Dance Electric (Betas in Waiting #34)

Chapter One

Dex Bander used the fume hood as her hands moved steadily. Dyeing shoes was a delicate process but immensely satisfying. The current batch was brilliant blue for a new contemporary ballet.

The dyed ribbons were hanging on the rack, so she took some of the dried shoes with dancer names marked inside them, and the rhinestones started to go on one at a time with clear adhesive under each stone.

The ballet class was about to troop down to meet her, and she brought out the different pointe shoes to show them. They always gasped at the life cycle of the satin, cardboard, and glue that brought such grace and beauty to the stage.

She kept working on bejewelling the shoe until she heard the sound of giggles and smaller feet. Dex smiled and kept working as the littles arrived at her door and knocked.

“Come in, come in. Welcome to the shoe room of the Aquilar Ballet.”

She carefully put the shoe down and got to her feet.

Six little girls with two adults came into the shoe room. The girls were looking up and around with wonder in their eyes.

The adults smiled. The blond man said, “These ladies are here to find out how pointe shoes are treated and how to make them last longer when they get them.”

“Oh. Good. I am always someone who wants to wear them as earrings.”

The girls giggled, and Dex began her routine, beginning with her introducing herself and then showing the girls the custom shoes she made for the special events.

“Now, most dancers take care of their own shoes so they don’t have to come in here, but some like me to get their shoes ready for performance.

I have records of each dancer who comes through and how they like me to prepare their shoes.

” Dex smiled and showed them the normal modifications and how they were achieved, with plenty of disclaimers that they should only do this once their instructor told them they were ready for pointe shoes and once they learned what their feet liked.

Until they knew what their feet liked and didn’t like, they couldn’t figure out what customizations they would need.

The girls nodded and seemed to get it.

The man said, “We have given them the lectures and explained why. They know that they have to wait until their bodies are strong enough to support their entire body on their toes.”

“Good. There are a lot of parents who come through who want to buy their little ones pointe shoes in the gift shop.”

She grinned and let the girls hold some of the fanciest shoes, explaining the performances and how the shoes were tools as well as part of the costume, and they would always smell a little bit like feet. That was where the tool was used.

Dex was almost through showing the girls the dye and shellac station when there was a knock.

She looked toward the door, and the girls all said, “Ooh.”

Dex sighed. “Hey, Tosh. What do you need?”

The gorgeous man of rich brown skin, tousled black hair, and pale green eyes replied, “I need two sets dyed and modified. You know what I like.”

She held out her hand. “Hand them over.”

He nodded and handed her two long bags containing pointe shoes that would fit his long feet perfectly.

“When do you need them?”

“Vincent said you could do them tonight.”

Dex flinched. “Of course. Right. I will get on them. Thanks.”

She smiled at the girls. “Before you get going, did you want to see how to darn the tips of the shoes? Sewing isn’t just for girls; it’s for anyone who wants to tie things together to make them stronger.”

She sat at her workbench, threaded the needle with thick darning thread in black, and set to work.

One of the girls asked, “Can’t you just buy the shoes in black?”

Dex grinned. “Dancers are fussy. Even a different fabric gives the shoe a different feel. Since everything is happening around your feet, you need to trust what you are dancing in.” Her rapid stitches finished the first toe; she snipped it off and worked on the second shoe.

She continued talking while the girls watched her finish the second set of shoes.

“Once they are darned, I take them and dye them. The shoes get a different dye than the ribbons.” She gloved and masked up then put everything under the fume hood. She got the black Tosh preferred and began the deliberate process of dyeing the shoes with smooth moves that didn’t leave blotches.

She put it on a stand and went through the other three.

When she was done, she stripped off her gloves and turned to the rapt girls.

“And now I have to make a black dye bath for the ribbons and elastics. I think that our time is over, but if you see Tosh dancing in black shoes, they were coloured in this room.”

The girls hugged her, the adults shook her hand and left her little domain. She sighed, turned back to her bench, and got back to the sparkly shoes. If Vincent had mentioned this evening to Tosh, he didn’t want her there.

Tonight was Vincent’s big night. Having her there would be a distraction. It wasn’t every night that an omega took on a pack of his own.

