Page 100 of Brutal Reign

“Shhh, don’t worry, I’m incognito,” she slurs, swatting me away and reaching up to pull at the edges of her hood in demonstration.

“Sure, just because you’re wearing a hoodie, nobody’s gonna know it’s you,” Seb snorts, coming up on her other side and slinging an arm over her shoulders to guide her out of the crowd.

“But I’m camouflaged!” she protests, digging in her heels. “Like a ghost!”

“You’re drunk,” I mutter.

She makes a face at me, sticking out her tongue. “Am not!”

“Dude, we need to get her outta here,” Seb growls, still trying to get her to cooperate with his attempts to move away from the masses.

“We can’t bring her home like this,” I grit out.

He heaves an annoyed sigh, passing me his beer, grabbing River around the waist, and hoisting her up over his shoulder.

“Hey!” she squawks, flailing her limbs as Seb darts forward, making a mad dash back the way we came.

I hurry after him, ditching our beers in a trash can along the way, but we’ve just caused even more of a scene. People are starting to stare, and we need to get the fuck out of here before they realize who we are.

“The door!” I call out as I spot the nearest exit, jogging past Seb to push it open. I’m not even sure where it leads until I step through, realizing it’s an enclosed stairwell that provides access to the lodge’s many guest rooms.

Seb and I exchange glances, both of our wheels turning as we debate what to do next. We seem to land on the same conclusion without speaking a single word, simultaneously starting for the stairs.

River giggles as she’s jostled around on Seb’s shoulder while we climb them, seemingly enjoying the ride up. When we enter the hallway of the second floor, I dart in front to start trying the knobs for the doors lining either side, getting lucky on my third attempt and pushing open the door to room 209.

A musty scent greets me as soon as I step inside, dust clinging to the sparse furnishings from years of disuse. The curtains are thrown wide, the interior illuminated with pale moonlight. Seb follows me in and stalks over to a nearby chair, dumping River onto it as the door swings closed behind him.

“Where are we?” she laughs, sweeping her dark hair out of her face as she takes in her new surroundings.

I fold my arms, leaning back against the wall across from her with a heavy sigh. “You need to sober up.”

“How are you this wasted?” Seb questions, furrowing his brow. “We had the same number of beers.”

“Probably should’ve considered that she’s half our weight,” I mutter.

“I’m not even drunk,” River insists, pushing up to her feet. She sways, immediately losing her balance and dropping back down onto the chair with a giggle. “Okay, maybe a little,” she admits, biting her lip coyly.

A soft thud sounds as I drop my head back against the wall, scrubbing my hands down my face. “We’re so fucked.”

“No we’re not,” Seb grumbles, nudging me with an elbow as he comes to stand at my side. “We just need to wait for her shifter healing to kick in, right?”

“Right,” I grunt. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I stuff my hand in to grab it, the screen illuminating with atext message from Micah. “The guys are wondering where we went,” I mumble, opening the message and thumbing out a reply.

“They probably think we’re fooling around in here,” River giggles. “Why else would you take a girl up to one of the guest rooms?”

“Because she’s drunk off her ass,” Seb scoffs, rolling his eyes.

She grins at him, waggling her brows mischievously. “You sure you’re not trying to put the moves on me, Walker?”

His posture stiffens, eyes glazing over as he stares back at her silently, retreating somewhere in his own mind. Somewhere he has no business going, judging by the unmistakable heat burning behind his stare.

When her remark doesn’t provoke a snappy comeback from Seb, River swings her devious gaze on me instead, wetting her lips with her tongue. “What about you, Conway?” she asks, tilting her head.

My heart trips over its valves, breath stalling in my lungs. Does this girl have any idea what she’s saying right now?

No, of course she doesn’t. She’s wasted. She’s never flirty with either of us in the sober light of day; it’s just the booze talking.

My phone vibrates in my hand, the screen glowing as another text comes through. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath as I read it.