The Wild Moon by Riley Storm

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Is it just me, or is the music getting louder?” I asked, my stomach now pleasantly full of some sort of cheese-covered bread, bits of steak seared to perfection, and a glass of sparkling water.

I longed for the wine, but given what I was about to embark upon, keeping my wits about me was the larger priority. Any misstep later would likely lead to me having an appointment with a metal chair in a windowless room.

“It’s time for dancing,” Johnathan replied.

I looked at him aghast. That wasn’t at all the answer I’d expected. “What?”

“It’s a ball,” he said with a shrug. “There’s dinner, dancing, political discourse.”

“Don’t talk to me like I should know these things,” I snapped. “Not everyone lives in your little snobbish society, John. Most of us live in the real world, where this stuff doesn’t happen.”

Johnathan’s face tightened, but he nodded. “Fair point. To answer your question, however, dancing comes after the food.”

“Right,” I said, considering my options. What did I have to say that could get me out of this? There had to be some combination of words that would work.

“If you don’t dance with me at least once, people are going to ask questions that will make my father mad,” Johnathan said, reading my panicked look with ease.

I cursed silently. I had to do this, didn’t I? Suspicion was the last thing I needed right now. Which meant…

“Fine,” I said, reluctantly concluding I had no choice. I was going to have to dance with him. “One dance.”

Johnathan smiled and reached for my hand. I threw up a brief prayer to any of the shifter gods who might be listening to help me out. Perhaps Mino, the shifter god of luck, would be with me. I certainly felt like I could use it. Even as we walked toward the open space at the front of the room, I could feel eyes turning, watching me.

Just stare at the dress. At the silly amounts of leg I’m showing. Please don’t watch my clumsy ass try to dance like a real lady. ‘Cause it ain’t gonna happen, folks.

With a flick of his hand, Johnathan spun me through a slow circle. I didn’t know the first thing about formal dancing, but I could follow clear movements like that. I twirled, part of me wishing I had more of a ballgown on so that it could swoosh out to the sides as I stepped around.

“Oh,” I said, suddenly short of breath as Johnathan stepped in close and pulled me tight to his chest after I finished my circle.

“Hi,” he rumbled, and I struggled to maintain my composure as he brought me forward and then to the side and around and back. All of it within his personal space.

This was what I’d been afraid of. The proximity. My body was practically on fire. My wolf was rising to the surface, powered by the strength of our Soulbond to Johnathan. It was an immovable force, and it had caught me unprepared.

Damn, he even smells good. How is that possible? Why am I infatuated with his scent? And his hands on my back. So big and strong. I wonder what they would feel like if I just stopped resisting? Would it be even better?

I could do that. I could let my barrier down and accept him in. The scary part wasn’t that I knew I could, it was just how easy I knew it would be. As if my willpower were but a speck compared to the blazing golden bliss of the Soulbond as it drummed away inside me.

“Is everything okay?” Johnathan asked as the music died down, the segue to another song evident even to my addled brain.

Had I just lost myself to the entire song? Had we danced through the entire thing without me realizing it? I shivered. I had. Now that was scary. I’d come dangerously close to losing myself entirely. And all it had taken was one song in his arms. If I stayed for another…

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t feel good. It’s, uh, my stomach, you see. I haven’t been eating well while I’ve been gone. So much rich food. I need to go freshen up, then I’ll be back. Then we’ll have one more dance, and you’ll escort me to my room, just so any curious peepers believe we’re retiring together. Got it?”

Johnathan smiled. “I can do that.”

“Good,” I said, starting off.

I was brought back around when he didn’t let go of my hand. His eyes were locked on me, and he smiled. A real smile, and I looked away. That was the look that had won me over when I younger. He had a killer smile, perfect teeth, just the right amount of dimple in his cheeks, and it always seemed to reach his eyes.

“Thank you for that dance,” he said, meaning every word of it.

Then he lifted my hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over the back of my knuckles before letting me go.

I smiled and, against my own will, gave him a small curtsy.

What are you doing? Stop it! This isn’t your real life. Get a grip.

