The Alpha's Rejected mate
's
ectly on my shoulder. Maybe it was nerves. Or maybe it was because I had design
casting a soft golden light across the ballroom. Everyone looked like they belonged-tall, polished, confident. And th
gainst the marble floor as I stepped farther into the room. My dress shimmered with ever
ing, eyes burning. I couldn't afford to buy anything
lf. The truth was, his coughs had grown sharper. His skin is a litt
yx
red gown that screamed wealth. She was the kind of friend who alw
he'd spend the night introducing me to rich strangers and trying to get someone to inve
looked around, scanning the sea of tuxedos and diamonds,
ere. His suit was black, tailored to perfection, and his eyes-God, his eyes. Even from across the ro
eath
Black
face had graced every business magazine in the country. People whispered ab
was enough to make something twist low in my
as thudding too fast, and I was
e, needing something to hold. The bubbles danced in th
e trying to blend in
a man with slicked-back hair and a crooked smile. His friend, ta
ll in," I said wi
the first one aske
friend is around
er one said, already reaching for a drin
sita
g a little too low for my comfort. "It's just champag
tions, remember? That was the po
e tall one said, clink
out their energy made my skin prickle. Their attent
barely t
do?" Slick Hair a
gner," I replied, k
the other said. "Bet y
aw t
ng to step away, but the
off," he said. "We're
ime, just to stall. But as soon as the
ion wo
ts swirled above li
o, no
s didn't feel like mine. My stomach
ing wa
y w
e caught me. Not one of the men
d near my ear. It didn't
was a blur. Faces stretched like reflecti
eel right...
u," the voic
ges like someone was drawi
-maybe Mollie's?-but i
ed through the crowd, ar
alled for security. But I cou
ttled deep in my chest. I could
iven me t
touching
was I
nt black befo