Page 23 of Their Promise

I glanced in the direction he was looking, knowing he meant Luca. “He’s not a loser. I know him from college. Why would I not talk to him or interact with him? It’s not like he has asked to court me or anything.”

He frowned. “Is that it? You want to be courted?”

Rolling my eyes, I said, “Every girl wants to be courted, Trey.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t come see you, but I had been informed that you were in a relationship and knew I couldn’t bring Kay or Mas to find you snuggled up with a man without them trying to murder him.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, stopping dancing to look at him.

He pulled me back into the dancers spinning around the room. “I had someone follow you for a bit at the college after you blocked our numbers. About a month after, they said you werespending a lot of time with that guy.” He jerked his chin towards Luca as we passed him again.

I threw my head back as I laughed and shook my head.

“Wait,” I said, realizing something. “I didn’t block your number. I only blocked Kayden’s. You were the one who stopped calling and texting me.”

“My calls, and Mason’s, were blocked as well. I bet if you check your phone, you will find that all are blocked.”

“Mind if I cut in?” Mason asked just as the song ended, before I could respond to Trey’s claims.

Trey’s hand gripped me tighter a second, clearly not wanting to end the conversation yet. But, after a moment, he bowed to me, holding my hand still, and kissed the back of it before transferring my hand to Mason’s outstretched palm.

The next song started and Mason expertly spun us around the room. He was the quiet, brooding alpha, the one who many considered a loose cannon because he often reacted swiftly with violence instead of trying to talk things out. There were some who thought he was wild and untamable, a threat more than a protector. His dark hair was shorter than the last time I had seen him, shaved on the sides and a few inches long on the top, so it hung in stylish waves that were all natural. His blackish-blue hair was the same color as his raven wings in animal form.

“Happy birthday,” he said after a silent minute of dancing.

“Thank you,” I replied and gave him a tense smile.

“You look gorgeous,” he added, his eyes dipping to my cleavage before he averted his gaze, making me smile truly.

“You look good in the suit,” I said.

He grunted. “I only wore it so you would be less embarrassed to dance with me.”

My brows furrowed. “Why would I be embarrassed to dance with you?”

“You know, plus if I just wore slacks and a shirt, we would stand out more than usual,” he explained.

“I’ve never been embarrassed to be seen with you,” I said honestly.

His eyes snapped to mine and widened a bit as he realized I was being sincere. “I …” he paused, looked around as if making sure no one could hear us, then leaned closer to whisper, “… I missed you.”

Emotional vulnerability was so hard for him. Had anyone else spoken in such a way, I would have laughed, but laughing would hurt his feelings and make him shut down.

“You could have come to see me,” I said softly, sadly.

He shook his head. “I might have killed someone.”

That wildness people worried about wasn’t too far off at times. “It would have helped mend our … issues.”

His brows furrowed. “You really thought we didn’t care for you?”

My throat constricted and instead of responding verbally, I nodded.

His grip on my hip tightened and his eyes softened. “I’m sorry, Lily. I tried to convince Trey to go see you, but he wouldn’t and wouldn’t tell me why he wouldn’t let us. You know he never gives orders, but he straight forbade us from going.”

If he’d told Mason that he had heard I was dating someone, I wasn’t sure what Mason would have done, knowing he was interested in me.

As we danced, I allowed myself to enjoy his presence, something I’d loved as a child, but had missed so much the past few years. He had been a constant in my life and being without him as well as Trey and Kayden while so far away from my family had made it even harder. I was proud of myself for enduring it and graduating, but it was so nice to be able to smell him and touch him. His wildness, his darkness, was similar to mine andI’d always felt like we were meant to find each other, though I’d never admitted that to anyone. The urge to rest my head on his shoulder was intense, but I resisted as the reminder of the pain of being separated was still fresh.

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