Deal With It

As soon as we get to the main dance floor, my favorite song starts playing just as planned, so Mary signals for us to start dancing.

Whew, this is going to be deplorable.

"We have to dance now, Alpha," I tell Jae in the lowest tone I can muster. He looks confused, "It's our first dance, we'll dance together for a minute and then your parents will take over."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" he spits in annoyance. I don't know what to say to him, so I stay quiet, hoping he doesn't decide to do something stupid. Jae grunts, but still leads me to the dance floor and stands in front of me, but he doesn't do anything more than that. I have to grab his hands to put them around my waist, then raise my hands to grab onto his big shoulders.

"Oh, goddess, do you see how good they look together?” someone to my right exclaims, and for some reason, that makes me laugh. Yeah, sure, it's stupid... but when I pay attention, I realize that most people say things like that about us. Nice things.

No one seems to care about my age or his reputation, they just talk about how good we look. Before I realize what's happening, Jae tightens his grip on my waist, pulls me closer to him, and then lifts me up like I weigh nothing to spin me around, which makes everyone go "ooww" and "aaww" as if we're the cutest thing they've ever seen.

When he sets me down again, he brings his big head close to kiss me again. But, thank God, it's not an aggressive kiss like the first one he gave me. This time it's short and sweet. Almost gentle. And with a smile.

He's a very good actor. Even I believed it for a second.

When he pulls away from me, my tongue unconsciously comes out to lick my lips and retrieve his taste on them. I hate that I like it.

Once Jae's grand performance ends, I can feel Alpha Riku and Luna Vivian approaching us. Jae sees them too so he releases me and grabs his mother in his arms to dance with her. That means Alpha Riku comes and grabs, which is fucking awkward. He's not as huge as his son, but he's still big and scary.

"I promise I'll take care of you, Anya. Don't let my son scare you, okay? He definitely barks more than he bites," He says trying to reassure me as his hand strokes my back, like he's trying to give me courage. He knows this is going to be fucking hell for me.

"Okay, Alpha. Thank you," I reply in a small voice, trying not to look back at the best actor in the world, Jae, who is laughing with his mother as if this really is the best day of his life.

When the dance is finally over, I make my escape to the bathroom slowly, trying to go unnoticed. I need to take a moment away from everyone.

As soon as I’m alone, I try to take a deep breath to calm myself, but I can’t. I have to lift my hands up so the air can pass through my compressed lungs because of this damn tight dress.

The anxiety is starting to make me hyperventilate. This just doesn't feel right, it’s one of those things that shouldn't be happening. I have a bad feeling about the future of my life, as if something is telling me I shouldn't be doing this.

"Anya?" a male voice asks, walking into the girls' bathroom, but I realize it's just Remy, "Are you okay? I saw you walking away from everyone and you didn't look good."

"I'm fine, just... a bit worried," I admit, lowering my arms now that I was finally able to breathe properly. My friend approaches me with pity in his eyes, "But money is money, right? A whole lot of money.”

"Yeah, I guess. But if he ever lays a hand on you again, you have to do something about it," he says grabbing my hands and looking deep into my eyes. Remy has always been so caring and gentle, "He wants his reputation to be clean, right? So... set up some cameras, record him when he steps out of line. Have some proof in case you need to get out of this shit."

"Remy, I don't think it's going to be that bad," I say with a small smile, lifting a hand to rest it on his shoulder. He continues to look at me worriedly, "I think he's going to do his best to piss me off and he’ll probably lose his temper here and there, but I don't think he's going to do anything physical against me. At least not for real. He has too much to lose. That slap was mostly to put me in my place, it wasn't hard enough to really hurt. I've seen him fight for real, so I know he was just trying to scare me, not hurt me."

"It's still wrong that he put his hands on you, full force or not," he insists but shakes his head and sighs, "But okay, I'll trust your judgement."

"Thanks. I just need you to stay by my side during this, okay?" I ask, squeezing his shoulder tighter. Remy smiles slowly at me, "Don't leave me alone."

"I would never do that," he promises and stays with me as I pull myself together, until I feel ready to get out again.

Remy and I walk over to our friends from school and I put a big smile on my face to thank them a million times as they congratulate me.

Most people my age are very confused as to why the fuck I'm getting married before I even graduate, but the girls get it. Jae is hot and that's all they need to know.