I crossed my arms. “Second year actually.”

Hey, if I was going to be someone else tonight, I might as well go all out and full-blown lie.

The guy looked from me to Kaja to Nell, who’d just joined us, and the music slowed to a soft and sexy beat.

“Dance with me?” He extended his arm to Nell, who grinned.

“I’d be delighted.” She took it, and the two of them strolled over to where two other couples swayed to the beat.

Kaja eyed a food tent and yanked me toward it. “Let’s grub. I heard they serve mage wine at this thing.”

Mage wine. My dad let me have some once. A trader had brought it in with our usual haul. I’d laughed hysterically at everything Lona had said and then started crying and told my dad I wished I’d grown up with a mother. Suffice it to say, a full glass was not recommended for me. Train wreck city. I’d be staying far away from that stuff tonight.

“Ohh, chocolate fountain!” I squealed, spotting the liquid deliciousness, and ran over to the tent. I started plucking strawberries and marshmallows from beneath the flowing decadence and dropping them on a plate.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to track down the mage wine,” Kaja told me and left.

I saturated a marshmallow in chocolate and then shoved the whole thing in my mouth.

Yummmm. Food was one hundred percent my love language.

“A woman who isn’t afraid to eat. I dig it,” a deep voice said from behind me.

I quickly swallowed the food, wiping my mouth with my hand. Turning around, I faced a giant of a man. At well over six feet tall, he towered over me. His black tuxedo strained against his muscles as if they were begging to be freed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just looking for the salad bar,” I joked.

The dude grinned, and my stomach flipped. Straight white teeth and a killer smile was my kryptonite. This dude had both.

“Wanna see something cool?” he asked, holding out his hand.

My heart pounded in my ears. What if this was freaking Nolan? Or Noble? The latter had already become like a brother to me. I remembered Nell’s warning that I’d not just be here for the food…

I must have paused for too long because he dropped his hand. “It’s cool. I get it.”

He started to walk away.

Damn my curiosity! I did want to see something cool, especially if it was with that giant dude carved of stone with kissable lips and a nice smile.

I grabbed a strawberry and tore after him. “What cool thing?”

He looked back with a grin, and I nearly melted. Whoever this dude was … he was majorly yummy and, so far, super sweet. No way in hell could it be Rage or Nolan. They didn’t have a sweet bone in their bodies.

He reached out again, and this time, I took his hand. I had no idea why because touchy-feely on the first date, or whatever this was, wasn’t my thing. But I did. It felt … good. Warm and tingly. I stepped closer, my heart fluttering when he tucked my hand in the crook of his arm.

“I heard this place has a secret garden.” He cut into the woods, and I froze.

“Umm.” I pulled my hand back. He could be a murderer. “Out here?”

He looked back at me with a halfcocked grin. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. Besides, aren’t you an alpha heir? I’ll bet you could wipe the floor with me.”

Hah!

He had a good sense of humor too. I laughed, genuinely. “I could probably make you wish you weren’t born, yes.”

Maybe, but not before he overpowered me with his ‘roid monkey physique. Dude was jacked, and if he was at this party, he was an alpha heir too.

“Look, I get it.” He retraced his steps, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. “If you don’t want to come, it’s cool, but my friend said this place is magical, and … I like your blue hair.”

His rambling softened my heart, but still, I hesitated.

He dropped his hands, and his voice softened. “I would never hurt anyone at this school. It’s just … this is the one night a year we get to be … free.”

Something crossed his face after he said the last word, and his lips turned down. He looked … sad. Like every other day of the year, he wasn’t free.

“I really do like your blue hair.” He reached out and touched the end of one curl before lowering his fingers.

Every other girl here had done normal colored hair, black, blonde, brown, red. I was the only one crazy enough to ask for blue…

He turned then and walked into the forest, leaving me by myself.

I like your blue hair. Gah! That was kinda sweet!

“Fine!” I shouted and traipsed after him. “You don’t have to beg!”

I heard him chuckle as I caught up.

“I think it’s right over here. If my buddy is telling the truth.” He took a right.

Trying to maneuver over a log, I lifted the hem of my dress. My foot caught, and I sucked in a breath as I pitched forward.

But I never hit the ground. Somehow, the dude spun faster than lightning and caught me mid-fall. As he pulled me back upright, my body pressed into his chest, and all rational thought left my brain.

The music. The cool night air wafting his yummy scent to me. The glow of the moon through the trees. This was magical. A night to be free, like he said.

“Careful.” He backed up a few inches and I found my last two brain cells. “That’s why I was trying to hold your hand earlier. Those shoes are weapons.”

I smiled. “They are. Thanks.”

His hand slipped into mine again, and we continued our walk until we happened upon a magnificent steel gate.

“Are those … wings?” I gasped, dropping his hand to caress the metal in the shape of two giant angel wings. It was stunning.

He nodded. “I think so.”

Reaching out, he plucked the gate open, and I was grateful it wasn’t locked.

He bowed. “After you, Miss Blue.”

A grin tugged at my lips. He was a charmer, and that was dangerous. I loved a guy who could give a good compliment. Hopefully, whomever my father picked to be my breeding partner and mate would be a charmer too. Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I stepped past the sweet talker.

“Thank you.” I whisked forward, my huge dress skimming the sides of the gate as he stepped in behind me and closed it.

My breath hitched. “Whoa.”

Every single flower in here was glowing—blues, pinks, purples, greens so vibrant it looked like paint. Even tiny white flowers crawled along the ground, covering the garden floor in a soft glowing blanket.

“It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” I spun, and he watched me.

He kept his gaze on me. “It’s a close second for me.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a charmer.”

He shrugged. “I call them as I see them.”

The music wafted through the trees, reaching us, soft and almost haunting in a way.

He held out a hand. “Dance with me, Miss Blue?”

Why resist? Tomorrow would start four years of hell. Four years of me proving to myself, Nolan, my clan, and everyone else that I was the best person to lead my pack when my father either died or retired. Why not let loose for one night?

He pulled me in a respectable distance to his body, but I pushed us closer. I don’t know if it was the music, the magical garden, or the entire party atmosphere, but I felt like we were magnets unable to pull away from each other in this moment. His fingers trailed down my back, causing goosebumps to rise up my arms.