Dex had her earbuds in and was bopping along while she worked when a hand spun her around. A fist slammed into her face, another punched her abdomen, and a voice growled, “Get up. Get dressed, and stand at your brother’s side. You are an embarrassment, but you are still family.”

She fought the darkness and nodded. “Right. Sorry, Dad.”

He turned and left her little shop while she struggled to get to her feet. He had brought her dress and shoes. She would obey. Today, there was going to be a new facet to her appearance. Today, she wasn’t putting on makeup.

She pulled up at the pack house, where over two dozen cars were parked. She felt the crackle that moved over her skin, and she calmed it down. Just an hour and she would be able to act. No more hostages.

She walked to the door, and when it opened, a startled bodyguard let her in. She knew what she looked like, and she was happy to be able to give Kurt and his pack a visible reason to keep her brother away from his family.

She walked into the room, gliding with all the grace of twelve years of ballet training. Men looked, gasped, and backed away as Vincent was signing his contract with his new pack while their parents stood behind him, smiling.

Dex mentally grinned when their gazes touched her and locked. Horror filled her father’s gaze. He moved over toward her, trying to be casual. He hissed, “Where is your makeup?”

“Makeup doesn’t cover this. Vin, you good?”

Vincent looked at his new pack and then at her. He paused, looked sad, but nodded. “Yes, Dex, I am good.”

“Great. I am going to take this big bitch outside and have a conversation.”

Her father grabbed her arm and tried to squeeze. She grabbed his fingers, bent them back, grabbed his throat, lifted him, and slammed him to the floor. Humming to herself, she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck while she dragged him out and into the back yard.

She heard Vincent saying proudly, “That’s my little sister.”

She grinned and got her father outside, throwing him across the grass.

She let lightning crawl over her skin and said, “Now, Dad. I am taking umbrage at your behaviour. I don’t know why you are so obsessed with hitting your children, but I am damned if I will let you anywhere near Vin or any kids he has. ”

Her father stumbled to his feet. “How?”

“Some omegas get cute, and some of them get angry. Guess which one I am?” She sent a crackle of lightning toward him, and he jumped out of the way.

“Oh, come on. I am half your fucking size. You can take a hit. Of course, you cheated, so I am cheating.” She lifted both hands and zapped at him, making him scuttle around to avoid the strikes.

He was breathing heavily. “Oh, come on. You should be doing cardio. Why are you so winded?”

Her voice was a cheerful singsong. When she heard the police arriving, she lowered her hands and let the lightning dissipate.

He shook his head and lunged at her. She ducked and flipped him, sending him into a landing flat on his back.

The police came around the corner, and she smiled.

“Hey, Officer McNally.” She pulled the video camera off her dress and handed it over.

“He tried to hit me again. I also have bruising on my upper arm.”

“And we have the video from your workplace and the other episodes. He’s going to have to explain why he likes to hit girls and omegas.

Oh, he’s my stepfather. He has a weird combination of attraction, protectiveness, and sexual frustration with omegas and me.

Our other brother left the freaking city after he found his pack.

He has stories as well. Tonight was Vincent’s big night, so Dad stayed away from his face.

I am guessing that there are quite a few body shots. ”

“He will have to file his own report.”

Dex smiled with her unbruised face. “No, now he has a pack to help him.”

Vincent was standing, and Kurt and the pack had formed up around him. Kurt nodded. “We will take him to the hospital for an exam and get photographs.”

McNally nodded. “Thanks, Captain.”

Their mother came out. “Dex, what did you do?”

“Nothing. I just work out.” She smiled. “What did you do?”

“What?”

“When Dad said he was going to trespass in my place of work and beat me before he even asked if I would go to Vincent’s contract party, what did you say? What did you do?”

Her mother teared up.

“Yeah, not falling for it. You might want to follow Dad and wait to bail him out like a good wife. He just lost all claim to his adult kids.”

She got pale. “What? But the contract?”

“The Omega Centre put in an abuse clause. If abuse can be proven, the perpetrator will be fined double the contract fee, and the proceeds will be given to the omega’s pack.” Dex grinned viciously. “Thanks to his persistence, I have eight examples of abuse to Vin.”

Her mother paled. “You don’t.”