Chapter 14
Xena’s POV
“What’s Ama short for?” William asked, his eyes never leaving her face.
“Amara,” she replied, her voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
“Such a beautiful name.” William’s fingers brushed lightly against her cheek, and I swear I
could see Ama melting under his touch.
I leaned closer to Ryder and whispered, “Is he always like this?” My movement caused Samuel to snort beside me. I could feel his disapproval radiating through our pack link.
“No, he’s acting weird today,” Ryder replied, his green eyes studying his friend with
curiosity.
“You think they’re mates?” I asked, watching the pair who seemed lost in their own world.
“We’ll know soon enough.” Ryder showed me his watch. Fifteen minutes until midnight- when Ama would officially turn eighteen and would know for certain if William was her
destined mate.
“Let’s dance!” Cindy exclaimed excitedly, already tugging on Leonard’s arm. He stood up, allowing her to drag him away. He threw a questioning glance at Samuel and me. “X!
Samuel!”
I shook my head, declining his invitation without looking at Samuel’s expression. Leonard frowned slightly before following Cindy into the crowd.
“Don’t want to dance?” Logan asked, looking at me curiously.
“I do, but I’m more interested in seeing what happens here.” I nodded toward William and Ama, who were still completely absorbed in each other.
“Me too!” Keira bounced excitedly in her seat. “What if we’re destined mates? We’ll know
soon!”
I felt Logan’s discomfort at her words. He tugged at his collar nervously. Ryder leaned
closer to me. “He doesn’t want her as his mate?”
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I gave him a polite smile but didn’t answer. He seemed to take my silence as confirmation.
“She doesn’t exactly meet Luna standards,” Ryder nodded in understanding.
Before I could respond, a bartender approached our table, looking stressed. “Ms. Xena, I’m so sorry to bother you, but we have a problem.”
“What is it?” I straightened up immediately.
“The beer tap system is malfunctioning, and we can’t figure out how to fix it.‘
“Damn. Give me a minute, I’ll be right there.” She sighed with relief and walked away.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” Ryder asked suddenly, leaning in closer.
“Kill a mockingbird,” I said, meeting his intense green eyes with a playful smirk.
“Can’t you ever be serious?” He frowned slightly.
“Occasionally.” I plucked the cherry from my drink and placed it between my teeth
teasingly.
I could feel Ryder’s gaze on me, an electric current flowing between us. I wasn’t sure why I was flirting with him like this, but something about those deep green eyes made me lose
all common sense. For a moment, I forgot where we were, forgot that we barely knew each other. I just wanted to know what would happen if I crossed that line-
A primal growl interrupted my thoughts. William was staring at Ama intently. “Mate,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“Mate,” she echoed softly, and then they were kissing. The air around them was charged
with intensity, but they were barely controlling themselves.
“Well then,” I said, starting to slide out of the booth.
“Where are you going?” Logan asked.
“To fix the bar equipment?” I replied, confused by his question.
“I’ll come with you.” Logan sighed, starting to rise.
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“No! I want to dance!” Keira complained, pouting at him. Logan’s expression turned
annoyed.
“I’ll go with her. I promise, I’ll protect her,” Ryder offered, easing the tension.
“I don’t need saving,” I muttered irritably as I left the booth. The word ‘protect‘ grated on
my nerves–I’d never needed anyone to protect me, and no one could anyway.
“What kind of saving are you referring to?” Ryder caught up quickly, grabbing my arm at the first corner and whispering in my ear. His sexy voice made my knees weak.
“All kinds,” I managed to say.
“From where I’m standing, you need at least one kind of saving, or is my nose deceiving me?” The gleam in his eyes caught me off guard as his gaze dropped to my lips.
“I” I couldn’t form words. My body was gravitating toward him against my better
judgment. Deep down, a voice was screaming for me to keep my distance, but another
voice encouraged me to move closer. There was something magnetic about Ryder that I
couldn’t resist, like an invisible thread pulling us together.
“Ryder! There you are!” I heard Helen’s voice from behind him. I was around the corner,
while Ryder was fully exposed, so Helen probably only saw him.
I quickly stepped back, composing myself. As I hurried toward the stairs, I glanced back to
see Helen jumping into Ryder’s arms. When she pressed her lips against his, his eyes
found mine.
For some reason, the sight stung. I tried to tell myself it shouldn’t affect me–after all,
Ryder and I were nothing to each other–but the ache in my chest was undeniable. I was just a stranger; I shouldn’t feel this way, shouldn’t feel heartbroken seeing him with
someone else. It was ridiculous–I barely knew him.
I reached the bar’s back area and took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus on the
problem at hand. “It’s here. We changed the keg, but it’s not working,” the bartender from earlier explained.
I walked behind the bar and noticed they hadn’t reset the system. “You have to shut down the machine first, connect everything, and then reset it.” I demonstrated the process, then
went to the front to test it.
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“Oh my god, thank you!” she exclaimed as beer flowed properly from the tap.
“No problem!” Truthfully, after what just happened, my enthusiasm for the night had diminished considerably. I was ready to go home, but Ama was still here, and I couldn’t leave her behind. I’d have to wait until she was ready to leave.
Unconsciously, I looked up toward where Ryder and Helen were. I tried to appear indifferent, but the disappointment inside me was impossible to suppress. I told myself it was just hormones, just a normal reaction to an attractive man, but deep down, I knew it was more than that.
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