Page 10 of Make Me

Late summer/early fall

After battle in Beyond Her Sight

Gold fabric shimmered and danced in the evening twilight. The dress sparkled against the firelight. But it dulled in comparison to the woman who wore it.

Zack took another sip, letting the sweet wine slide down his throat. The sights and taste of the wine threw him back to another bonfire not too long ago. Bethany threw her head back and laughed at something Holly said. The gold dress clung to her like a second skin, highlighting every curve and making her green eyes pop.

As much as he wanted to keep watching her, he let his eyes slide away, instinctively finding Cody in the crowd. The handsome Alpha Heir was standing at the edge of the crowd, talking to one of Holly’s mates. He drank in the sight of him. In black pants and a white linen shirt, Cody had done the bare minimum to dress up, but he still looked good enough to eat with the buttons on his shirt opened to show his tan chest. He felt a distinctively wolf-like growl rumble in his throat as he caught sight of a pair of female wolf shifters eyeing Cody with interest.

He forced his eyes away. He had to be careful not to let his eyes linger too long. Not in a crowd of observant shifters. Tensions between witches and shifters were always high. The last thing he needed to do was display his interest for both Bethany and Cody openly. It would be one thing if they were regular shifters, but both were Alpha Heirs to their respective groups, and there was more at stake in the eyes of the Realm. The Council's ban on intermixed relationships in the Realm was a direct consequence of events during the Great War. The Great War itself was ignited by a fabricated lie but that didn’t mean the rest of the Realm would accept an intermixed relationship between the two Alpha Heirs and the wizard they met at the Academy.

Something bumped into his elbow.

“Oops! Sorry.” A very drunk wolf shifter swayed next to him, the contents of his cup sloshing onto the ground. “Oh hey, you’re that wizard who’s friends with our Alpha Heir. And the pride’s Alpha Heir.”

Zack didn’t like the way the shifter said friends. Same-sex couples weren’t as rare as intermixed mates, but they were treated almost the same. Zack would shout from the rooftops that Cody and Bethany were his if he could. Cody would as well, if he could break the Alpha Command his father had put on him. Bethany, on the other hand… Well, he couldn’t tell where she stood. Her mom followed the law to the letter about intermixed matings and had never given her blessing for one, from what Zack knew, but it was hard to tell where Bethany stood on it. Lately, she seemed to be softening to the idea, but still… He and Cody wanted her, and she had to want them back.

He wasn’t going to say any of that to this drunk wolf, though, so he simply took a sip of wine and nodded. “I am.”

A few paces away, someone scoffed. His lean frame and mannerisms had Zack guessing he was a cat. “It’s bad enough that our Alpha Heir is friends with a wolf but a wizard too?”

“And I bet you think she would be better off hanging out with you?” Zack asked, bemused.

The cat shifter’s face darkened. “Listen here, wizard. Beth is my intended consort, and she will not be sullying herself with a magic user and a dog.”

The drunk wolf next to him burst out laughing. “Alonzo, you wish she was your consort. I heard Alpha Sadara hasn’t arranged anything yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time,” Alonzo snapped at him.

“You think Alpha Sadara would let you be her heir’s consort when you’re related to that traitor, Roland?”

Alonzo snarled and stepped closer. Zack stiffened. He could hold his own, but if Alonzo shifted, and others got involved, that could potentially ruin relations between the pack and pride. Cody had told him how strained they were on a good day.

“What is going on here?”

Zack relaxed as Cody’s voice came over his shoulder. Cody stopped next to him and took in the group with a keen eye. Cody’s happy-go-lucky personality made people underestimate him, but the eyes that took in this scene were all alpha.

“Sampson, get out of here and get some water,” Cody barked at the wolf.

Sampson backed away, hands in the air.

Alonzo stepped up till his chest was almost touching Cody’s. He was bristling with anger. Zack let his magic rise in his center, ready for anything. “Both of you need to stay away from Beth!” he demanded.

Cody’s eyebrows furrowed at Alonzo’s nickname. Bethany hated being called Beth. Alonzo had to know that.

“Are you going to make me?” Cody asked calmly, folding his arms across his chest. He was a half a head taller than Alonzo and almost a foot broader. But Alonzo didn’t back down. Just what this situation needed.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Bethany hissed, stepping next to Zack. Zack held in a sigh as her arm brushed his. “Alonzo, what the fuck?”

Alonzo reluctantly tore his eyes away from Cody’s. “I could ask you the same,” he hissed at Bethany, and Zack stiffened at his tone. “Why would you bring them here?” He waved his hand at Cody and Zack. “As Alpha Heir, you should know better.”

“First of all, as Alpha Heir, I can do whatever the fuck I want.” Bethany’s green eyes were blazing. “Second of all, I don’t answer to you. Third of all, not only are these my friends, but they are also Ambassadors to the Queen, so you should shut your mouth before you insult anyone else further.”

Alonzo’s hackles went up at her words, and Zack took a step closer to Bethany when Alonzo did. Before the confrontation could escalate further, Alpha Sadara was calling the celebration to order. Alonzo stalked off and Zack relaxed slightly, although he kept his eyes on the male shifter till he disappeared in the crowd. Bethany stared at his retreating back, and Zack would have paid gold to know what she was thinking. Was her defense of them just an Alpha Heir preserving an alliance, or did it mean something more?

Bethany’s POV

What was Alonzo thinking? Bethany glared at his retreating back. He could have jeopardized their alliance.

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