Joel had moved out of the house he shared with Adele, although only temporarily—he needed space to “think.” From what Luke said, Joel was mostly upset that Adele had been communicating with her true mate behind his back, just as Mila had anticipated.

Each time Mila’s phone rang, Dominic tensed, and she knew he was expecting it to be Joel; expecting the other male to declare that he wanted Mila. While she doubted that would ever happen, Dominic wasn’t so sure. He also wasn’t so sure that they should be going out tonight, but Mila was done “lying low.” He’d tuck her away in his sock drawer if he could. “We all agreed that this is the right move,” she reminded him.

Sitting on the bed, he watched her through broody eyes. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Crossing to him, Mila straddled his lap and linked her fingers behind his nape. “I know why you’re worried, and I get it. But my cat is chomping at the bit. She won’t last much longer if I keep her confined here. Don’t think I can’t sense how edgy and restless your wolf is, Dominic.” Her cat was the same. The feline had been seriously moody, lashing out at Mila and just about anyone who came too close. “We’re hurting our animals by keeping them here.”

“And we could hurt them by leaving.”

Mila sighed. It was hard to be annoyed with him when she could feel his tension just as easily as she could feel her own. The strength with which she felt the echoes of his emotions had increased over time, and she knew the imprinting bond was close to forming. Could almost taste the promise of it.

“We already had this conversation in Trey’s office,” she said. “Everyone voted that we continue our lives as normal, starting with me performing at the Velvet Lounge tonight.”

“Not everyone. I voted that we give it another week. Emmet—”

“I’m well aware that he’ll eventually strike one way or another. However, I’m not convinced he’ll do it via the extremists.”

“I am.” Dominic splayed his hands on her back and pulled her closer. “Emmet will blame us for what Rosemary did, and he won’t let it go. The extremists are like loaded guns, and Pierson can easily aim them in our direction. He used the media to rile them up before. They haven’t acted yet, but they’re probably just biding their time—and probably at his order.”

“Maybe. But we can’t live like this, Dominic.” She caught his face with her hands. “Let’s stick to what we agreed earlier. We resurface, give him the opportunity to strike in whatever fashion he chooses, and then we deal with him—we end this once and for all.”

Dominic clenched his teeth. “Mila—”

“It’s unlikely that he’ll act tonight. He’ll want to lure us into believing he has no intention of coming at us. That way we lower our guards and make things easy for him. But we won’t. We’ll be ready.

“Besides, humans can’t enter the club unless they’re mated to a shifter, so there’s no way for the extremists to get inside. Which is why I don’t think Trey, Taryn, and Dante need to come with us tonight, but I won’t fight it. Alex and my parents will be joining us later, remember? I’ll be safe at the club.”

Dominic blinked. Safe? “You were attacked by a jackal there not so long ago.”

“The price is gone from my head, and I don’t believe Dean is still a threat. The hit was never about me. It was about Adele and Joel. If the asshole does try to enter the club, the doormen will detain him anyway. Harley showed pictures of him to all the staff.” Mila gave Dominic a light kiss. “It’ll be fine. And you know you like watching me perform while lounging in VIP.”

Gripping her hips tightly, Dominic pinned her gaze. “I won’t be waiting for you in VIP. I’ll be in the greenroom with you, and then I’ll wait in the wings while you’re onstage so that I can get to you fast if I need to.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she said, “All right, if it’ll make you feel better.”

“What will make me feel better is getting you back here, in this bed, and pounding my cock into you.”

“So romantic.”

He just grunted.

A smile crept onto her face. “You’re cute when you’re surly.”

“I’m not surly,” he clipped, sounding . . . well, surly. In which case, he lost his ground. With a put-out sigh, Dominic stood. “You ready?”

“I’m ready.”

As planned, the Alphas and Dante rode with them to the club. Mila kept her window down the entire time, enjoying the feel of the fresh air on her face, inhaling it like she’d been trapped in a bunker for months.

It hadn’t mattered that Phoenix Pack territory was vast and peaceful. Simply knowing that she couldn’t leave the territory had slowly driven her and her cat crazy. Which was why she’d proposed going to the club tonight. Performing would not only help her relax, it would rid her of that feeling of being suffocated. She never felt freer than when she was performing.

When they finally pulled up outside the club, Mila raised a brow at Dominic. “No one followed us?”

He shook his head. “No.” Sliding out of the SUV, he gave the area a once-over but saw nothing shady. Still, his scalp prickled, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It was probably paranoia on his part, given how worried he was for Mila, but the bad feeling remained.

Taryn and Trey walked ahead of them into the club while Dante covered their backs. Dominic could sense that being surrounded by so many defenses was pricking at Mila’s pride, just as he sensed her impatience. She no doubt believed they were being overcautious. Still, she was humoring them.

The scents of beer, hair spray, and various breeds of shifter swirled around him. His mouth tightened as he scanned the club. Despite the dim lighting, Dominic could see that the place was packed. Waitresses carefully weaved through the tables, most of which had been claimed. The dance floor was crowded with people dancing, hooting, grinding, and flirting. The bar was lined with patrons, and others stood in clusters here, there, and everywhere.

It was a security nightmare.

Trey sidled up to Dominic. “We’ll escort you and Mila to the greenroom, and then we’ll hang out in the VIP area where we can best keep an eye on things.” The area was on a raised platform, so it would definitely give the wolves a better view of the club.

The Mercury Pack would have the security covered, and Dominic trusted them to be on the ball. But Mila was his mate—the more protection she had, the better. Like Mila, his pack mates didn’t think Pierson would act so fast, but Dominic wasn’t taking any chances.

Shielding Mila’s body with his own, Dominic shouldered his way through the crowds. People called out hellos, seeming surprised to see them. They were especially surprised by the claiming marks that Mila and Dominic wore, so he assumed that they hadn’t believed the news that he was mated.

Reaching the greenroom, Trey and Dante did a quick but thorough scan of the space. Satisfied, Dante nodded at Dominic. “It’s clear. I’d advise you to lock the door behind us.”

Which was exactly what Dominic did, leaving him and Mila alone. He rolled back his shoulders. They were so stiff, they ached.