Because in the midst of this room of barely constrained chaos, my eyes have landed on an absolutely un-wolfy, un-drunk, and truly gorgeous man—my very own Hanry Burleson. Here, seated among, and also a head and shoulders above, the guests.
How did I miss him on the guest list? When did he get back from visiting his parents? How does he know Sidney, or Brett, or…?
Doesn’t matter. He looksincredible.
When I used that same word to describe Sidney today, I meant it in an unbiased, objective way. There isn’t anything objective about the rush of blood coursing through me now as I look at my unofficial boyfriend. He’s wearing a gorgeously fitted tuxedo with a loosened black bow tie resting around his neck and laughing with unconscious abandon at something his tablemate said. He must’ve arrived late; I would’ve known if he’d been here since the beginning. I need to ask him how he knows Sidney and where in the world he gets his outrageously beautiful, bespoke dress outfits.
I step toward him.
Catching my eye across the room, Hanry brightens. Then he winks. And, whoa. I think that smolder just melted my ovaries. I’m absolutely molten.
How am I going to bear leaving him when the time comes?
I don’t know. But first, I’ve got to find Mandy. Shaking myself, I give Hanry a little smile, then spin on my heel and leave the ballroom.
Okay, Sabby. If you were a pixie on a mission who’d gotten off-mission, where would you go? Sugar. I’d search for sugar.
On the way to the end of the hall, where there’s a nook filled with vending machines, I call out Mandy’s name.
Something pokes into the back of my shoulder.
“Man—? Ahh!” I say, turning to a toned woman with long, sparkly red acrylic nails. It is very much not Mandy, but one of the bridesmaids. “Can I help you?”
“What sorority were you in?” she asks me.
I do a double take. “What?”
“I’m Alpha Kappa Alpha.” She edges closer. “Not ChiOmega. Or aBetaPhi. That would be gross.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Because I’m an alpha,” she growls directly into my ear. “What are you?”
“Not interested in your auto-insert Omegaverse fanfiction,” I reply, pushing the were-woman away and retreating at a brisk jog. She calls after me, “You smell really nice!”
It’s the traces of blood left on my Crocs, that’s all. I need to find a hose. But first Mandy, and—
Passing the entrance to the kitchen, I stop short.
Because through an opening in the fabric door, I find myself eye-to-eye with something that isn’t Mandy. It jiggles a sinister aluminum can in its fuzzy white paws. Its body has a vague flimsiness, like a plastic grocery bag.
But of course, that’s not what it is.
It’s my saboteur.
17A MYSTERY IS UN-MYSTERED
ON THE WHOLE, THE SABOTEURlooks like a small rabbit.
Which is not a descriptor I’ve used for any of Grandma Rose’s friends, or for Grandma herself, so there go those theories.
“You!” the white and fuzzy creature says.
I push through the curtains, boggling as pieces fall into place. “Me? No,you! You’re the one who’s been stalking me! I recognize you from the forest! And—were you at Hamilton Hall!?”
The saboteur twitches its pink nose once, then darts for the depths of the kitchen, squealing like a pig. Ergo: it is not Grandma Rose, a rabbit, or a pig, but some strange fourth thing.
This would also explain why it’s carrying lighter fluid.
