When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 22

Emris.

Elena returns to the table first. She’d excused herself to greet a friend, she said. The LeadCon staff are beginning to clear the first course, signalling the transition to the next part of the evening. As she settles beside me, my eyes are already drawn back to the entrance, where Demetra is returning.

I’m not the only one whose neck turns to follow her. It’s not just my neck….my wolf shifts restlessly inside me, drawn by her scent, a subtle blend of night–blooming flowers and clean milk. Her skin is pale as moon milk and her lips… I swallow, forcing my gaze away just as the organisers cast soft spotlight on her as she moves.

Quickly, everyone start whispering and it’s her they are talking about.

As Alpha Ronin’s daughter, even if there were other new faces here tonight, she’s still the one who has captured the room’s collective attention. The organizers know it, too.

Shit, Elena’s eyes catch me looking. I find myself struggling to look away from Demetra’s progress across the floor.

“You’re not eating.” Elena’s voice tight as she clears her throat pointedly

I get the hint. She doesn’t want me salivating like the rest of the Alphas but it’s not fault. If she were a rando, I won’t even look twice. Plus, by the end of this ball, Elena is going to realize Miss Pride is Demetra, and then she’ll understand exactly whose name I’ve been murmuring in my sleep.

“It’s bland.” I mutter, watching as Slade stands and pulls out Demetra’s chair for her with a gallantry that grates on me. If I didn’t know they were siblings, I’d think he was trying to date her. The way he moves around her is too attentive, too protective. Could he be in love with his step sister? The thought isn’t as far–fetched as it should be.

“Have you decided who you’ll be dancing with?” Teddy asks with an easy smile as she looks at Demetra.

To my surprise, Demetra smiles back. “Of course.”

“There are many distinguished Alphas here.” Ronin comments.

The woman with vibrant red hair–Scotty, I believe, Eden’s mother claps her hands together lightly. “You should dance with either Alpha Jaden or Alpha Saul. They’re both single, and their packs are rising quickly.”

“What are you, a matchmaker?” Regan snorts from our side of the table.

“Yes, I am,” she fires back and Silver chuckles softly beside me. Why is he amused? I study Scotty again. She looks young… must have had Eden early. I’m reading too much into everything at this table. I need to stop.

“Our esteemed guests!” a voice booms through the organizers, and the room’s chatter begins to die down. “Please rise from your seats and proceed to the dance floor. We’ve prepared a beautiful fountain garden…open air, a gentle breeze, live music. You’ll all be dancing with your partners shortly, but first, we have something special. Charmaine, why don’t you explain?”

Another coordinator, a woman, takes the mic. “As we all know, there’s one person who has captured the attention of every Alpha here tonight. Our diamond of the Fest is none other than Miss Pride, whose face we shall soon see. We’re giving her the honor of choosing any Alpha in this room for the first dance. After that, and following the dances you’ll all share, we will all remove our masks. Are we ready?”

The gradual applauses in the large are answer the question. So, plates are cleared. The servers circulate with fresh flutes of bubbling wine, gracefully guiding us toward the garden.

It’s exactly as described. The soft sound of falling water from elaborate fountains fills the night air. Floating lanterns drift like captured stars. A live band plays near a shimmering pool, the music is already setting an elegant mood.

We stand, still masked, as Demetra is guided to the centre of the space. The music grows dramatically. Violins and cellos weave a tense, suspenseful melody to make everyone be at the edge of who she might pick. All the single Alphas begin to step forward and form a loose line around her.

Silver chuckles when Regan actually take a step forward, too.

Re–Regan!?

Was he born mad from birth!? He wants her to pick him…him? His arrogance is almost impressive I should kill him.

I stay where I am and watch, jaw tight. Demetra is the innocent–looking center of a circling pack of wolves. I scan the Alphas…some of them are married, their Lunas are literally standing stiffly nearby.

These fucking Alphas… I can see it in their eyes. They don’t want a dance. They want to peel the silk from Demetra’s skin and get under her.

