At the end of class, we sat on the floor, chatting with a few of the friendly corps girls, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrienne walking over to us. She wore a big smile on her face like we were all her best friends.
“Preston! It’s so good to see you in class today! I feel like I never see you anymore!”
“Hey Adrienne, what’s up?” he responded cautiously while reaching for my hand. I naturally felt threatened by her, which he could probably sense.
“I was just thinking how much I missed partnering with you.” Turning towards me, she tossed in another fake smile. “Preston and I were the perfect pair for every show the last three years. We were pretty much the dream couple until…”
“Until I came along?” I tilted my head, finishing her sentence while Preston scooted closer to me. The corps girls around us were shooting each other looks of concern.
“Those experiences were good learning experiences.” Preston looked at me with a smile. “I’ll have to share with you later some of the stupid mistakes I made onstage back then.”
“Like the one time you accidentally let go of a sword during the fight scene?” I joked with him.
“No, that was before my time here. There was this one performance where they put my vest on backwards…”
Adrienne sighed loudly, regaining our attention. “I love reminiscing too. I often reflect on our Romeo and Juliet last season…the ending especially…”
“Where you all die?” I smirked, trying not to let her bait me. The irritation was crawling up my skin. At least my comment earned a few laughs from the girls around me.
“Be careful how you die!” Preston nervously laughed, leaning into my ear. “I fell dead onstage with one of my legs propped up. My whole leg fell asleep, and I had to crawl offstage in a blackout.”
We laughed together, which clearly bothered Adrienne more.
“There was this other time…” she began, but Preston cut her off.
“We have to rest before our next rehearsal. See you later, Adrienne.” He pulled me up off the floor, grabbed my bag, and led me away.
“We slept together many times, did he tell you that?” Adrienne called out after us.
My stomach tightened as a wave of nausea swept over me. I tried to remind myself that she was in the past, and Preston and I were already growing so much closer together, but it was hard. She was right here, trying to take my mate.
Preston’s scent turned sour as he let out a growl and pulled me tighter to him. I paused and turned back to Adrienne.
“Adrienne, enough!” Preston growled out at her.
“When are you going to realize that she’s all wrong for you?” Adrienne said, pointing directly at me. “We were in love!”
“We were never in love!” Preston shouted back. “I love Ivy, and she’s my fucking scent-match!”
“Hey guys,” Millie said, standing up to try to calm Adrienne and Preston down. “Let’s all take a step back here and breathe.”
Sending one last glare to Adrienne, Preston turned around and pulled me even closer to his side, keeping his arm tight around me. Once we made our way over to the next studio, he pulled me close to him and kissed me softly. Looking up into his eyes, I saw concern behind his gaze.
“Do we want to talk about it?” I asked. I wasn't sure if this would help me or not, but it was better than bottling everything up.
“I’m so sorry, Ivy,” he blurted out, seeming unable to stop himself. “When we first started this company, I saw nothing wrong with dating the other dancers. But eventually, I realized I wanted to be committed to this omega dancer dream, and if I kept sleeping with company girls, it would affect the omega—you.” He sighed, adding, “just like now.”
“We all have a past,” I said, pulling his head into my arms. “I’d prefer that our pasts would not taunt me daily, but I trust that when you told me you loved me, you meant it.”
"I do love you," he whispered, softly nuzzling against my neck. "I love you more and more each day, and I can't imagine a life without you in it."
"Then let's keep building that life together and ignore the doubters," I said, running my hand up and down his back. I glanced over to the window between the two studios to see avery annoyed Adrienne trying to pretend she wasn’t watching us.
“She’s just trying to stir the pot. I’ll not rise to the bait,” I said.
“I should have protected you more. I’m supposed to be here to help and support you.”
“I'm not some delicate flower, but I appreciate the thought.” I released his head and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I can’t wait till we’re bonded.”
