Zack navigates us to one of the bars that are strategically positioned in each room and he grabs both of us a glass of champagne. Then we make our way through the door, into a different room, and out to the deck behind the house.
It’s much colder outside than it is inside, and the change in temperature feels good. It clears my head. There aren’t many people out here, probably because of the cold. The garden in front of us is set up with tables with beautiful candle arrangements on them and chairs and benches, inviting people to hang out here if they want to. They’re all empty apart from the bench furthest from the deck, where a couple is making out like the world could end around them and they wouldn’t notice it.
Smiling slightly at the sight, I take a sip from my glass, leaning on the railing around the deck. I’m about to say something when a soft voice reaches us from behind.
“Spence? Zack?” Cyra doesn’t seem entirely sure and my heart jumps, my face heating up, relief flooding through me. Why do I feel relieved that she’s here? That’s stupid. That’s so stupid, it makes no sense.
I turn around, letting go of Zack’s hand, even though it feels weird after holding onto him for the last however long. “Hey, beautiful.” I give her my best smile, my first honest smile since Zack picked me up with the limo.
She’s stunning in her red dress which clings to her in the most inciting way possible. Then I catch sight of the two guys behind her. Zack said that she was with two Alphas earlier and I guess these are them. Fucking hell. If I thought I responded easily to Cyra, the burly guy, a cerberus shifter by his scent, is definitely not making things much easier. He smells of mature wood and ancient forests, dark, heady, potent. My slacks are getting seriously tight now.
I hope that they presume that my response is just to Cyra being so beautiful and not a reaction to the Alpha with her. My voice is a little hoarse when I speak again. “And her bodyguards.”
Zack looks them over too, and I see calculations going on behind his eyes, before he opens his mouth, smirking. “Isn’t Beauty supposed to have just one beast?” I should have known nothing good could come from his mouth after that look...
I smack Zack on his arm as I catch how Cyra rolls her eyes at him as she’s trying to hide a smile, and just that one normal reaction from her calms me down. One normal thing in this abnormal night.
The second Alpha, a centaur, steps forward, frowning, but the cerberus stops him with a hand on his shoulder, and he just glares at us.
What’s Cyra doing here? And who are these two? What are they doing around her? It’s always weird when two worlds collide, but this one I wasn’t prepared for.
Cyra steps closer, her eyes on Zack for a moment, but then they land on me and her gaze is soft, kind. My heart should not be beating like that. “I wanted to see if you were okay. That was quite an entrance.”
I nod, trying to not let my smile falter at the reminder of what’s happening. “I’m good. Thank you. How did you end up here?”
Instead of Cyra, the centaur answers for her. “Her carriage broke down, so we brought her to the party.”
I blink. I know most fairytales, but this description confuses me, and it seems I’m not the only one as everyone is now staring at him.
He shrugs and he seems to have more humbleness than Zack, which isn’t hard, to be honest. “She’s with us. She’s keeping us company as thanks for us getting her car fixed earlier in the week.”
That at least seems to make more sense and I look at Cyra. “Is your car okay again?” It must be hard for her to get around without her car.
She nods. “Yeah, it will keep going for a while longer.”
“She really—” The centaur starts, but the cerberus wraps his arm around the centaur’s shoulders, almost taking him in a headlock.
“We don’t need any tips on cars from you.” The cerberus growls, while he still smiles slightly. That seems to be a common argument between those two.
Zack steps to Cyra slightly, his motion almost like a predator about to jump a prey. “If I fix your car, will you go on a date with me too?”
With a groan, I smack him over the head. One, not appropriate to ask a girl. Two, not appropriate to ask anyone when he’s supposed to be in a relationship with me...
Cyra doesn’t look very impressed either. “Pretty sure you’re not actually talking about my car but are insinuating something else. And I’m fairly sure, you’re supposed to be fixing someone else’s car for the rest of your lives. Spence’s car, that is.” She looks my way pointedly and Zack has the decency to look at least somewhat uncomfortable. Serves him right. Cyra’s got a quick mouth, he should know that she’s going to give as good as she can, especially since she doesn’t have to act all nice now, like she has to at the cafe.
The wind around us picks up and another scent reaches me, a new one. A scent that sets all my senses on full-drive. It’s the same scent as when you burn hay or dried grass with a magnifying glass as a kid. Reminding me of the summer, of warmth, of being surrounded by love.
I’m barely aware that the glass I’m holding has shattered under the pressure of my grip. The shards digging into my hand even though I heal them almost as fast as they’re created, since I’m a shifter.
I want the person this scent belongs to.