1/3

22

My damn mask is now stifling and too hot against my face! I bite the inside of my lip, watching as Demetra chuckles,

looking over the eager, hungry faces of the men vying for her attention.

The room holds its breath. And so do I.

“Can you imagine? Even married Alphas are stepping forward to be picked?” Silver murmurs to me.

“That’s because she’s a whore!” Elena hisses immediately from my other side.

My sister, Teddy, rolls her eyes. “It’s giving jealous.”

“Teddy-”

“Don’t speak. Don’t ruin Miss Pride’s moment. She’s the belle of the ball.”

As Teddy rage baits, I can feel Elena’s resentment spike beside me. I don’t know where my sister learned this kind of manipulation. Then Teddy glances at me and whispers, “Don’t lie. You want her to pick you.”

I simply glare, then refocus on Demetra, who is now turning away from the circle of hopefuls and walking… toward us.

She walks right past Regan. Her scent washes over me…powdery vanilla, night musk, something floral that makes my bad wolf stirs restlessly. Even if I wanted to play unaffected before, now I can’t. I’m too fixated on how she looks and she stops.

Right in front of me.

“It looks like the diamond of the Alpha Fest has picked a partner!” the commentator’s voice echoes with disbelief. “No… is that… Alpha Emris of the Black Covenant Pack?”

There’s gasps and even a scream somewhere. I don’t see anyone else’s expression. All I see is Demetra. There’s no way on earth she chose me except that’s what I tell myself…until she takes one more step closer and gestures for me to come forward with her finger.

I don’t even think. I do it. I walk out of where I am.

“Oh–ho! She has picked the Alpha, and he didn’t waste a second! Luna Elena must be pissed,” the commentator adds, and scattered chuckles moves through the crowd.

Demetra turns slightly away from me. I’m staring at her back as she unties the transparent cape from her shoulders and throws it. Some Alpha catches it. The movement reveals the naked expanse of her back and the curve of her hips filling the dress in a way that makes my throat dry.

She glances over her shoulder at me, halfway, and my heart hammers against my ribs. Am I really about to…

The music swells into a sensual rhythm. I close the distance. My hand finds her waist, and hers settle on my shoulders. We‘ re close enough to feel each other’s breath. As others begin to pair off around us, we stay at the center.

I squeeze her waist gently, just to make sure she’s real. She’s soft, small…exactly as I remember. When I used to pick her up; she was so light in my hands. I’d lift her during workouts for my sets.

“Careful with that hand,” she murmurs as I spin her slowly. She comes back to me and her palms press flat against my chest. Then I see her smirk. She knows. She can feel my heart pounding…a powerful Alpha who rejected her is still beating for her.

“Why?” I ask, roughly. “Why pick me? Forgotten we’re enemies?”

“Because I can, Alpha Emris. And because…” She glances past my shoulder. “It’s good to see your wife, Elena wear that look on her face. I’m simply punishing her for insulting me. Don’t think you’re special.”

She turns her back to me on the beat, and I bring her back, but this time my arm goes across the soft weight on her chest. Her back presses back into me, fitting against my hips in a way that makes me grind my teeth but hey, we’re dancing.

I shut my eyes for a moment to drown in the scent of her hair that I forget we’re being watched. When I open them, Slade is staring right at me as he dances with someone else.

I hold Demetra’s hand and twirl her roughly into a spin before pulling her back hard so her body slams against my chest. The impact knocks the air from her lungs so her lips part.

“Really?” I growl.

My hand slides from the nape of her neck, down the arch of her spine, over the curve of her ass. I don’t caress. I claim. My fingers pretend like they are about to dig lower when I suddenly dip her backwards.

Her hands fly to my shoulders, clutching just like she used to when I was buried deep until her nails marked me. The short, sharp gasp she makes is the exact same broken sound she’d do when I’d push her over the edge.

My face is perfectly aligned with hers. If I wanted to kiss Demetra, all I’d have to do is close the last inch. Instead, I bring her up slowly, painfully slowly, just to watch her lips part.

2/3

23