Page 8 of Fated or Knot

In response, he beckoned for me to dance with him again, offering his long, graceful fingers in a showy flourish as the orchestra started up another tune. I bit my lip, tempted. I needed to leave but reasoned that one more dance wouldn’t hurt. I let him take the lead in showing me the steps again.

“I’m Falindel, by the way,” he said once we were moving together. “I prefer Fal. It’s less stuffy.” He pronounced it like the season fall.

“Hi, Fal. I’m Lark.”

His smile included a hint of fang. All alphas had a pair of them, but his seemed particularly sharp.

“You’re good at this,” I noted. Fal had seemed to notice my right side wasn’t as strong as my left and compensated for it somehow. To saywewere dancing was a laugh, though. It was about ninety percent him, with me along for the journey as we traveled further onto the dance floor.

He shrugged. “Practice, though I shouldn’t downplay it too much. My father insisted I dance until the dark of night some days.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, frowning. That didn’t sound pleasant.

“No need to be. I mostly enjoyed it, and now I get to dance with you, so surely I’m doing something right.” He winked, a flash of tanned skin in the low lighting around us.

I ducked my head with a flattered giggle. I was nothing special, just a servant wearing illusions. Someone who had no idea what a female should say to a noble male while they danced. Not that I should get his hopes up. My goal was to steal a bit of wealth and run, not give any alpha a false sense of my interest.

And it wasn’t like we were scent matches. He’d barely smelled me and hadn’t drawn me close enough for me to breathe him in either with all the scent blocker misting over us.

“May I ask you a question, Lark?” He broke through my concentration, my brow knit as I tried not to step on his toes.

I missed some cue and nearly stumbled into him, which he caught without trouble. “Um, sure,” I said. Stars, I was so clumsy.

“Tell me a secret,” Fal said, his voice a low purr. It felt like an invitation to lean in and share a private moment with him. “Why did you come here tonight? Truly.”

My gaze darted away as my wings flattened defensively to my back. I hadn’t…no, I’d been too distracted by dancing to steal anything from him. Maybe it wasn’t a serious question. Maybe he was flirting and I’d been about to make it weird by overreacting.

There were hidden depths I couldn’t say to answer his question. But I still offered him a glimmer of myself with something that qualified asa secret. “I wanted to be seen,” I murmured.And to have the freedom to be like the other omegas here, dressed to be desired and able to choose mates for love. Not here to take and run.

I didn’t think I’d share any of this aloud with anyone, but why not Fal? He’d probably forget it by tomorrow, just a throwaway comment from one of the silly omegas he’d met tonight.

“Did you?” He had a teasing tone again, but I wasn’t quite sure hewasflirting, with how his gaze suddenly seemed intent on me.

“That was before I noticed how many fae were here,” I continued in a lighter tone.

“So many souls here, and yet only one scent match, if a member of your future pack even attended. Did you expect to find yours tonight?”

“No. Did you?”

He dipped his chin. “I came a very long way hoping to find my one true mate.”

“Well, I hope you find her,” I said sincerely.

Fal smiled back with a hint of mischief. “I see you, Lark.” I doubt he realized how much I wanted to hear something like that. My wings fluttered with my happiness. “But I want to know so much more. You seem quite tired. Perhaps we could sit and chat once this song is finished?”

I should’ve told him no. I really did need to leave, and he should’ve stopped wasting time with me, a graceless swan, and gotten back to searching for his scent match. But the song in question was already nearly done, and as it concluded, his hand tightened on my back. “My tutors thought I’d earn myself a mate one day by doing this,” he said.

He swung me toward the ground, dipping me like Glory’s father had with the queen. For a moment, his face was close enough to kiss, but I was too busy yelping.

Blood flooded straight to my head and back as soon as I was on my feet. That was…thrilling. And stars, what was that incredible smell?

I lidded my eyes and inhaled. It was dreamy, a bright and fresh scent, like crisp grass and sunshine. I pictured lazy summer days out on the lawn with nothing to do but play games with my family and the neighbor’s kids. I’d lie out on the green,living carpet with my face raised and wings spread to bake in the sun.

Before Cymora, before Laurel, before I learned how much life could hurt. Yearning filled my chest to be that summer child again and redo my life with different decisions. Perhaps I wouldn’t be here under false pretenses if it were possible.

“You have a lovely smile,” Fal murmured.

I blinked back to reality. He stood right in front of me, gaze trained on another alpha as he shook his head in warning with a brief baring of his fangs to get the other male to leave. I was leaning toward him for more—it washisscent that smelled like my childhood. His lips took on a knowing curve as he offered his arm to lead me off the dance floor. We avoided other couples starting to sway together to a slower tune.

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