Chapter Fifty-NineGrace #2
The three of us gossiped in the corner as other people trickled in.
Katie joined us. “Rami, time to mingle. Grace, Ri, you both look amazing.”
She hauled him off, and I didn’t see Wes, Evan, or Spencer.
“Hiro’s here. Come meet him.” Riley dragged me back off into the fray. More people had arrived, and I saw fancier dresses.
We stopped in front of a lanky young Asian teenager in a tux, dark hair in his brown eyes. With him were an older teenager, a man and two women. They were in all black, the only nod to the all that glitters theme was the ostentatious jewelry that the women wore.
“Hiro.” Riley grinned. “Kenta.”
“Riley. These are my parents. I go to school with Riley.” Hiro didn’t quite grin, but he looked happy to see her, dark eyes dancing.
“Councilman Nakamura,” the man introduced. He was a tall alpha. His suit looked very fancy. “These are my mates, Yui and Sara.”
“Hi, I’m Grace.” I gave a wave. I was pretty sure the smaller one was an omega. The other might be an alpha. I wasn’t the best at figuring things out by scent yet, and there was a lot going on in the room.
The older teenager, Kenta, grinned. “The one with the chair.”
Councilman Nakamura gave us a look.
My cheeks warmed. “Perhaps.”
“I’m Yui, it’s so nice to meet you. I haven’t seen you at the parent guild meetings,” the smaller one said. Her features were dainty, her black dress classically stunning, and her earrings made my ears ache. Two silvery bite marks peaked out from the collar of her dress.
“Councilman, there you are,” an alpha with an accent said.
“Excuse me,” Councilman Nakamura said, leaving us.
Hiro, Kenta, and Riley were talking animatedly about something that had happened at school. Sara watched over Yui.
Yui took a phone out of her tiny purse. “Let me get your information. Do you have a committee? I’m getting together the carnival committee for the next school year. It’s never too early to start planning.”
I gave her my number, and she went off to join her mates. Yeah, I knew this kind of mom, and saying no wouldn’t get me anywhere.
Wes put an arm around my waist. “Who was that?”
“The mom of one of Riley’s friends. I think I just joined the carnival committee.” I frowned, hoping it was okay.
“That’s perfect. I love the carnival,” Wes assured. “Where’s Riley?”
“With two boys from school.” I saw them going off into the crowd.
Wes and I got a drink and tried some canapes. While I got several compliments on my dress, it kept getting stepped on.
“I’m going to go try to hike this dress up.” I headed toward the bathroom. Frowning in the mirror, I tried to bustle the train.
“Here, let me help.” Evangeline, the woman from the dress shop, appeared. “You look stunning. Grace, right?”
“Yes, and thank you,” I told her, happy for the help.
She quickly helped me use the tiny hooks sewn into the fabric to hook up the train.
“Thank you so much for helping,” I said.
“You must meet my daughter. She moved away to be with her pack as well. I love it when she visits. They are outstanding men. Established. Mature. Wealthy. Respected. Everything a mother could want for her baby girl,” she bragged.
“How nice for her,” I replied.
We went back out into the foyer, which was still full of people and music. Hopefully, dinner would be soon. I looked for Wes, but I didn’t see him. I spied Evan, Brennan, and Jett, looking very bored as a bunch of alphas talked at them.
“This is my daughter Cari and her pack. Cari, this is Grace, she’s new to town. I met her at the dress shop.” Evangeline beamed at a svelte brunette omega. Her dress was pink, ruffled, and stunning. It might be hiding a baby bump–it could also be the light.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Cari simpered, wearing even more jewelry than Yui. She seemed like the popular girls in high school who pretended to be my friend until I truly needed them.
“It’s nice to meet you. You’re here alone?” one of her large alphas told me, voice accented.
“I’m here with my mates.” I still didn’t see Wes, though Spencer was speaking with a few people I recognized from the science dinner.
“Grace is a mathematician, she just moved here to be with her mate,” Evangeline added.
“What sort? Actuary?” an alpha that smelled of copper asked, his arm firmly around Cari’s waist. He wore a bunch of large rings and an expensive watch and had a Southern accent.
“The theoretical kind. I work mainly with qubits,” I replied, still searching the crowd for Wes.
“Oh. That sort. Do you work for Redstone or the Space Authority?” the first alpha asked.
“Compass BioTek, actually.”
“Oh no, you don’t want to work there,” Cari told me.
“Surely your mates can find something better? Or Rolf, maybe you know? Rolf knows so many people. I’m in real estate development, so I can’t help you.
But if you’re newly mated, you should come and see my latest property.
It’s a vacation share, the classy kind. Just think, a chance to go on a special vacation every year with your mates, without having to be bothered with the upkeep of an additional home.
