ALEXI POV
The song crescendoed to a finish in a flurry of movement. Claire was spun into a dip so deep she was nearly to the floor. Heart thundering.As soon as she was righted a flock of harpies descended, hands extended, hopeful for a dance. She laughed and pointed to the balcony to cool down. Ben followed her out.
The world seemed darker without her lighting up the room.
"Who knows what little one?" My mouth was dry. Did Xavier send his Smiling Assassin of a sister to deal with me?
Part of the reason I threw that link in your face was to see if she was listening in.
Claire has been almost constantly linked with Xavier. Every few hours he gets a full link from her, emotions, pictures, sounds, everything. It didn't take long for him to realise that the communication was one way. Well. Mostly one way.
It's a mystery how much power it took for her linkages to even get through the barrier.
Anyway.
He has been watching you in the shadows of her mind. He has seen you following and watching over her when she is unaware. Yet staying away. Publically making a point of opposing her.
He knows you have an unsealed bond that hasn't been rejected.
"The night on the balcony was a turning point in his attitude towards you." Xanrda took my hand and spoke softly so that the words could not be intercepted.
I stood so still I could have been carved out of stone. He had seen it all? I was going to lose my best friend and my mate in one cruel twist of fate's knife. This was it.
I was panicking, it was suddenly hard to breathe, my vision zeroing in on insignificant details. Like the motes of dust flying through shafts of light emanating from the chandelier. The distorted sound of warped music as time seemed to slow.
"He knows everything Alexi, and he didn't trust anyone else to come here to deal with you." Her voice was sweet, calm and understanding. But I knew the psycho underneath.
I waited for the drop of the guillotine. Had I been poisoned? My hands and feet felt tingly, numb.
"Ali, Xavier doesn't want to hold your chance at happiness hostage through some misguided attempt at loyalty."
The breath I didn't know I had been holding whooshed out of me all at once. Xandra explained the rest in a rush.
"I have no idea how you resisted a direct order from a mate when she ordered you to join her on the balcony. When you only showed up in her mind instead of physically, that must have been impossible.
Seeing that and seeing the restraint you have shown made Xavier feel valued and respected beyond measure. He is also righteously pissed at you for your asinine behaviour undermining her." Xandra slapped me over the back of my head, and I went right ahead and let her get away with it.
"He is enough of a man to get over his own possessive and jealous feelings. Enough to send me in before you two do something stupid like reject the bond. At the end of the day he understands that your relationship with Claire is just that, your relationship. It's not up to him to dictate the details. You are already going to have a hard enough time given how much of an ass you have been to her..." She trailed off, a look of pure affection softening her features.
I looked at Alexandra in wonder. A genuine smile cracked through her political mask.
"Go get her wolfy."
THE BALCONY
CLAIRE POV
The relief of cool wind washing over fevered skin was sinfully good.
Berat had put me through my paces with ever increasingly difficult moves across the floor until the world was a blur. Only movement and music existed. My body became a physical representation of the sound and for a few minutes all was right with the world.
I checked in with Xavier, this was the kind of thing he would enjoy sharing. He was anxious, but as usual I received nothing substantial in return.
I sighed with a small, private huff of breath indistinguishable from any other. It may look like a party but that did not mean I could allow my face to display a billboard of emotion. Did I even have a mate anymore? I mean, I could have two, but here I was alone and breathless.
There it was. All the reasons why dancing had felt so good came thundering back in. So now I felt both physically and mentally run over by turkish horses. Turkish horses were known for a pedigree though, so there was that.
The balcony bubbled out in a half oval shape, lined with a marble balustrade preventing tipsy statuesque women from toppling overboard and falling to the city below.
The view stretched out overlooking the city and disappearing into the horizon, where stars in the sky seemed to reflect the glittering lights below. It was an unbelievably clear night, with just enough of a breeze to provide relief without being blusteringly catastrophic to delicate fashion choices.
I took a moment to enjoy that tickle of a breeze caressing the flushed parts of my body.
My eyes wandered over the dance floor from my position outside. At least my pack was having fun. I had bought ten tickets for them. Yesterday had been spent in a mock olympic games to discern who got the remaining tickets after Michael and Seline. I hadn't been invited.
The games had involved; dance offs, combat, political trivia and an eating contest. Which was how nine year old Denvy had scored a ticket. Denvy was single handedly discovering every safety hazard the town had and I was looking forward to seeing what havoc he could wreck at a ball.
The winners were out on the dance floor now, showing off moves from the dance lessons I had so cruelly foisted upon them. With the exception of Denvy, who was talking to Herman in broken German and pilfering as many horderves as his sticky little fingers could hold. Herman looked impressed, though whether it was at the language skills or at the sheer volume of food disappearing into the pint sized black hole I would never know.
I linked the scene to his mother Janette. She sent back a laugh and a mental shrug saying Your problem tonight before shutting me back out. Her feet had been up and a large glass of Otto's 'gin' swirled in front of her, ever so slightly out of focus.
The pack all wore white to represent the White Wolf pack, which they had officially renamed themselves outside of my knowledge. They were fiercely proud of their success, and the status my power gave them, but still cut me out. Accepting me wholeheartedly meant betraying the wolf that had brought them together in the first place.
