Ungifted (14 page)

“Thanks a lot, Preston,” Cynthia grumbled.

Preston just laughed at us and dissolved into the crowd.

“Forget it, Caleb!” Cynthia snapped when Caleb sidled up next to me. “Go find someone else to mack on tonight!”

“Relax, sis.” Caleb shot Cynthia a cutting look and took my hand. I tried to pull away but couldn’t. Caleb refused to let me go. My touch seemed to put Caleb in a trance. “Amazing,” he whispered. As soon as he could snap himself out of it, he smiled. “Grace may not have turned last night, but she’s one of us now,” he told Cynthia. “You’re not allowed to keep her to yourself anymore.”

“You’re still freaking her out!” Cynthia snarled, wrenching my hand back to safety. “Leave her alone. She went through hell last night and doesn’t need you making things worse.”

Caleb glared at Cynthia and then asked me, “Am I making things worse for you?”

I cringed, and felt myself blush a deep red. Apparently that was enough of an answer for Caleb because he shook his head and stalked off muttering curses under his breath.

“Thanks,” I said as soon as he was out of earshot.

“What’s with Caleb, anyway?” Ethan asked. “Why is he suddenly so enthusiastic about Grace?”

“Ignore him, Grace!” Cynthia snapped, so livid she didn’t even realize that Ethan had asked that question and not me. “Trust me—he may seem charming, but you don’t want to get involved with him. I know I said we needed to find you a boyfriend, but just…not Caleb, okay? Please?”

I was about to tell her I wasn’t planning on it when I suddenly realized where we were. “Mount Vernon?” I asked. “I can’t be here! Cyn, this is trespassing. If the police have to break up this party—”

“Would I let you get into that kind of trouble, Grace?” Cynthia asked, cutting me off with a laugh. “It’s not trespassing. I promise. This is a private party. A
legal
party.”

“How can it be legal? This is George Washington’s home! It’s a museum!”

“It’s also owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, a.k.a. a group of highly influential witches.”

My mouth snapped shut. I looked up at the grand estate and somehow this new knowledge made it look different. The once-boring museum that I’d been to so many times throughout my life was suddenly fascinating. “George Washington wasn’t supernatural or something, was he?”

“You’d think, because the guy was super cool and all,” Cynthia teased. “But actually he was human.”

“Huh,” I said. “Plain old human, just like me.”

“There are a few gems in your lot,” Cynthia said, nudging me with her elbow.

I stared up at the mansion again. “But if I remember correctly, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association went through a lot of trouble to save this place and restore it. If Washington was only human, I wonder why a bunch of witches wanted it.”

“They were sentimental,” a voice offered from behind us. “George Washington was human, but his wife was a witch. He was one of the few humans that have ever accepted the supernatural, and he did it because he loved her so much.”

I spun around to find one of the girls we’d seen earlier at the Chinese restaurant holding her hand out to me with a wide smile. “Hi! I’m Aimee.”

She wasn’t as cute as the strawberry blonde, but she was still very pretty. Pale skin, rosy cheeks, long shiny black hair, and eyes so pale blue they almost looked clear. I wondered how Ethan knew her.

I pulled myself from my rude staring and shook her hand. “Grace.”

“Oh, I know,” Aimee said laughing. “I’ve heard all about you—the human who
didn’t
turn
and
accepted the truth. You’re quite the supernatural celebrity already. I’m glad you could make it to my party.”

“
Your
party?” I wanted to kick myself for sounding so awestruck.

Aimee laughed again but rolled her eyes. “My mom’s the current Regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. She lets me throw this party here every year if I manage straight A’s.”

“She must be pretty cool.” I tried not to sound too jealous.

“Well, she’s not the President of the United States.”

“Neither is my dad.”

“Not yet,” Aimee said. “But still, he must be a cool guy to live with.”

I forced a smile. “Yeah.”

Thankfully Aimee’s friend, the gorgeous strawberry, popped up beside her and managed to change the topic of conversation. “Ethan!” she said animatedly. “I thought you told us you weren’t going to make it tonight.”

Ethan seemed indifferent to her obvious flirting. “Grace wanted to come.”

The girl finally looked at me, but the way her eyes narrowed the tiniest bit was all too familiar. It was the same way every other member of the Ethan Dunn Fan Club appraised me—with disdain and jealousy.

She noticed the way I clung to Cynthia and plastered a smile on her face. “Hey, Cynthia! You brought a human to sacrifice this year, huh? Awesome.”

I resisted the trademark St. Claire eye roll and smirked at Cynthia. “You needed a human sacrifice?” I teased. “No wonder your brothers were being so nice to me.”

Ethan’s stupid girlfriend laughed long and hard. The sound sort of resembled a hyena.
“Preston and Caleb Layton?”
she squealed. “I’m
so
sure! You are too funny, new girl.”

Preston heard his name and joined us with a bright smile. “Ask for the devil and he shall appear,” he teased. “Hell of a party, Aimee, as always.”

Aimee blushed. “Thanks, Preston.”

It was strange to watch these two girls fawn over Preston the way no one did at school. I guess he was too scary for us humans, but he was the pick of the litter—hehe—in the supernatural world.

“What can I do for you this evening, Clara?”

“Oh we didn’t mean to bother you, Preston,” Strawberry—or Clara, as Preston had called her—said while obnoxiously batting her eyelashes. “Grace was just saying how very nice you’ve been to her.”

