by Alice Bello
But that was before that nut-case with the axe tried to dismember her at Wal-Mart.
Now she looked at the sea of pretty, young, well-groomed, and pampered women around her as potential assassins.
Which was absurd…
Really, why would anyone try to kill her at a sorority rush party? Of course, why would anyone try to kill her at Wal-Mart either?
Lucy pushed these thoughts out of her mind. Yesterday afternoon had just been some crazy coincidence. Had to be. Who would actually hate her enough to send an assassin to kill her? Really!
And, anyway, she had all the protection she could possibly need. Her shopping partner and—cousin-in-law-to-be?—Elaina Enoch, was standing right beside her. She was a touch taller than Lucy, had the most serious shopping fetish Lucy had ever witnessed—good lord, could that girl shop!—and she was a full blooded werewolf. Lucy was sure that no matter what happened, Elaina would gut anyone stupid enough to attack her here.
Elaina gracefully fixed an imaginary out of place lock of hair, and then took Lucy gently by the arm. “You are going to love this... I promise.”
Lucy smiled back at her and they walked up the perfectly level red brick walkway that led to the front door. Elaina was three years older than Lucy, and had already been through the collegiate rushing phenomena. She was a ranking member of Gamma Beta Pi, and though she went with Lucy for support, she had already made it clear that Lucy should pledge to her sorority, not the lowly Psi Delta Betas.
But Elaina was in charge of Lucy’s bridal party, and was going to be her maid of honor in... oh lord! In less than a month! Lucy didn’t want to impose any further on her. Though, now that she was confronted with the overwhelming horde of lethally thin, tanned, smiling debutants and wannabes, she really wished she had just let Elaina chose for her.
Elaina pressed the doorbell with her perfectly manicured index finger, and three beats later the door swung open and the most adorable, bubbly blonde girl shot them both with a dazzling smile. It actually made Lucy feel a little dizzy.
“Oh my gosh... you have to be Lucy Hart! I’m so thrilled to be the first to welcome you to Psi Delta Beta.” She took hold of Lucy’s arm and gently pulled her in through the door. “I hope you found us easy enough. You look incredible, and that dress is just too cute for words... ”
The bubbly blonde caught sight of Elaina. And though none of her friendly demeanor left her, her eyes did turn a shade more arctic.
“And as I live and breathe, Elaina Enoch... whatever are you doing here?”
Elaina smiled smoothly at the blonde, but didn’t even try to match her exuberance. “Lucy’s going to marry into the Enoch family shortly—as I’m certain you already know—so I decided to come along and keep her from running afoul with the wrong crowd.”
It was obvious from the tone of Elaina’s voice that “the wrong crowd” was the young woman she was looking at.
The blonde didn’t even blink at the implied insult, but simply smiled all the brighter. “It’s always been such a shame we couldn’t lure you to our house when you first came to UCLA. It would have been a real feather in our cap.”
She turned that radiant smile back to Lucy, and held out her perfectly manicured hand. “I’m Giselle, by the way. I’m the vice president of our little house here—” she flourished her hand like Vanna White.
Her words were simply ludicrous. The mansion she was standing in the front door of was at least ten times bigger than her grandmother’s house back in Four Corners, and twice as big as the house where Lucy had grown up in Sacramento.
Giselle somehow wriggled between Elaina and Lucy, and quick as a wink she had them both by the arm and headed into the mansion proper. “Let me show you two around. Everybody’s who anybody wants to get a look at you, Lucy. I mean it; I’ve never seen such a buzz over a pledge before. You’d think we were rushing Kate Middleton or something!”
Elaina smirked. “I think Enoch Industries has a little more capital than the royal family.”
Giselle nodded sweetly but didn’t take Elaina’s bait. She was pretty darn good at the polite passive aggressive strategy.
Giselle’s first stop for them was a small folding table covered in a gold linen tablecloth. There was a young woman dressed in a tailored suit sitting there. She was polished and neat as a pin, and had a small, ornate brooch in her lapel.
