Page 41 of Deadly Ties

My stomach burns up my throat, and all I can taste is bile. “That's who they're dancing for?”

I didn’t think I’d said it aloud until Cam answers me, his voice almost as bleak as I feel. “Well, it's not fucking us, Link, is it?”

Elvana

I. Am. An.Introvert.

It’s hard for any pack animal to really claim that, but at best, I’m a distant observer. A reluctant participant. I watch, I don’tperform.

And I love fading into the background. The more shadows, the better. Give me all the omega hoods and the scent blockers and then drive me around in a blacked-out van. The spotlight is for pampered omegas who don’t get out of bed unless there’s a camera pointed at their face and a live feed running.

But right now, I’m dancing on a stage in front of hundreds of strangers. Me. Elvana Bisha. Daughter of the notorious Head Alpha. Although, to most everyone in this city, I’m more of an urban myth than a real person. Infamous, but invisible.

Except I’m not invisible right now.

And instead of an omega hood, I’m wearing nothing more than a mask and a scrap of white material that doesn’t need to be wet to be obscene. All the costumes in a theater, andthisis what Kelly wants me to wear?

As I twirl under the hot spotlights – because that’s what theprofessional dancertold me to do – I catch glimpses of the faces in the audience. It’s not blacked out like the one school play I remember from middle school. And they’re not just ordinary people, but shifters.

Alphashifters. Because they’re the only ones rich enough to hold membership, and entitled enough to think people want to see them get their rocks off in public.

The mask, I have to admit, is a nice touch. It’s a wolf’s snarl, with tufted ears and oversized canines, and a lot more badass than the feathers I wore to the Red Poppy. I doubt anyone would recognize either of us right now. We might scent as omegas, since neither of us have taken blockers, but the way they painted Kelly’s skin pure white and covered my hair in silver spray has turned us into something otherworldly. White wolves from some distant northern land.

“Angels,” Rory had whispered as we stood in the wings. “Fuck, I’m also too scared to touch you.”

“That’s why we’re dancing together,” Kelly had told him, his eyes like dark gems in his pale face. “Tasha always partners with the biggest alpha in the company. It gives the audience the classic hunter story. But that’s not us.” I’d stared at him, mesmerized by the confidence in his face. “We’re not for touching. We’re above all that.” He’d caught my eye and given me a slow wink. “Well, except with each other.”

Which maybe explains why he’s stalking me across the stage.

We’d started out with slow, aimless circles. In our frantic backstage prep session, Kelly had told me to just float along with the music and he’d take care of the rest. Yes, I’d taken dance classes in school, and had a reasonable understanding of how to move without looking like a complete idiot, but I wasn’t anywhere near professional. When I’d told him so, he’d taken my trembling hands in his, leaning in to kiss my tight mouth. “They see betas up there pretending to be us, every night of the week. But we’re the real thing.”

“Real omegas maybe, but not real dancers. What if they ask for their money back?”

“Who cares?” Rory had shrugged, which was easy for him to do since his ass wasn’t going to be flitting across the stage. “They won’t. I promise you that. But even if they do, you’ll have danced with Kelly in public and made your mates as horny as hell.” I’d rolled my eyes at that, but he’d captured my chin, his own gaze intense. “Isn’t it good sometimes to be watched for the right reasons, little wolf?”

Which reminded me of all those nights I’d escaped my empty house and wandered the city streets, peering in the windows at other lives. Although, in recent months, it had pretty much been a one-stop tour, since I couldn’t get enough of watching my neighbor Glo and her pack of adoring alphas.

Yes. I’d like to be looked at like that.

I’m surprised by how deeply I want it, in fact. Not necessarily in front of hundreds of strangers, but my new confidence isn’t keen to keep hiding in the shadows. A purr builds in my chest, and I realize my wolf is eager to claim her mates and have the whole world envy her good fortune.

And she rears her head again as Kelly dances towards me under a spotlight that kisses his pale skin and turns his hair to flame. He candance– way beyond a couple of years of high-school classes – and I wonder how hard his alpha-loving father tried to beat that out of his son. Stupid asshole, given dancers are some of the most talented, hard-working athletes on the planet, but a bigot is a bigot. And if he hadn’t been so hateful about his designation, he might have never sent his son to Hila. And then Kelly would’ve never met his mates, or Arben… or me.

The thought of never having Kelly in my life must play out in my face and body, because a murmur goes through the crowd, and I drop into a protective pose. I blink out at the audience and warmth floods my chest. In the front row is a man with midnight eyes that burn as they watch me.

There’s a reason he called you Angel before he even knew your name, princeshë. You are meant to be together. Two perfect souls who found each other on this undeserving earth. Just look at how you transfix us, my love.

He’s right. It’s as if the audience is holding their breath. I know it won’t last for long, but right now, all those powerful, horny shifters can’t tear their eyes away from us. I’m tempted to look up at the members’ booth Rory took me to, but if Cam is up there watching, that’s his choice. And this dance is as much for him as any other alpha in the room.

Rise, my love. Show them what they desire above all things, but can never have.

I nod, drawing myself up and into Kelly’s arms. As if he can hear the bond between us, his flame-bright head tilts towards the front row, and I smile behind my mask.Because we’re yours, Alpha.

If my steps faltered before, the rush of gratitude and adoration through the bond gives me wings. And then there are Kelly’s hands on my waist, lifting and moving me, so I almost float across the stage. As I twirl and bend, I can see strangers in the wings, watching us, but it’s Rory face that stands out in the darkness. And every time I catch his eyes, Kelly’s hands become tighter, his lips more insistent as they brush mine. Our kisses were staged before, but now our mouths cling, our lips and tongues begging for more. His arousal fills the air, heightening my own, and our skin grows slick, our breath starting to catch in our lungs.

“Beautiful,” someone murmurs for the crowd.

But another voice calls out, thick with frustration. “I want to see you fuck! Shove that big omega cock in that pretty pink pussy.”

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