Page 2 of Brandy Snap: Part Two
I’d gone from a house of bleach and brandy to having scents, sounds, and light thrown in my face.
“This way, Ms Sanderson.” The only thing I could see was the black suit of the man at the gate ahead of me who motioned to follow him. I kept my head high as we passed through a tall iron gate which looked like a smaller version of Knottinghill Spa’s.
“Reporters are forbidden from entering Risler House. If they even touch the fence, the guards will apprehend them, so please do not worry. You are safe here,” he tried to reassure me as his gaze hovered on my bruise.
He turned away before I could give him a look. That speech might have worked on anyone else visiting, but there was no way anyone could convince me this place was ‘safe’.
When Sin’s assistant sent me the details, the second I saw ‘Risler House’, a bolt of energy went through me. And I wanted to make the most of this.
Obviously, there was still Zania’s threat hanging over my head, because she might actually have me killed. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d have to deal with a death threat, but I’d prepared for that, too.
I’d already used over half of the money to pay for three years of care for Mum, so now I could focus on getting back at Zania.
Her precious son still needed me to pretend to be his mate for reasons they hadn’t made one hundred percent clear to me. And I might not get another chance to reach her, so I planned to go all out.
The flashes cleared from my sight, and, in the run between the arch and the front door of the house, I saw them again.
A sigh shuddered through my whole body, and I stopped so I could feel the relief that flooded me. Only to be followed by the dense weight of disappointment that sunk through me as my gaze clashed with Kai’s, and I realised the bond with him was gone.
He was too far away for me to see his reaction. I didn’t know if he noticed or cared. Maybe he was over the moon that he didn’t have to feel me anymore, or maybe I mattered so little to him he’d have the same indifferent look he did when Zania attacked us.
I bit back the sting of the memory, reminding myself I wasn’t here for that. I didn’t just come for them, even though my heart rate picked up, the thumps growing louder with each click of my heels against the smooth stone pads which wound towards the front steps of the house.
All three of them wore suits: Sin in a stark black, Caspian dressed in steely-blue, and Kai in blood red, buttoned to the waist to expose his bare chest.
I wanted to dip my chin and hide away from them, to push my hair so it swept over my cheek.
I was so confident a minute ago when I exposed the bruise. But as I got closer to see two scowls and a blank expression, I was already doubting myself.
Until Sin broke away from his pack, and I froze as he strode through the bright garden to meet me halfway.
“Never answer them,” he murmured as he reached for me.
The back of my dress plunged to my tailbone. I gasped as a soft glove stroked my lower back, twitching as I met his serious gaze.
As soon as he touched me, my heart settled. The anxiety which had almost ruined me released enough that I could take a deep breath without feeling like I was being choked by an imaginary scent.
“W-What?” I stuttered, taken aback by the sudden contact. I expected them all to be angry and distant after how we left things.
But Sin moved in, pressing his chest against my arm, fingertips sweeping up the curve of my spine, instantly driving me wild. Sparks danced through my head as he nudged my ear with his nose.
“The reporters,” he answered in a hard tone. “No matter how they shout at you, they don’t warrant your time.” He pulled back to meet me with his sharp purple eyes and his shock of white hair. “You’re a mate of the Risler pack. You are the only one who decides who deserves your attention.”
He said it with so much confidence that I almost forgot I was only pretending to be their mate. And the photos that might end up online didn’t matter, because I’d leave them as soon as the Selection Ceremony was over.
But the way he held me, how he rubbed himself against me, how his scent carried a hint of lust… It was all how an alpha would react if he hadn’t seen his mate for days.
“Um… Excuse me? Sin?” I placed my hand on his waist, leaning away from him. “Are you scent marking me?”
I was going to ask ‘Here? Right out in the open?’ but I didn’t know if it was immature to get embarrassed by things like that. Would a real omega complain about her alpha nuzzling her when cameras flashed behind them, capturing a shot through the archway which led to one of the most expensive houses in London?
“Indeed.” He nodded with another serious look. “Last time, I made the mistake of marking you without my omega present, so I factored that in.”
I peeked around Sin’s arm to see Caspian and Kai, both standing there with their arms crossed, staring daggers straight into Sin’s back.
I didn’t think doing it in front of them made it any better…
With Sin’s closeness, my omega instincts were already stirring, and knowing Caspian and Kai were so near made it even more difficult to think clearly.
