Melissa steps out of the car as well, in a forest-green dress with her hair up and her face beat for the moon gods. From her harried expression she’s clearly not loving her role as class chaperone.
“Come on, girls,” she says, shooting Jasper a weird, sort of bashful look, and ... is she blushing ever so slightly? “Let’s give the boys some privacy and head inside.”
“See you up there, Max.” Jodie waves as she and her friends bounce their way through the doors.
“She seems more social these days,” I say, one arm still wrapped around Jasper’s waist.
“You have no idea,” he says, quirking a brow. “In the space of a year she’s become queen bee with the girls at her school.”
I laugh, because of course Jodie is popular. She’s always seemed wise beyond her years, with a confidence I’ve never been able to muster. If I were her age, I’d be her devoted drone as well.
“Good for her.” Jasper is about to leave but I hold him in place. “And, um, what was that look Melissa gave you?”
Jasper sighs, lifting his brows in a most unimpressed fashion. “There’s been a bit of a development on that front too.”
“Uh-huh. I’m intrigued.”
He shakes his head as if he’s shivering, trying to fling the subject away from him. “I’ll tell you inside.” Then he turns to the door. “Shall we?”
I nod. “We shall.”
Upstairs, the doors of the elevator ping as they open, revealing the party in full swing. The packhouse’s function room has been decorated to resemble what I can only assume is supposed to be the forest surrounding the pack retreat upstate where the festival is held. Boughs of emerald pine have been strung up from the lofty ceiling, vines snake up the black marble columns in the room, wildflowers pop in multicolored bursts from the tabletops, and before us, lining the entry way, is a red carpet of sorts, except instead of crimson it’s green, and made of actual living grass.
Hoping not to destroy it too quickly, I tread carefully over the laid-out roll of turf as we make our way inside.
Since that fateful New Year’s Eve party where Jasper kissed me in front of the whole pack, I’ve only been up here a couple of other times, but I’ve never seen it this packed. I can barely make out the Manhattan skyline through the crowd out on the balcony. Everyone who’s everyone in the Elite Pack is here. We stroll through the smartly dressed wolves, Jasper smiling with his teeth and waving at politicians and celebrities, while I do my best impression of a demure future luna.
“You okay?”Jasper asks, so that only I can hear him, as we pass Stefan and Maria Lykos.
“Fine,”I reply.“Stefan looks like he’s already overdone it on the honey mead though.”
Jasper looks over and has to stifle a laugh. Stefan’s face is redder than normal, and he looks like he’s struggling to stay upright. Maria waves at us with a gloved hand while the other reaches around her husband’s portly waist to keep him vertical.
It’s funny to think back to only a year ago, when these events turned me into a vibrating ball of anxiety. But over the course of the last eight or nine months, and after attending a number of official pack functions, I’m starting to find my feet. Of course,having Jasper nearby helps. As Stefan knows, it’s a wonderful thing to have someone to lean on.
But then I also think I’ve stepped into my role as Jasper’s mate and as the blood wolf. The latter of course allows me to feel more empathy for those around me than before. It may surprise you, but even rich people have insecurities.
As we wander through the party I spot a few familiar faces, but perhaps more obvious are the faces that are absent.
The absence I feel most keenly is Aisha. She’s not here and hasn’t been since she tried to show up to Jasper’s birthday party with her human mate. While she’s still in New York, she’s all but exiled herself from the pack, preferring to stick to her ballet classes and performance schedule. Yeah, we hang out all the time, but she used to be my lifeline at pack events and they’re just not the same without her.
Also missing is Olivia, who hasn’t been seen since she and Mia ran away. There’s been no word from them, despite Alpha Morven and Beta Salazar searching far and wide. It’s like they’ve vanished into thin air.
Salazar is here though, I’ve just spotted him by the bar, propping himself up on an elbow, taking large gulps from a glass of neat whiskey.
“There’s Katie,” Jasper says, out loud this time, turning me to where my best friend in the world is standing with her two mates. She waves at me as one of the waitstaff passes by with a tray of delicious-looking snacks. “You want to say hi?”
“In a minute,” I say, involuntarily turning my head to follow the scent of whatever canapé was just whisked by without stopping.Rude.“First, I need a snack.”
Jasper can’t help grinning and shaking his head.
“What?”
He presses his lips together, forcing himself to stop his broadening smile.
“Nothing.” He nods. “You’re right. Food first.”
We’re just turning to go in hunt of nourishment when a man’s voice calls for Jasper’s attention.
