Alison left the dressing room complaining softly, practically being dragged by Emma's ear. The beta strode forward with a firm stride while the alpha followed, her face slightly twisted under the pressure, offering no real resistance.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! All right, now! Let go of my ear, you wild woman!" Alison complained, raising her hands in an exaggerated gesture of surrender as she tried unsuccessfully to free herself.
Emma finally let go with a sigh of exasperation, while the alpha brought a hand to her ear, rubbing it dramatically.
"Good, good, good!" Alison said, turning to face her with a conciliatory smile. "I understand I went a little too far..."
"Mmm-hmm," Emma murmured, her arms crossed, watching her with a serious expression.
"...but I don't regret or take back any of my words," Alison added, taking a sly step back to avoid another possible physical retaliation.
"Alison..."
"What? It's not my fault you're so attractive and look so genuinely good together," she retorted, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her from the side. "So, tell me, if there was a chance Erika wanted to have a threesome with us... would you refuse?"
Emma opened her mouth but said nothing at first. Her gaze shifted, and then, with a noticeable blush rising to her cheeks, she awkwardly placed a hand on the back of her neck.
"That's... that's... that's..." she stammered, clearly trying to find a logical answer that wouldn't embarrass her. "Uh... okay, I'll admit it. I'd go for it. But sadly... she doesn't see us that way."
"Yeah... a platonic relationship is all we can hope for... a real shame," Alison sighed in a mock-melancholic tone.
"What's a real shame?" a male voice suddenly asked behind them, making them both jump.
"Nothing important, Elias!" Emma quickly responded in a polite tone.
"Nothing important to you, Efton," Alison added, not bothering to hide her acidic tone.
The comment only made Elias smile in amusement, scratching his jaw as he watched them with a relaxed air.
"Anyway... have any of you noticed if Erika's here yet? We're about to start, and I wanted to talk to her first."
"She shouldn't be long," Emma commented, looking around. "When we left her, she was just finishing... forget it. She's coming this way." They both turned as the beta pointed down the right aisle, just as Erika's figure emerged, walking with an unusually fluid cadence. Her black dress seemed to capture and reflect the light, accentuating every curve, while her white hair cascaded like a perfect waterfall behind her.
"Hey, pageant queen, finally..." Alison tried to call, but stopped instantly, her mouth falling open.
Emma and Elias also fell silent, their gazes fixed on Erika with growing awe. Something about her felt different. More than beauty, there was something about her. Something ethereal and… dangerously alluring. A sharper than usual, more intense, almost unreal beauty that seemed to call to them.
"Wow... you look fantastic, Erika," Elias murmured, barely audible.
"Did she always look so attractive in that dress?" Emma asked quietly, without waiting for a reply.
"Ems, are you absolutely sure we can't convince her for a threesome?" "Alison added in a barely audible whisper, still staring at the omega.
But Erika didn't hear them. She didn't even look at them. She didn't even seem to notice their presence. Her gait was hypnotic, as if she were floating as if she were in a trance. She stepped onto the stage effortlessly, softly humming something... an improvised melody that, unbeknownst to her, could already be heard throughout the bar because of the open microphone.
The customers in the bar began to fall silent, one by one. The atmosphere, normally filled with voices, laughter, and clinking glasses, faded until only that voice remained.
Erika didn't understand what was happening. She didn't remember the melody, she didn't know why she was humming it. She only knew that she should sing. That she should fill the air with sound. Although she didn't understand how... her body did it for her.
And the melody didn't stop.
Despite not recognizing it.
Despite not being able to understand it.
Despite everything... it continued.
Conversations ceased completely. It was as if the world had stopped moving. Only she shone in that moment, under the frozen gaze of the city's most dangerous figures.
Then, suddenly, her body reacted as if it had been immersed in liquid fire. A wave of burning heat coursed through every cell, making her gasp, and tremble, feeling the invisible weight of a primal instinct overflowing without permission.
No... no... not now...
A gasp escaped her lips, low, laden with anguish and desire. Her fangs bared as she bit her lower lip with such force that it broke the skin, causing a thin line of blood to flow.
Pheromones exploded into the air, sweet and intoxicating like a garden of ripe peaches. They spread uncontrollably, invading every corner of the place, enveloping everyone.
The reaction was immediate.
"We've got something special tonight!" shouted an alpha from a table, amid peals of laughter.
"Yeah, let's talk about dinner and a show," added another from the bar.
"I bet the bitch's in heat!" — bellowed a beta, laughing in disgust.
"Is she crying? What an adorable pup!" a woman mocked.
"That's it, pup!" a nearby customer shouted. "Don't hold back any sobs, use them all for the show!"
"I could train you so well, pup...!" an alpha stood up, approaching the stage with a lascivious smile. "You're a very pretty pup..."
The comments grew louder, amid applause, obscene laughter, and vulgar shouts. A thirsty crowd devoured her with their eyes, transformed into a spectacle of desire and humiliation.
Sweat trickled down her sides. Her body burned. A hand moved reflexively to her thighs, seeking relief, pressure, something...
No! Not here! Not in front of them!
Arms suddenly surrounded her, firm, protective. They lifted her urgently, away from the microphone, the stage, the scorn.
"Let's go, pup! We have to get you out of here!"
(Alison?)
"This way, quickly!"
(Emma?)
The world became a tangle of familiar smells, of safety, of warmth... Erika said nothing. She couldn't. She just let herself go, leaning into her friends' arms as the warmth slowly faded. Still shivering, still humiliated, but... safe.