The Demon and His Plaything

7| To the ball

Tracy spoke non-stop on the way to the ball. Derek knew it was nerves so he let her have at it for as long as he could stand. Derek and his friend Tom were driving them to the ball, the two men sat up front with the girls in the backseat. His eye was frequently drawn to his revision mirror that caught the reflection of the left side of Samantha's face. They were all already dressed for the ball, the mirror also just catching the pillowy top of her left breast where they were pushed up by her dress.

"Tracy," Derek interrupted, not able to sit quietly anymore. "Take a breath, sis. Look, don't get your hopes up. And be warned, people usually find their mates in the first half hour of this thing–those that don't go a bit wild. It can get a bit..." he looked at his friend for just a second, ever the good driver and not taking his eyes off the road for too long.

"Of a total fuck fest." Tom completed the sentence.

"Goddess..." Derek shook his head at his friend's turn of phrase. Returning to speak to the backseat, "Just keep it in mind that every able-bodied wolf will be trying their best lines on every she-wolf in there once they realise they aren't getting marked and mated tonight. If you don't find your mate, stick with us and we can ride the night out together."

"Unless I find myself a delicious morsel, 'cause I will dump all y'all for a better offer."

"Thanks, Tom." Derek rolled his eyes.

Derek had been to two other balls, not attending each one he could. He felt torn about the prospect of finding his mate. The offer to marry Samantha and take over as Alpha appealed to him. More than appealed to him. He'd always been a bit sweet on her and as they got older his little crush had turned into something a lot bigger.

They hadn't spent much time together after he graduated high school, but now that she was around his resolve that she was who he wanted was being set. The last couple of weeks he had been able to start to get to know her again. Slowly. The way she had taken charge at the marathon. The way she'd made it into a competition once she was sure they had first won as a team had been so sexy. Everything she did was sexy to him though.

He had had a girlfriend in high school but ended the relationship just before he turned eighteen, knowing once his wolf spirit was awakened he could find his mate. She found her mate six months later in any case so the break had been the right thing in the end. He remember the week leading up to his wolf's awakening, holding out hope Samantha would be his fated mate. But it wasn't to be. His only solace was that no one else in their pack was her mate either. When his father approached him with the idea of becoming betrothed Derek had been over the moon, dampening his enthusiasm as that was many years away and anything could happen before then.

He couldn't tell what Samantha thought of the arrangement. She was just so quiet and reserved. He never knew where he stood with her. And he felt uncertain about making a move himself. He was sure he'd seen her look at him. Maybe even starting to see him now too.

That day they had sparred he had thought maybe she felt something for him. He recalled her scent. And he had been so shocked with that last move of hers like she was teasing him. It had shown a side of her he didn't know was there–and maybe it wasn't. He kept thinking over those two seconds, the way she trailed her finger over her skin–that sexy way she curled her tongue at him. Maybe he was just remembering it wrong.

There was one thing for certain though. He didn't want her to find her mate.

"A fuck fest, huh?" Tracy asked. Derek frowned at her repeating Tom's words.

Tom twisted in his seat to address the two women. "There's a reason why they have so many cabins around, but don't be surprised if you don't just come across people fucking everywhere."