Escaping Death

Solana

“You really shouldn’t be here,” Alec is practically panting with rage but Ace remains outwardly calm and unfazed even though I can feel his heat and hear his heart racing.

“You really shouldn’t be alive. You’re looking well for someone who’s past their expiration date.”

Alec rolls up his shirt sleeve exposing his forearm where my mother’s sigil is branded onto his skin. “A gift from the Queen, the mate of my two best friends.”

“Pity.”

“No, not out of pity, asshole. Loyalty. Something you know fuck all about.”

“Sorry, that wasn’t a question. It’s a pity that the pack is stuck with you as Alpha.”

Alec’s eyes darken to black a fraction of a second before he takes a swing at Ace. His fist hits nothing but air as Ace successfully dodges his brother’s hit.

As entertaining as it would be to watch the two of them go at it, I can’t see my fathers being very happy with their best friend for causing a scene at Calla’s party. I put myself between Ace and Alec but the latter is too far gone. He shoves me forcefully to the side and out of the way. I reach out from behind him and grab on to his arms preventing him from hitting Ace.

Alec’s head whips back with a loud crack and an instant rush of blood pours from his nose. Apparently I picked the wrong brother to restrain.

“Ace!” I scold him from over Alec’s shoulder.

“Keep your fucking hands off of her. Queen’s friend or not I’ll fucking bury you.” Ace roars at Alec.

Tate, Dean, and Eli are by my side in the next instant. Tate and Eli hold Ace back while Dean calmly and gently guides me behind him. Xander teleports next to Alec just in time to put him in a bear hug and teleport him back several feet away from us.

“Now it’s a party!” Xander jests in his usual attempt to bring levity to heavy situations. “Someone want to explain what the fuss is about?”

“No fuss,” disdain drips from Ace’s teeth as he straightens out his dress shirt. “Just explaining to my baby brother what happens when he puts his hands on things that don’t belong to him.”

Xander looks quizzically at the group of us looking for someone who might be able to elaborate. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly a point of pride is it?” Alec spits at Ace.

“Proud of yourself, are you? Throwing an innocent woman to the side, the daughter of your best friends as you so proudly declared.”

By now we’ve caused enough of a scene that my brothers Cole and Rhys join in, while Calla watches from afar with our cousins Clover and Iris.

What a fucking nightmare. So much for keeping a low profile.

I skirt around Dean, who’s doing his best to calm everyone’s tempers. Tate and Eli have let go of their hold on Ace but his control is a frayed thread at best. I can feel how possessive his wolf feels of me and the strength Ace is using to hold his wolf back from declaring me as his, but not before he makes good on his promise to knock his brother out.

Ace’s eyes don’t follow me as I approach him, they remain glued to Alec as if he could ignite his brother with sheer willpower. Even in heels, I only come up to Ace’s chin in height so naturally he continues to look right over my head at Alec.

“Eyes on me,” I snap at him to get his attention. Without hesitation Ace looks down at me giving me his full undivided attention. “Can we just go please?” I ask in a gentler tone. Ace’s glare softens and the tension that once gripped every muscle in his body relaxes a little.

I breathe a sigh of relief too soon, because the moment Alec sees Ace fulfilling my request, he opens his idiot mouth again.

“Is that what you call protecting her? Letting her fight your battles for you?”

Ace freezes right along with me, but my hand on his chest stops him from taking any action against his brother. Flames burn down my hair from root to tip leaving a blood red color in their wake.

I don’t want to seriously injure Alec — he’s been a family friend since before I was born and I’m sure there would be hell to pay if I actually made anyone bleed at Calla’s party. But he does need to shut the fuck up.

I grab a small dart from the holster on my leg beneath my dress and whip around flinging it towards him, aiming for his throat.

Though my aim is true, my dart never makes it to its target. It’s been intercepted in the last inch by my mother.

She inspects the dart before leveling me with a stern warning glare.

“What?” I ask, admittedly sounding a little flippant. When she tilts her head and casts me a challenging look I know I’m on thin ice. “It’s a mild paralytic, he would have been mute for twenty minutes tops,” I grumble.

The dart goes up in flames in the palm of my mother’s hand and within three seconds is nothing but a small pile of ash. “Alec, weren’t you asking Solana to dance?”

“Yes ma’am,” Alec strides over to me with an outstretched hand. The look on Ace’s face could wilt every flower in the Grove. “Off you go gentlemen,” my mother nods towards my sister and cousins who have traded expressions of concern for those of lust.

Tate, Eli, and Dean all walk away and head for the birthday girl and my cousins. An unusual feeling bubbles up within me having to watch Calla, Clover, and Iris cling to the guys like static. I want to rip them off of the guys and slap the love-sick smirks off their faces.

