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The omega pretended as if it didn’t bother him much, but sometimes he let his carefully maintained bond slip during practice and I could feel the internal panic that seemed to curdle under the surface of his skin.
“I’m hopeful about his surgery in October and that it will at least slow it all down.” Leith’s voice was sad, like he didn’t really think that it would. “Sometimes I feel as if we’re in a race to help him experience everything we can while he can still see some things. But I can’t let him know about my worries—Enzo does that enough for the both of us.”
“Was he always like this?” I asked, thinking of the way that Enzo seemed to always try and predict Artie’s needs and fulfill them before Artie could even try to do it on his own.
We’d toured the hockey stadium two days ago in preparation for the first scrimmage game that would be happening in a few weeks. Colt had offered us his box, but Artie wanted to be in the stands with the rest of the fans.
Enzo had gripped Artie’s arm the entire time, verbally and physically walking him down each step until the omega got irritated with him and told him to back off.
Leith shrugged. “He’s always been protective—but it’s much worse now. I don’t know that he will calm down until Artie’s completely lost his eyesight and there’s nothing else for him to try and do.”
I chewed on that information for a bit as we strolled through the aquarium together.
I’d surmised as much about the alpha that day when we were locked in the broadcast closet.
All of it was borne out of the need to be in control of his surroundings… something I understood all too well.
Enzo and I were far too alike to make things between us easy.
And yet I still dreamed of the way his lips tasted when he smashed them to mine and cupped the back of my head.
“Ciara?” Leith’s voice cut through my internal reverie and I realized that at some point my fingers had come up to touch my lips, giving away my thoughts.
One check on our shared bond told me that he’d also felt at least a little bit of it.
“Sorry,” I apologized and nearly told him exactly what I was thinking when a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced that the main hall was ready. Once that ended, the soothing sounds of jazz filled my ears. “We should go.”
My face was flushed as I gently tugged Leith behind me, following the crowd of people until we reached the hall that was already filled with people standing around the tall bistro tables or beginning to dance on the tiled floor.
Servers wove their way through the crowds with drinks on silver trays and Leith snagged two champagne flutes, handing one to me.
Finding one of the bistro tables on the fringes, I put my glass down and surveyed the area, looking for my family members who I knew would be peppered throughout the crowd.
“So,” Leith whispered, his lips near my ear as he pressed into my back and wrapped an arm around my waist. “What’s the plan for here?”
Leaning my head back I accepted a chaste kiss from the alpha, relishing in the way his warm chest felt against my shoulders.
“Well, I figure we dance a little bit, drink a little bit, and I can show you off to everyone who asks,” I told him, reaching up to cup the side of his face. A soft purr rattled out of the alpha behind me and I leaned into it, my eyes finally finding the red curls of Brynn bobbing through the crowd.
“There’s Brynn.” I pointed, my finger following my sister through the crowd until she reached her two alphas. “You can tell who the hockey players are because of those suits.”
Nash had complained for ages before the first event when they’d unveiled the deep blue suits and green ties that all of the players were required to wear.
“I can see Wiz too,” Leith murmured, reaching forward and grabbing my finger, moving it until it was pointed in the direction of our other packmate.
Wiz’s eyes were already on us as he half-listened to whatever the elderly couple in front of him was saying.
Once he realized we were looking at him, his lips pulled up into a grin and he saluted us with his glass of wine before returning his attention to the oblivious benefactors.
We played our little game of eye-spy for a few more minutes, pointing out my family members in the crowd.
Colt’s pack was completely surrounded by people who laughed uproariously at whatever the alpha was saying and whenever they shifted from side-to-side I could catch glimpses of Aurelia as she smiled fondly up at him.
By the time we’d finished, my champagne glass was empty and my head was swimming a bit.
“Care to dance?” I asked, shooting Leith a silly smile as the song changed to something a little bit slower.
“As long as you don’t judge me for having two left feet,” he joked before giving me a little spin as we joined the rest of the couples on the dance floor.
