Chapter Twenty-Eight – Raeka
Walking down the stairs, wearing the beautiful bubblegum pink gown Gideon bought for me, I expected something out of a cheesy young adult movie.
You know, where the girl walks down in her prom dress and her date is waiting at the bottom, where he watches her the entire time, his eyes lit up like stars.
I mean, it sort of was like that. When I came down, Gideon was wearing a tailored black suit, his dark brown hair slicked back, ready to go—but he wasn’t alone. No, Pax and Colter were with him, waiting for me, and the moment they laid eyes on me, they watched me descend, all right.
Only, instead of their eyes lighting up like stars, you know, that hopeful, innocent expression love interests often wear in young adult movies, their gazes were full of fire and lust and any kind of passion you could think of.
The three of them looked like they wanted to drag me right back upstairs, tear off my gown, and take turns ravishing me all night and well into the morning.
And the weird thing is, I kind of wanted that, too.
But no. I spray my mind with an imaginary water bottle once I think that particular thought. Bad, bad Raeka.
Once I reach the bottom of the stairs in my heels, I’m instantly surrounded by varying levels of testosterone. “Raeka,” Gideon breathes out my name in a way that makes me think I stole the air out of his lungs or something, while Colter can’t stop himself from eyeing me up and down.
“I know, I know,” I say, flipping my curled hair over my shoulder in a dramatic fashion.
“I look like cotton candy. Stare at me too long and you might get cavities, boys.” I did my makeup to highlight my gray eyes, and I’m even wearing two elbow-length silk gloves.
If that shit doesn’t scream elegant, nothing would.
“Boys wouldn’t be thinking the thoughts I’m thinking right now,” Pax mutters with a hard frown. The tall, imposing alpha doesn’t sound happy about it, although it’s probably more due to the fact that he’s not joining Gideon and me tonight.
“Keep it in your pants, Mr. Alpha,” I tease him with a devilish smirk, and the alpha responds by growling and taking a step toward me, giving me a look that says he’s about one and a half seconds from tossing me over his shoulder and carrying me back upstairs.
Gideon coughs and sets a hand on Pax’s upper arm, and though the hunger in Pax’s gaze doesn’t vanish entirely, he does stop growling, at least. To me, the other alpha offers me his arm and says, “We should get going.” Though he doesn’t say it, I can hear it in his voice: we should get going before things escalate and we end up missing the party.
Can’t have that.
Besides, might do me good to get away from Pax. I might not be able to smell him, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t affect me.
I step closer to Gideon and hook my hand through his arm, letting him lead the way. We make it to the front door, where I note his car waiting, idling outside. He opens the door for us, and we’re seconds from stepping outside when I feel a gentle hand on my back.
Gideon lets me go so I can turn to face Colter. The beta wears an oversized hoodie, with one hand stuffed into the hoodie’s pocket while his other hangs at his side. He gives me such an earnest look, I do what I do next instinctively, automatically.
I kiss him. Even though I’m wearing a pretty pink matte lip gloss, I kiss him right on the lips. “I’ll see you later, alligator.” When I pull away from him, I note the pinkish tint to his lips and giggle.
Behind him, Pax stands with a scowl. “Why the fuck does he get a kiss?”
“Because he’s sweet and you’re… not?” I give the alpha my best smile, probably overdoing it on the flirtatious tone, but whatever.
I bat my eyelashes up at him a few times, and then, before he can reach around Colter for me, I hurry to join Gideon at his car, who watched the whole thing unfold with a smile on his face.
Gideon opens the passenger door for me, saying under his breath, “Was that really necessary?”
“Take one look at Pax’s face and tell me it was unnecessary.” I get in, smug, and he shuts the door. He does glance at Pax and Colter in the doorway, and as he rounds the front of the vehicle, I see him smiling and shaking his head.
Hey, he’ll never have a boring life with me around, that’s for sure.
As we drive away, I ask, “So, how do you want to play this?” I’ll be honest: I haven’t spent much time with him after the whole incident with him and Pax.
I saw him during meal times, and that was pretty much it.
I don’t know if he was giving me space or what, but either way, I don’t feel like asking.
Let’s just move on, hmm? Let’s pretend that night never happened. Should be easy, right?
