The velvet of his jacket is soft against my fingers as I stroke my hand down his lapel. “It was hard,” I admit. “And I was on the verge of a panic attack.” I look up at the rest of the pack. “I didn’t want to leave you, and I was worried I was going to have to.”
“But you worked through it,” Thayer says, watching as Grieves lifts my heeled feet onto his lap, wrapping his big hand around my ankle. “You managed to find a way around it.”
Technically, I did. But… “There wasn’t really a need to find one, was there? Haven and my mom and Ginny are my home, but you are too. It was just a matter of realizing it.”
Episode 29: Public Displays of Peppers
Florence
We’re going to the ballet.
They informed me of that fact as our driver maneuvered the limo through the narrow Durvain streets.
Not just any ballet, though. The Royal Bravonnian Ballet. The one I would have danced in for a season had I not injured my knee.
When I tell them as much, they greet the news with a combination of concern and confidence. “So we would have met you no matter what,” Court says, snuggling into me even deeper.
“Is this going to be too hard on you?” Piers asks, running a hand through his hair anxiously. “To watch other dancers?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ll be fine. I came to terms with my situation a long time ago, dimples. And I’ve always loved watching other performers.”
The flash of cameras is almost blinding as we step out of the limo. Grieves first, then Forsythe. He holds out a hand and helps Piers out of the car, pausing just long enough to press a quickkiss to our beta’s mouth. The sight of it makes my eyes sting with tears. Happy ones, of course. This is what Piers has always deserved.
“Sweet little pixie.” Court smacks a kiss on my cheek before he all but bounds out of the car waving at the crowd like a professional athlete taking the field before he too kisses Piers. But it’s not a lingering peck like Forsythe had given him. No, it’s much more heated and probably not all that appropriate for the public sphere.
The beta doesn’t seem to mind, though, blinking up at the alpha with a dazed but ecstatic expression on his face. Those dimples of his I love so much on full display.
Thayer moves to the door, glancing over at me as if to check my readiness for what’s to come. I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile, and he nods once, before he climbs out, moving to the side of the door as Forsythe steps in, offering his hand to me.
My heart thunders in my chest, nearly drowning out the sound of the questions being hollered at the pack… and strangely enough at Isadora. I have this very brief flare of fear that they brought both of us here. That even though they said earlier this wasn’t their way of telling the world they’re going to have two omegas, they were lying.
But I shake the thought away. Forsythe seemed genuine earlier, and I’m choosing to believe him. Believe them.
When I slide my hand into Forsythe’s he squeezes my fingers in reassurance, his brown eyes warm and soft as I slide from the car. There’s an audible gasp as my blond head comes into view, as people see that the royal Ashbourne Pack brought not their betrothed to the ballet, but their fated mate instead.
There’s a moment where every member of the pack keeps their distance, letting the cameras catch a photo of me and theprince holding hands, and then they close in, keeping me in their center as we make our way toward the entrance.
The din of the crowd grows. Questions lobbed at us like grenades. Royal guards form a line of defense between us and them, but it still feels… unsafe. Exposed. Even though the crowd is relatively static. Only their voices pushing at us, not their bodies.
“Okay, Pix?” Court murmurs, ducking his head toward mine in a way that looks intimate.
“Yes,” I whisper back a little breathless because I’m not entirely okay. My chest feels a little tight, my breathing a little erratic. Not a full on panic attack, but… close.
Court frowns, green eyes scanning my expression. “You’re okay, Florence. Deep breaths, yeah?”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, bubbles,” Grieves growls, sounding like he means it. Like he’d ruin the world before he’d let anyone touch me.
I nod. “I know. This is just… it’s a lot.”
“Too much?” Piers asks.
I look up and find all of them standing around me in a circle, facing inward, heedless of the crowd, taking the time to verify that I am okay.
Court lifts worried eyes over my shoulder to where Forsythe is. “I told you this would be too much to spring on her.”
“Do you want to go home,cor mea? Back to the flat?”
Do I? I take a moment to really consider the options. It sounds divine if I’m honest. Putting on comfy clothes and cuddling on the couch with my pack. Exploring each other in a way that we haven’t been able to before. Slowly, at our leisure, at our own pace.
