Page 150 of Dead Girls Don’t Forget

He grinned, sweat still dripping down his temples. “Thanks.”

We moved toward the family and friends area together. Thomas hadn’t shown. No surprise. A few of the wolf parents clapped Jackson on the back with respectful nods as we passed. The alpha’s son. The heir. The one who had just delivered exactly what was expected of him.

Others were less subtle. A couple of the mothers wrinkled their noses when they caught my scent. One man looked straight through me like I wasn’t there. Another woman gave me a flat, open look of dislike before turning away. They did not make it a secret of how they felt about cats.

The rest of the meet barely registered. Awards, cooldowns, loading gear. Before I knew it, everyone was drifting back toward the buses. On the ride home, the women’s side stayed quiet. Cassidy sat with her wrapped ankle propped up and the ice pack slowly melting against it, staring out the window in silence. The rest of us were flat and defeated. Even the men’s win couldn’t cut through the sour taste left by Naomi’s stunt and our own poor finish.

Later that evening, I stood in front of the mirror adjusting the last pieces of my Britney costume. Pleated skirt, white shirt tied high under my chest, pigtails, and a lollipop. I wanted it to be a surprise for Jackson. He had gotten ready at his place, and we were supposed to meet at the party.

A loud knock sounded at the door. I opened it to find Cassidy in a white toga with her laurel crown sitting slightly askew and one crutch under her arm. She took one look at me and her mouth fell open.

“Holy shit, Harper. You went full Britney fantasy. He’s going to lose his mind when he sees you. I love it.” She grinned despite the pain. “Now let’s go. I didn’t hobble all the way over here just to sit on your couch.”

“You’re supposed to be resting that ankle.”

“Resting is for quitters. Come on.”

I grabbed my phone and keys while she waited by the door, already looking impatient.

Twenty minutes later, we reached the off-campus house. The beat pulsed heavy and insistent from inside. The party was well outside pack territory, but half the wolves on campus had shown up anyway.

The moment we stepped inside I started mapping exits out of habit, noting the front door, the kitchen side door, and the sliding glass at the back. Rick was in swim trunks pretending to be an Olympian. Jason had gone full Thor with a foam hammer. Lia was dressed as Catwoman. Naomi strutted through the crowd in a red devil costume, already drawing attention.

Music slammed against the walls. Someone laughed too loud near the kitchen.

The house was stifling. Too many bodies packed into too little space, and the heat pressed in from every side.

Then I felt the familiar pull through the bond.

Jackson stood at the top of the staircase in a cowboy hat pulled low, flannel shirt open over bare chest and abs, toy gun hanging at his hip. He looked like sin wrapped in denim. The second his eyes found me, he started down the stairs like a predator who had already decided on his prey.

Cassidy muttered beside me, “He looks like he walked out of a Wild West wet dream.”

A girl in a nurse outfit reached for his arm as he passed. He shrugged her off without even looking at her and kept coming straight for me.

A possessive growl tore from my throat before I could stop it.

Cassidy blinked. “Did you just growl?”

I ignored her. The second he reached me, he pulled me hard against him, one big hand splaying across my lower back as he brought me flush to his chest. His voice came out low and rough.

“And you, darlin’, are the sexiest Britney I’ve ever seen.”

I slid the lollipop from my mouth slowly. “That so, cowboy?”

His eyes darkened. He pressed his face into the curve of my neck and inhaled deeply. A low, hungry sound rumbled in his chest.

“You smell so fucking good. Sweeter than usual. Makes me want to bite.”

Cassidy was forgotten the second he pulled me toward the makeshift dance floor. Music thumped heavy and insistent through the floorboards. We moved together like we were the only ones in the room, bodies locked, hips rolling slow and dirty. His grip slid lower, fingers digging into my ass under the tiny skirt as he ground against me. I hooked one leg around his thigh and tangled my fingers in his hair, tugging just hard enough to draw another growl from his chest.

We lost track of time. The rest of the party faded into heat and noise until only Jackson existed. His hands on me. His scent wrapped around me. The bond burning hot between us.

That is why I almost missed them. Through the press of bodies I caught a flash of red near the edge of the room. Naomi was leading, a man trailing close at her shoulder. They weren’t dancing. They were cutting a straight path toward the DJ booth.

The music cut abruptly a few seconds later. Naomi climbed onto the small platform and tapped the microphone.

“Sorry to interrupt. I just have something I think people deserve to know.”