Well, if I ignore the earnest beta and the prickly alpha at the Chase house waiting for us to return later tonight, it’s easy. Not nearly as easy when they’re all standing around me, staring at me like they want to devour me whole.
“What do you mean?” he asks me.
“How do you want to play tonight? Like, am I playing a part in front of these people or what? I assume you don’t want me acting like myself—my parents always hated when I was myself in front of their friends or at the country club. I could be a ditsy omega that laughs at anything you say—”
“How about you be yourself, but don’t openly insult anyone?”
“Oof, that’s going to be tough,” I mumble, and Gideon shoots me a worried look, which makes me chuckle. “Don’t worry. I can play nice and make you look good. That’s what us omegas are for.”
I mean it as a joke, but he speaks seriously, “It’s not what you’re for.”
I can’t help it. My retort is ready. “It’s not?
You could’ve fooled me. I thought me pretending to be your omega was what you wanted.
I thought that was the whole point of going to this party and proving to the board members or whoever that you’re moving on in your personal life and that you can turn things around for the company.
Me making you look good is kind of the underlying theme there. ”
“Maybe,” he admits, “that’s what it was supposed to be like, but that’s not how it is. Don’t pretend you don’t know that by now.”
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“Aren’t you, though?”
I stare hard at him, and he can’t match my glare with one of his own, because he’s busy driving. “No,” I say. “I’m not.”
Gideon drives with one hand after he reaches for me across the center console.
His fingers grab mine, and though I don’t feel his heat through the gloves, the pressure is enough to calm me down.
“Listen to me,” he says. “I won’t force you to feel or do anything you’re not ready for, but you have to know that what happened was…
none of it was pretend for me, and I don’t think it was pretend for Pax, either. ”
I want to argue with him, out of habit, because I’m a brat and don’t like admitting that someone else is right, but I don’t. Instead, I keep my mouth shut and ruminate on his words.
Thankfully, he doesn’t push me on it. He drives in silence to our destination, a mansion a good thirty minutes away, but he does hold my hand the entire time, and as much as I hate to admit it, the hand-holding does bring me some comfort.
It shouldn’t, but it does.
The mansion is hopping by the time we arrive. There are so many people there, there’s even a valet, a young and hopeful pair of betas who are dressed in sleek black outfits with constant smiles plastered on their faces.
As Gideon helps me out of the car and I take his arm, he hands the valet the keys. Together, we walk toward the massive front entryway to the mansion, whose doors are propped open. The moment we step inside, it’s like walking into a whole different world.
So many people. Alphas, betas, even some bonded omegas with their packs.
All dressed to the nines. So many jewels, so many sparkling things.
The air must be thick with numerous scents, because Gideon wrinkles his nose—and I don’t know if he wrinkles it due to the pheromones in the air or if it’s simply due to a hazardous mix of added perfume.
For once, I’m thankful for those shots. Not only do they save me from smelling Gideon and Pax, but they also save me right now, when I’d probably be visibly showing my disgust much like him.
And thank goodness for my scent-blocking cream.
Not every alpha in here is going to be bonded to an omega.
The less appetizing I smell, the better.
“Wow,” I say as he leads me through the house. “I had no idea there would be this many… people.” For some reason, when he said it was a dinner party, I assumed there would only be enough people to sit around a long table or something, not an entire mansion full of rich people.
I wouldn’t say I feel out of place here. I’m a Whittenhall, after all. I grew up surrounded by people like this. Still, it’s been a while, and I was never a fan of the fake niceties that tend to encompass parties like this.
It’s all fake. They’re all fake. I’d much rather be myself and tell it how it is.
As we walk down the main hall, Gideon mumbles, “There does seem to be more than I thought, too.”
“Well, if there’s one thing I know about these things, it’s that we need to start making our rounds.
First the one throwing the party, then everyone else on the board.
” I bring my free hand up to my hair and fluff it up a bit.
“I’m ready. Bring it.” The alpha beside me doesn’t say anything away, so I tilt my head as I look at him and ask, “What?”
I’ve only ever seen Gideon ruffled the night I stumbled upon him in his room.
He’s always been well-kept, perfectly manicured, never a shadow of stubble on his jaw.
Tonight is no different. He wears that suit perfectly, and even in my heels, he towers over me.
He still wears his glasses though, and his blue eyes are such a dark hue they’re almost unreal.
He really is a handsome man, isn’t he?