Page 12 of Iris
She doesn’t look like one of the well-behaved kids here, and she’s in white, not something dark. As Quinn reaches us, another woman—a Delta, I know, from her industrial-like scent of lemon wood polish—arrives. She might be the coolest woman I’ve seen, with lime green streaked hair chopped short. She’s in jeans and a skintight top and has tattoos running down her arms in pretty, swirling designs.
“Christ, kid, you’re more slippery than an oiled fish,” the Delta says. Her gaze offers silent apologies.
“I’m not a fish,” the girl says.
The woman takes her hand. “Say thank you and goodbye, Em. We gotta get home.”
“Tank you and goodbye.” The child cranes her neck, clearly taking in all the finery. “Is this a party? I want a party. Stay? Please?”
“Your parents want you home, bug. I’ll get you an ice cream on the way. How about that?” The woman scoops her up and takes her off, disappearing into a street behind us.
Quinn looks at me and Mari. “Who was that?”
“Lost kid?” Mari shrugs. “It’s why Iris is against being breeding fodder.”
“Everyone’s against that.” Quinn folds her arms.
“Yeah,” I say, “and biting. Not a fan.”
The moment I say it, a shiver runs down to my marrow and heats me from the inside. What would it be like to be bitten by that big, handsome stranger? Not bitten as in marked, but maybe nibbled on. That’s a thing, isn’t it?
“Same,” Quinn mutters, while Mari just continues to draw. “My mother has kidnapped yours. She’s hoping to host a ball this Season?—”
“You’re so rich,” I say, “that the Monarch will let that happen. Right?”
Quinn rolls her eyes. “You’d be surprised. We’re rich but not Omegas, so…” Another shrug.
“Your brother is an Alpha,” I say.
“Brendon? Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s off in another world practically.”
“It’s just college.”
“Grad school,” she corrects. “Abroad. I haven’t seen him in years. He doesn’t even come home for holidays.”
With Mrs. Hyde as his mother, I don’t blame him.
“Mom’s looking to befriend the Luxe’s mother,” Quinn goes on. “And her money’s on you being the Monarch’s pick, Iris.”
Spare me.
“Me? But she knows me.” I shake my head, right as an Alpha candidate heads our way. I wasn’t shaking my head at him, but his shoulders drop and he stops, turning away.
I secretly smile. Looks like I’m getting a reputation of unattainable. Perfect.
“She’s betting on the pull of Stephan and your sister to get you on at least the short list,” Quinn says, “if not the Luxe.”
“Oh, Lord.” I plop in the chair next to Mari.
As time goes on, Quinn and Mari chatter. Mom’s going to be disappointed I’m sitting so far from the rest of the crowd. She would say I should at the very least mingle.
But why? Everyone I like is right here.
Violet mated beyond well, but it veered close to scandal. There are those who still whisper and spin things to their advantage, even now. They try anything to push our family down.
I’m not a threat, and my sisters, with maybe the exception of fifteen-year-old Rue, aren’t either. Dahlia will do her duty, maybe even get out of her Season by winning a scholarship from some school on the mainland. And we all know Mari will have no problem finding a mate.
Rue wants this. Rue longs for this.
