Chapter 42
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
Iris
“ S ooo…” Violet asks, fixing the lacing in the back of the dress, something she, Mom, and Mari picked for me, “what did you think about the dates Heath set you up on?”
She steps back and rubs a hand over her big belly. I swear she’s gotten even bigger than when I last saw her. But she’s glowing. Pregnancy just…it suits her. More than that, I’ve never seen my big sister so happy.
Or Stephan so anxious and nervy. I’d laugh if it wasn’t all because he adores the actual ground Vi steps on.
He’s downstairs with Heath, Dahlia, and Rue. Mom and Mari are at Pen’s already, since Mari is helping and Mom’s the main host of the Midnight Garden party.
“I hated them all. One was too old, another too…creepy, a third’s a possibility but I’m pretty sure he was more into Heath than me so…not sure that’d work.”
She chuckles. “I don’t think so.”
I stare at her.
“Close your mouth, Iris.” Violet goes to her bag and pulls out a jar and a small container of chocolate sauce.
She opens both, and I’m struck by the overwhelming smell of vinegar and dill. My sister selects a spear and dips it into the sauce, then munches the spear with a sigh.
Then she looks at me and shrugs. “Don’t judge me.”
“That…” I point at what she’s eating, “is disgusting.”
“Delicious.” She sets the jars down. “So you didn’t like any them. Not even the chinless wonder, Errol?”
“Especially not him.”
Vi smiles and smooths down her dress which is feminine with cap sleeves and a demure sweetheart neckline. It’s a leaf green shade which says garden but not necessarily night.
I don’t think she cares. I slide another pin that glitters into my hair. There are heaps of them in there, holding my hair up in a messy do and sparkling like the sky. It matches the subtle silvery and gold threads that run through the black of my dress.
“Perfect,” Vi says.
As I apply my lipstick. I shake my head. “It’s the Heath show. He’s filled my mini’s dance card.”
“He’s concerned. And pushy.”
I turn, staring, hand tight on the lipstick tube. “That’s just a sugared-coated way of saying he’s a complete and utter dickwad.”
“Maybe you can find someone tonight who can stand for more than a dance.” She helps herself to another pickle abomination. “You never know. And it’ll appease him, so that maybe he’ll give you room.”
“He’s trying to control my life.”
She nods. “I know it feels that way. I know it all too well. But no matter how much of a…”
“Utter dickwad?”
“Right. No matter how much of one of those he is, he wouldn’t want you to just pick anyone to make him happy. He wants you just to be open so that you can find your true mate.”
I sigh. I severely doubt Heath gives two shits about what my heart wants, but Violet likes to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
“He has a weird way of showing it,” I say.
She nods again. “Is Quinn at least coming tonight?”
I sigh. “Quinn’s got her own problems. Mrs. Hyde’s gone insane, found a potential mate for Odessa from the other side of the world, so they’re not attending this one.”
Unless Quinn can sneak out. Which is what I’m hoping for.
As for Vi’s other words…I’m not so sure anything other than me mating a rich Alpha of Heath’s choosing will placate him.
Just then Heath’s voice thunders up the stairs. “Are you two ready?”
Showtime.
The place is transformed. It’s a garden inside and out.
I’ve spent time in Pen’s mansion, but I’ve never known a huge ballroom lies past the grand room, now set up to look like a covered outdoor area. There are some people outside, I note, but most people want to be inside, near the wonders that Pen, Mom, and Mari came up with.
“This is what I want for my mating ceremony.” Rue looks around, big eyed, and taking it in. “All of it.”
“You want a crowd?” I ask.
Her eyes shine. “Yes!” Then under the lamps that dot everywhere, like they would in a magical garden, Rue blushes. “Not the entire thing. Just the crowd part.”
I hide my smile by biting my cheek and glance at Vi, who’s also blushing. Stephan suddenly crowds her, taking her hand and whisking her away to sit somewhere, like the world’s most protective mother hen.
Eyes are on me, the ones beyond the crowd, and they make my skin tingle. Xavier is here. I can sense him, just like I did while at the coffee shop, so I look around, frustration suddenly climbing.
And like at the coffee shop, I don’t see him…
How can a man so big manage to turn invisible?
My mini pings, and I glance at it. My heart sinks. It’s a dance request reminder with Miles von Detten, who I think I met in the melee of Alphas that Heath forced me out with.
It’s in ten minutes… Do I have time to run?
But Heath’s hovering nearby, ignoring the girls flirting with him, and he basically sends me an eyeball message to get my ass in there.
I smile so widely at him that his eyes narrow to slits, and I can feel the radiating thunder roll off him, even from here.
So I turn and make my way through the guests, ignoring snubbers and greeters alike.
