“It is,” he said sincerely, placing his huge hands on my hips and guiding me gently as we turned in a circle. I was surprised he knew how to dance and had to wonder if he’d looked it up. Imagining him reading articles on what to do was kind of adorable, if I was being honest with myself. There was no way this came naturally for him.
“You sure you weren’t a ballroom dancer in your old life?” I asked, grinning.
“Pretty damn sure,” he chuckled.
I sighed, leaning in to place my head on his chest. His steady heartbeat was always comforting, and for once, I was able to forget all about the vague anxiety that had been plaguing me. Now that the night was actually here, I was convinced it was nothing more than jitters about my first dance. A refreshingly normal problem to have, all things considered.
He rested his cheek against the top of my head and sighed contentedly. For once, he seemed calm and composed. Maybe I had succeeded in taming him somewhat.
I fell into a blissful state of contentment as we danced, until I spotted Amari talking to Alistair across the room. The look on his face and the smirk on hers made it clear she wasn’t just chatting about the decorations, either.
“Sorry. I need to take care of something,” I told Dean.
Dean looked up like he’d been jolted out of a trance. He followed my gaze. “Oh. The bitch is here,” he said flatly, letting go of me.
I snorted, walking over with Dean behind me like my own personal guard dog--not that I would’ve shared the simile with him. I wasn’t within earshot long before I realized his assessment was spot on.
Amari and a few of her harpies had practically cornered Alistair by the drink table. I got the feeling she wouldn’t have been so bold if it weren’t for the fact thatherform of backup was three huge male vampires who looked like jacked-up underwear models. They watched from a few yards away, sipping their drinks with vicious gleams in their eyes. Alistair wasn’t a pushover at all, but he was completely outnumbered.
“What are you even doing here?” Amari sneered at him. “I’m sure even Bells doesn’t want to be seen in public with you.”
Alistair kept his usual cool demeanor rather than giving her the response she so obviously craved, but when he saw me and Dean, he faltered.
“Hey, Amari,” I said bitterly, staring her down. “Don’t you have a belfry to haunt or something?”
Amari turned toward me with a bright, fake smile, her fangs biting into her painted lip. Either she hadn’t noticed Dean was right behind me or she didn’t care. “I’m sorry on behalf of all vampires thatheimprinted on you,” she sighed. “Then again, you’re a freak yourself if both of them imprinted, aren’t you? Why don’t you go back to your block and leave the formal to the students who deserve to be here?”
Dean growled low in his throat. I knew if I didn’t get a handle on things fast, he would, and that wouldn’t go well for anyone. He’d never hurt a girl, but the vamps behind her were fair game.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous,” I said sweetly. “Then again, you’d have to have a soul for someone to imprint on you, and I think everyone knows that’s not the case.”
The male vampires finished their drinks and set their glasses aside before stepping forward. One of them cracked his neck, eyeing me like a piece of meat.
Dean stepped forward, too, staring the three of them down like he was figuring out which one he wanted to take out first.
“Jealous?” she laughed, but I could tell I’d hit a nerve. “Because you have an idiot monster and a vampire without a face at your beck and call? Please.”
Anger flared up within me, but what pushed me over the edge wasn’t rage on my own behalf. I didn’t even know what happened, I just snapped and lunged at the bitch, but Alistair caught me at the last second to hold me back.
“She’s not worth it,” he muttered, clearly as surprised by my outburst as I was. He shot a look at the nearest vampire that made him take a step back.
Dean immediately took advantage of the situation by getting between Amari and her friends and Alistair and me, using his bulk like a bouncer to herd them back. It was only then that I realized nearly everyone in the room was watching us. For a moment, I thought it was because they thought this was funny in some sick way.
Then I realized it was really Dean they were keeping an eye on. And nobody was laughing.
To be fair, werewolvesdidshift when they got pissed off, according to one of my professors, who used the cruel but fitting term “ticking time bomb” to describe them.
Amari didn’t seem to have gotten the memo. She stepped back, but she didn’t wipe that shit-eating grin off her face. “You’re a good puppy,” she cooed. “Protecting your masters.”
Dean's growl built up into a snarl, but he held the beast back somehow. She must’ve known he wouldn’t hit a girl. The bitch was taking advantage of that.
I, however, had no such qualms, even if she was a vampire. The only thing holding me back was knowing the guys would definitely intervene, and I didn’t want them getting in trouble because of me.
Otherwise, a day in the isolation chamber would be totally worth smacking that smug look off her prissy face.
“Dean,” I pleaded, touching his arm. “Let’s just go.”
At my touch, Dean whipped toward me with his fangs bared in a vicious grimace, his eyes blazing, and for a moment, I thought he was going to attackme.But that moment was fleeting. As soon as he recognized me, he relaxed slightly, and I realized he’d been close to shifting. Dangerously close.
