Page 15 of Scapegoat

I smiled then, shyly at first, then much more broadly, even as my cheeks flushed. I felt like a butterfly working its way out of its cocoon, ready to flap its wings. And just as I was feeling bold, the dress Jenny had lent me swirling around my knees, my fingers clasping the posy of roses tight, a voice cut through it.

“So you made it?” Amber had appeared out of nowhere with her posse of friends, wearing a very pretty dress with perfectly polished cowboy boots. As soon as I saw her, all gleaming confidence, I felt the usual instinct to shrink back. But when Amber took an insultingly slow look at me, my wolf let herself rise up. I wasn’t shrinking away anymore. A low growl formed in my chest, ready to erupt, as I stepped forward, staring her down, even as she continued. “And you brought your little friend too. Where’s your sister, Kaia?”

“Shut up, Amber—” Jayden started to say, but I held up a hand.

“At home, with my mother,” I replied in a tight voice. “But seeing as the alphas have stepped in to make sure that I don’t have to go back there, I’m not sure what they’re doing.”

Her smile faltered then, but not for long. It got whiter and brighter as she focussed on Atlas instead.

Whoever had organised the night had gone to a lot of work. There were strings of fairy lights everywhere, and a massive fire pit blazing away in a hole dug in the ground. Bales of hay covered in horse blankets were used as seating and the savoury scent of roast meat filled the air. There were so many people milling around, dancing, talking, the place looking like some kind of wonderland, not just an ordinary farm.

“I got some new boots.” She twisted a graceful leg to show them off. “Want to help me break them in on the dancefloor?”

Part of me was still sure he’d say yes. I couldn’t believe him when he moved closer, nor when he took my hand, couldn’t believe in the way his grip tightened as her eyes narrowed. I felt a sharp pain deep in my guts, as if my body was feeling the rejection I anticipated before it even happened.

“If I’m gonna dance with anyone, it’s Kaia,” Atlas said.

I just stared at him blindly. And Atlas? He didn’t wait for permission. He just grabbed my posy and tossed it to his brothers before leading me over to a well-lit part of the paddock where a Bluetooth speaker was blaring out a playlist of the latest country music.

“I can’t dance!” I hissed at Atlas when we were standing amongst the other dancers. I watched the way they moved together with apprehension. Mum had never been interested in teaching me and when I was hanging around with the guys we normally weren’t working out dance steps.

“Don’t worry, Kai,” he said, gazing down at me, in a tone of voice that said this would always be true. “I’ve got you.”

Chapter 10

Atlas

I didn’t. Of course I fucking didn’t. I couldn’t dance my way out of a wet paper bag, but when that bitch tried to put my Kai down, I had to step up, it was just that… I’d waited for just this moment for far too long. When I stepped forward, I saw the million stolen glimpses of Kaia in class, in the school yard, on the bus home, when she was hanging around with us. And when I took her hands, it felt like I did so finally acknowledging the million impulses to touch her, to drag her close and into my arms, to hold her close and never let her go. I stared down at her mouth, then back into her eyes, those dark depths slowly fading to silver. I knew she was worried—that she was scared—but she didn’t get it. Even if we made damn fools of ourselves, I’d have her, my girl, my mate.

Just like she’d always have me.

“Step onto my boots,” I said.

“What?” I pulled her closer, her feet moving reluctantly in those cute little tennis shoes. “But I’ll be too heavy.”

I snorted at that.

“You’re like a butterfly, Kai, or a feather on the wind. I spend half my fucking life terrified you’ll just blow away.” I settled her feet on top of my boots, her arms going up and around my neck to keep her balance and that made me smile. “Anyway, I dunno how to dance either.”

“What!” She glanced around to see what everyone else was doing, right up until I snagged her attention as my hands went around her waist, holding her close, just cradling her in my arms and nothing had ever felt as right as this. Mum and the dads had told me that this is what it would be like, but they hadn’t mentioned the wrench in my chest that felt like pain, but one that hurt so sweet as long as I held her. “So why did you say you wanted to dance?”

“Because of this.”

I moved slowly in time with the beat of the music. It was a slow song, a sad one, where a guy loses his woman, his farm and then his dog, but I couldn’t relate to the lyrics. He sang about a terrible emptiness, right when I felt completely full.

I was holding Kaia. I could smell the sweet floral scent of her, something that always tugged at my attention, making sharing a class with her bloody terrible and awesome, all at once. I could feel the rapid skitter of her heart, saw the way her chest heaved and the bodice of the dress shifted with it, my eyes wanting to follow the way her breasts moved. But what was happening here went way beyond sex or attraction. I wanted her. I dreamed of her. I was ashamed to admit it, I’d jerked off more times than I could count to memories of her, but I thought of none of that now. Just her, here, with me, in my arms and—

“I have to touch you, Kai. I’ve wanted to for so fucking long I don’t know how to stop. I have to hold you.” I shifted my arms then, pulling her just a little closer, obliterating any gap between us, her eyes going wide as she felt me. “I have to keep you close, feel you in my arms, shut the fucking wolf up inside me and trick him into thinking you’re mine.”

“Trick…?”

She barely breathed that out, then went up on her tiptoes. I felt the press of her toes through the thin rubber of her soles and the thick leather of my boots, then I felt the press of her breasts against my chest as she leaned into me, lifting her face.

And then her lips pressed against mine.

I’d stolen kisses from her before, little ones, teasing glimpses of what might be, but never like this. In the open, where everyone could see, some people letting out great whoops in response, egging us on as they teased us. But I couldn’t give a flying fuck, not when I had this.

“If you knew how badly I wanted to hear you say that…” she breathed out between kisses.

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