Rue trots at my side, nodding, waving, saying hello and thank you in my stead, like my own little servant.
“Stop that,” I hiss.
“Make me,” she says, flinging her hand and knocking a glass of purple bubbly all over the white of a dowager’s dress. It’s just on the front panel. The rest in shades of blue to darkest blue.
Rue sees, straightens the glass and bows. “So sorry.”
Then she scampers in front of me, making others hastily get out of my way as her flailing waves and swinging arms are now considered a danger.
There’s a flash of bright red hair by the side doors—Quinn—but she slides back into the shadows as more guests spill inside. I’ll find her later.
When Rue and I reach Mom and Pen, Rue rushes off to meet up with a group of kids her age.
“Oh, the dress looks perfect,” Mom gushes, touching the thick shoulder strap to almost detached sleeves. “Is it okay?”
“I thought we were going with the black one with the dark red roses on it, but this is better.” I look at her, then spin. “It’s stunning, Mom. Thank you.”
I hug her, and her sigh of happiness is all the reward I need. I didn’t lie—it is stunning. And I know she took the time to consider my personal style with the choice. It means a lot.
I’m feeling, as Emmie might say, every bit a queen in it.
When she lets me go, I turn and scan the crowd.
No Xavier.
No Killian.
At least one of them should be here. Xavier asked for a dance, and I didn’t think that was a joke… They’re involved in the drinks, maybe even the food. But what I want is them to be here for me.
“Looking for someone, Miss Gardener?” Penrith leans close to me and whispers as my mom strolls off to welcome more guests.
“Me?” She doesn’t say so, but she means my Alphas. “I was hoping Quinn would come.”
“Ah. Well, you should know that Sophine is late, most likely planning a late entrance. If you are to manage another private meeting with her, just know that she’ll be more openminded after indulging in some of her favorite rare rums. Siren, Wild Winds, Gut Punch, anything like those.
Ask one of your Alphas—I mean Quinn —tonight. ”
She lifts a brow to let me know she catch my lie, and then walks over to join Mom.
They leave, and the crowd’s murmuring things.
“What’s got them so riled?” An Omega named Melissa Gilderoy asks the group of girls she’s chatting with.
“There’s a hot, single dude here,” another one says. “Rich. New. Mysterious. So, naturally, he’s the stop of the list of Alphas Alicia wants to dance with.”
“She’s such a viper,” Melissa grumbles.
“You mean bitch ,” one of the other Omegas says, and they all laugh behind their hands.
I roll my eyes.
Whatever.
I can’t stand all this catty bullshit.
My mini pings with another dance reminder. I want to turn it to silent, but I don’t. If I get a DM from Xavier, I don’t want to miss it.
“A majority of the Alphas fit that description, don’t you think?” Mari says after eavesdropping on the girls’ chatter and suddenly appears at my side. She hooks her arm in mine and smiles.
“Can you lot talk about something more interesting than men?” Dahlia asks from my other side. She’s so quiet, I didn’t even notice her walk up.
I frown. “The orchestra’s playing. Why aren’t you up there?”
“It’s not an orchestra. It’s—it doesn’t matter.” She crosses her arms. “I’m not playing because Beyton Ellis took over my spot.”
“What? Why?” Mari asks.
“Because he’s an Alpha?” I can read between the lines.
Dahlia nods and shakes her violin case in anger. “He’s a buffoon. Doesn’t know an oboe from an elbow.”
I snort a laugh. Mari just gapes at her. This isn’t like Dahlia at all. I think buffoon is the closest to a curse she’s ever come, and boy, that means she’s mad.
“But, D,” I say, “we all know you’re better. Hell, all of Sabine knows your better.”
“Oh, I know .” She stamps her foot. “I’m getting a drink.”
With that, my levelheaded, quiet, and brilliant sister stalks off.
“What in the world,” Mari says, still blinking in shock.
“Dahlia is human, after all,” I say with a shrug.
I spot Quinn again, and I wave her over.
“There you are,” I say.
“I couldn’t miss the Gardener’s big Garden soirée. It’s all anyone’s been talking about.” She has a glass of the party’s specialty drink in hand, and she sips it. “Hmm, this is delicious.”
“It’s from the Black Briar.” As I say it, the awareness in me shifts higher, like it’s intense, like one of them are just a breath away.
“Did you see the new Alpha?” Melissa Gilderoy whispers as she passes us by. “He’s a hottie.”
I’m thinking old, ugly and on Heath’s list of potential mates for me.
“No, not yet,” Mari says with her usual polite smile. “Do we know his name yet?”
“Blackwater,” she says. “I’ve never seen him around here before. Maybe he’s from the mainland?”
“Maybe,” I say. As Melissa saunters away, my mini lights up.
Killian
Say yes to the dance request and find out. Brat.