“Nothing.”
Slamming the door, he pushed her against the wall. “You smell just like him, Raven. Your mate is out there ready to go to his property and tear him apart. If Lennox and Cosmo hadn’t knocked him out, he would—”
“They knocked him out?” She pushed her brother backward. “If they hurt him…”
“I knew it. I knew you loved him.”
“Is he hurt? Is he okay?” Raven pleaded.
Her brother snorted. “He’ll have a headache, but he will be fine. However, the first time he sees Wyatt Benjamin, he’s going to kill him.”
“Leo, I’m going to tell you a story. But you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”
“Where did she go?” Caz asked, rubbing his head. “Who hit me?”
Leo smiled, shaking his head. “Well, the alpha hit you first and then Cosmo hit you again. They said you had the hardest head and wouldn’t go down with the first punch. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, they felt really bad about it.”
“Yeah, I feel how bad they felt. Where is she, Leo?”
“With Haven getting her dress for the masquerade ball tonight.”
Getting up from the bed, he started looking for his pants. Leo watched as he frantically opened his closet pulling out a pair of blue jeans. He could see it all over Caz. He was going to find her. She was his mate and she wasn’t going anywhere near that other man.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Caz glanced up at him. “To get my mate.”
Leo went into the bathroom as Caz dressed and shook up the potion and poured it on a cloth napkin. Without getting Caz’s attention, he grabbed him and pushed the cloth against his nose and mouth. He thought for sure the tiger was going to bust loose, but Caz fell back against him. He softly rolled him over and placed him comfortably on the bed.
“I hope you don’t stay mad at me,” Leo said, closing the door behind him.
Picking up his phone, he called Raven. “Hey, well, he’s out cold right now.”
Leo listened to his sister, rolling his eyes as he changed in his bedroom. The party was in two hours and he needed to be ready to roll out. “I didn’t hit him. Plus, you can’t hurt his big fat head. I will pick you up at the store and we can go from there. No, the alpha doesn’t have a clue. Okay, okay. Got it. Be there in a few.”
“Women,” Leo said out loud. “What part of let me handle this does she not understand.”
Archie was an idiot, but he was a cunning idiot and a liar. They both knew this was a trap, but the only way this would work was to let Raven be taken. They inserted the tracking chip underneath her skin on her left arm. Of course, they would take her phone, but she had another plan. One that included some help. He would let the alpha know, but they had to do some things first.
Opening his door, Lennox was about to knock. “Hey. Have you checked on Caz because he’s still asleep? I didn’t think I hit him hard enough to put him out this long.”
“Uhh, yeah.” Leo stepped forward making his alpha step back. He had to check on the meeting place to make sure the cameras were up. That was supposed to be handled. His alpha stared at him as if he knew something.
“Why are you already dressed for the ball?”
“Oh, well, Raven is getting fitted so I’m going to wait with her and we will go together,” Leo said, but when his alpha narrowed his eyes at him. He knew the jig was up.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re a distrusting kind of person and always believe we are up to something,” Leo said, making his smile bigger than usual.
“Don’t push me—"
Walking backward, Leo laughed and said, “Come on, Alpha. Pretty women will be there tonight. You know I’ve got to scout them out. All of us don’t have a mate, you know.”
“Still don’t believe you,” Lennox said, shaking his head as he watched him leave.
He had to go and go now. Before they woke Caz and before they got to the ball. This had to work because his alpha was going to have his head on a stick when the man found out. And the possibility of this blowing up in his face was huge. Also, losing his sister forever to a bunch of nuts was another problem.
Chapter Nineteen
“Goodness, I knew I was right,” Haven whispered.
Raven glanced up in the mirror. “What? What’s wrong?”
“That you are beautiful in this dress. Look at yourself, woman. The green glistens like the sea water on my honeymoon. The sparkles are just like I remember. Oh, Raven, I will think of my honeymoon every time I see you in this dress.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Haven was such a wonderfully sweet woman. She never got involved in anything, but her power was there, and she had seen what she could do with it. “It’s a beautiful dress, Haven. Thank you for letting me wear it. I will be careful and give it right back to you after the ball.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Haven asked.
“Yes, I promise.”
Haven backed up and stared at her in the mirror. “I made this dress for you, Raven. Nobody else will have another one like it. Oh, I may make one similar, but nobody will have all the details I put into it. And this is your dress to keep.”
“Me. You’re giving it to me...but why?” Raven turned and stared at the woman. This was an expensive dress. It had to be worth thousands of dollars.
Haven snorted. “Because we’re friends and pack mates. You never dress up and I want this dress to show your beauty that you hide from everyone. Now they will see the true Raven. Look.” Holding a box in her hand, Haven opened the top. “This is your mask. I made it to look like a Raven, but with color. What do you think?”
Her mouth fell open as she looked inside the box. “Haven, this is too much. I can’t possibly take this.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. You are my muse at this ball and I’m going to sell a lot of dresses to some of these people coming from the big cities. They will see you and ask, who is that? Then they will say and who made that dress?” Haven wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Get my gist?”
Raven lifted the mask out of the box. “They already know who you are Haven Fitzgerald. From what I hear, New York and all the major cities have your clothes in their high-end department stores. You are simply Haven, but I appreciate this more than you know.”
“Your mate is going to flip out when he sees you.”
Looking away, she stepped down and put the mask over her eyes. “He flips out enough. Maybe I just need a calm night. One where he’s not trying to take someone's head off.”
“He loves you, Raven. It’s just the mating pull. I would like to tell you that it gets better but...well, it does but it takes a while. But it never goes away and wait until it starts with you. Anyone who looks at your mate, you, my friend, will want to take their head off. It did for me. Even now it’s hard to see women look at my man. I want to strike out, but I’ve started to calm down and control my temper.”
“It hasn’t hit me like that yet, and to be honest, I don’t want it to. Why would I want to be with him all the time? Do you want to be with Cosmo all the time?”