Pulling my mind back together after the extra blast of power from the Soulbond and trying to ignore the tingling on the back of my hand, I headed for the doors.

Nobody stopped me. Not even Lars. Evidently, I’d put in a good enough showing to be allowed a bit of leeway for the time being. That was good, very good. I took the stairs at a slow, regal pace, despite my desire to break into a flat-out run. There were two reasons for that.

First, the front hallway always had people in it. Enforcers dressed up as servers, or couples passing between the other rooms on the main level. If they saw me running, that would blow my entire cover.

The second reason was that if I ran in this dress, my ass would be hanging fully out in about three steps. The ballroom had gotten enough of a view of my modest-sized tits over the course of the evening, and they didn’t need to see more. Not for free, at least. Not unless they wanted to bankroll Aaron for a second week.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I started for my room. The original plan had been for me to get changed first into something a little less conspicuous. But as I passed the artifact room, I changed that. Adapting on the fly was key, and right now, nobody suspected me. Going to my room first would increase the time I was gone from the ballroom and the likelihood that someone would come looking for me.

I faked rolling an ankle as an excuse to stop and look around while I rested a hand on the wall next to the door. Nobody was in sight, and nobody came rushing forward to see if I needed help.

It’s now or never. Do it.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and slipped into the artifact room. It was dark, and I dared not turn on the light, lest someone walking by see it was on and poke their head in. I was going to have to rely on my wolf for this.

Reaching out to her, I leaned on her powers. The room brightened considerably, but so did my pull to Johnathan.

Enough. We’re not going back there. Ever. So get over it.

She pouted but subsided for the moment.

The room was a dazzling array of ancient shifter artifacts, items that had either been kept over the generations or found by my father and others like him as they sought out the ancient city of Shuldar.

There was enough evidence in the display cases or mounted to the walls to convince anyone that we’d once had our own civilization, away from humanity. Books and tapestries, statues, even some ancient weapons such as spears and a sword. I wondered briefly who we would have needed to fight off with those. Humans?

But those weren’t what I was after. I moved to the center of the room. Where Lars had his most prized finds on display. He brought everyone to this room anytime he had visitors from another clan. It was his way of demonstrating he thought himself the superior.

Alpha politics are for children, I thought.

In the very center was the item I’d come for.

A foot-high statue made of pure gold. It was human from the neck down, sporting a pair of breasts and a carved loincloth. The head, however, was that of a wolf. The eyes were emeralds, and a crown of rubies and diamonds was set into the statue as well.

“The Idol of Amunlea,” I whispered, staring at the figurine just sitting there. Lars didn’t even have it behind a protective barrier. He feared nobody, it seemed.

Arrogance. It’s a great deterrent until someone more stubborn comes along. Or, in my case, desperate.

“Sorry, bud,” I chuckled, snatched up the golden idol of the empress of the gods, and walked as quietly as I could to the far wall. I opened the window, and after a quick peek to ensure all was clear, I punched out the screen.

Hating myself for what I was about to do next, I leaned out the window and, as carefully as I could, dropped the idol three stories down into a flower bed.

“Forgive me, Amunlea,” I whispered.

Then, I set to tearing the dress. It was a shame to destroy something so nice, but it was too restrictive. I needed to be able to move. I couldn’t shift and still carry the idol, so I needed the freedom to run.

That done, I climbed onto the edge of the window. Just before I jumped, I heard voices in the hallway behind me.

“She said the food had gotten to her, father. She’s not used to eating such rich food.”

That would be Johnathan.

“Of course she did. She’s been living on scraps like some pathetic gutter rat. Too bad. I did not throw this ball for her to hide in her room.”

And that would be Lars. Ever the caring host.

I grinned and then dropped from the window without a second thought. It wouldn’t be long before they discovered I wasn’t in my room, but it would take them some time to realize they’d been robbed.

Scooping up the idol, I took off into the night. This part of the plan had gone flawlessly. It was time to get back to Aaron and give him his hefty fee.

Then we could find whatever it was my father had been searching for. What it was he wanted me to find.