I can feel Ace step closer to me. Whether it’s to keep me away from Alec or to keep me from making a scene of my own I might never know because my mother puts a firm hand on the center of his chest and tuts at him. “You can dance with me,” she commands him and loops her arm in his, throwing me a knowing look as she passes me and leads them away to the dance floor.

— — —

Ace

“Having fun?” the Queen asks me as we walk arm in arm towards a less crowded area of the dance floor encircling the bar.

“I won’t apologize for doing my job, but I am sorry if it tarnished your daughter’s evening.” I don’t want to beat around the bush with small talk. I need to get out of this conversation as soon as possible so I can get back to Sol and distance her from Alec. If he’s lucky I won’t cut his hands off for throwing her to the side before.

“If I remember correctly, my mates gave your crew the night off of work. And secondly, I’m sure Solana’s night has only improved.” The Queen grins at me, silently provoking me to try to deny that she has a point. I drop my hand to her waist, holding her other hand in mine as we fall into step with the other couples dancing around in circles.

“I was referring to Calla, ma’am.” When I mentioned ruining her daughter’s evening, I had meant Calla not Solana.

“Mags,” she corrects me. “And let’s not delude ourselves into thinking you care much about Calla’s party,” she says casually. I want to tell her she’s wrong, but she’s not and she knows it. I couldn’t care less about Calla’s party. If it wasn’t for Sol wanting to come to support her sister we wouldn’t even be in the Grove. We’d be at home where I could keep her away from the people she actively avoids and away from my slimy, younger half-brother.

I knew he was still alive, I’ve been keeping tabs on him over the years. But now that I know he’s this close to Solana’s family I’ll need to get Tate to do more digging because if he’s anything like our father then he’ll suffer much worse than a broken nose.

“I care about doing my job and doing it quietly.”

“You care about Solana. We’ve already established that you’re not here tonight for official work.” Magnolia says, and I’m seeing firsthand exactly where Solana gets many of her traits from. Her stubbornness, her keen eye, and quick wit.

I spin her mother away with a sigh. “Ma’am –”

“Mags.” Magnolia spins back into my arms, the fire in her eyes licking her irises. My chest tightens with longing for it to be Sol’s eyes staring back up at me.

“Mags,” I grit out her name begrudgingly, “I don’t know what it is you want me to say.”

“It’s not what I want you to say, it’s what I want you to understand. Solana is like a Rupert’s drop. She was all molten energy and fire until life dumped her into an ice bath. Now instead of heat and passion she’s hardened and cold but stronger than anything you can imagine. One little snap at the tip, though, and she’ll shatter. Just…be gentle with her heart. She’s obviously fond of you.”

“I’m not sure I agree, most days she pulls a knife on one or more of us.” It’s a ridiculous memory to smile over, but I can’t stop my mouth from ticking up in time. I’d never admit it to the pack but I do love what a challenge she is, I love how she comes to life, infusing that energy into everything and everyone around her.

“She threw a tranq at Alec for you. For her, that’s as good as a proclamation of love.”

My footsteps falter and we come to an abrupt stop, forcing the other dancers to weave around us. Magnolia studies me for several long seconds as I try to figure out how to steer this conversation away from anything involving feelings between Solana and me.

“Does Solana know?” Magnolia’s tone adopts a biting edge to it. Her aura demands the truth from me, forcing me to choose between going against Solana’s wishes to keep our bond secret and lying to her mother’s face. Ultimately, staying in her parents’ good graces is critical and worth dealing with Solana’s anger over what I’m about to admit.

“Yes,” I hold Magnolia’s gaze. Of course Solana knows we’re mates, what kind of question is that? The real question is how did she know?

“Don’t act so surprised. You Alphas and your possessiveness know no bounds. Your eyes haven’t left her all evening.”

“Ma–”

“I swear to the Gods if you call me ma’am one more time…”

“Magnolia…I — I promised her I wouldn’t say anything to anyone about it. Admitting it to you now betrays that vow, but when she’s safe and free to leave… I won’t force Solana into a life she doesn’t want.”

Magnolia puts my hand back on her waist and pushes us back into the river of dancers. “I think we both know she’s made her choice. She’s beaming. It’s truly a joy to see her smiling again.”

I know what she means. When Sol’s happy and when her barriers are down she’s pure sunshine. Radiant, warm, and bright. “She’s aptly named. She shines like the sun,” I say, allowing the affection I feel for Solana to show through.

Magnolia slips out of my hold and flashes me an impish grin. “She wasn’t named for the sun.”

Then with a wink she turns her back to me and disappears into the shadows.