” She dug a little card out of her purse and handed it to me.
“Oh, thank you.” I glanced at it and tucked it into my purse. Timeshare. I was in another world, and I was being sold a timeshare. She probably knew of some life-changing essential oils, too.
“Here, you should have something to eat,” the copper-scented alpha said, taking something off the tray and handing it to Cari.
“Do you need anything else to drink?” another asked.
“I’m fine, thank you.” She looked up, smiling.
“Is Compass BioTek really a terrible place to work?” I frowned.
Cari shrugged. “You could do better. Your mate is in real estate, finance?”
“Cybersecurity.” I wasn’t sure I liked these people and kept hoping to see Wes or Riley so I could escape without being rude.
The first alpha nodded. “Very nice. The Center matched you long-distance?”
“I’ve actually known him for a long time, it’s quite the story.”
“I do love a good love story. With my pack, it was love at first sniff. Even before I met them in person, I knew they were perfect. You met your alpha in the wild then? You saw him and just–knew? Like a love story?” Cari gushed, her head tilting so I got a good view of her bite marks.
“I first met him when I was ten. It is a bit like a love story,” I agreed.
It seemed like plenty of omegas met their alphas ‘in the wild’ so I wasn’t sure why she was gushing. But then again, what did I know?
“If he’s here, we might know him,” Cari pried.
I kept looking but didn’t see anyone I knew. “Maybe. His name’s Wes Lawson.”
“You liar.” Her voice and expression were playful, but her eyes weren’t.
“No, that’s his name. Maybe we know different ones.” I frowned.
“Hardly. I’ve known Wes since I was at the university, and I know his mate–and you, my dear, aren’t it. Oh, did you sneak in? I won’t tell. Are you trying to meet rich alphas? I can help you find much better ones than the likes of him.” She laughed, but it was tight and fake.
“You know what? I should find him. Nice to meet you.” I hustled off, despite it feeling rude. This seemed weird.
Cari grabbed my wrist, her pink nails digging into my gloved wrist, stopping me. “You shouldn’t lie about things like that.”
I frowned at her touching me. “Why would I lie about Wes being my mate? People do have more than one.”
“Wes would never take another.” There was a hard edge in her voice.
Arms wrapped around my waist and the scent of laundry enveloped me.
“Grace, there you are. Evangeline, Caroline, you’re here. I see that you’ve met my mate.” Wes sounded less than pleased to see them.
“Wes.” Cari’s posture changed, and she practically melted into her mate as if he could make her invisible.
“They’ve opened the doors for dinner, let’s go find our table.” Wes guided me out of there before Cari could say anything.
“I don’t know what just happened,” I whispered, as he steered me to some open doors.
“That’s Caroline. Brennan’s ex. Fuck. We had no idea that she was coming. Brennan’s going to be livid.” With his hand in mine, we made our way through the ballroom.
“Shit.” That was Caroline. The one who tried to replace Evan. The one who hurt Brennan. The one who thought revenge porn and robbery was the answer.
“Yep.” His expression went grim as we found Brennan, Jett, and Evan sitting at a round table festooned with flowers and sparkles.
Brennan frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Caroline’s here. She cornered Grace,” Wes explained.
“Fuck.” Brennan growled.
“It’ll be okay.” Evan put an arm around him.
“Incoming,” Jett muttered.
“Boys, it’s been so long,” Caroline fake-gushed, three alphas now at her back, her mom nowhere in sight.
“Caroline,” Brennan grunted. Everyone else glared at her.
“Evan.” Her look took on one of concern as she leaned in and lowered her voice. “I’m so sorry to hear what Wes did to you. Do you need me to call the Center for you? You have rights, you know.”
“I’m not sure what’s happening,” Rolf said to the one that smelled like copper.
“Thanks for your concern, but the integration team has it under control. We’re good. All Wes did was to bring some peaches into our life.” Evan gave me a kiss.
“Caroline, I think you should take your seat.” Brennan’s voice was firm.
“You actually let someone else in your pack, Bren?” Caroline frowned, arms wrapped around her stomach.
“Let’s go find our seats, Dear. You’ve been standing too long,” the copper-scented one drawled, putting his arm around her as if trying to herd her away.
Caroline’s expression was halfway between upset and furious as her alphas led her to another table.
“We’re leaving.” Brennan shot up from his seat, expression angry.
“I’m okay with that.” Riley appeared, holding half a pie.
Brennan’s eyebrows rose. “Where did–you know, I don’t want to know. Let’s go.” He waved Spencer over. “Spence, you can stay if you want, but we’re going.”
“Sit down.” Siobhan strode over, a fierce look on her face.