One Night
One Night 227

Chapter 227

Audrey

I wasn’t alone for long before Edwin returned to the courtyard, his arms laden with plates full of fragrant hors d’oeuvres and glasses of bubbly champagne… and then some.

“Are those… shot glasses?” I asked with an amused chuckle as he set the horde of food and drinks down on the stone bench beside me.

My mate smirked and held one of the tiny glasses filled with clear liquid out to me. “I figured you might want a little liquid courage,” he said.

I shook my head, but couldn’t help but laugh as I took the glass. We clinked them together and downed the shots in one go -vodka, I quickly realized as it burned a hot path down my throat. I grimaced and shuddered as I swallowed, scrunching my eyes shut.

“I hate vodka.” I groaned, resisting the urge to gag.

“You’re not supposed to like it.” Edwin grinned as he grabbed another and poured it down the hatch, somehow keeping a relatively straight face as he did. “It’s just supposed to get you drunk.”

Sure enough, my head was already beginning to feel a bit fuzzy by the time I took my second shot. “You could have warned me you were only bringing me here to get me drunk, Professor Brooks,” I teased as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

My words seemed to stoke the embers in my mate’s chest, and he tugged me onto his lap as he took his seat on the bench. “All so I can take advantage of you,” he quipped, brushing the hair away from my neck to nip at the exposed skin.

The sensation made me shiver pleasantly, momentarily forgetting about my anxiety. Edwin, sensing this, nuzzled into the crook of my neck and planted a few kisses just beneath my ear, which nearly caused me to purr out loud.

But before it could go any further, Edwin reached over and picked up a puff pastry off of one of the plates, holding it up to my mouth.

“Open up…”

Obediently, I opened my mouth to accept the sweet pastry. The taste of vanilla cream exploded on my tongue as I chewed, eyes closed, and swallowed.

“Feeling better?” Edwin asked as he popped one into his mouth and then fed me another.

I nodded and managed a sheepish smile. “You always know how to make me feel better.”

“Which is why you should never keep us apart from him again, my wolf growled in the back of my mind, causing my cheeks to redden at the well-deserved scolding.

I picked up another hors d’oeuvre, this time a glistening spring roll, and held it out to Edwin. He ate the whole thing in one bite, his lips grazing my fingers as he did. I couldn’t help but shiver again as I watched.

“If you’re not careful, you might unleash a new kink for me,” I remarked, flicking his nose.

Edwin just smirked wickedly.

We stayed like that for a while, wrapped up in each other as we fed one another treats and sipped our drinks. Soon enough, I had almost entirely forgotten about my earlier turmoil-mostly thanks to Edwin but also partially due to the alcohol, which was currently clouding my senses in the most pleasant of ways.

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Finally, with my belly full and my legs itching to move, I hopped off of Edwin’s lap and held out my hand. “I want to dance

some more.”

Edwin didn’t argue with that, and took my hand, letting me lead him inside.

We made our way to the dance floor, weaving through crowds of attendees. I stumbled a bit, my cheeks flushed, but didn’t mind the warmth spreading throughout my body or the gentle laze around the edges of my eyesight.

By now, the party had picked up considerably; the dance floor was like one big moving mass of bodies, guests moving almost frantically to the upbeat music. The air was filled with the sound of laughter and conversation, making it easy for us to slip into the crowd and begin to dance.

The world blurred as Edwin twirled me and tipped me, my own laughter joining the din. I picked up my skirt and threw my head back and shimmied my hips and shoulders to the music, no longer caring about the eyes on me or the whispers-for now, at least.

“You look beautiful when you’re carefree,” Edwin’s voice echoed in my mind.

I felt my face heat in response. “You’re just saying that because you want to make me feel better.”

“Is it working?” he retorted.

“Maybe,” I replied, then added a bit more seriously, “I think I’ll just feel better once I shift. Which… could be soon, if my eyes and ears are any indication.”

Nodding, Edwin looped his arm around my waist, hauled me flush against his body, then began to twirl us both across the dancefloor. Other guests moved out of the way for us, hands clapping together to the beat as we began to dance in the middle of a small circle that had formed.

There was a smile on his face. But I saw it again; that shadow hiding in his eyes. The same one I had seen when I had mentioned shifting before.

Before I could ask what was wrong, we separated, moving to opposite sides of the circle. Another couple jumped in—a young man in a forest green suit and a girl in a golden gown-and took our place, twirling across the floor together. I clapped my hands to the beat along with everyone else, but tried my best to keep my gaze fixed on Edwin across the way..

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” I thought to him, leveling him with a stern glare. “You keep giving me strange looks whenever I mention shifting.”

His stubbled face began to pale. “Audrey, I…” He looked away, pretending to look at the next couple that jumped into the circle, but I could sense that something was wrong. Finally, he said, “Okay. Yes. There is one last thing that could possibly help you shift. But I’m not certain if it’ll work, and… it’s complicated.”

I froze, my hands dropping to my sides. Edwin’s gray eyes met mine across the circle, and there was something in them that made my heart skip, although I couldn’t seem to put my finger on why.

“Can we talk after the party?” he asked, stepping into the circle and holding his hand out to me.

For a moment, I hesitated. The other guests cheered and clapped to the beat, eager to keep the dance going, but I felt too stiff to move.

One last thing to help me shift…

Suddenly, I felt hands against my back, and laughter as another drunk guest gently pushed me into the circle. Before I could stop myself, I was in Edwin’s arms and we were twirling again.

“Alright,” I finally thought back to him, letting him whisk me away into the music once more. “I trust you. We can talk later.”

His shoulders deflated slightly as if relieved. “Thank you,” he said out loud.

08:31 Tue, Oct 15 D

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Before long, the song came to an end-with one last twirl and a bow to complete the dance. The other guests clapped and cheered, and I couldn’t help but smile too as the circle began to disperse.

“If you’re going to keep me waiting for… whatever it is you have to say,” I said, turning to Edwin, “then let’s at least have some more drinks to take our minds off of it.”

Edwin nodded, looking eager to get off the dance floor for a bit. I moved to take his hand and pull him away, but as I turned, I nearly bumped straight into a little girl with a bandana covering her head.

“Oh-Hello!” I cooed, smiling down at her.

“Hello. Um… Are you the Silver Star?” The girl tapped her index fingers together adorably.

Edwin stiffened, but I nodded and crouched-she was just a child after all, hardly older than five or six, and so I couldn’t blame her for being curious.

But what she said next made my stomach drop.

“Does that mean… Does that mean you can heal