Proud and ostracised made for a strange cocktail that I wasn't quite sure how to swallow. Just because I understood it didn't mean it didn't hurt.
"You are certainly making waves tonight Claire. Congratulations." Ben joined me in the breeze, watching the dance floor. "That said, you don't exactly make it easy for yourself." Ben had the way of inspiring confidence whilst calling me out in the way that good advisors do.
"Speaking of, who do I still need to make an impression on tonight? We had a list." I turned to him, glad to have something to focus on that didn't leave snakes writhing internally with conflicting feelings.
With Ben it was easier; I knew the exact amount of uncomfortable trust, support and hint of contempt I could expect from this were owl.
"That was before you walked in on the arm of a Monarch and broadcast their approval for you. Thank you for the heads up about that by the way. New plan. Let the masses come to you. You are politically off the hook for the rest of the night. Have fun, just, ahh, try not to cause too much drama." Ben tried to give me a stern look, but for once it failed. He was pleased.
"Alexandra didn't technically tell me who she was, then her daughter exploded on me and things got rather busy." I said seriously, it was the closest he was going to get to an apology. I was done apologising for things I didn't see were my fault.
Ben rolled his eyes at my statement.
"Now. With a lack of my favorite co-conspirators, and a pack that only includes me in their shenanigans when they get in trouble, I hardly think that that drama is going to come from me tonight." The sarcastic smile I found to punctuate the sentence only made half of its way across my lips.
Ben gave me a look that said 'that remains to be seen' but kept his mouth shut and patted my hand with grandfatherly affection instead.
"It can be lonely at the top my dear." His eyes wandered around the balcony behind me "Have you officially met Alexi? He's Becky's twin, and Alpha pair of the Blood Moon Pack" Ben waved someone over.
"Now I know he hasn't exactly been nice, but all is fair in love and war, so be polite." He gave me a look reserved for the times I wasn't to even try arguing with him. I pursed my lips ever so slightly and bit back the snarky retort battering against my lips like a hopeful moth with a naked lightbulb.
My heart was still whirling in a staccato rhythm from my dance with Berat, but the tempo changed to something that I felt in my metaphysical heart. My mystery mate was with the Alpha? A scent washed over me and pulled the lonely pieces of my heart back together; Freshly cut eucalyptus wood in the autumn with a hint of wood smoke playing on the crisp breeze.
Anticipation lept into hopeful places without my consent even as I tried to choke the feeling down. How dare he have such an unsanctioned effect on the glue binding myself into a body, soul and mind.
Still, without consent from my pride, I turned eagerly to the approaching party. Sunset dress swirling around my legs.
Oh.
No.
It was a party of one.
Alexi?
Alpha of the strongest wolfpack in the country.
The man holding my heart was Alexi.
My mate's best friend.
The only truly untouchable man in this city.
I dropped my glass, the tinkle of shattering crystal that resonated up and sliced through my soul.
Is this the sound a heart makes when it breaks?
A waiter twirled in to sweep up the damage, handed me another glass and was gone.
Just like that. If only it worked like that. "Hello waiter? My heart seems to have shattered, most inconvenient, I know. Can you sweep it up? Make sure to collect all the shards of memory, and I'll need a new one installed before you leave. Please and thank you."
I knew my mind was throwing up ridiculous scenarios. It was a protective mechanism. I knew my mind was throwing up ridiculous scenarios. It was a protective mechanism. Because right up until that moment, hope had wound tendrils around the idea of being swept off of my feet and carried into the sunrise.
I watched him, watched Alexi close the last few steps between us. He was in a day dream in a midnight suit, complemented with a silver blue tie and pocket square that made the perfect subtle match to my dress.
Damn him.
"Hello." His voice rolled through me and touched deep places I didn't know could feel. His smile reached out and kissed me. Then he actually reached down, picked up my hand, and kissed it. Fire ran from his lips up my arm.
Damn him to hell.
Then he leant over to murmur something in my ear, catching my breath "You have blood in your hair."
I gasped in panic and jerked back. Oh goddess I thought I got it all. Fuck. Who else has seen it. My head snapped around to look for a mirror or bathroom or...
"Calm down, that was just a joke. Xanrda linked me what happened." He reached out in response to my distress. Smile falling from his face. Hand hanging in the empty space between us.
I felt everything flare in outrage. My eyes flared. My nostrils flared. Hell I think even my dress flared around me.
"I hate depreciating humor." Hissed out from between my lips.
It was like watching myself when I let my instincts take over in animal form. Oh how delicious it was to taste and spit the way I felt at that moment. Then again, I suppose there is a reason why we don't let instincts rule the political world.
Too late now.
Besides, anger was good. I could work with anger. If I could not have him then I could hate him. I fixed my face, turned on the spot and stormed into the ballroom.
"Wait, the child actually exploded?" Was the last thing I heard from the balcony before letting the crowd swallow me in escape.
** A/N Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it! There is a piece of my soul in everything I write, and would really appreciate a vote or a comment about something that stood out to you, or made you smile :) **