by Melissa Haag
* * * *
Rachel and I had to stand in a long line. It seemed the college crowd favored the downtown club despite the overpriced drinks. We shuffled forward every few seconds while listening to the muted music that thumped from within. Each time the bouncer opened the door it briefly grew louder. The door didn’t open frequently enough.
I shivered as we inched forward and tried not to move too much so the cold beads wouldn’t touch my legs. Eventually we grew close enough that I could watch the man at the door methodically check everyone’s ID. I wasn’t worried. I knew I wouldn’t have a problem getting in.
“Finally,” Rachel said with a smile as she stepped up to the man. She showed her ID.
The bouncer barely looked at her. He eyed me closely, not even glancing at the ID I held out. I withstood his scrutiny, wishing he’d hurry so we could warm up inside. I’d pulled my hair back into a messy knot and added a touch of eyeliner and mascara. It wasn’t much of a change, but between the makeup and the dress, he looked at me as if I were a goddess. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
Then his eyes settled on the ring I wore.
“You come get me if anyone inside gives you any problems,” he said. I nodded. He opened the door for us, and I stepped inside after Rachel.
The music’s bass reverberated in the floor and my body. I wouldn’t be able to hear anything else but didn’t care. The club’s warm air enveloped me.
Rachel pointed toward the bar. A long blackboard above the bar, filled with neon colored chalk, listed their specialty drinks and prices. As promised, the drinks were expensive. Good thing we wanted to dance, not drink.
Grabbing my hand, she pulled me to the edge of the swaying crowd and started to dance. I did a little twist in the dress and smiled to myself as the beaded hemline flared out. The dress was as fun to wear as I’d thought. Then the beads slapped my legs on the back swing. The sting of it made me rethink the fun factor. If anyone got out of line, maybe I could use it as a weapon.
The music freed me from worry about male attention, about Clay, and about Sam and his stupid rules. I danced with Rachel and truly had fun.
Eventually, reality invaded in the form of our own all male crowd, and our dancing became a game of evasion. Rachel arched a brow at me. I shook my head, not yet ready to call it quits. The deafening music made it impossible for them to talk to me, and its fast heavy beat didn’t inspire a slow, close dance. As long as I evaded the bump and grind, I could still enjoy myself.
After a few songs, I signaled to Rachel because a persistent member of the group kept rubbing up against my backside. She grabbed my hand, and we both ignored the protests of the men around us as she led the way to the bar. A few of the men followed. One of them managed to pull out his wallet and order drinks for both of us before we could stop him. Rachel took hers, but I shook my head and shouted to the bartender that I just wanted water. The generous buyer sulked a bit, but I ignored him and his shouted attempts at conversation.
Sipping my water, I looked around feeling watched—by someone not in the immediate group of men who surrounded us.
I spotted two women further down the bar. They weren’t exactly watching me. They were eyeing the crowd of men around us. Neither looked angry, but both looked a little envious. Dressed very similar to Rachel and me, they stood isolated at the bar. The way they kept glancing at me, they probably wondered what I had that they didn’t. I couldn’t blame them. I looked a bit frumpier than they did.
I motioned to Rachel, and we moved down the bar so our group would spread out to include the two women, as well. I shouted my name over the music and pointed to myself by way of introduction. The women smiled and seemed friendly. They tried to make conversation with a few of the men.
I didn’t notice someone leaning close to me until his breath tickled my neck and his unfamiliar voice spoke smoothly in my ear.
“About time you left your guard dog at home.” He was just loud enough so I could hear him over the music.
Curious, I turned. He stood several inches taller than I did. No surprise since just about everyone towered over me. He looked even taller than Clay, but not as wide shouldered. He had copper brown hair and hazel eyes. A humor-filled smile flashed at me as I studied him.
“Excuse me, do I know you?”
He leaned in and spoke in my ear. “No need to shout, love. You know I can hear you just fine.” His lips touched the curve of my ear, and I shivered as he inhaled deeply. “Mm, you smell good.”
I pulled back, leaned against the bar to make some space between us, and really looked at him. In the background, the bodies on the dance floor moved in rhythm to the steady beat of the music. I opened myself to my other sight and wasn’t surprised to see his blue-green spark or several other matching sparks in the crowd behind him. Blue-green I could deal with. The other color I didn’t want to face until I knew what it meant.
“What do you want?” I said.
With humans, the “safety in numbers” rule worked. Not necessarily so with werewolves. But they did have their own non-human set of rules they still needed to follow, unless they were Forlorn. I’d be okay, as long as I followed the rules Sam taught me.
He leaned in again. “Just to say hi, love. You’re hard to catch by yourself. Did you know your dog follows you to school?”
“Hi, then,” I said refusing to respond to his last question. If Clay followed me to school, how did he ever find the time to work? Again, I wished he’d just start talking to me.
The man beside me remained close. I didn’t like that his breath continued to tickle my ear. Clay would smell him on me.
Rachel noticed us and sent me a questioning look. I gave her a half-smile to reassure her that I didn’t mind—even though I really did.
“I was hoping we’d be able to go somewhere quieter to talk.”
“Really? Just us? Or those other guys in the crowd, too?” I took a sip of my water and glanced at him.
His smile stretched wider. “And I thought we were blending in well.”
None of their kind could ever blend into a human crowd. At least, not for me.
I decided to be blunt. “Do you have permission to be here?”
“We have permission to approach you and request a second meeting.”
“Second?”
“This would count as the first,” he clarified helpfully.