“This is Angela Lang,” Giselle said. “Angela is an alumna and one time president of the house. She graciously helps out when we need it. Angela, this is Lucy Hart.”
Angela almost looked bored until Giselle said Lucy’s name. Her eyes snapped to alertness, and she sat up straighter. “Lucy Hart,” she said. “Everyone’s been so looking forward to meeting you.” She plucked a stick-on nametag out of a box and handed it to Giselle. “You’ll need this, so everyone will know who you are.” She smiled from Lucy to Giselle, and Giselle affixed the nametag with great care to Lucy’s chest.
Elaina suddenly started sneezing. Not just once, but multiple times; each time harder than the last.
Lucy turned and took her by the arm. “Are you alright?”
Giselle materialized as if by magic with a box of Puffs, and offered them to Elaina.
Elaina grudgingly took some tissues and said thank you, before another sneeze took hold of her.
Giselle said, “It must be the flowers. Maybe you’re allergic to them?” She then took them both by the arm and steered them through the crowd that seemed to flow like the ocean’s tides. Before they knew it, Giselle had ushered them clear across the room to where a long line of rushing debutants were standing, all primping and checking their makeup in compact mirrors.
Giselle took them both straight up to the front of the line and presented them with a flourish to a stunning brunette with the bluest eyes Lucy had seen in a human... it still felt weird to use disclaimers like that.
“Monica,” Giselle said reverently. “This is Lucy Hart. Lucy, this is Monica Titus, our chapter’s president.” As soon as Giselle introduced her, she took a small step back, and Lucy felt like she was suddenly being stared at and graded by every pair of eyes in the room.
She turned and saw that it wasn’t just a feeling. Everyone had gone quiet, and every pair of eyes were on her. Even her fellow rushers.
Lucy gulped. Okay, this isn’t a bit awkward.
Monica stepped forward and offered Lucy her hand. Lucy took it and was surprised how firm the young woman’s grip was. Most privileged young women their age had the handshake of a limp noodle. Lucy could easily see why Monica was the house president. She wasn’t just stunning; she seemed to possess an inner strength that made her quite intimidating… but in a gorgeous sort of way.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, and when she smiled she had some of the prettiest dimples Lucy had ever seen. Even better than her own.
“Thank you for inviting me. It’s an honor.”
Elaina sneezed again, wiping her red, runny nose. But the sneeze had a bit of derision in it. She obviously didn’t want Lucy to get too chummy with what she considered the enemy.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Lucy said, stepping away from Monica and her entourage and close enough to Elaina to have a modicum of privacy.
Elaina blew her nose and seemed to gather herself up. “It’s nothing,” she said, and then whispered, “there was wolfsbane in the flower arrangement back there. It does a number on your senses.”
“Oh... ” Lucy said. She hadn’t known that. Something new to put in her mental catalogue of werewolf facts.
Elaina sneezed again, but not as hard, and waved Lucy off. “I’ll be fine in a minute. Go on, I’ll be fine.” And then she leaned in closer. “Just don’t agree to anything with these bitches until I have a chance to woo you too.”
Lucy smiled. Even during a sneezing fit, Elaina was still thinking ahead.
“I promise,” Lucy said.
Giselle appeared at Elaina’s side with another box of tissues. They must have the
m placed in convenient reach all over the house. Which was wise, since there might be quite a few crying, dejected, and rejected young women in need of them this very night.
“Would you like to get some air, Elaina?” Giselle asked. “We have a lovely garden... oh, wait, I hope you’re not allergic to all flowers.”
Elaina shook her head, and the two walked off towards the back of the mansion. Lucy felt so sorry for Elaina, to turn into a red nosed sneeze-a-thon in front of some of her sorority house rivals. But when she turned and saw the look on Monica Titus’s face—there was an almost palpable hunger in her eyes—predatory enough to be preternatural.
Lucy gulped for the second time. Did this chick want to eat her? No, she didn’t feel any of the aura of a were, and she would have felt the undead thrum of a vampire. No, this one just wanted her to join her club in the worst way imaginable. It had to be because of Gabriel and his family.