She was trying to embarrass me in front of him, but it didn’t work. “Was she?” he asked, raising one eyebrow into a perfect arch at me. “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about being my date this evening?” He held his arm out. “The offer still stands, you know.”

Huh?

His comment left both Aimee and Clara as wide-eyed and speechless as me. I looked at their stunned faces, and when I turned back to Preston to ask what he meant he winked so subtly I almost missed it. I managed to catch on to what he was doing just in time and nodded enthusiastically.

“Great!” He stepped in close to me and smiled his terrifyingly beautiful smile directly at Clara. “If you’ll excuse us, ladies.”

Clara was still bug-eyed, but Aimee managed a startled smile. “Have fun, you guys. It was nice to meet you, Grace.”

“You, too.” I had to call it over my shoulder because Preston was already dragging me off toward a huge bonfire.

Since Preston couldn’t exactly offer
me his arm or hold my hand while I hobbled away on crutches, he’d settled for placing his hand on the small of my back. As soon as he did, I finally realized that I’d just handed myself over to Preston Layton. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

I was the first to break the silence. “Thanks for the rescue. Clara seems…” I couldn’t think of a polite word.

“Vile?” Preston suggested, finally forcing me to laugh.

“Basically. How did you hear our conversation?”

“Canine senses.” Preston tapped his ear and grinned. “One of the perks of being a wolf.”

“Is the superhearing an angel thing, too?”

Preston studied me for a minute and instead of answering me said, “Dunn keeps pretty close tabs on you.”

It wasn’t a question and I didn’t know what to say. The subject of Ethan made me remember the other people I came with. I looked over my shoulder and, sure enough, he and Cynthia were only a few short steps behind us. Cynthia was shooting imaginary lasers at the back of Preston’s head.

“Relax, Grace. It was only a rescue. I’m not trying to encroach on his territory.”

When I caught Preston’s meaning, I gasped. “What? Oh no! I wasn’t worried about—I’m just not supposed to leave his sight. He’s afraid whoever tried to drop stage equipment on me might be here tonight.”

“I have to admit I’ve had similar thoughts.”

I tried not to think about that too much. “Ethan’s just really protective. I guess that’s sort of an angel thing, right? But…” My face turned fiercely red. “He and I aren’t…like
that
…at all.”

Preston raised a curious brow, but I shrugged. What was I supposed to say? I did
not
want to tell Preston that Ethan was my personal guardian angel. Thankfully, he sensed my discomfort and didn’t push the topic.

Preston found a log near the bonfire and when he looked at the people sitting on it, they immediately scrambled to their feet. I was shocked, but he just sat down as if he hadn’t expected anything else.

He pulled me down next to him, took my hand in his, and seemed to get lost in my touch for a moment. “Whoa. Caleb wasn’t kidding,” he said. A shiver rocked his body, and without explanation he brought my hand up to his face and held it against his cheek. His eyes drifted shut and he took a deep breath.

I’m not sure if I freaked because I was scared, embarrassed, or if I just liked the intimacy of the moment a little too much, but I tried to pull my hand away.

Preston sighed at my panicking, but he refused to break our connection. He dropped my hand from his face but laced our fingers together. “Just sit here with me long enough for everyone to get the message. I promise you not even the faeries at this party will mess with the date of the future alpha of the D.C. pack.”

There was just a hint of malice in Preston’s tone, as if he were actually daring someone to try it, even though no one was standing there to hear him.

“Future alpha?” I was startled.

Preston chuckled at my surprise, but then sighed. “Alas, I am destined to lead my people one day.”

“Don’t sound so forlorn,” I said, surprised I was able to tease him.

For some reason, I think our touch was calming both of us. As we sat there hand in hand, Preston slowly became less intimidating. In fact, he seemed almost human at the moment—just a boy trying to escape the pressures of life for a few minutes while enjoying the company of a girl. And for once, I wasn’t spazzing or turning red from all of the attention. It was really nice, actually.

Preston’s lips curved up a little and he shook himself from his thoughts. “You’re right,” he said. “The title does have its perks.” He gave my hand a squeeze and grinned. “For instance, getting to sit with you long enough to make me the envy of every guy here, even if it is just a rouse to annoy the vile Clara.”

I giggled and tried to accept his compliment, but this moment was too surreal. “You don’t have to coddle me, Preston. I promise I’m not going to have a meltdown and end up in a psych ward somewhere.”

Preston squeezed my hand tighter and looked at me, his intense eyes more serious than I’d ever seen them. “I know what happened to you at that party two years ago, Grace. It wasn’t your fault. You don’t deserve the reputation you have, and you shouldn’t believe it. You are anything but a disgrace. The fact that you’re here right now, that you can even still think straight after what happened to you last night, proves that you’re extraordinary. Everyone at this party knows it but you.”

“He’s right, Grace,” Cynthia said squeezing herself, not subtly, into the eight inches of space between Preston and me, forcing our hands to break apart. “You need to just accept the fact that you’re awesome, and use this newfound street cred to help me land you the perfect boyfriend.”

“I believe she is perfectly capable of accomplishing that on her own, baby sister,” Preston said, obviously annoyed by the interruption.

“What, with you?” Cynthia snapped.

Preston frowned. “I never said—”

“You’re an
alpha
, Preston.”

“I
know
that.”