Jonah ditched his drink on the railing and took Liv's hand, waving in our direction in greeting but not coming over to talk to us. Liv was the one who invited him, so I wasn't surprised that she was his priority. Shebasically vibrated with energy the whole way to the dance floor.
The music was outrageously loud, like always, and it suited the pair of them just fine. They moved together smoothly, dancing and grinding like they'd done so a million times before.
Jonah had been a bartender when Gwen and I met him at a nightclub not much different than this one. As far as I knew, he hadn't been back to one since his and Gwen's engagement was called off. They had both always loved dancing, so honestly, I was glad to see him having a good time.
We joined them on the dance floor for a while. When the music slowed down, Callum and I swayed together. His lips brushed my cheek, then my throat, after I tipped my head to the side to give him better access.
And to peek past him so I could see our friends.
"Stop looking at them. They're fine."
"Are you giving me orders again?"I aimed for teasing, but I think he could tell I was worried. If either of them developed feelings for each other...
"They both know that they'll have to be civil after whatever happens between them. They're aware that our connection is permanent."
"Liv didn't seem sure about this. I think she's only doing it to try to move on from Niall."
"Niall was the first man she really loved. Moving on will take time. She'll have a better idea as far as how she feels about being with someone other than the shapeshifter after this."
"Wait, Niall's a shapeshifter?"
"He is."
Shapeshifters were like werewolves, but at the same time, completely different.
They were rare, as far as I knew. Unlike weres, they didn't have an animal within them. Theywerethe animal. Well, the animals. According to the stories I'd heard, they could shift into any kind of beast they'd seen up close, unless it was of a magical origin, like a dragon.
"I didn't know there was one in Rumor. What happened between them? She told me to ask you."
"Niall's twin brother is a spellcaster, like their mother. The spellcaster who originally fucked up the wards and caused the rain. When he attempted to fix it, the spell went sideways."
"Sideways how?"
"It was draining her energy too severely. The spellcaster was unconscious, and he couldn’t cut it off. Liv told Niall he’d have to kill his brother to end the spell and keep her alive. He didn’t listen. By some stroke of luck, it didn’t kill either Liv or the caster, but the damage was done."
"Holy shit. That's a lot."
"The situation was gray enough that we didn’t kill him for it. Niall disagrees with Liv as far as how the situation went down, but she won't talk about it."
The music changed, and I glanced over at my sister’s ex-fiancé and Liv again.
"Kitten, they're still fine."He sounded more amused than anything else.
"I was only checking to see if they look like they'd care if we took a break. I'm tired of dancing."
"They won't."Callum was leading me off the floor before he finished what he was going to say. I thought he was leading me to the couch or the private room, but he led me straight to the staircase that led off the balcony without a backward glance.
"She wanted us to stay until she figured out what to do,"I said, craning my neck to look past him.
"She gave me the nod half an hour ago."
He knew her a hell of a lot better than I did, so I had no problem taking his word for it.
"Are you sure you're done dancing?"I asked.
"Kitten, I was done before we got here. I can make it all night with your body pressed against mine, but I would rather have that anywhere other than here."
"Not justanywhere. There must be some place worse than this."
