I pushed past people, scanning the room frantically with blurry eyes for Gia, before eventually settling on her dancing form at the edge of the crowd.

I made my way to her, wiping my tears away, attempting to not smudge my mascara. Gia looked at me, smiled, and then furrowed her brows, her eyes widening in shock. "Clara, are you crying?"

I nodded, sniffing.

"What happened?" she asked, grabbing me by the shoulders, looking deep into my green eyes, causing the tears to start flowing again.

"Some guy tried to touch me," I whimpered, shaking my head, still remembering how his slimy kisses felt against my pale skin.

"Oh my God, who?" demanded Gia, a scowl masking her face.

I shrugged, rubbing at my nose as I craned my head to see my mate make his way back to his group, a scowl plastered on his face.

Gia followed my gaze, and then growled. "Was it him?"

"No, he-" I called after Gia as she stormed towards my mate, her fists clenched.

I ran after her, telling her to stop, but she seemed to see red as she reached my mate, pushing at his solid chest as she growled. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Gia, stop!" I begged, avoiding the piercing gaze of my mate.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" growled my mate, his friends giving Gia and I confused looks.

"You can't touch women without their permission. You're disgusting!" yelled Gia, waving her finger at him. "She's crying because of you!"

I wiped at my wet cheeks, hoping that my eyes weren't too red. I didn't want my mate to see me in such a state.

"I'm not doing this," muttered my mate, pushing past us and making his way out of the club, causing his friends to raise their eyebrows at us.

"Gia, he didn't touch me. He's the one who stopped the guy!" I said, running my hand down my face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she mumbled, awkwardly looking up at the group of men who were staring at us questionably.

"He's my mate," I whispered to Gia, who gasped, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't know, I was just so angry that-"

"His mate?" asked one of the men, clearing his throat awkwardly.

I nodded, fiddling with my hands nervously as the men gave each other perplexed looks.

"Alpha Dylan doesn't do mates," spoke one of the men, chewing on his lip.

"What?" I asked, a stinging pain settling in my heart, making a wave of nausea rush over me.

"He's not a relationship guy, just don't get your hopes up."

Gia scowled up at the group, shaking her head. "You guys don't know what you're talking about."

The group of men shrugged at me as Gia pulled me away, rolling her eyes. "Where did your mate go?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I think he left."

"Go and check outside, I'll be waiting by the bar for you with more shots!" yelled Gia, smiling.

I chuckled to myself, breathing deeply as I started to walk towards the exit, my heart rate quickening at the thought of seeing my mate, who I knew wouldn't be too happy about Gia's accusation. As I reached the door, I squeezed past a few couples who were heavily making out, until the harsh wind hit me, sending my long brown hair flowing backwards.

I squinted through the night, looking around at the silhouettes of different people, trying to decide if they were Dylan or not. After deciding that he wasn't out front, I decided to round the corner, knowing it would be quieter, and would be a good place to think and get some fresh air.

I leaned back against the brick wall, enjoying the feeling of the cold concrete against my flushed body. I closed my eyes, letting out a heavy sigh, the strong wind almost making me topple over.

Suddenly, my deep breathing was interrupted by the strong smell of musk wafting up my nose and down into my lungs, causing me to shiver. I turned to see Dylan standing across from me, leaning against the wall opposite, his head tilted back and eyes closed.

I asked, taking a few steps towards him, almost stumbling over in the process.

Dylan watched me, his eyes tracing up and down my body, watching me intently.

"Are you okay?" I mumbled, biting on my bottom lip.

"I needed a minute," my mate replied, sighing heavily.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry about Gia, she's just-"

"Protective?" replied Dylan, raising his eyebrows.

I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip anxiously.

"Yeah, well, so am I."

I didn't know to respond, and I ended up just admiring my mate, taking in his beauty.

"Don't stare," he said, pushing himself off the wall, taking a step closer to me, causing me to gulp, a small smirk making its way up onto his face.

At the sound giggles and hushed whispers, Dylan turned his head to see a few girls standing next to us eyeing him up, batting their eyelashes at him flirtatiously, causing a wave of jealousy to wash over me, but I was soon calmed as my mate ignored their advances, a look of annoyance taking over as he turned so they could no longer make eye contact.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. "What happened to the guy?"

"The one that touched you?" asked Dylan, running his hands through his dark brown hair. "He's taken care of."

"What does that mean?" I questioned, my words slurring slightly.

"It means he's taken care of," growled Dylan, shaking his head.

"You didn't kill him did you?" I asked, my eyes wide.

Dylan shook his head, rolling his eyes. "No, I should have though."

I swallowed, chewing on my bottom lip. "So your name is Dylan?"

I noticed Dylan tense up at the sound of his name rolling off my tongue, and he swallowed, but quickly composed himself, raising his eyebrows. "And you are?"

"Clara." I spoke, causing Dylan to nod slightly.

"Okay, you're cold. Let's go inside," he said, pushing himself up off the wall, placing his hand on the small of my back.

However, I didn't want to go inside. I wanted to stay outside and talk to Dylan. "I'm not cold."

Dylan chuckled, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

My teeth chattered as I shook, standing in nothing but a little black dress; my brown locks dancing in the wind. "You're an Alpha?"

"Yes, Clara," sighed Dylan, sounding frustrated, my name coming out of his mouth causing me to stop mid-breath, my heart skipping a beat as I tried to regain composure, which made him smirk.

"Which-which pack?" I stammered, mentally cursing at myself for how anxious I sounded.

Dylan shook his head, cocking his head to the side as he studied me. "You're drunk."

"I am not," I argued, furrowing my brows.

"Clara, you can barely keep your balance and you can't focus on me. You're drunk."

"Well, that's what people do at clubs!" I announced, waving my arms around, causing me to lose my balance and my ankle to twist, sending me toppling forwards.

Dylan reached out, his large hands softly gripping my waist as he propped me back up, not letting go until he was sure I had control of my balance. "You're going to hurt yourself," he growled lowly from his chest.

However, I couldn't focus on what Dylan was saying. The tingles were still erupting all over my body, causing a huge spark of arousal to rush through me, making me lose my breath.

Dylan studied me, looking me up and down as he stiffened, furrowing his brows, exhaling deeply.

"Your friends said you don't do relationships."

Dylan furrowed his brows, looking shocked at my statement. He ran his hand along his stubble, looking conflicted as he avoided eye contact. "Which one said that?"

I shrugged, not liking the way Dylan was responding. "I don't know, he was tall."

"Let's go inside," he said, walking towards the entrance of the club, leaving me standing there confused and hurt...

................................................................................

Thank you :)