Gray is first to see me. He straightens, his lips parting as his eyes drop, taking in every inch of me, from my heels to my dress. When he reaches my face, he smiles, and it transforms him. He doesn’t speak, but he places his hand over his heart.
I’m too nervous to smile as Jax and Logan notice, breaking off mid conversation and moving to the foot of the stairs.
“Sienna.” Logan’s voice is low. “You look… I have no words.”
Jax shakes his head, swallowing hard. “Beyond compare.”
My eyes track Tristan as he pauses, his back to me. Holding my breath, I force my feet to keep moving as he turns around, his eyes moving straight to mine.
His expression… it’severythingI ever wanted to see in my Soul Bonded. Everything I hoped for at our first meeting.
And maybe it’s a little sweeter now, after everything.
I swallow back the emotion locking in my throat, giving him a wobbly smile as he moves to meet me at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes trace my face as he reaches for my gloved hand, turning it and pressing a kiss to my palm. His lips heat my skin, even through the thin fabric.
“Bonded,” he says hoarsely. “You look like starlight.”
My eyes move across them all. “Will I do, then?”
The affirmations ring out, and Jax steps forward.
“May I?” he asks, offering me his arm. Biting back a delighted smile at his charm, I wrap my hand carefully around his upper arm, and we walk out, escorted by the rest of my Bonded.
The car doors are open, waiting for us to slip inside. I glance around for my mother, and find her on the steps, watching us. She lifts her hand to wave. My dad is picking her up so they can travel to the gala together.
Jax holds my hand as I climb inside, Emmett handing Jess in after me so we can settle our skirts on the seats before they follow us inside, and the doors close. My pack is focused on me, so much so that I feel a little like prey. The hair on my arms stands on end as I glance around.
Maybe this plan isn’t the best idea.
“So,” Jess announces, clapping her hands. “Time for some ground rules, asswipes.”
The tension in the car ratchets up a good few inches as my alphas peel their attention away from me. Tristan is the last to drag his eyes away, raising his eyebrow with a polite – slightly teeth-gritting – smile.
“By all means, enlighten us.”
Jax groans audibly, and Jess crosses her arms. Across from her, Emmett frowns. It’s clear that he hasn’t been briefed in advance.
“We walk in together, and we sit together. But tonight is about networking. Working the room. So Sienna and I will be doing just that, and none of you are to interfere.”
My pack freeze. I see the moment the penny drops for Tristan, the way his eyes move to mine, darkening dangerously. “Bonded.”
I shrug, flicking a piece of non-existent lint from my glove. “Jess is right. We need to network, Tristan. Maybe dance with a few people. It’s nothing you shouldn’t be familiar with.”
My eyes flick up, meeting his with the edge of a dare. “Am I right?”
“You’re treading a dangerous line, Sienna.” His voice drops, intimate in the small space. “Are you sure this is a game you want to play?”
I smile widely. “Oh, yes. I think so.”
Tristan folds his arms, but his jaw tics, betraying his frustration. “As you wish. Feel free to… network. But we’ll be staying close.”
I open my mouth to protest, and he gives me a look. “Erikkson is still out there,” he says grimly. “A lot of people will be there tonight. So play your games, Bonded. We deserve every single one of them. But we will not be leaving your side.”
He straightens his cuff. “And it’s us you’ll be leaving with at the end of the night.”
The darkly possessive words wind around my throat, a whisper of the memory of his fingers gripping me. Pressing my lips together, I stare out of the window, trying desperately to dampen down the sudden surge of my scent.
He’s playing dirty. But I’ll play dirtier. I’m determined to give Tristan and the rest of my pack just a taste of some of what I’ve had to deal with.