Monica laughed, as if she could read Lucy’s mind. “You’re nervous... that’s so sweet. But don’t worry, no matter what your future in-law might have told you, we’re... positively harmless.”
It was the way she’d said it that made Lucy cringe. It was obvious these girls were predators. Not like vamps and werewolves, but social predators. And she most assuredly had her sights on Lucy.
“Let me show you around the house, and you can meet some of our sisters. I promise,” she smiled and held up a hand as if taking a vow, “we won’t try and get you to sign anything in blood while Elaina is recuperating.”
“Good,” Lucy said, “I forgot my dagger.”
Monica stopped in her tracks for a moment, looked at Lucy, and then laughed again. “That’s funny.”
It wasn’t really funny. Lucy had a dagger that had its own sheath of invisibility. It also made it undetectable, until she called it. But she’d taken it off last week before a rather delightful bubble bath in her gram’s claw-footed old tub. And she’d just forgotten to strap the fae constructed blade back on.
Though she couldn’t feel it when she wore it, its absence still made her feel vulnerable.
Note to self: put the dagger back on.
Monica ushered Lucy through the large, immaculately maintained mansion like a born realtor. Picking out and highlighting the house’s best features—like the sauna and Jacuzzi, the large home gym with over a dozen different cardio machines. There were even open bedrooms, all made up and ready for the next occupant, each with its own bathroom.
Everything a college girl could ever want.
Lucy was tempted to ask how far away the nearest cemetery was, but held back. Though with her powers of necromancy it was a practical question—didn’t want to have the walking dead shambling on over to the sorority house—it would sound endlessly morbid to someone not in the know.
Not that she wanted to be close to a cemetery. No, that was the only drawback to her gram’s house. There was one directly behind her house, and Lucy had already accidentally pulled each and every one of those poor souls out of their graves once.
She could shield relatively well now, but she had to exercise those powers or they’d end up going off and working their mojo without her... and that would be bad.
The kitchen, though, was a bit of a disappointment. There was only one large, industrial sized refrigerator/freezer, and one six burner stove. And two microwaves.
That was not enough for twenty-five to thirty girls living under the same roof.
“I know,” Monica said, again sounding as if she was reading Lucy’s mind. “We simply have to renovate and improve this area. I can’t tell you how hectic it makes things in the mornings. But that’s already scheduled during winter break.”
Lucy nodded.
The tour then ventured outside. The lawn was immaculate, and the rose garden looked like it should be in Martha Stewart’s magazine. Doubtless, it was not owed to the horde of vacuous debutants, but to the ardent work of a raft of underpaid gardeners.
Last, but not least, was the in-ground pool. It was huge, shimmering under artful lighting, making the entire area around it glow. And most importantly, it was spotless; nothing like an unkempt pool to ruin a party. But this nearly Olympic sized stunner would no doubt be the centerpiece of any party.
Elaina sat in a chaise lounge, blowing her nose miserably. Lucy'd never seen a werewolf like this... and all from a little wolfsbane?
She caught sight of Lucy and waved, but then sneezed again... hard... about three times.
Giselle held out a tiny trashcan to Elaina for her to deposit her used tissues, and then the box of fresh tissues. “You really should look into some allergy medication,” she said to Elaina. “What if you were at your own rushing party... or on a date!”
Elaina gave the woman a contemptuous glare, but accepted the tissues anyway. Lucy felt bad for having abandoned her... what exactly was she? Cousin-in-law to be? One of her best friends, most assuredly. And Lucy knew the were would skin alive anyone who tried to cause her harm.
“Well, then,” Monica said, flourishing her hands. “That’s the end of the tour. I think you’ll see when you visit... other houses, that we stack up considerably well. And after all, we are us.” She made another motion with her hands to show that she meant all of Psi Delta Beta.
A dark beauty with impeccably plaited jet black hair came up to Monica and whispered in her ear. Monica smiled wickedly and nodded.
