Chapter 34

Part of me wanted to run. Two women who had made my life miserable were working together on something - or they were friends at least, and I wanted to hide away.

But the bigger part of me, the part that I didn’t even know I had, wanted to confront them. I wanted to let them know that I wasn’t going to be bullied by either of them anymore. I was too strong, Ethan helped me get strong.

I decided that’s what I would do. I started to approach them, but a swarm of young men surrounded me and kept me from moving forward.

“Excuse me,” I tried to get around them, but they didn’t let me move. I thought they were just blocking the way by accident, but apparently they wanted to speak to me.

“What’s your name,” The tallest of the men asked before saying anything else. He was lanky and a little awkward, like his body was too big for him. He was rude, too.

“Ava Velasco,” I told them with a raised brow. I hoped that they’d let me continue my chase if I tolerated their menial conversation, no such luck.

“Would you like to dance with one of us?” The ring leader asked. A self righteous snigger erupted from a few of the other young men around him.

“One of you?” I furrowed my brow and looked at the four of them standing around me. “You want me to pick?”

Their eyes roam down my body hungrily, gazes lingering on the bust of my dress. I realized that they must be a group of young alphas in search of their mate, or at least a wife.

They either didn’t realize that I came with Ethan, who was my husband, or they didn’t care. For their sakes, I hoped it was simple ignorance, because if they were blatantly trying to disrespect Ethan, it would end very badly for them.

“Pick one of us to dance with, or we can pick for you.” One of the other young men clarified.

I looked around, no one else at the party seemed to be paying us any mind. Did these boys do this often? It was a horrible way to ask a girl to dance. No one in their right mind would accept an invitation like that.

How unbelievably unromantic.

“I am actually trying to find my husb-”

Interrupting was a recurring theme for this party as the lanky man rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist, leading me to the dancefloor before I could fully reject them.

I tried to fight a little, but didn’t want to make a scene, so I let him lead me to a dance. If all it took was one dance to get away from him and either find Ethan or Dora and Sarah, I could stand one dance.

He positioned us on the corner of the dance floor, a more secluded spot, and prepared for the music to start. The lanky man holds my right hand up in his and reaches out to place his other one on my hip. Before he can make contact with my hip, a large hand clamps down on his shoulder, pulling him back.

Behind him Ethan stood with a cold smile on his lip. As he regarded the young alpha, his eyes turned dark and dangerous.

“Am I interrupting?” Ethan asked in a pleasant tone, but his expression was anything but.

The lanky man shook his head in response, not uttering a word as he scurried away from the two of us as quickly as his dress shoes would allow.

If the situation didn’t look so suspicious, I might’ve laughed at the sight. Ethan’s stormy glare at the man made me nervous, though. I didn’t want any more miscommunications between us.

“I’m so sorry, I tried to decline but he wouldn’t listen,” I apologized profusely, trying to clear everything up immediately. “He just grabbed me and pulled me over here. I didn't want to dance with him.”

Ethan tore his eyes away from the scared man and turned to me with a pitying smile, “I know. Don’t worry.”

A relieved smile made its way onto my face, “Good. He was so rude too, his whole little group was.”

Ethan shook his head at me, looking at me the way a doting husband was supposed to as I spoke. He played the part all too well.

“Would you like to dance with me instead?” He asked with a teasing grin, holding out his hand.

Of course I accepted, I’d be crazy not to.

He placed his hands on my hips, I wrapped mine around his shoulders, and we stepped in time to the music played by a live band. It was a soft, jazzy song that reminded me of summer somehow. I was glad to be dancing it with Ethan rather than some young alpha who hadn’t learned manners yet.

“You know,” Ethan spoke softly into my ear as we danced, keeping his voice low so no one could listen in.

“Hm?” I hummed contently.

“I abandoned a really important conversation to come save you,” He teased. “I think my bravery deserves a little bit of praise.”

I rolled my eyes. The butterflies in my stomach seemed so silly over such a mundane sentiment, but nearly anything Ethan said had the ability to make me a nervous blushing mess.

“My sweet prince, my hero,” I jokingly cooed in his ear, wrapping my arms around him a little tighter. I just barely heard his breath hitch at my action and with us being so close I felt the pounding of his heart against my own.

“Careful, Ava,” He murmured lowly in my ear. “We need to stay prim and proper here, remember?”

“You can’t control yourself in a crowded ballroom?” I asked with a giggle.

“Let’s not test the theory. Maybe I can,” He leaned into me, lowering his hands to the small of my back. “Maybe I can’t.”

My pulse thundered against my veins. Ethan had a talent for toying with my heart - in a good way.

“You’re doing wonderfully by the way,” Ethan eased up on his touchiness, but he turned to offering compliments instead. “I’m the luckiest man alive to be able to show off that I have the most beautiful wife in the room who is also the best dancer.”

I threw my head back and laughed at his praise. Ethan twirled us around as the dance ended, the laugh dying down to a giggle in my throat.

“You are exaggerating,” I pursed my lips in a smile.

“I am n-” The words faded as the music finished. I looked up at his face, confused, but found that he was no longer looking at me. There was something - or someone - behind me that caught his attention.

I turned to see if maybe I knew what had taken his notice, but I didn’t recognize anything specifically.

“Ethan?” I prodded. He let go of me and backed away.

“Excuse me for just a minute.” He breathed out, face paling and unfocused like he was in a trance.

He walked around me, leaving me alone on the dancefloor, and started running after someone. I turned to follow him, but I lost him too quickly. He followed someone down the hall and all I could see was the glimpse of him running after a dark red skirt flowing down the hall.