Page 50 of The Wild Moon
He shrugged. “Have you met my father? He’s somewhat demanding. I want to make him proud.”
I blinked. That was almost adorable. It would have been extremely so if his father wasn’t a ginormous douchebag.
“How did you know I was adopted?” I asked, deciding to try and take advantage of this momentary bit of weakness. I pushed with my Soulbond, with everything, trying to make myself as appealing to him as possible, leaning on our connection, clearing my mind of all the hate I could.
I was desperate.
“Not now,” he said, escorting me through the doors and into the ballroom.
For once, I agreed with him. As we entered, easily fifty pairs of eyes turned to look at us. Smiles broke out on dozens of faces as we passed. I was among the pack upper crust. The enforcers, the powerful families, the wealthy. Even in a dusty farming town of only four hundred, there was going to be those with and without.
I was now surrounded by those who had it, or who brown-nosed Lars enough to be granted audience into his social circles.
They all started coming forward, congratulating us, telling us how happy they were and that we would make good pack rulers once Lars moved on. I didn’t think Lars had any intention of giving up his power any time soon. Based on the language he used every time I’d heard him, he was planning to stay Alpha until he died.
I wondered briefly if I could use the Soulbond to pressure Johnathan intoremovinghis father.
He cast a look at me, a tiny frown creasing the skin between his eyes for just a moment. Had he been able to tell what I was thinking there? Or had he just interpreted the general mood coming from me?
“Come on,” he said. “Time to do the rounds. This is part of it.”
“As long as we get food after,” I said, my stomach growling.
Johnathan nodded, and I let myself be dragged into the middle of the fawning crowd. We chatted and moved about, me hanging onto his arm while Johnathan showed me off like I was a prized show horse. Or heifer. I didn’t really know which description was more apt, but I did know that I hated it. I was an object to these people, nothing more.
Good for babies and bread, or some shit, I’m sure.
The thought of bread set my stomach to growling so loud that it interrupted our current conversation with Lester Pirron, a farmer whose only claim to power was that he had more land than anyone else.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Johnathan said graciously, “I think we should find one of the food tables.”
“About time,” I muttered as he guided me away. “I’m fucking starving. Where’s the buffet?”
Freed of my responsibility to stand still and keep my mouth shut, I started looking around, taking stock of the gathering. I wasn’t looking at the guests, but rather the servants, who were really mostly lower-level enforcers enlisted into the role for the evening.
They would be the ones I’d have to avoid when I made my escape. I needed to know what I was up against.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Is it just me, or is the music getting louder?” I asked, my stomach now pleasantly full of some sort of cheese-covered bread, bits of steak seared to perfection, and a glass of sparkling water.
I longed for the wine, but given what I was about to embark upon, keeping my wits about me was the larger priority. Any misstep later would likely lead to me having an appointment with a metal chair in a windowless room.
“It’s time for dancing,” Johnathan replied.
I looked at him aghast. That wasn’t at all the answer I’d expected. “What?”
“It’s a ball,” he said with a shrug. “There’s dinner, dancing, political discourse.”
“Don’t talk to me like I should know these things,” I snapped. “Not everyone lives in your little snobbish society,John. Most of us live in the real world, where this stuff doesn’t happen.”
Johnathan’s face tightened, but he nodded. “Fair point. To answer your question, however, dancing comes after the food.”
“Right,” I said, considering my options. What did I have to say that could get me out of this? There had to be some combination of words that would work.
“If you don’t dance with me at least once, people are going to ask questions that will make my father mad,” Johnathan said, reading my panicked look with ease.
I cursed silently. I had to do this, didn’t I? Suspicion was the last thing I needed right now. Which meant…