“Ah.” So talking me into leaving with him would probably be the second meeting that he had permission to request. However, I bet he didn’t have permission to have the second meeting without Elder supervision. Typical Forlorn rule breaking. His eyes never left my face, and the longer I remained silent the more his humor slipped. I didn’t think he would accept no to his request. It might even result in my immediate forceful removal from this bar. Could nothing in my life ever go easy?
“I can’t go with you tonight. I’m with a friend. But I plan to be at the Compound for an Introduction tomorrow night.”
“Really? It’s odd that no call’s gone out for it.” He tilted his head and studied me, probably trying to sense a lie. Didn’t matter. He wouldn’t sense one as I’d just made up my mind.
“That’s because I haven’t told my guardian yet. We had a fight, and I’m still pretty pissed at him.” Pretty pissed at him, and pretty pissed at you. Why couldn’t everyone just leave me alone? “I’m tired of being told what to do and want the Introductions on my terms. I didn’t think about the call. Sorry.”
He looked at me closely for several moments. “I can understand not wanting to be told what to do. That’s why we left our packs.”
Forlorn. My stomach dropped, and my hand tightened on my glass. Bad grew worse the moment he smelled my fear. His nostrils flared minutely, and his grin widened.
“Don’t worry, little one. We’re not going to cause you any trouble tonight. We will see you tomorrow night.”
Yep, that sounded like a threat. If I didn’t go to the Compound, they would be coming to get me either way.
He nodded to me, turned, and disappeared into the crowd. I used my sight and monitored his progress as he and his group left the club. Once they cleared the building, I grabbed Rachel’s hand to distract her from her shouted conversation and motioned for the exit. A true friend, she immediately set her barely touched drink on the bar and moved to follow me.
One of the women noticed and snagged my arm.
“Please stay!” she shouted.
I smiled regretfully at her and her friend. Both pleaded with their eyes as did the men behind them. But the men begged for a different reason—they were only feeling the effects of the pull I had. I felt a moment of pity for the women. At some point in our lives, we all looked for that one being to connect with. These two just wanted a chance to find their special someone.
Though I understood, Rachel and I needed to leave in case the Forlorn changed their minds about waiting until tomorrow. I reached out to the women ready to apologize.
As soon as my fingers made contact with their arms, a large shock took the three of us by surprise. I knew immediately what I’d done. It hadn’t stung as bad as it had when I’d zapped Nicole, but the drain of it was worse. Now Rachel and I had even more reason to leave quickly.
The women looked stunned. I just laughed it away and patted their arms.
“Sorry,” I shouted over the music and waved goodbye.
This time when I moved to go, no one paid me any attention. One of the men behind the girls had already called the bartender over to order more drinks for the group. I hoped the women would stick together and be smart about the attention soon to be showered on them.
The first wave of dizziness washed over me as Rachel and I pushed our way through the crowd toward the door. The bouncer didn’t even give me a second glance as we left. No man did. It confirmed what I had already guessed.
Our heels tapped out a rapid cadence on the sidewalk, but the clipped sound seemed like it came from under water. I wondered how long it would take my ears to recover from the loud music.
“We need to get home,” I said as soon as we were far enough away from the club that I could hear.
“Why? Is someone following us?” She turned to look behind us.
I hadn’t thought of that. I hoped the Forlorn would keep their word because I couldn’t look for them with my sight. I didn’t want to drain myself further.
“No, I’m just really not feeling well.”
We reached Rachel’s car, and I slid into my seat. By the time Rachel eased into the driveway, I shivered uncontrollably. She had cranked the heat in the car, but it hadn’t helped. After all, the shivering wasn’t because of a chill or a fever. I didn’t argue when she parked and told me to stay sitting. She came to my side of the car to help me out.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you weren’t feeling well?” Rachel said with one arm wrapped securely around my waist as she helped me into the house. The cold beads of the dress tickled the backs of my legs.
“I d-didn’t know. It c-came on f-fast.”
Rachel unlocked the door. We’d stayed at the club an hour at least, but the house remained quiet and dark.
“Clay?” I called from the kitchen. No answer. How long did Dale keep him on a Friday night? Rachel helped me to my room and frowned at the empty bed.
“I wonder where he is,” she murmured.
Too late, I realized my mistake. When I’d called for Clay, I’d wanted the man, forgetting all about Clay-the-dog. Thankfully, I hadn’t said anything more.
She unzipped the back of my dress because I shook too badly to reach it, then left my room to search the rest of the house for Clay. I let the dress fall to the floor and struggled to put on my warm pajamas. Rachel came back a few moments after I’d managed to pull up the pants. She looked even more worried.
“I can’t find him anywhere.”
“M-maybe he got out. I’m going to bed. I’m sure he’ll s-show up tomorrow,” I said, crawling under the covers.
Rachel got me a glass of water, set it on the dresser, then felt my forehead.
“Doesn’t feel like a fever. Maybe it’s low grade.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ve had this before and just need sleep.” I burrowed deeper under the covers and tried to curl up to stop shaking. I wished for Clay again. I needed him. He warmed me, comforted me, and I needed to tell him about my promise to go to another Introduction. That wouldn’t go over well.
Rachel continued to watch me—nurse Rachel, not friend Rachel. I needed to distract her before she insisted I go see someone.
“I forgot to tell you. I have plans to leave tomorrow to see Sam. If Clay’s back, I want to take him with me.”
“You sure you’ll be up for it?”
“Yeah, it’s not something I have a choice about.”
“All right. Wake me up if you need anything.” She left the room but kept the door ajar. It made my heart ache as I recalled how, first my mother, and then my grandmother, had done the same for me whenever I’d been ill.