Page 21 of His White Moonlight
I looked up at Bennett.“I could go for a glass of wine.What about you?”
“One glass,” Mom said firmly before he nodded.
Legal age wasn’t strictly enforced at these kinds of things, thankfully.
“Have fun.”She kissed my cheek, and he led me toward the temporary bar.
While he asked for a glass of something that sounded French, I looked around the room.A few familiar faces blended in with the sea of unfamiliar ones.Storm and her crew were off to one side, talking and laughing.They all looked like they belonged at the party, with perfectly styled and accessorized hair, makeup, and dresses.Not an underwear line in sight.
“Are there any friends you’d like to talk to?”Bennett asked as he handed me my glass.
I took a sip to distract my face from subtitling my thoughts.
Did he seriously think I had any friends here?I’d been gone for seven years.And before that, only Aiden and Karter had ever hung out with me.Elementary school with the pack girls had been a brutal game of “make Wrenly cry.”
“Why don’t we check out the art first?”I asked instead of giving any direct answer.
I held my glass in one hand and his arm in the other and let him lead me to the first sculpture.Neither of us talked as we looked at it.I wondered if he was counting down the seconds like I was.
“Bennett,” a woman said from behind us.“If you needed a companion for tonight, you should have called me.”
I glanced at the brunette with startlingly silver eyes, saw the challenge in them, and turned us to face her.
“Your dress is stunning,” I said.“I’m sorry I stole Bennett tonight.I’m sure he’ll think of you next time, though.”
Her gaze flicked to me, assessing.I kept my neutral smile firmly in place.
“There won’t be a next time,” Bennett said.
I saw the desperation flicker across the woman’s face.She was closer to Bennett’s age than I was, and I’d bet she’d been holding out hope that he’d pick her as a mate during a pack run.
“I’m Wrenly, Bennett’s sister,” I said, holding out my hand to her.
“You’re not my sister,” Bennett said before the woman could decide to take it.
His words didn’t hurt me.Not anymore.It wasn’t the first time he’d said that, and it wouldn’t be the last.But the label seemed to appease the woman because she took my hand in hers.
“I’m Mosslyn.It’s nice to meet you, Wrenly.We’ll need to stay in touch.”
I nodded and watched her walk off, knowing damn well the only reason she would contact me was to try to worm her way into Bennett’s graces.Unfortunately for her, I was the wrong person for that.
“Ready to move to the next piece?”I asked.
For the next thirty-five minutes, we repeated the process.Women approached.I politely shielded and then softened any cold rejection Bennett uttered.
And I drank all my wine.
Feeling only slightly buzzed, I glanced longingly at the server weaving through the room.
“Don’t even think about it,” Bennett said.
“Can I think about a two-minute bathroom break, or is that against the terms of our agreement?”
He actually looked like he was debating it.
I wanted to threaten to pee on his shoes, but there were too many people with much better hearing than I had, and I didn’t want to embarrass Mom or Dad.
“Two minutes,” he said.
