Nocturne

by Christine Johnson

  Emily looked startled to see Claire barreling out of the house.

  Claire opened the passenger door and slid in. "I am so glad you're here."

  "Obviously. I haven't even put the car in park yet. What's going on?"

  Claire shook her head. "Just . . . my mom being my mom." She blew out a long breath. "Okay. Sorry. I promise I'm not going to be cranky today. Besides"—she reached into her pocket and slid the blue plastic rectangle out far enough for Emily to see—"I've got her credit card. And I intend to use it."

  "Well, hallelujah," Emily laughed. "Let's get you to the mall before you come to your senses."

  The sun streamed in through the car window as Emily sped out of the driveway, going too fast as usual. Claire stared out at the high, clear, impossibly blue sky that meant it was going to be one of those perfect autumn days. It was hard to stay angry when the grass was still green but the leaves were painted with color, when the sun was still warm but the wind promised winter and she was with her best friend. She leaned back in the seat, feeling the last of her bad mood slip away.

  "Time for music?" Emily asked with a sideways glance.

  "Absolutely."

  Chapter Eleven

  CLAIRE WALKED INTO the mall, trailing Emily the way a hiker trails a guide through a particularly dangerous jungle. The smell of floor cleaner mixed unpleasantly with the plasticy scent of new clothes and stale, food-court fried rice. Claire wrinkled her nose and focused on Emily, who was making a beeline for the nearest department store.

  "Okay." Emily reached up, unconsciously respiking her hair. "So, first we're going to hit the sale racks at Nordstrom's, though we probably won't find anything there."

  The idea of stretching out the shopping unnecessarily made Claire twitch. "Why not just go straight to the place where we're most likely to get an actual dress?" She was dying to have a dress, to see it hanging in her closet and be able to pet it. She just wasn't excited about the process of finding one.

  Emily raised a lecturing finger, not breaking her pace. "Parental assurance. If she freaks about how much you spend, it's much better to be able to honestly say you bought the least-expensive thing you liked. Hence, the sale rack. Where you won't find anything, but after looking at it, you can shop with a clear conscience."

  Claire snorted with laughter. The two of them breezed past the shoe department and up through accessories to where the formal dresses were. Claire followed Emily into the sea of clothing racks full of glimmering fabrics in a rainbow of colors, like a school of exotic fish.

  After quickly rejecting the downright hideous dresses on the sale rack, Emily and Claire moved into the rest of the department and loaded their arms with dresses. Emily added two to the pile for every one that Claire picked out. When the salesladies started rolling their eyes, the two of them finally headed for the dressing room.

  "Okay," said Emily. "These are the rules: As long as whatever you have on doesn't make you look like a dachshund in a tutu, you have to come out so I can see it. Deal?"

  Claire sighed. With the stack of dresses she had hanging in the fitting room, it would take forever to do it Emily's way. "What're the other rules?" she asked.

  "Just one more. No whining or you're buying lunch." Emily winked and then disappeared into the little cubicle where her own massive assortment of formal wear was waiting.

  Claire pulled the first dress off the hanger. It was blue, with a deep V-neck and a ruffly bottom. She slipped it over her head, looked in the mirror, and frowned. She didn't have enough of a chest for the neckline, and as a result, the tight bodice made her look thick around the middle. And the ruffles were way too fussy for her. Still . . . it wasn't horrible. She might as well go show it to Emily.

  Claire stepped out into the aisle of the dressing rooms, being careful not to trip over the frills at her feet.

  "Claire? Oh, how funny!" Claire spun around and saw Amy framed in the curve of the three-way mirror. She was wearing a blue dress. Exactly the same blue dress that Claire had on. The only difference was, it fit Amy perfectly. Sure, the hem puddled on the floor, but the ruffles balanced out her waterfall of curls, and the blue fabric made her eyes look like summer leaves. And the bodice was exactly right, the V-neck sexy without being over the top.

  "Hey, Amy." Claire forced a smile, crossing her arms over her chest. "That dress looks great on you."

  "You think?" Amy asked. "I've tried on about a million—I can't even tell them apart anymore."

  Emily popped out of her dressing room, half-zipped into a zebra-print gown. "Amy? Oh my God, this is so great! Are you here by yourself?"

  "I was supposed to meet Yolanda here, but she bailed on me."

  Emily's eyes went from Claire to Amy and back again. "You guys have on the same dress!" she exclaimed, a giggle running underneath the words.

  "Yeah, I'm not getting this one," Claire said quickly. "It looks much better on Amy than it ever would on me." The compliment was honest, and Amy glowed.

  "Thanks," Amy said. The sincerity in her voice made Claire want to put her guard up. Okay, so part of her wanted to be friends with Amy, but it just wasn't possible.

  Amy gave Claire a grateful smile. "I'm so short. I always feel like I look like a kid playing dress-up, you know?"

  "Polly Pocket goes to the prom?" Claire said, raising a joking eyebrow.

  Amy snickered. "Dead on."

