Strings of Fate

42- Teasing and terror Bellamy shrugs.

“Or, you could just ditch the shoes.” “Excuse me?” “Just take them off, then you have no reason not to dance with me.” | shake my head.

“Don’t be crazy, it is completely inappropriate to take my shoes off here. Not to mention. rude.” Bellamy rolls his eyes.

“Megan won't care.” He insists. | open my mouth to argue but before | can get a word out, he drops to his knees and grabs my ankle. | squeal and instinctively kick out at him as he snatches my right shoe right off my foot. He stands and takes a couple steps away from me.

“What the hell Bellamy! Give that back!” | stand up but don’t try to walk, it'll be awkward with only one heel. He hangs my shoe over one finger and dangles it in front of me.

“Ill trade it for a dance.” He offers.

“You're ridiculous.” | counter. He just shrugs atagain. | try to take a step forward but stumble. | slip my other shoe off and hold it in one hand. | step forwards again and attempt. to snatch my other shoe back from Bellamy.

He holds it up above my head and he’s too tall forto reclaim it. | refuse to make a fool of myself trying to get my shoe back so I just glare at him, my arms crossed over my chest. He raises an eyebrow at me.

“One dance Ry, con. It’s not so horrible is it?” “I'll trip over my dress, it's too long without heels.” | sigh, my resolve wavering.

“I won't let you fall.” Bellamy promises, laughter in his tone. With a final glance at my shoe which he is still holding I relent.

“Fine. One dance.” | grumble. Bellamy grins triumphantly. He gently pries my other shoe from 1/4 42- Teasing and terror my hand and places them neatly on the table by my clutch. He then takes my hand and leadsto the middle of the room. The DI, is apparently very observant, or maybe he noticed the scene we just made. Every woman staring at Bellamy definitely noticed at least. | know this because he suddenly changes the music to a more relaxed, slow dance. Great, | fight a groan. Bellamy nods at the guy who gives him a nod in return. | just roll my eyes. Everyone is watching and | have to fight not to run away, not that | could anyway because Bellamy still has a firm grip on my hand. | feel awkward without my shoes, although definitely more comfortable. Bellamy steps closer toand slips his free hand around my waist. | cave and put my other hand on his shoulder and let him leadthrough the dance. He is surprisingly good at this. I'm clumsy with the steps at first. | was taught to dance as part of a holiday program at the h| grew up in. | took about three weeks of compulsory classes and then never had to dance again. This is the first tI've ever made use of those lessons. As the steps cback to me, | begin to relax and feel more confident. I also find it easier to ignore the people watching us, particularly since a few couples stand up and join us on the floor. Megan and Tristan included. She was right when she said he isn’t a great dancer. He's completely out of twith the music. Megan givesa subtle thumbs up.

“See, this isn’t so bad now is it?” Bellamy comments. | shrug.

“It’s fine | guess.” That's a lie. Turns out | actually enjoy dancing. | hated it as a teenager, but that might have had more to do with my reluctance to hold hands with creepy, overeager teenage boys. Inccubi definitely becbetter company when they get older. As teens they're basically horny idiots with zero impulse control.

Sas any other teenager really but they also get magical aphrodisiac powers so let's just say it’s worse. My current partner is definitely an improvement.

“You're having fun. Admit it.” He pushes. | groan.

“Fine. Yes | enjoy dancing. Happy now?” “Ecstatic.” he replies, a pleased grin on his face. The first song blends into the second but | don’t comment as Bellamy leadsthrough the next dance. Lots of people have joined in now, Megan should be pleased. Bellamy and | are no longer the centre of the room, in fact we're pretty much at the edge of the dance floor now. It's not until half way through the third dance that | remind Bellamy | only promised him one dance. It’s getting crowded and I'm not too comfortable with it. There are threads all aroundand in a group like this I'm getting a bit claustrophobic. He grins but relents. He places a hand on my lower back and leadsaway from the dance floor towards the edge of the room, away from the crowd. He leads 24 to an empty corner and here, we are pretty much going unnoticed for the first tthis evening as everyone has their view blocked by the couples dancing or are too busy dancing themselves to pay us any mind. I'm watching the dancers, trying to spot Megan. I'm trying so hard to spot her in the crowd that | forget Bellamy still has a hand on my back. Well, I ignore it at the very least.

“Ryann.” He says my nto get my attention and | can barely hear him, he has to stand close forto even hear him over the music. | face him and am surprised to find a serious expression on his face. He catches my gaze and | stare at his golden eyes. Why is he so serious all of a sudden? Is something wrong? Maybe he’s thinking about Tristan again, he was rather upset earlier, | did think he was pretty well distracted though. He reaches out with his free hand to brush a strand of hair from my face. He rests his hand on my cheek and before | can even begin to comprehend what's happening, he leans forward and gently presses his lips to mine, and only just barely.

It can hardly even be considered a kiss. But there’s no other way to describe it. My mind goes blank. His kiss is so unexpected that | don’t have a chance to react. Looking back, the signs seem obvious. But | wasn’t expecting him to kissso | missed them all. He pulls back to examine my expression. He looks pleased and nervous at the stime. | stare at him. His face falls and his expression becomes increasingly wary. My breaths start coming quicker, | can’t seem to breathe right. | am completely terrified. Why did he have to kiss me? | was not ready for that at all. | pull away from him and he immediately releases me. His hands fall to his sides and he makes tight fists, as if he is actively working to keep them there. | stare at his hands, | don’t want to look at his face. | don’t think | want to see what expression he is making right now.

“Ryann I-” he starts. | don’t wait to hear what he has to say. | need to get away. | turn and run in the opposite direction, clutching my skirts to keep from tripping. | find myself at the doors leading outside and dash through them into the night. It’s well lit with fairy lights and the garden is beautiful, but | barely notice. I just keep moving. | need to go. It’s not until | reach a stone wall that | realise this is a private garden for the hotel. | wont be able to leave from here. | see a cement bench which | collapse onto. It's a warm night but my toes are cold. | ran out here without shoes. | can see my feet are dirty from running through the grass. But that’s not important.

What | really want to know is when did Bellamy start thinking of me... like that. | remember Darrien’s warning that even if | didnt say anything, it probably wouldn't take long for Bellamy to start thinking ofas his mate. Is that what's happening? But that s crazy. He barely knows me, | barely know him! There's a nagging voice in the back of my mind. But you think of him that way already. That's different because | already knew before | 42- Teasing and terror even spoke to him! I'm arguing with myself. This is not a good sign. Regardless, I'm not trying to figure out my own feelings here. I'm trying to figure out Bellamy’s. Does he love me? No, | don’t think he does. He's drawn tobecause I'm supposed to be his true mate, but all we do is fight. That kiss was just instinct. He naturally wants to be close to me, even if he doesn’t know the truth. It’s too soon for this. He's just feeling pressured to find a mate, all those girls here tonight annoying him, the other Alphas earlier today making it clear that they expect him to hurry up and choose someone. He feels obligated to make a decision. | refuse to be an obligation.

Neither of us is ready for this just yet, Bellamy just got a little carried away with the dancing, he was probably drinking too. It is a party after all. That's all there is to it. It’s not that | don’t like him, | do, far more than | expected to. But | barely know him! I've been. alone my whole life, I don’t know how to be around other people, he will work out how incompetent | am, then he will want to leave too.