I slow down, watching.
His response is immediate and cold. I can’t hear what he says, but I can see his dismissive and irritated body language. He barely looks at her.
Her hand flies to her mouth, and her shoulders crumple. And then she runs away, tears streaming down her face past her mask.
I stop in my tracks.
Oh no.
I’ve been all wrong about this male. My mind flashes to Derek. My evil ex. The way he’d viciously snap at servers and then smile sweetly at me, as if I hadn’t just watched him be cruel. The way he’d dump verbal abuse upon me and dismiss my feelings with a wave of his hand and then wonder why I was upset. The red flags I ignored because he was handsome and charming and I wanted so badly for it to work.
Is the male I’ve been admiring an asshole too?
I watch him for another moment. He doesn’t look after the crying female. Doesn’t seem remotely bothered by her distress. He just turns back to scanning the crowd, as if nothing happened.
Yeah. I know this type and I’d promised myself I wouldn’t make that same mistake ever again. I take a step backward, putting distance between us. My body might scream at me to get closer, but my brain knows better.
Leah appears at my side. “Did you find your mystery man?”
“I did.” I tear my gaze away from him. “And I’ve decided I’m not interested.”
She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t push.
That’s when her tablet lights up. My friend pulls it from her pocket, taps the screen, and gasps. “Oh no. I need to get back home. There’s something wrong with Argylia. Her stomach is upset. I have to check on her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, stay. I don’t want to ruin your evening. It doesn’t sound like an emergency. Hopefully, I’ll just pop in and check on her and return before I miss too much. I’m not even going to tell Saxon. I want the two of you to still have a great evening.” She squeezes my arm. “Jump in and start playing the unmaskinggame. You’ve got a great shot at winning because no one knows who you are.”
“Ooh, you know I love winning a good competition.”
“Right? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
And then she’s gone, and I’m alone in a sea of costumed aliens.
I smile wide and tug at my green gloves, making sure they’re secure, and head toward the buffet. I really am very competitive, and I plan on winning this Last Mask competition. Might as well eat something before the dancing starts.
And I am absolutely, definitely not going to look for the male in black again.
Reminder to self—he’s probably an asshole.
Let it go.
Chapter Three
Bayzon
Isee her again out of the corner of my eye.
The dazzling human female I’ve been boldly watching. Whenever I catch her lovely form amidst the crowds in this crazy gathering, I can’t look away. I arrived late to this ball, having finished a last-minute shift review, and I’ve already missed most of the mingling. But I haven’t missed her.I assume she is new to the planet, possibly visiting because there are very few humans on Timbur and I’ve never seen her before.
And most importantly, she wears the gloves of the unmated.
She watches me too. I straighten and meet her gaze, ready to walk over and greet her to find out more.
But a costumed female approaches and blocks my path. A low growl rumbles in my chest because I’ve tangled with this particular Xylan many times. I shouldn’t know who she is at this ball, considering her elaborate costume and mask, but she’s the same female I scented long ago, learning we were not future mates.
My line has the rare ability to scent and learn of a bond without the trouble of going through the testing ceremony. Hence, I’ve never once asked her to test, but she questions me about our lack of testing whenever she has the opportunity. For some unknown reason, my denial of testing is difficult for her to process.
