him with Lily crashed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me in fresh grief. Their tangled limbs, her triumphant smile, his pathetic excuses.

\---

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. The walls seemed to close in, the ceiling pressing down. My skin felt too tight, my dress constricting. My wolf, who had been dancing so joyfully just minutes before, now clawed frantically at my insides, desperate to escape the suffocation.

“Out. Need out. NOW.”

Her panic fed mine in a vicious cycle. My heart raced, sweat beading on my forehead. I stood up so quickly my vision swam with black spots. I needed air, space, silence. I stumbled toward a side exit, barely aware of the concerned glances following me.

"Omega, where are you going?" a voice stopped me. I turned to see a man in an Enforcer uniform watching me with narrowed eyes.

"I just need some air," I managed, my words slightly slurred.

He studied me for a moment, then pointed toward the VIP section. "The Alpha is over there. He wants to see you."

Who? I didn’t catch his words. My gaze followed his direction, and through my alcohol-blurred vision, I saw a tall figure in a black suit sitting alone on one of the leather couches.

As I approached, the man looked up, and even through my alcohol-blurred vision, those steel-gray eyes glinted dangerously in the dim light.

When I reached him, gravity seemed to shift. The floor tilted beneath my feet, and I practically collapsed onto the couch beside him, my limbs no longer under my control.

His arm shot out with inhuman speed, strong fingers catching me around the waist before I could tumble to the floor. The touch seared through the thin fabric of my dress like a brand, sending white-hot electricity racing across my skin.

My head fell forward, finding the solid warmth of his chest. I breathed in that intoxicating scent that had haunted my dreams for months—cedar and leather and something uniquely, dangerously him.

In my alcohol-addled state, I murmured against his strong chest the name of the man who had broken my heart:

"Bradley..."