She never wanted to forget this.
“That was incredible.” Theodore dragged her off the platform, tucking her beneath his arm and leading her back to Kalen and Mikel, who seemed …
Impressed?
By her?
“You only saw that choreography today?” Kalen asked as soon as she was within earshot.
More students had gathered, but they were keeping their distance from the two Alpha professors.
She nodded. “Elijah and Gabriel are really good teachers.”
“They are,” Mikel agreed. “But you’re the one who just showed us choreography most professional dancers would need to spend weeks in back-to-back workshops to pull off as effortlessly as you just did.”
“No, no.” She quickly waved her hands before her. “That was really hard, not effortless at all.”
Oscar stepped forward, gripping her cheeks with one hand and puffing out her lips. “Take the compliment. You were great.”
“Aw coo hay doh beeh,” she tried to speak, and he shook his wet head, giving her a severe look.
“You could have done better?” he guessed.
She nodded in agreement.
He released her. “I don’t think so. You’re pretty when you smile. Anyway.” He glanced at the others. “I’m going to shower and change. Who did we decide is getting dinner?”
“We’re getting it,” Niko announced, approaching with Cian and Kilian. He glared at Oscar for a moment, as though the other Alpha’s uncharacteristically easy-going mood was grating on his nerves before he shifted his attention to her. “Anything you want, Isobel? We’re picking it up from the dining hall so we can all relax tonight, since it’s our last night.”
She found herself shaking her head numbly, all of the happiness draining out of her. Tomorrow was Consolidation Day. Her father’s threat to take her away from the Alphas and stick her with Bellamy refused to dislodge from her brain.
She scanned the faces of the other students who had gathered and spotted Rayne—one of the second-year Betas, who Bellamy usually hung out with—huddled beneath an umbrella with a few of her friends. Isobel started toward them, breathing out a sigh of relief when Bellamy stepped out from behind another Beta, tucked into a leather jacket with the hood pulled up to ward off the rain.
“Nice job, Carter.” He eyed her as she approached. “I take it you’ve spoken to your dad.”
“It’s not happening,” she said, stopping before him, her hands planted on her hips.
“Not what I heard.” He shrugged, his light green eyes twitching over her shoulder to fix on whoever had stepped up behind her.
She turned her cheek a little, smelling something warm and resinous, with a tinge of smoking sweetness that curled around her like a warning. A very grumpy Theodore.
“Kane,” Bellamy greeted. “I think Wallis was looking for you.”
“A better question is what are you doing looking at Carter,” Theodore shot back. “She has more than enough surrogates.”
“And yet Daddy Carter still thinks she needs another one. Or maybe you guys just aren’t very effective?” Bellamy shrugged. “Not my business, really.”
A dark laugh reached their group, several of Bellamy’s friends scattering away as another body stepped up behind her, oleander slowly descending over their group like a vaporous cloud.
“You have a death wish, Beta?” Oscar growled.
“He your boyfriend or something?” Bellamy asked Isobel. He couldn’t quite seem to bring himself to look at Oscar. He shifted his weight, casually leaning in the other direction.
“No.” Isobel crossed her arms over her chest. “I have a mate, remember?”
“Noo,” he drawled sarcastically, his English accent thickening. “I totally forgot that Isobel Bloody Carter has a goddamn mate.”
She found herself smiling because he … well, he had a point. It was almost a guarantee that Ironside would use her half-bonded status as a source of drama at least once a week.
“If you refuse to be my surrogate, my father won’t be able to do anything to force you,” she said. “So just pull out. Please. Don’t let them use us to negotiate with each other.”
Bellamy closed his eyes, pinching his nose before dropping his hand and levelling her with a tired expression. “I’ll try. But you haven’t met my dad.”
“I can relate.”
“All right.” Theodore tugged her back. “Enough bonding. Mission accomplished. Bye bye, Bellamy.”
“Did you want me to tell Wallis to meet you at Dorm A or something?” Bellamy asked blandly. “I’m pretty sure she ran back to get an umbrella.”
“Actually, we’re having a dorm-only celebration tonight. Tell her I’m sorry and I’ll call her later!” Theodore dragged Isobel off, and they stopped to collect all the camera equipment from Cian before they headed back to Dorm A as a group.
Kilian texted her to let her know that she could use his shower, so she went straight to his room and stood under the warm flow of water for several minutes, replaying the dance over and over in her head as though she could somehow tattoo it into her memory before she dressed in one of Kilian’s shirts and a pair of shorts.
She made her way to the rooftop, following the noise and the smell of food, and paused at the top of the stairs, biting back a smile at the sight of all ten of them crowded into the kitchen, digging into the food Niko, Kilian, and Cian had picked up. They still had one period left for the day and all their usual scheduled practice and training time, but for the first time since arriving at Ironside, Isobel felt okay with just letting it all go and enjoying herself. It wasn’t just her, either. The others were relaxed and happy—even excited, though it was hard to tell since their positive emotions didn’t have the same effect on her.
Kilian dragged her to a stool at the counter before disappearing to take a shower, and Theodore filled up a plate, sliding it over to her as Moses poured margaritas for everyone. It took her a moment to realise a new camera had been installed on the rooftop, covering the entire kitchen area, which had been a blind spot up until now.
“Should we be drinking on camera?” she muttered low to Niko, who snapped a glass down in front of her.
He shrugged. “We’re celebrating, don’t worry about it. Kalen won’t let us drink much anyway. We’re still on emergency standby.”
She cut a look to Cian, who was sitting on the opposite counter, Oscar beside him. Oscar was halfway through an enchilada, a hint of amusement in his dark eyes as he watched Moses pretending not to understand what Theodore wanted on his taco and loading it up with pineapple instead. Cian’s food was untouched and there was no drink in his hand. He held an easy smile on his face and was obviously keeping his emotions tightly in check, but it was clear that he was worried.
She checked her phone, but there were no new messages from Sophia. There was every chance that Ironside had increased security after Luis’ and Cian’s dreams, throwing off whatever plans had been in motion for an attack at Ironside. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t still happen in the future. She knew the health and safety of the Gifted wasn’t exactly the government’s highest priority, but Ironside was a billion-dollar industry for the country, and all of their Icon assets were within these walls, so even though they didn’t put a lot of stock into the Gifted abilities, they were probably still taking the idea of a threat at least somewhat seriously.