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After a few steps, I realized that he’d been completely bluffing. He led me through the dance with ease, his hand firm on the small of my back as I looked at him with shock.
“You liar,” I teased as we moved together, my dress swirling around my legs as we turned abruptly. “You can dance.”
“My mum made sure of it,” he said with absolutely no shame, giving my hand a squeeze to let me know which direction we’d be moving in. “I used to get teased by my classmates because she’d drag me onto the dancefloor any chance she got.”
“Your father didn’t dance much?” I asked, realizing that I didn’t know much about Leith’s past. He’d told me a bit when we were together in Scotland, but I hadn’t been in the headspace to ask more questions.
I hadn’t been able to think about much outside of my guilt about Brynn’s accident. Leith had been the single bright spot in so much darkness and I hadn’t treated him well.
The same guilt that I always felt when I thought about it blossomed in my chest and I could feel him soothing me through our shared bond.
His eyes told me that he didn’t hold it against me—at least not anymore. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be dancing with Leith Dougall in front of people I cared for. Then again, I never thought I’d be with anyone, let alone an entire pack.
“He was hurt during his military service, so it’s hard for him to even walk at times. Now he spends most of his days sitting in front of the house grousing at the neighborhood bairns on their way to school and my littlest brother has taken over as my mum’s dance partner.”
The song ended and we politely stepped away from each other in order to clap for the band, some couples leaving the dancefloor while others joined the throng for a more upbeat number.
I could feel someone’s gaze on the side of my face and I turned to find a pair of baleful blue eyes glaring at me from across the room.
In the wildness of the past few weeks, I’d forgotten all about Richter and had most definitely forgotten that he was going to be here tonight.
“Who is that?” Leith asked as we walked hand-in-hand to where Brynn and her alphas were sipping on champagne and talking amongst themselves.
I shook my head, unsure of how exactly to explain my past with the clearly hostile hockey player.
“Hey!” Brynn greeted us brightly, her gaze ping-ponging between me and Leith like she was watching a romantic movie happen before her very eyes. “You two look good together.”
“I thank you for that,” Leith said, puffing his chest out a bit. “I like being shown off.”
Nash snorted and nodded at me. “A sight I never thought I would see with this one.”
He was teasing, of course, and if we’d been standing next to each other I’d have elbowed him in the ribs.
Brynn, thankfully, got there first and I heard the alpha grunt as her bony elbow connected with his side.
“Ouch, angelface, what was that for?” Nash asked with a grumble, rubbing his side.
“I told you to behave yourself,” Brynn said before tugging him down for a quick kiss which seemed to mollify the alpha because he straightened with a dopey smile.
His dark eyes moved from me to something over my shoulder and then his expression dropped into something altogether more irritated.
“What is this?” Richter’s voice slithered down my back, making it go ramrod straight as he joined our small circle.
His pale face was ruddy, telling me he’d imbibed a bit too much in the short time that alcohol had been available, and his expression was twisted as he looked from Leith to me and back to Leith again.
“I see you’re the guy of the night,” he said, slurring his words. “Enjoy it while you can.”
“Richter…” Nash’s voice was low with warning and he glanced over at Dutch who was already pushing ahead of Brynn to stop the other man.
Leith’s hand tightened in mine and his normally soft green eyes hardened as he took in the drunk hockey player who was getting far too close for both of our liking.
He wavered on his feet, coming so close to me that I could smell the whiskey on his breath and I reeled back away and into Leith’s chest.
The flush of his cheeks and the hate in his eyes reminded me of a time that I’d sooner forget.
Useless, my da’s voice echoed through my mind and I slammed that particular memory away as if it had burned me.
My control over the bonds slipped and my emotions flooded down it, hot and panicked. Confusion from our other two packmates echoed back to me and I slammed my walls back up, my heart hammering in my chest.
