Page 19 of Stolen Oath
“Char?” My croak was met with nblinking eyeballs ready to pop out of my friend’s face.
Instead of an answer, her shaking finger stabbed at the air in the direction of the trickling water coming out of the open mouths of the wolves. Dumbly I blinked at the fountain a few times before seeing what she was mutely trying to show me. Between the lips of each wolf a white Calla dangled, its long petals barely grazing the water before it fell.
“What is going on?” Dimitri to his credit didn’t so much as turn in case someone would notice something was amiss.
My temper flared and all shock dissipated into nothingness.
“Do Angela’s parents decorate with Calla Lilies on a regular bases or is tonight a special occasion?” Pushing the words through clenched teeth I glared daggers at the back of the alpha’s head. “Did you tell anyone that Char and I would be accompanying you here?”
That made the alpha jerk in the driver seat like he got electrocuted. It gave me great satisfaction to unnerve him but at that moment the reaction was unsettling for me, too.
“I told Angela, yes.” And just like that he was back to being calm and collected as if nothing was wrong.
“How do you do it?” Pushing aside all the ramifications of me being on pack’s land while Calla’s dangled to taunt me, I voiced the question circling my mind and kept my gaze on him in hopes to stop the panic attack, which was clawing at my insides. I’d be damned if I let the shifters see me have a meltdown.
“Do what?” He glanced at me for a split second through the rearview mirror but kept his eyes on the road while we rolled slowly forward toward the lined-up valets waiting to park our car.
“Stay so calm in the middle of the shit-show invading our lives?”
Dimitri shook his head at me although one side of his mouth curled up at the corner. Char snorted a nervous laugh but said nothing, instead opting to scan the area around us like it would reveal some secrets to us suddenly while smoothing her floor length black dress in hopes to remove the invisible wrinkles.
“I wish I had your control sometimes.” Muttering under my breath I wiped my sweaty palms on the slacks I was wearing, following my friend’s lead.
We might have chaos wrecking us inside but that didn’t mean we couldn’t look presentable and collected on the outside. The silky blouse I had on me, dipped dangerously low at the front where the fabric gathered, and it tickled my skin as I shifted left and right in my seat, reminding me to straighten from my slouch. Its deep emerald color brought out the color of my eyes more, or so Char loved to say, and I didn’t argue when she told me to put it on.
No one had ever accused me of being a fashionista.
But, I was digressing and focused back on our surroundings.
“What do you think it could mean?” Char asked under her breath, doing her best not to move her lips. “Apart from the obvious.”
“Whoever was hired to decorate was partial to lilies?” Dimitri slowed the car down and waited patiently for the young boy to dart and open the door for him.
Two others, bright eyed and bushytailed, rushed as well yanking the doors open for Char and I.
“I very much doubt that.” I forced a smile as I joined Dimitri and Char at the entrance of the mansion and accepted the offered elbow from the alpha. “But, we are here now. Let’s mingle with the wolves.”
“Behave.” Char mumbled as we allowed the alpha to lead us inside the wolves’ den.
Literally.
If I expected some extravagance which was more typical for the vamps, truth be told, I would’ve been very disappointed. Apart from everyone being dressed in their finest, the place looked cozy and intimate. More a family reunion than a socialite party.
“Darling,” a woman’s sultry purr set my teeth on edge. “You made it.”
Angela emerged from the mass of people milling around, and glided over the polished floors toward us with both arms opened wide and her eyes locked on her male. A natural reaction on my part, I tried to tug my arm from the crook of his elbow and step away but the bastard tightened his hold on me.
“Angela.” Dimitri offered a sharp nod to his wife-to-be and instead of embracing her as she expected he released Char who had locked arms with him opposite me, and pushed my best friend between them. “You remember Charmaine Marietti, don’t you?”
The blonde bombshell skidded to a stop and sharpened her gaze on Char like the predator that she was with a flick of her high ponytail that kept swinging at her back like a pendulum. My friend straightened her shoulders and I braced myself in case she tried reaching inside her tote for some potion which would melt the skin off Angela’s face or something. What in the stars was Dimitri thinking using the sorceress as a shield?
Was he trying to get us killed?
“In any case, I’m sure Angela remembers me.” In a crazy attempt to avoid a disaster, I yanked my arm away from the alpha none to gently and stepped next to Char so I can face the she-wolf, shoulder to shoulder with my friend.
“We met once.” Her bright blue gaze snapped to me and narrowed.
My heart started a staccato rhythm, bouncing off my ribs while I wondered why I wasn’t home researching the new job offer instead of accompanying Dimitri to his rendezvous with his lover. Not for the first time I regretted letting them rope me into coming to the party.
