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Flats exist for a reason, Sera.
He stepped away, pinching the bridge of his nose, muttering something about Celeste never needing this much instruction.
I had never danced like this before.
Kieran.
As I moved through the ballroom, my head swiveled, looking out for Maya. She didn’t
seem to have arrived yet, and worry was beginning to creep in.
He seemed ready to press the issue, but a tall man in a sharp gray suit and
salt-and-pepper hair stepped up, hand already outstretched. “Alpha Reed. So glad to see you here tonight.” He gave me a courteous nod. “Miss Seraphina, what a riveting speech.”
I practiced in front of the mirror until my legs ached and my toes blistered. Every night,
alone in that ballroom until I got better.
Lucian gave me a look-Sorry, I’ll be right back-before turning to shake the man’s hand.
Reaching down, I slipped off one heel, then the other, wincing as I examined the damage.
Blisters had already begun to rise, angry and red, on the back of my ankles.
His hair looked like running his hand through it had become an Olympic sport, and he was
going for gold.
A pull. Unfamiliar, but…
He pulled back slightly, brows lifting. “No, Sera. You met me step for step. That’s not
following. That’s dancing.”
I tapped Maya’s contact and waited. It rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. Voicemail.
I blinked up at him, frozen in shock. I didn’t know which was more surprising-that he’d listened to an off-hand comment I’d made, or that he’d actually carried around the
band-aids, even in his fancy tuxedo.
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He smiled a little. Wistful. “Why are you hiding out here and not basking in the glow of your adoring fans?”
We stayed like that for a beat too long.
Celeste’s voice rang out like a slap.
“Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me,” she hissed. “One Alpha isn’t enough for you, Cinderella? When are you going to be satisfied?” She took a menacing step forward, and her next words were laced with enough poison to fell an elephant. “After you’ve seduced everyone’s man, you shameless whore?”
“Aren’t you observant?”
“After that time Danny got hurt at the park, you mentioned that it was best to always carry band-aids around, remember?”
Celeste stepped into view, her stiletto heels clicking against the stone like a metronome. She looked at Kieran, then at me, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
Lucian leaned in, his breath brushing the shell of my ear. “You’re a natural.”
Lucian moved with effortless grace, his hand firm but not controlling against my waist, guiding me with the kind of assurance that made me feel like I could do anything-so long as I let go and followed his lead.
I still hadn’t released my breath as he dabbed around the blister with his pocket square, then peeled the band-aid open with deft fingers.
And then-
As he stepped away, I suddenly felt bereft. Couples were floating onto the dancefloor as a new song played, and it felt like my… purpose here was over.
That’s how it always was-there wasn’t a single thing I did that I wasn’t compared with my younger sister.
The moon hung low and luminous over the garden, and everything smelled faintly of honeysuckle and citrus.
“Let me.”
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But by then, it didn’t matter. No one ever asked me to dance again at galas and balls. Not unless Celeste was already occupied.
I’d stayed late that night, long after everyone else had left-after shooting sneers and
snide comments my way.
“Sera?” I blinked, coming back to the present. To Lucian. To the flicker of concern in his eyes. “Where’d you go?”
I laughed bitterly under my breath and dug around in my clutch for a tissue or-gods, even some tape. But the matching purse Maya had gotten me was one of those tiny sparkling ones with no other use but as a statement piece.
So I slipped away.
He shot me a sharp look, but it was laced with something… fond.
When the song ended, the room erupted with applause again, though this time it wasn’t thunderous like during my speech. It was gentler, more appreciative-a wave of
admiration and awe that blanketed us like snowfall.
“Sera, I—”
The night air wrapped around me like a cool embrace.
I was debating whether I would stay here for the rest of the night or hobble back to the ballroom barefoot without looking like a lunatic when I heard footsteps-solid and familiar.
“Why on earth do you have that with you?”
In fact, it was oddly… gratifying.
“Oh,” Lucian glanced at me, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
The cobbled path wound through manicured hedges and fountains. As I walked through
it, it felt like a dreamscape carved for moments like this-private, hushed, surreal.
I don’t know if it was the memory of the kiss or the heat of his gaze that sent warmth flooding my chest.