  Bantering with Amy was like getting swept into an ocean current. It was so quick and thrilling that Claire could—for a second—ignore the danger.

  "You look amazing," Emily reassured Amy. "Now we just have to find a dress for Claire. And one for me." She frowned down at the zebra-print. "I think this is too safari chic for Hanover Falls."

  The fact that she'd said "we" didn't escape Claire. Apparently, their shopping trip had just turned into a shopping trip plus one. The surprised happiness that flooded her was so electric, she expected to get a shock when she reached for the dressing-room doorknob.

  "I'm going to go change," she announced, stepping back into the cubicle and shutting the door. She leaned her forehead against the dusty slats and took a long, slow breath, forcing herself to calm down. To slow down. I'm just going to focus on finding a dress.

  Claire turned to face the pile of clothes in front of her. The red and black and silver fabrics passed under her gaze, but her eyes stopped when she spotted a sliver of green near the black. Dark green, the same color as the heart of the pine trees deep in the forest. Just looking at it made her feel calmer. More controlled. She reached for it instinctively.

  It was long and one-shouldered—silk with a floaty piece of organza skimming down from just underneath the bust. Claire licked her lips. It was going to work. It was going to be perfect. She could tell from the little tingle in her fingers as she slid it off the hanger.

  She shucked off the blue dress and stepped into the green one with the same confidence she had when she stepped into the woods.

  She pulled the zipper up and turned to look in the mirror. A shiver of excitement passed through her as she stared at herself.

  It was amazing. The color set off her pale skin and dark hair, and the flow of the dress made her look strong and elegant and slender all at once. Plus, the single shoulder and gathered bust helped hide the fact that she wasn't well-endowed enough to hold up something strapless. As long as she wore heels, it wouldn't even need to be hemmed.

  Barely suppressing a gleeful and hopelessly girly squeal, Claire opened the dressing room door.

  "Hey, Emily! Guess what?" she crowed.

  Emily poked her head around the edge of her own door. "Wha—whoa." Her eyes widened. "Oh, hell yes. That is so your dress. That is so so so your dress. Unfair! How did you find it so fast? You look unbelievable!"

  Claire glanced over at Amy, who was standing on a little dais while a bent-backed woman slid pins into the hem of her dress. Amy's mouth had fallen open in a sort of shocked admiration.

  "Claire, it's fantastic!" She shook her head h
appily, her curls bouncing around her shoulders.

  Claire looked back at Emily and grinned. "It's pretty knockout, huh?"

  "You two are already done!" Emily frowned. "Okay, let me hurry this up, and then we can all go look for shoes and stuff." She shut the door, leaving Claire and Amy smiling at each other.

  Claire caught herself, dropping her smile and ducking back inside the dressing room. She caught the briefest glimpse of surprise and disappointment on Amy's face before she shut the door. Claire slid out of the dress, ignoring the twinge of sorrow in her middle. She promised herself she was going to be more careful. No more getting swept away. I cannot juggle another friend right now.

  She pulled on her jeans and looked at herself in the mirror. She had to focus on what she had already. On not risking Emily. On not losing Matthew. And on keeping her left ear whole. The three of them stood in front of the jewelry display, the rows of fake pearls and glittering rhinestones making Claire's eyes ache. She'd already bought her dress and a pair of shoes and a purse—she was on shopping overload.

  "Hey, I have the best idea!" Emily picked up a pair of crystal-studded earrings, holding them up to her ears. "Why don't you both spend the night at my house tonight? We can make it a real, old-school slumber party. We could stop and get ice cream on the way. Plus, we can talk about where we want to go to dinner before the ball and stuff."

  "I'm in," Amy said, riffling through a rack of fancy hair clips. "I'm going to need a major sugar fix after all this."

  Emily frowned and looked at Claire. "Oh, crap. You have a date with Matthew, don't you?"

  "Yeah." Her disappointment was as sharp and unexpected as a bee sting. "I wish I could cancel and hang out with you two instead. Especially now that you've mentioned ice cream. I'll be craving it like crazy all night."

  "What's with all the weird cravings?" Emily asked. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been eating a ton more meat than usual." Emily turned to Amy. "She's, like, an antivegetarian. Are you just doing that to piss Lisbeth off, or what?"

  Amy cleared her throat. "There are lots of reasons to have weird cravings." A dark-winged shadow fluttered across her face.

  "Yeah. Maybe it's a growth spurt," Claire joked, hoping the humor would ring true.

  "So, do it," Emily said. "Bail on your plans and come watch bad TV with us."

  "I can't." Claire sighed. "There's a bunch of stuff that I have to talk to him about." She'd meant to imply that they needed to talk about the dance, but there was a stony heaviness to her words.

  Amy's eyes widened. "Is everything okay?"

  "Sure," Claire said, waving a hand. "We just have some stuff to sort out."

  Emily cocked her head to one side and opened her mouth. Claire scrambled for some new subject before Emily could start asking questions.

  "So, what about this necklace?" she asked, grabbing a strand of creamy pearls with a rhinestone pendant hanging from it.

