Page 113 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
“Set your clocks, then. That’s gonna be our go time,” Malcolm said. “It’s about five minutes later than I’d intended, but it will be worth it if the wolves are already shifted.”
Gray responded for us, smiling and giving a fake wave to an elderly lady. The woman was loaded down with diamonds. “Looking good,” he told her, and the rest of us.
I held onto Gray’s hand and stopped him from descending the steps, not caring that a couple behind us bumped into him and pushed past us muttering complaints. I needed to get a lay of the land. We had to find our target. Ginny Stone was supposed to be here. I wanted her wand. I wanted her to be worried about it and not us. And I wanted her wand implicated in the break in—if anyone ever discovered it.
My eyes traveled over the floor of the ballroom. I didn't spot Zavier, but his cousin Andros stood out like a sore thumb. He was too tall. He'd be too obvious. I shook my head.
"I'm not sure about Andros," I whispered to Gray.
"You gotta trust us," Gray replied. "If Z says he's cool, then he's cool." Gray dropped my hand and instead offered me the crook of his elbow so we could descend. "I see your mom beat us here. She and Claude are over there. Should we go say hi?"
I didn't want to be anywhere near Claude. I didn't need him anymore, except as a lure for Ginny. And I could use him as that lure from far away.
I glanced around and realized that mom and Claude were in a cluster of men, but that off to one side of the room, a group of women in black dresses that were a little less gaudy than the rest, stood talking, occasionally looking over at them. I hoped that was the rumor mill at work. But it might have been wishful thinking.
I was about to refuse Gray’s suggestion, when I saw a bright red shock of hair weaving through the crowd, heading toward them.
"I think I see her," I said. I lifted my hand and tried to subtly point as I pretended to fix my hair.
"Found the dunce and the Ace," Gray reported. In addition to the spy earpieces, the guys had also come up with code names for us and our marks, against my express wishes. The dunce was their name for Claude. Originally, they'd wanted to name him Boomer, but I'd nixed that norm insult because it gave his age away. Ace was obviously Ginny.
Teenage boys.
Andros’ gruff reply was, “On it.” Then he moved like a panther, deftly following the bright red hair through the crowd.
I rolled my eyes as Evan's voice sounded in my ear. "Roger that, Preschool. Barbie’s heading your way. Get ready for playtime."
Gray led me down the steps into the crowd. My ear buzzed with Malcolm's voice. "You have forty minutes."
"Wanna dance?" Gray asked me. He didn't wait for my answer as his arms wrapped around my waist and he whirled me to the left. He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "You really do look hot. And I love your panties—"
"Way to rub it in," Z's voice interjected. "Can you focus now, please?"
Gray smiled and took my head and started to lead me in a waltz. He was good at it, which wasn't surprising.
"Daddy made you take dance lessons, huh?" I asked.
"Yup," he replied before sending me out for a spin. I wasn't the best dancer, but his thighs and hands pressed firmly against me and directed me exactly where I needed to go.
I spotted Laura, dancing nearby, her dress a short, sparkly pink sheathe. Her curls were piled high on her head. And while she clung to her date, her eyes were fixed firmly on Grayson. We spun, and he saw her for the first time.
His footsteps faltered. He swallowed hard. He spun me around so that his back was to her. But as we continued to dance, he kept spinning so that he could see her. At first, he was subtle about it, but after a while, Grayson gave up on formal dancing. We started to sway in place. And his eyes didn't meet mine a single time.
"I think I need a drink," I glanced over at Laura, who was staring steadily back at Gray. I tossed my fake smile on and tugged on his hand.
I pulled Gray over to a side room, where drinks were artfully stacked in buckets of ice. For all that the Unnatural Ball had an upper-class, ballroom feel in the front room, there was a barbecue hoe-down feel in the room that housed the food. That was because all the predatory shifters insisted on meat and lots of it. Apparently, there was another room with a salad bar, but we didn’t go to it. I didn’t have time to eat, anyway. With my stomach full of buzzing nerves, eating was probably a bad idea.
Gray grabbed me a soda with a grin. “Here, Hottie.”
“Ha ha.” I refused him and went to grab a water bottle. Then I touched my ear and asked Malcolm. “Water bottles are safe, right?”
“Better use the water fountain if they have one,” he replied.
I sighed and set the drink back. “Well, never mind.” I turned when I heard a howl behind me. I leaned out of the room we were in to see a line of Unnaturals waiting to go into a side room three doors down. “Wolves are starting.”
“Better hurry,” Malcolm replied.
I spotted Laura, sans her date, making her way down the hall toward us. I looked up at Gray. “Excuse me, I better run to the ladies’ room.” I ducked down the hall, scooting around the line of people waiting to proudly turn into wolves. And shit! Potts was there, in line next to some old dude.
