September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(92)

Jez studied me, curiosity in her emerald stare. “I think you’re wrong. Shaz knows what he’s doing. Don’t be so quick to take the blame for things that are out of your control.” When I didn’t respond right away, she nudged me with an elbow. “Come on, let’s go dance.”

A handful of people had claimed a free part of the yard as a dance space. They danced as couples and singles, spilling alcohol on the dying grass while their laughter echoed in the treetops.

I turned back to Jez. “I don’t think I’m drunk enough for that yet.”

“Well then bottoms up, lady.”

She bumped my drink hard enough with hers to cause whiskey to splash over the side and hit my foot. I squealed and laughed, scolding her for almost spilling on my lovely dress. We were joking around, having a good laugh, which I desperately needed, when I felt that honey sweet energy wrap around me.

I spun around to find Kale standing at the edge of the yard.

Those gorgeous brown and blue eyes lingered on me as he drank in my appearance. Dressed in a black suit, he wore his leather duster and held a small gift-wrapped box in one hand.

I took an extra-large sip of booze before I crossed the lawn to where he stood. “I didn’t expect you to come. But I’m glad you did.”

“I’m not staying long. I just wanted to tell Kylarai how happy I am for her.” Kale’s gaze fell upon the cross lying against my chest. Boldly, he reached to touch it, touching my skin in the process, sending a slight shiver through me. “You wear it?”

“Sometimes. It means a lot to me.” I covered his hand with mine and peered into him. “You mean a lot to me.”

I wasn’t sure why I said it. Perhaps it was the romance of the atmosphere. Perhaps it just had to be said.

I felt Arys before he stepped out of the house onto the patio. Immediately Kale and I each took a step back. Kale mumbled something and swept past me to find Kylarai. I touched the cross, feeling robbed of a special moment.

Arys wore a suit with no tie, his bedroom messy hair the same as always. I loved it though. It made me long to run my hands through his untamed tresses.

“Who invited Sinclair?” He sneered as he approached.

I swirled the whiskey in my glass and frowned. “Who do you think? Kylarai did. Got a problem with that?”

“Should I?”

“You’re kidding right? We are not doing this tonight.”

Arys shrugged and pulled me close. “Sorry. The first thing I saw when I came outside was you in this knockout dress and him drooling all over you. What can I say? I have a jealous streak when it comes to him.”

“I’ve noticed. And he was not drooling.”

Arys silenced me with a kiss. It was a dramatic display, purely for Kale’s benefit I was sure. I broke it off before it could cross the line into inappropriate for public display.

“How was the ceremony?” Arys surveyed the backyard, making note of those present.

“Beautiful. Heart wrenching. I may have been more than a little envious.” The liquor was breaking down my walls, encouraging me to speak candidly when otherwise I might have censored the depth of my emotions.

“I understand. It’s hard at first, to watch those with mortal lives live out their days in ways that you never will. But it goes two ways. You will experience things they will never know.”

I shot Arys a cynical look and scoffed. “Oh, please. You’ve actually been married. Don’t make it sound like you didn’t spend some of your vampire years playing human.”

“I married her because I was pining after you, long before you were even born. Remember that. It was always about you.” His expression was stone cold serious.

Taking my hand, he kissed the tips of my fingers. I sighed. His touch never failed to seduce me. The energy simmered between us, a low-level burn that held the promise of more.

“I think it may have been harder on Shaz,” I admitted. “I suspect he’s starting to accept that he won’t ever have that with me. Honestly, I don’t want to stand in the way of him having it with someone else.”

“Don’t you dare say that to him,” Arys warned, running a finger along the back of my hand. “You’ll crush him.”

Guilt and regret surfaced to swim in the waves of emotion crashing through me. “I kind of already did. I encouraged him to join the city pack.”

“Is that why he’s dancing with that old lady instead of you?”

I followed Arys’s gaze to find Shaz dancing with the oldest member of the Stony pack, a sixty-year-old grandmother who doted on her family and kept her wolf a well-hidden secret.

“That old lady would cut your head off with just her claws if she heard you say that,” I laughed. When I spied Kale and Kylarai talking privately together, I tugged on Arys’s arm. “Let’s go congratulate Coby.”

Making small talk with my former pack was one of the hardest parts of the night. I didn’t do small talk very well, finding it awkward and unnecessary. I didn’t for a minute buy their shows of feigned interest in my life any more than I expected them to think I cared about their day-to-day activities.

By the time I made it to Coby, I’d successfully managed to talk my way out of three different conversations and refill my drink three times. I would always respect these wolves. They’d been a huge part of my life for many years. But they weren’t family anymore.