  Emily closed her mouth and rolled her eyes. "It would look great. If you were going to an old-lady lunch or something." She glanced over her shoulder. "Hang on. You wait here—I think I saw something back there that would be perfect for your dress. Stay with her, Amy, and make sure she doesn't buy anything horrible, okay?"

  "I'll tie her hands behind her back," Amy said with a laugh, holding a sparkling pair of earrings up to her ears.

  Claire laughed, trying to relax now that they were safely back on the subject of accessories, but everything inside her bristled. Her human side. Her wolf side. All of her was on edge.

  "Hey, Claire!" Katherine popped out from behind a display of bracelets, waving wildly.

  Claire froze. Was she kidding? Couldn't Katherine see that she was with other people? Other distinctly human people?

  "What are you doing here?" Katherine chirped. She dropped her shopping bags and hugged Claire. "It's such a killer sale—I couldn't resist picking up a few things." She looked around, her mouth falling open when she saw Amy.

  "Oh, hi."

  "Hi." Amy smiled her most winning, adults-always-likeme smile. "I'm Amy Harper."

  "Nice to meet you," Katherine said, looking at Claire in a way that said she was surprised Claire had friends.

  "Katherine is a, uh, friend of my mom's," Claire said.

  "Oh, just an acquaintance, really. It's been ages!" Katherine's whinnying laugh made Claire cringe.

  "Oh, well, um, nice to meet you, too." Amy shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, giving Claire a why-is-this-so-weird sort of look. "I haven't met Claire's mom yet, but I've seen some of her pictures. They're amazing."

  "Oh, right. Her pictures. I don't, um . . ." Katherine had gone bright red, and a sheen of sweat glistened at her temples.

  "Here! I found it!" Emily came sprinting back, a necklace clutched victoriously in her hand.

  Claire turned, and Katherine cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I can see I'm interrupting. I'm going to go. . . ." She scrabbled for her shopping bags. "Tell your mom I said hi, and that I'll see you guys, uh, soon."

  Claire wanted to smack her. No wonder Judith always stuck so close to Katherine. It was like Katherine's mouth was always three steps ahead of her brain.

  Katherine swept off toward the shoe department, leaving Claire, Emily, and Amy staring after her.

  "Who was that?" Emily asked.

  "A friend of my mom's," Claire said simply. "Let me see the necklace you found." She held out her hand.

  "I'm surprised you don't know her," Amy said. "She was all over Claire like some sort of long-lost aunt or something."She was half-joking, but there was something suspicious in her voice at the same time, and Claire struggled to get Amy talking about something else.

  Emily handed her the jewelry, her gaze still trained on Katherine and a confused, betrayed expression on her face. "No, I've . . . I've never met any of Marie's friends, I guess."

  "What are you and your mom doing with her?" Amy asked, toying with a pair of earrings. "She sounded like she was really looking forward to it, whatever it was."

  Emily looked over at Claire, interested. Waiting.

  "I . . ." Claire scrambled for an answer. A good answer. This was why she couldn't afford to be friends with Amy. A tooth rattlingly, face slappingly great example of why it would be a horrible idea. "I think she's coming to the house to have some pictures taken. I dunno."

  She held up the necklace that Emily had given her. "Oh, Emily, this is perfect!" Claire gushed in a desperate bid to get their attention off Katherine.

  The necklace really was perfect. The simple rhinestone choker would be amazing with the green of the dress and her dark hair.

  "It'll be great with the neckline. And it's not too fussy, either. I know you hate that." Emily looked ridiculously pleased with herself.

  "Thanks." Claire reached over to hug her. "You're the best."

  "What are friends for?" Emily said.

  Claire looked at Emily and Amy, who were both beaming. She wished she had an answer to Emily's question, because the echoing silence hurt like hell.

  Chapter Twelve

  CLAIRE'S MOTHER STOPPED her as she was hurrying out of the house to meet Matthew.

  "Now where are you going?" There was a frayed edge to the question that caught Claire off guard. She stared at her mother, surprised. When had Marie become such a worrier? The way she'd been looking so much older, the anxiety in her voice—she was starting to resemble Beatrice. At least, the way Beatrice had been when she was the Alpha. She'd become significantly more relaxed since she'd stepped down.

  "I'm going out with Matthew," Claire said, crossing her arms defensively.

  "You're not going to practice your fire lighting?"

  Claire struggled to keep her face smooth. "You haven't bothered to ask me about that in ages. Why do you suddenly care now?"

  Her mother slumped in on herself, looking deflated. "I could smell the smoke," she whispered. "It seemed like you were more successful when I left you alone."

  Claire's head began to
throb. "Actually, Victoria helped me. I've been practicing on my own since then, but it's going really well, thanks to her."

  Her mother eyed her. "So, you're ready?"

  Claire shrugged, her bravado fading a little bit. "I think so. I hope so. I know the pressure of having the whole pack watching—the fact that it's a test—I know that will make it harder."