She looked stunning in a turquoise dress with a matching necklace. “I hope you don’t think I’ve been avoiding you, Izzy. I keep to myself a lot, and you’ve been through a difficult situation,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, so I’ve been giving you space.”
“Thanks, Ivy. I really am fine.”
Her mouth twisted. “I don’t believe that’s true and I certainly hope you don’t either. But it’s okay not to be fine.” She smiled warmly and squeezed my hand. “Have you eaten?”
“Jericho bought me a dozen donuts.”
Her mouth parted as if she might say something, but her eyes were drawn to a few people in the crowd dancing.
“I love it here,” she said. “I’ve never been anywhere like Austin, and the Shifters here are so different. Look at this.” She waved her arm toward the crowd. “Have you ever seen so many Breeds in one place? We’re stars, you know. Different, distant, young and old, but we’re all made of the same stuff. We all shine just as bright as the next.”
“Hey there, lovely ladies.” A man greeted us in a jovial voice. The first thing I noticed was he didn’t have a shirt on, and the second thing was that the zipper on his knee-length shorts was wide open, unbeknownst to him. His eyes were glazed over, his speech slurred. “You need a drink?”
“We’re good,” I said with a short laugh. “Is there a food vendor around here? You should grab something to eat before you miss all the fun.”
He lifted both hands and squeezed invisible balls in the air. “Oh, I’ll grab something all right.” Then he snorted and threw his head back, looking down his nose at us. “I’m—”
“Just leaving,” another person cut in.
A handsome Native American man with chiseled bone structure and dark eyes approached from behind. He was tall, formidable, and dressed down in a black tank top and dark cargo pants.
I felt the familiar prickle on my skin that told me our new friend was an alpha. He folded his arms in a tough stance with his chin low, and I shivered from the power rolling off him.
“Just talking to these pretty ladies,” the drunk said. “There ain’t no law against it, and this is a party.”
Jericho’s song ended, and the crowd went nuts screaming.
“It’s fine,” I said. “He’s just had too much to drink.” Nothing I hadn’t seen a million times at work.
The shirtless drunk wiped his chest. “I’m nowhere near intoxicated. I could drink another six-pack and balance an egg on my nose.”#p#分页标题#e#
“I take it back. He’s a drunk asshole. But we’re okay here,” I said, trying to defuse the situation.
“Hear that? We’re fine,” the man parroted.
The Native American took a step forward, dropping his arms to his sides. “You’re not a Shifter.”
“Bravo!” he cheered, clapping his hands. “Fuckin’ genius.”
My shoulders sagged. It could have been a perfectly normal conversation, but there always had to be one alpha who wanted to bare his teeth. I much preferred the tail-waggers.
“Leave,” the alpha insisted.
The drunk pulled in his lips in a cartoonish fashion. “Make me.”
I stepped between the two men, lowering my voice. “Wait. If he’s a Mage, this won’t end well for you. Let it go.”
He glanced over my shoulder, and his eyes went wild. I pivoted around and saw the drunk had crept up behind Ivy and gripped her shoulders, giving them a squeeze and taunting the alpha with mischievous eyes.
Ivy was no fighter. She glanced over her shoulder at the man. “Please let me go, or you will be hurt.”
Too late. The alpha clamped his left hand around the man’s throat and walked him backward.
The drunk wasn’t a Mage, or he would have attacked. I’d be willing to bet he was a Relic or Sensor, because his eyes were wide with fear.
“Let him go,” Ivy said in a commanding voice. “He’s not thinking clearly with all the spirits in him, but you have no excuse. Consider what your violent reaction will instigate in this public place. Eyes are already on you. Will you choose to be a man of control or a man without?”
The alpha’s long black hair swished around as he looked between the man he was close to choking and Ivy.
“What’s your name?” she asked him.
The alpha blinked. “Church. Lorenzo Church.”
“Mr. Church, will you let him go? A child may be bigger and stronger than an ant, but he is weak when he presses his thumb on the little creature to show off his power.”