Lake Creek

Chapter Nine (B)

Max was storming towards a terrified looking Raven and a defiant Michael as Breaker was heading across the room to meet his boss. Lucas decided to get in on the action in case he was needed and head over to be on his best friends flank. Raven stepped in front of Michael and turned her back on him in protection and faced her father. She raised her hand up to Max and he stopped as she softly spoke to him explaining that Mikey was her friend and he just came to wish her a happy birthday and nothing more. Max was visibly shaking with anger and Breaker was stood behind Michael waiting on the order to remove him but Raven asked her father to trust her and not embarrass her any further. Max came to his senses quickly and nodded a forced agreement to his daughter's words and growled a warning to Michael as he stormed away from the pair with Lucas and Breaker behind him.

Max walked back towards the bar with his men and grabbed his drink off the side and polished it off in one gulp. Grayson watched as the room slowly went back to the party and Raven walked with Mikey straight past her father and down the steps on to the sandy beach below. She kicked off her heels and left them at the bottom of the steps as she and Mikey walked towards the waters edge. Max watched the pair with dark raging eyes along with an equally angry Grayson Shaw and nervous Lucas Bellows.

Gray could feel his anger surging inside of himself and he needed to try to keep it in check and one of his tried and tested methods was to drink copious amounts of alcohol. Lucas watched Gray and kept glancing at Max who had his eyes fixed on his daughter down by the shoreline. Juliette continued to try to get Max's attention to take his mind off Raven and Michael but she was finding it difficult to calm him down. Lucas watched his son finish his beer and order a whiskey from the bar, Lucas was growing more concerned for Gray and worried that something was bothering him and that it was to do with the Alpha's daughter.

Grayson downed the whiskey in one gulp and didn't really taste it as he banged the glass back down on the bar top demanding the bar tender refill it. Max looked across at Gray at him but didn't bat an eyelid as this is how he treated the hired help.

"Hey, Gray, what's up with you man?" Lucas asks nudging his shoulder as Max looked over to the pair again and then went back to his laboured conversation with Juliette.

Gray was trying to stay calm by slowly breathing in and out but he wanted nothing more than to get hold of Raven and spin her around the dance floor and have Raven hold onto to him. He would show everyone at the party that she was with him and make them all avert their eyes, forcibly if necessary but Gray looked at Lucas and replied bluntly that nothing was wrong and sarcastically said he was having a great time while rolling his eyes and looking back at the people on the dance floor. Raven was missing her party by being with Michael on the beach and Gray couldn't stand not knowing what she was doing down there with him so he told Lucas he was going for a walk and head across the deck, down the steps and made straight for the waters edge. He couldn't immediately see Raven and Michael but as he searched the beach with his raging eyes, he spotted them off to the right and and just out of her father's line of sight. Grayson walked in their direction and checked that he wasn't being followed by Lucas as he picked up the pace and caught up with them. Michael nudged Raven and alerted her to someone approaching them and she turned around and was surprised to see Grayson Shaw as she thought her father would have come to find her and not send a messenger boy.

"Your guests are missing you Raven" Gray spoke slowly glaring at Michael.

"Yeah I'll be back in a minute, I'm just saying bye to Mikey" She said silently dismissing Grayson like he was the messenger boy.

"Ok then say bye then we can go back inside" Gray insisted as Raven looked at him in surprise and Michael took a step forward towards him.

"Hey mate, she'll be back when she's ready ok" Michael spoke for her and Grayson was not amused and released a low growl from deep within.