Page 16 of Her Cruel Alpha

“Better than yours,” I grumbled back. “Your wife was practically running from the altar.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Besides the point.”

Frank came up, slapping his hand onto my back. “Now the fun part starts!” Frank yanked into a tight side hug. “Lots of beer coming our way.”

The party was in full swing twenty minutes later. I was talking with the guys near the food. Jone and Jay stood to the left of me while Frank, Maddox, and Aaron stood to my right.

“Can’t believe you’re the next one that got paired up,” Maddox said, looking at everyone who attended the wedding.

“What are you jealous of?” Jones asked with a smirk plastered on his face. He brought his cup up, taking a swig of his drink.

Maddox laughed. “Of giving up my single life? No. But if anyone should be married first, it should have been me. I mean, look at me.” He waved a hand at himself. “No offense, Jay. But I for sure should have been the first to be paired up.”

“What’s there to look at?” Aaron asked with a laugh, waving a hand at Maddox.

Frank started to laugh hard, and a few people turned to us. Maddox growled as he rolled his eyes. “You all know I’m the best looking, and you’re just jealous.”

Someone cleared their throat, and we turned to see that Sam had the microphone. “Alright, now that everyone has gotten settled, how about we invite the new bride and groom to the stage for their first dance?” Sam wiggled her eyebrow, and I scowled. I loved my sister to death, but this was cruel even for her.

All the guys looked at me, and I frowned. “I thought I told her to take that out.”

“What, you don't want to dance with your wife?” Aaron asked with a tilt of the head.

“We’re not exactly on steady ground right now.” I set my drink down and tried to straighten my shirt.

I quickly spotted Sam pulling at Katie’s arm, pulling her towards the dance floor. Jay elbowed me in the side. “You can’t run from it. Go dance with her.”

“I don’t recall you having a first dance,” I snapped back.

“He actually did,” Maddox said. “You were in the bathroom.”

I sighed and walked out to the dance floor, where Sam left Katie. Katie stood nervously, and before I could say anything, she whispered. “I don’t know how to dance.”

My eyebrows went up. “Really?”

She scowled. “Do I look like the type of person to take lessons?”

I offered her a soft smile. “Just follow my lead. Your dress is big enough; no one will see your feet.” I reached out, took her hand, and pulled her gently against me. I placed my hand on her back, gently folded my fingers around her, and spun her.

The world seemed to disappear as we moved gently to the music that played. She swallowed, looking around, and I chuckled. “You know, for someone who doesn’t know how to dance, you're doing really well.”

She blushed. “Thanks. I’m trying hard not to step on you.”

Katie and I had talked a little since the blow-up with the Council. We had moved her into the house, and she spent most of her time in her room. I’d only seen a few times since, which was to grab food or sit outside. I could tell this was a hard change for her, and I had given her space.

“You do look beautiful,” I said, giving her another smile. “Stunning. I imagine Sam helped with this, so she did well.”

She blushed again as I spun us once more. “Thank you. You look nice, too. Very dapper.”

I stared at her, feeling a tug deep in my chest, wanting to stay near her. I wanted to protect her from anything and everything. Yet, I wanted the world to see just how beautiful she was at the same time. I wanted them to see Katie the way I did.

We danced for a few more moments before the song ended, and everyone started to clap. Katie pulled herself free and made her way towards our table. I followed after her.

Katie sat down and drank her water. I sat down next to her and looked over the crowd. Everyone was still dancing, andsome people were grabbing food. It was loud but not terribly loud, and you could hold a conversation.

I glanced at Katie, who rubbed her fingers together nervously on her lap.

“Is something wrong?”

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