Chapter 7: Julien

After Julien left Lacey in her bedroom, he headed down the hallway with her yelling for someone to let her out. Some well-dressed men and women—probably her friends or siblings—were standing at the other end of the hallway, giving him a wide berth. "No one is to let her out but me. Is that understood?"

They looked at each other and then back at him and burst out laughing "Sure! We'll take care of it," one of the young women said.

When he reached the top of the stairs, everyone clapped, hooted, and hollered.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands. "The show's over." As he skipped down the stairs headed toward the bar, he wondered why no one was angry that he had treated Lacey that way, but he had to show her who was boss.

He would liked to have thought it was the Alpha in him, but it wasn't. Shara was his previous pledge and had broken his heart. Even though it had been years ago, the wound was just as fresh and raw now as the day she had told him that she had found another Mate.

That was why he had agreed to take a mate sight unseen. A business arrangement was what he needed. No complications, no more broken heart.

Since Shara left, Julien hadn't felt that way about another woman… until he heard Lacey bravely facing off in the clearing with not just one or two wolves, but nine. He shook his head at the memory. Facing off nine wolves alone was too much to ask of anyone, even the bravest of warriors.

As soon as he saw her, something about her bravery had his wolf seething to protect her. Immediately, he phased into his wolf and ran into the clearing, so quick that his pack didn't have enough time to catch up.

So together, he and this lone wolf had run off nine. During the fight, he was shocked that she didn't leave him to face the rogue Wildclaws alone. Instead, she had stayed, and fought bravely by his side. Then when she phased and he saw her exquisite body and her beauty, he knew that she was his… the Mate that he had been waiting for, but he had been pledged to marry the Silver Pack Alpha Princess. He thought that she was probably snobby and weak since she was part of a Royal Family. So although he knew it was sure to cause a ruckus, he decided to go to the mansion to break it off.

Julien just about fell over when Lacey walked in and her father introduced her as the Alpha Princess. His wolf had early leapt from his chest to claim her.

But right now, he needed a drink. "Bourbon, neat."

The bartender set a napkin and an On the Rocks glass on the counter and started pouring. "Start your engines, huh?" The shifter bartender smiled.

Julien's eyes flared, but he didn't growl. The poor guy seemed nice enough.

"So, where's your… pledge?" asked Scarlett, his Beta. Julien was going to leave her back at the castle, but she had insisted that she come along… just in case. Now, Julien wondered if it was a good decision. His pledge was upstairs alone and so was he, but he needed time to think. Lacey had claimed him without even knowing.

"Upstairs," Julien breathed into the glass and then downed it. Then he raised his chin, nodding toward the bartender. "Another and keep 'em coming."

Scar seductively trailed her finger down the length of his arm. "Are you sure she's what you want?"

Julien shrugged away. "Yes, I'm sure." Scar had been his best friend, and fierce warrior, for years. And when Shara left, Scar was there to pick up the pieces. Over the years, Julien had come to depend upon her to help him with the pack dealings.

After Sharra, he thought that he had found his mate with Scar, but when he met Lacey, everything changed.

"Well...." She wrapped her arms around his neck, biting her lower lip seductively. "You're pledged, not married or a Mated Pair yet." She shrugged. "I could think of something we could do to pass the time."

Julien slammed the glass down onto the bar, nearly breaking it, and peeled her arms off him. "From here on out, you are my Beta… nothing more. I am pledged to my mate and Alpha Queen now."

Scar scoffed. "Then why is she upstairs? At the very least, shouldn't you be with her?"

Julien growled, his nose just inches from hers. "The goings on between my pledge and myself is none of your business. Now. Unless you'd like me to forcibly take you to your room, too, I suggest you let it go." Then he downed another drink and headed toward his room… alone.