Page 81 of Poet & Protector

I shot her a puzzled glance but let her lead me away.

“I saw you dancing with the others,” I said, as we traversed the dance floor. “Have you been up here the whole night?”

She returned my searching look with a shake of her head. “You know better than to ask that.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “If I didn’t ask now, I’d ask you when we’re patrolling tomorrow. You know I worry.”

“Worrying doesn’t help,” she chided. “But since you’ll like the answer, I can tell you that I have indeed been upstairs all night. Something’s keeping Efron busy enough that he hasn’t sent for me.”

“Good.”

We passed the lounge and slipped into a narrow corridor that seemed to lead…nowhere. As far as I could tell, we were behind and beneath the scaffolding that housed the club’s lighting and special effects stations.

“Sabine, where are we going?”

“You’re going here.” Ansel suddenly appeared from within the maze of metal. He smiled warily at Sabine, then quickly averted his eyes. “Thanks, uh, for bringing him.”

She glared at the younger wolf. “You keep acting like I’m going to bite you. I’m not going to bite you.”

Ansel pressed his lips together, looking to me for a rescue.

“In Ansel’s defense, you do look like you might bite him,” I told her. “You have resting bite face.”

Ansel laughed but scuttled back when Sabine growled at him.

To me, she said, “See if I do anything nice for you again, traitor.”

I glanced around the dim, claustrophobia-inducing corridor. “I’m not seeing the nice, Sabine.”

She ignored me and spoke to Ansel. “I did my part, little wolf. Can you handle it from here?”

“Yup.” He bounced happily on the balls of his feet.

“Enjoy, Nev,” Sabine said to me and smiled. “But be careful.”

She walked away and Ansel gestured for me to follow him. “Come on.”

My confusion grew when he ducked back into the tangle of iron, but there was indeed a tight passage that led to a hollow space on the other side, like a giant cage created by the tall scaffolding. Standing at one end of the open area was Mason.

He walked over to me and took my hand. I was too surprised to do anything but lace my fingers with his.

“Hey.” He smiled at me, then said to Ansel, “Thanks. So much.”

“Of course.” Ansel did his little bounce again, then stole away, leaving Mason and me alone.

Mason reached up with his free hand and touched my cheek. “Dance with me.”

Fifteen

Eden, an hour earlier

MASON

I glanced at Nev again. He’d taken the same post at the bar where I’d found him when we arrived. He and Caleb chatted while Caleb worked. I smiled to myself, remembering how jealous I’d been when I suspected Nev and Caleb were dating, and the way I tried to ignore how relieved I was when I found out I was wrong.

Ansel tugged on my sleeve. “Mason.”

“What’s up?” I asked, chastising myself for constantly being distracted by Nev and ignoring my packmates.