I pursed my lips together. My sister had sent a second of her people to haunt my house and act as a spy. I smiled, hoping my irritation had not leaked into my face. Scanning her spidery scrawl, I discovered that this one might also be considered some sort of bodyguard.
“And your name? My sister does not mention it in her letter.”
“Carter, ma’am.”
“Carter? Or would you prefer your Goddess given name?”
“Oh! I… I was told it should be my family name.”
“But what would you like?”
“Carter, Miss… Mi’lady.”
“I’ve never had a dresser before.”
“But you are a lady!” He sounded scandalised. I wondered how it was that dressers seemed universally offended when their employers did not care for clothes to the same near obsessional level as they did.
“I wore men’s clothes the last ten years.”
“And with your figure?” The horror only grew. But when my mate bites were revealed, a hush fell. I’d never shied away from attention, but my Lovers Circles drew a different kind of notice from all who saw them. Was my fate the objectification of myself and my mates? Nothing more than an oddity like a lion in the circus? He touched them, causing me to jerk out of reach.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean… Never before—”
“You are excused. But never touch them unsolicited again.”
“But so beautiful! No beta will ever have something like that.”
My heart broke a little at his words. I’d spent my girlhood expecting a bite, had lived with one for ten years, never wondering if a beta or alpha might want such a visible mark. My alphas had bitten each other—I had bitten them—but their skin remained smooth and unblemished.
“Would you want one?” I asked after a while.
“M’lady, the thought of a mark... An alpha will always prefer an omega to a beta.” He seemed unwilling to say more, and the conversation returned to what I would wear that evening.
In no time, I stood before the mirror wearing a long gown of white satin richly embroidered around the hem with roses in silver.
The shorter cut of the bodice emphasised my breasts, and I feared that breathing too deep would cause me to embarrass myself. More than anything, I examined my twin Lovers Circles. Pax’s still fresh, the skin more pink, while Jack’s was raised and proud. After a decade of covering it up, I felt unexpectedly exposed and the impulse to cover the marks as I’d been forced to hide flared to life.
“I think the pearls will go nicely. And my diamond broach,” I said in a rush, hoping the jewels would distract from the bites.
“They said not to.” Carter held his hands behind his back.
“No jewellery?” I frowned. “Surely not.”
“As I was told, my Lady.”
“Then I suppose I am ready.”
My fingers skimmed along the highly polished bannister, the other plucked my skirts up so that I could walk down the stairs. I’d not shame us tonight by tripping over skirts belonging to a fashion I’d no experience with.
My mates’ rumbling purrs greeted me as I walked down the final flight of stairs.
“It is the first ball gown I’ve ever worn. I’m not—”
“You are perfection.” Jack caught my hand and raised it to his lips in a brief kiss.
“Hmm…” Pax walked around my figure, his gaze burning hot. “I wonder how mussed we can make you before people will notice?”
“What do you mean?”