“I hope you’ll excuse me, Lucy, but a pressing matter has just come to my attention. I’ll leave you to ponder all we have to offer.” She walked closer and looked deeply into Lucy’s eyes. It made her shiver—reminding her all too well of how Delia had gazed into her eyes when she’d tried to glamour her the first time they’d met.
“And do take into account how much our sorority counts on a resume—that is if you’re going that route. Having our sisterhood behind you will assure your application is placed on the top of the pile... always.”
And with another wicked smile, the leader of the Psi Delta Beta flicked her gorgeous mane of hair over her shoulder like a supermodel, and stalked sexily from the pool area and into the awaiting mansion.
Suddenly all alone, Lucy let her guard down, closed her eyes and took in the soft scent of the roses, and the warm, dry wind that swept through her hair. Yes, this place would be ideal, and this spot especially peaceful.
But could life in a sorority house like this ever be peaceful? And even though Monica was right, that it would look really very good on her resume... would sorority life be conducive to actually passing the class load she was about to embark upon?
Before her life had changed—daddy arrested, flipping burgers at McDonald’s, getting mixed up with werewolves and threatened by homicidal blonde vampires—she’d envisioned two possible lives. One where she married a handsome, filthy rich prince; or a life where she had to become her own source of great wealth. And in that fantasy she’d gone to college to study fashion and minored in marketing.
But now, after seeing what Gabriel went through daily running an actual billion dollar corporation, she saw that she needed a real degree, one that would arm her with the knowledge necessary to one day run her own company... or maybe just her own division of Enoch Industries.
After all, she wasn’t going to be just some brainless, pretty arm candy. She’d never even entertained the thought. She was in love with Gabriel... only Gabriel... but she wasn’t just going to sit around and spend money like her mother had...
Just the thought of how her mother had been all her life, and then how her father had just up and abandoned her and his family—even from prison, there had to have been something he could have done! Lucy shivered in the warm California breeze as she thought how easily things could be pulled out from under you when you weren’t the one in charge.
She felt hot tears trying to well up in her eyes and blinked them back. She was not going to shed even one more tear for her wretched father. He could just rot in that blasted prison cell. Lucy ran her fingers under her eyes and they c
ame back moist.
She needed a bathroom and a mirror so she could check her makeup.
She waved to Elaina, but the werewolf was suffering another sneezing attack. So Lucy turned back to the mansion and made her way to where she thought she remembered there being a restroom.
She stopped in her tracks as she saw the mile long line of bored debutants. And then she remembered that there were perfectly good bathrooms upstairs. One connected to every room.
And there were quite a few rooms vacant...
Lucy headed for the stairs. Just as she was about to turn toward the immense staircase, she felt that strange feeling from before. It was unsettling and so foreign, and made her a little nauseous. So it was good she was heading for a restroom with a little privacy.
Maybe I’m allergic to wolfsbane too...
That thought was just as distressing. She wasn’t even a werewolf. But that didn’t preclude being allergic to the stuff. And from the way Elaina was sneezing and wheezing, the house must have been full of the stuff.
Lucy started up the stairs but stopped when she saw a familiar face coming down the stairs toward her. She stood there, staring at the model thin girl, the thick, curly red hair... and then it hit just as the girl laid her big green eyes on her.
“Rachel, right? From the... um, store?” Lucy felt a flush of embarrassment just thinking of where they’d met.
Rachel smiled vacantly, and then recognition seemed to spark in her eyes. She reached out and took hold of Lucy’s arm. “Oh, thank god! I thought the place was full of nothing but pod people.”
Lucy laughed, and Rachel let go of her arm and gave her a lopsided smile.
“You’re Abbey’s friend... the one who's getting married?”
“Yes... in about a month.”
Rachel’s smile faltered as her eyes scanned the area behind Lucy. “But now you’re rushing the Psi Delta Betas huh? Bummer.”
Lucy shook her head. “They can’t be all that bad, you’re here.”
Rachel gave her a sad look. “I’m a legacy, so they’re probably going to let me in. Especially since my mother is a big contributor. But I’d rather eat dirt.” She cast the whole house a loathing glance. “But I guess if you’re rushing this dump, it might be worth the trouble.”