She finds herself blushing. The others merely shook her hand when she offered them in greeting. He must be from one of the more traditional families. He’s a handsome man, like he could be on magazine covers. He has muscles in all the right places, visible even through the layers of clothing he’s wearing. His suit, unlike Daddy’s, looks brand new and tailored specifically to his size, not a crease in sight.
She smiles weakly up at him. “I prefer Jane, thank you.”
He flashes his teeth at her in what’s probably supposed to be a smile, but looks more like a snarl because of how sharp his teeth are. She’s never seen a wolf who’s so much of a wolf before. Then again, she’s not really one to speak. She has rabbit ears that she keeps hidden underneath all her hair. “I didn’t know you had rabbit blood in you, John,” he says, though he keeps his gaze on her and his grin turns almost predatory.
It’s rude to point out her animal like this. It’s normally a private matter, but then again, it’s difficult hiding what she is when her animal is so clear. Her ears are particularly long and floppy and she like to pretend it’s noticeable, but it’s normally the first thing people see when they look at her.
She tries not to let it get to her too much and keeps her smile firmly in place.
John grimaces. “She’s my wife’s daughter. Her father was rabbit,” he shares and it’s her turn to grimace. It’s not that she’s not proud of her heritage, but every time it gets out that she’s half-rabbit, people expect her to act a certain way, especially among Werewolves, who are known to be more predatory and savage.
She isn’t afraid though. She hardly knew her own father and her step-Daddy is a werewolf too and she’s never been afraid of him. He’s made her annoyed and frustrated, but never fearful.
“You do look the sort,” he says, eyeing her rather lewdly. He hands her a flute of champagne when she tries to reach for water. “Not your sort of event?” he asks, his expression softening as he smiles sympathetically at her.
“I’m afraid not,” she agrees politely, putting the champagne to her lips if only to hide from his dark eyes. She takes a few nervous sips and lets the sweet, bubbly drink rest on her tongue for a second before swallowing. She enjoys champagne, but she’s had so many glasses throughout the night that she worries about her liver.
“Necessary evil, I’m suppose. Making nice with the right people is ninety percent of the job. Isn’t that right, John?”
Daddy looks supremely uncomfortable, but manages a weak smile in agreement. “Yes, of course,” he says, the response to automatic that it sounds almost mechanical.
“But you don’t really care about that, don’t you, darling?” he chuckles, winking knowingly at her, like they’re in on a little secret.
She tries to search in her memories. Is she supposed to know him, somehow? She doesn’t recall. Maybe it was before Mummy had gotten ill.
“Have you considered a love match for her?” he turns to Daddy and asks.
To her horror, he nods. That’s news to her. Her eyes widen. “Daddy?” she calls enquiringly and he is guilty enough about not letting her know he’s considering marrying her off that he doesn’t even look at her.
“The world isn’t safe for someone like you, kitten. You need protection,” he says and she knows he’s lying out of his ass. This is just something else to further his agenda. He wants to marry her to strengthen his position of power. Even an idiot could see that.
She keeps the fake smile firmly in place as anger bubbles up in her gut. “Nonsense, Daddy. The world isn’t anymore dangerous for me than it is for you.” Then, the heat of the moment, she turns to the stranger and says, “Or you, for that matter.”
“Jane!” Daddy chastises.
Her ears fold back immediately at the raised voice and she regrets the words out of her mouth immediately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” she says hastily.
The man’s expression has turned from playful to stormy and her heart starts beating it’s way out of her chest, an erratic thump-thump-thump that makes her head spin.
“It’s been a long night. I should get going. I have classes tomorrow.” A blatant lie that everyone can see through, seeing as she has been telling everyone about how she hasn’t been accepted to Universities yet.
“Of course. Goodnight.”
Knowing she’s messing things up, she quickly turns and walks away before she can make matters worse. She manages to smell at the others as she makes her hasty escape, guilt from speaking out of turn and speaking against her step-father making her warm.
Yet, the more distance she puts between herself and the others, the better she feels. As she leaves the muffled talking behind her, it’s like a weight is being lifted off her shoulders and she breathes in deep for the first time that night.
All in all, it’s not too bad. Jane is infamous in her mother’s circle of friends for her terrible temper as a child. When she was younger, people found it endearing. She’s too old to be ‘cute’ now. No, now she is seen as being rebellious and going against her nature. Daddy’s right. It’s dangerous for people like her out in the world.
She strips out of the fancy tight dress she had been wearing all night long and steps into the bathroom, washing her body with cool water like she’s trying to cleanse herself of the lies and deceit being spoken in the room downstairs.
Maybe she could talk to daddy and make him include her in the process of finding a suitable mate for her. She would very much like to marry a Rabbit shifter too. She knows she got her temper from Mummy. Most Rabbit Shifters are mild-tempered and calm. They’ll handle her occasional bad temper better. She can’t help but remember the way the wolf had looked at her when she spoke back to him.
She was sure that he hadn’t liked it, but there was something so hungry in his gaze that made her whole body heat up and her heartbeat speed up. She shakes her head. She needs to stop thinking about him. It’ll probably the last she sees of him anyways.
Chapter Two: Attack
She steps out of the shower and yelps when she realizes she’s not alone. She didn’t even hear the door open but the man from earlier is standing right outside her bathroom door, like he’s waiting for permission to enter and join her.