“We’re going dancing,” I murmur, raising my face for the kiss he’s already moving in to give me.
“Good idea,” Abbott says. “The band is playing already.”
He leads us to where the band is set up, and Abbott snags Bellamy for a dance while he blushes hotly. Bell doesn’t love to be in the spotlight, but this is our first outing in a very public space as a pack. I can recognize a power move when I see it.
Our pack wants everyone to see that they have omegas and we’re spoken for.
Ansel’s hands pull me against his chest as he begins to dance with me. I had a brief stint in a ballroom dancing club in high school, and I let the music carry me as I allow him to lead.
His approving smile makes me preen, and he turns me in a circle before pulling me close again. Shiloh is dancing with Cassidy as well, and to my surprise, more people join us on the dance floor.
“Copy cats,” Ansel says under his breath. “They’re all going to be very curious about you. Most people in our circles know that we’ve been courting, but we haven’t made a big statement about finding our scent matches because Clara hasn’t been caught yet.”
I make a face at the alpha’s name and Ansel winces apologetically, misunderstanding.
“It’s not that we don’t want to?—”
“I know,” I reassure him. “You’re handling it. Bell and I aren’t in a hurry for grand gestures. We’re fine with how things are now. So what is the point of this charity exactly?”
“They’re raising money to provide more art courses to the youth in Savannah,” he replies. My eyes widen, and I’m suddenly glad we’re here. “Abbott handed his check over to the organizer earlier in the night, and they have our contribution. We may as well enjoy a dance before we head home, right?”
“Right,” I say slowly. My parents were always pretty well off, but I didn’t go to parties like this. I happily stayed busy in other ways, and by the time I was old enough to attend, my life had changed in drastic ways.
It makes me think about the weird direction my life’s taken.
A throat clearing pulls my gaze away from Ansel’s handsome face and I find a woman who looks almost exactly like Cassidy. She has her blonde hair, a few more lines than my alpha does, and a perpetually pinched expression on her face.
She’s dancing with a distinguished gentleman in a tux, who currently has a resigned look on his face.
This should be good.
“Hello, Ansel. I haven’t seen you at all tonight. Have you been hiding with whoever this is?” she asks.
“Being busy with my omega doesn’t constitute hiding,” Ansel drawls. “I wish I could say it’s nice to see you, but it rarely is.”
“Now, you don’t have to be rude,” the man with her admonishes. “My wife simply wanted to say hello. Are youreplacing my daughter with a younger model? She’s practically a fetus.”
I blink as I realize he’s talking about me.
“I’m much older than a fetus, but I suppose I have my mother to thank for my youthful look,” I reply. “No one is replacing anyone. Your daughter is irreplaceable, and I wish you loved her the way I do.”
Ansel stills at my words, but they’re out of the bag now.
“She’s not wrong,” Ansel growls before her parents can say a word. “We’ve waited years to find our scent matches. You’re not going to fuck this up for us. Winter has also seen bigger assholes than you in her life and survived them. You’re not going to intimidate or upset her.”
“I think you need to get your wife home,” Shiloh says. “She doesn’t look great.”
My eyes widen as Cassidy’s mother yelps suddenly and her body begins to jerk uncontrollably. Her husband is forced to catch her as she crumples in front of him, and I notice as Shiloh pockets something with an innocent look on his face.
What the fuck was that?
“Time to go,” Abbott says, his hands on my shoulders as he begins to herd me toward the exit. We all move in a group silently and quickly, while I try to process what just happened. “Shi, I’m going to fucking spank you. What did I say about using a taser on Cass’ mother?”
“Oh shit,” I breathe, realizing what I witnessed happen.
“Meh, she deserved it,” Cassidy says as our vehicle approaches us.
Henri gets out and helps us all in like the angel he is, leaning in to say something to Abbott before he shuts his door.