My throat tightened. I reached for the pack with a murmured thanks, but before I could
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take it from his hand, he was already kneeling.
“Kie?”
I shook my head, giving him a reassuring smile. “That’s okay. Go ahead.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched in frustration as I stumbled yet again.
No messages. No missed calls.
Here we go again.
He’d given up on me with a frustrated sigh, mumbling about how I’d never measure up and that I lacked potential.
SERAPHINA’S POV
But when his hand lingered, fingers brushing the edge of my feet longer than necessary, something passed between us.
“Nowhere.” I forced a smile, pushing the memory out of my head, shelving it with the rest I’d buried.
I sucked in a breath as his hand wrapped around my ankle. It was like I’d stuck my toe into an electrical outlet and now volts of electricity were racing up and down my body, originating from that seemingly harmless point of contact.
The sincerity in his voice stirred something warm in my chest, but I couldn’t hold his gaze. Not when his words rattled loose a memory out of the cache I’d long buried.
“Here.” He slid his hands into his jacket pocket, and when it resurfaced, there was a pack of SpongeBob band-aids.
“Kieran-”
“You don’t have to-”
But by the time I made it out of the ballroom, past the corridors lined with gold trim and blooming white orchids, through a door leading outside, I couldn’t resist the sigh of relief.
I hung up and sighed, placing my phone next to me.
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“Oh,” I said. It sounded like a compliment, but since when did Kieran give me those?
“Thanks?”
His gaze dropped, catching sight of the angry red marks on my ankles. He stepped forward. “That looks painful.”
Without the distraction of adrenaline and my anxiety, I noticed the ache pounding at my
ankle.
“I’m not hiding,” I said, my voice quiet. “Just… resting my feet.”
“That was quite the speech,” said a voice I knew almost as well as my own.
I gave a breathless laugh, flushed from more than just the dance. “That was you. I just followed.”
I sat on a bench tucked beside a trickling stream and pulled out my phone.
“You’re off again.” His voice was angry and tight. “Try to keep up.”
His touch was clinical, and he applied the bandage with practiced care.
I wasn’t even aware of my feet anymore-just the warmth in his eyes and the comfort in his smile.
I just… moved.
I snorted, turning away.
Years ago. A different ballroom. Different music. My feet in delicate slippers, my body trembling as I tried to find the rhythm.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His jaw tensed. His thumb idly grazed my skin like it couldn’t help itself.
He turned back to Lucian. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you about the Crescent City development?”
I raised a brow.
And even then, I was always a last resort, and my partner was too grumpy about getting the short end of the stick to appreciate how hard I’d worked.
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He lifted his head then, and our eyes met. There was something in the depth of his dark gaze, a fierce… longing I had never seen before. Except for when he kissed me on my porch.
I looked up. He was standing a few feet away, his tux jacket slung over his shoulder, collar slightly undone. His tall, imposing frame blocked out the moonlight, his sharp, infuriatingly handsome face unreadable.
I was surprised when people stopped me to compliment my dress and my speech. It was a little overwhelming, but despite the fact that I was just as visible as I’d feared-maybe even more so-it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Kieran’s shoulders briefly stiffened, and I wondered if he felt that too-the current flowing between us. But then his fingers started moving, gentle but sure, calloused from years of combat, warm against my skin.
“Hey,” I started, holding my phone to my ear, “just checking in that your mysterious mate hasn’t gone feral and eaten you up.” I snorted. “Oh, who am I kidding? You’re more likely to have eaten him up. Anyways, you missed my speech, and it was really badass. I think you would have liked it. Are you still coming?”
The music flowed through me, and for once, I didn’t think, didn’t worry about who was watching me or if I was performing well enough.
I sighed, closing my eyes briefly.
I sighed when there was no answer-because, of course, it was a voicemail. “Call me when you get this, okay?”
My cheeks heated up. “Thank you.”
Not at any debutante ball. Not during etiquette class. Not even in the privacy of my own kitchen.
I’d always been excluded from any kind of administrative conversation in my pack, and that kind of polished small talk had always made me feel like I was wearing someone else’s skin.
I flinched, letting out the breath in a sharp whoosh. Kieran rose fast, his back stiffening, face shuttered.
