Page 8 of Brandy Snap: Part Two
Fear bolted through me as I finally caught sight of Zania through the crowd.
I froze, that gross feeling which had hounded me for days sinking through me as her sharp face twisted and she sneered.
“What’s wrong?” Sin asked softly.
I sucked in a breath, clenching their arms to stop myself from shaking.
“I-It’s nothing,” I replied as disgust wound through me, choking me.
I didn’t want the colour to drain from my face, or my chest to constrict, or my legs to bend like I was submitting or doing something to get away from her.
But even from across the room, her gaze bore into me, forcing my body to react. I almost whimpered as the corner of her lip hitched.
Zania stood with her arms folded, the huge men that had invaded my nest behind her, all of them watching us intensely. At least fifteen people stood between Zania and me, but the stench of hyacinth was already scratching my throat.
I instantly went to pick at my nails to feel a brief stab of pain and bring me back to my senses. Even with the three of them next to me, nausea was creeping up on me.
I gasped as two huge hands landed on my shoulders, and I tried to jump away.
I thought one of Zania’s bodyguards had grabbed me. Fear bolted through me so fast I pulled back, starting to struggle, until Caspian pressed his cheek to mine.
“Don’t let her get to you.” His voice rumbled through me, along with the sheer fury that was pumping off of him. “Her mind games only work if you let them.”
The tender bruise lit up at his closeness.
I tried to hold myself still as his aura beat off of me. It was even worse than during my heat, when I thought he couldn’t get any angrier.
But it was strange. Like Kai wiping Caspian’s scent from my chest, it was as if he was trying to comfort me. After the way he’d snapped and snarled earlier, I couldn’t figure out why.
“Like you let them?” Sin asked, glancing at his mate.
I couldn’t see their faces, but something happened. Caspian’s energy changed, soothing my tension. The pressure reduced as his anger morphed into blazing irritation, like Sin had made himself a target to help Caspian relax.
Caspian released me, and I was instantly disappointed. But the perfect thing about having all three of them surrounding me was that no scents or auras, no glares and whispers from the crowdcould touch me. And the sick feeling Zania instantly conjured faded away.
“Try not to worry too much,” Sin said, leaning in so his soft breath swept over me. “She won’t make a scene with so many people here.”
I wondered if Kai had told them what had happened with Zania at the last party, and that was why they were acting like moderately decent human beings. Or maybe I was clinging to the tiniest morsel of attention and calling it kindness, because I didn’t expect them to care.
I noticed Kai’s broad grin as he basked in the shocked expressions and scowls of the crowd as we walked further into the room. It was like he was eating up all the negative attention.
“Fuck yeah, you see that, Brandy?” he asked, turning to me. “This is what it’s all about. Just soak up all this fucking hate. Because you know what this means?” He bumped his nose against mine, his eyes sparkling. “It means you don’t fucking belong here. And no one’s going to accept you. Especially not my fucking alphas, or their families.”
It shouldn’t have stung when I knew it was true. But I couldn’t separate his closeness and his harsh words. If I didn’t belong, why was he crowding my space, pushing me into Sin, like he was shielding me from Zania’s death stare?
“Kai, stop,” Sin said with a sigh, gently pushing two fingers against his omega’s shoulders to ease him away. Sin looked down at me. “At least believe that I want you here,” he said, and Kai growled as a reply.
I didn’t want to hurt so easily.
Caspian was still behind us. I jumped as he brushed his hands over my shoulders again, my shame giving way to pure lust as a growl rumbled from him.
“Stop fucking around, you lot,” he said, another strange sense of comfort washing over me.
I couldn’t focus when I kept see-sawing between these feelings so quickly, like someone was flicking through a book and pausing on random pages. So, I stopped trying.
A calm settled over me as Sin adjusted himself to hold my arm more firmly. They stood tall with me amongst the hundred or more people in the ballroom.
Kai was right. Just because I wore a fancy dress and jewellery didn’t mean I belonged, or even knew what I was supposed to do at an event like this. I’d barely learned anything at the last party, either.
