The Monster Ball: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “Of course I did. We can always sense our own.”

  “So you’re magic?” I wasn’t surprised. She always seemed to have uncanny abilities we’d chalked up to being wise.

  “Where do you think you got yours from?”

  “True.” She was the only one in the family who’d seemed magic. Even though it was always fervently denied.

  “I just saw you, and you said nothing about any of this.” I wasn’t sure if I should be hurt by her omission or not. So much had happened in the evening already that I was feeling numb to the new information.

  “I had to let you discover it on your own.”

  But I did have one fear I wasn’t numb too. “Did you put Delman up to it?”

  “Up to what?” Delman sputtered out.

  “You know.”

  “Are you insinuating your grandmother asked me to seduce you?” His eyes blazed.

  “No. Just, well. Maybe.”

  My grandmother shook her head. “Kat. You can stop with the lack of confidence responses. Delman wants you for you. Now did I tell him to stay back and give you time? Yes. So I suppose you can blame me for him slinking around so much.”

  “She didn’t think you’d be ready to handle it yet.” His expression had softened. Any trace of anger was gone.

  “I’m still not sure I can handle you.”

  Deedy gasped.

  “I don’t mean in the physical sense.” I averted my eyes. This was not a conversation I could have with my grandmother around.

  “How about we get the rest of this stuff over with so Kat and I can dance? I’m not ending this evening without it.”

  “Dance? You’re concerned about us dancing when we’re discussing changing the wolf laws as we know it?”

  Delman grinned. “Yes. Yes, I am. This is your first Monster Ball.”

  “You mean only.”

  “No. I mean first.” He held out his hand to me. I accepted.

  Dancing sounded great. Dealing with the twins, not so much. But, it wasn’t going to get any easier, so getting it over with made the most sense.

  “I can get them for you if you’d rather stay here,” Deedy offered.

  “No. They’ll be more likely to come if I do it. Like it or not, they think they have a use for me, so they are more motivated to talk with me.” I might as well get something useful out of the deal. Besides, I was ready for a break from the room. It might not have been small in size, but the stone walls on all sides and mostly barren features made me itch for the elaborately decorated ball. Not to mention, I could use another drink.

  “You aren’t going by yourself,” Delman jumped in. “Not that you can’t protect yourself,” he added.

  I was glad he’d amended his statement. We were going to have a long talk if he hadn’t. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy being protected, but I needed to be independent and fully capable on my own. “I am going by myself. I need to prove I can do this on my own.”

  “Who are you trying to prove it to?” Grandma narrowed her eyes.

  I straightened my shoulders. “Myself.”

  Grandma smiled. “That’s the only answer I was going to accept. But first, may we have a little chat?” She gestured to the far side of the room.

  I nodded. “Absolutely.”

  We walked off to the corner of the room. She took my hands in hers again. “I am so proud of you.”

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “Sure you have. You’re here tonight. You are holding your head up. You are opening yourself up to the possibility of love.” Her words flowed out in a rush. She was excited, and that earlier sparkle I’d noticed about her seemed even stronger. I wondered how much of that was her magic seeping out. Could magic ooze out in a physical way?

  “Do you think he’s for real?” I nodded in the direction of Delman. “That he’s really that into me? For more than my supposed magic?”

  She adjusted her hands over mine. “I know it. I’ve grown to know Delman very well over the past few years.”

  “You really told him to hold back?” Maybe I should have been annoyed she’d interfered in my love life—or potential love life—but I’d been really young. I was still pretty young. It was probably for the best. Besides, I hadn’t really considered bucking the system before tonight. I might have refused him and ruined everything.

  She nodded. “Yes. You needed space. You needed to grow up and find your way. I know you’ve viewed yourself as weak, but you’re not. Not in the slightest.”

  “That doesn’t mean I know what I want yet.” The evening had been overwhelming to say the least.

  “And you don’t have to.” She let go of my hands. “Follow your heart.”

  “It’s hard to follow your heart when your body is on overdrive.” And there I’d done it. I’d alluded to sex in front of my grandmother.

  “That doesn’t mean your body is wrong. At least take a chance. See where they go. Dance with the wolf.” Her eyes twinkled.

  I’d already done more than dance with him. I kept that part to myself.

  She smiled. “He’s watching us right now. He can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

  I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder. It would just get my heart rate up. I needed to stay calm. How was it possible that a guy could have that kind of effect on me so quickly? It was unbelievable. I thought back on my little crush on Bassett. I’d thought that was something real—something akin to love. I’d been so wrong.

  I glanced down and remembered what I was wearing. “Why did you lend me your dress?”

  “I knew you’d look wonderful in it. Besides, I wasn’t sure you’d buy yourself another dress otherwise.”

  “You know me pretty well.”

  “I know you very well.”

  Half because I needed to know and half to put off the inevitable, I continued with my question. “Why am I so different from the others?”

  “You are special. What’s wrong with that?”

  “I’m also really small. Or scrawny as the twins called it.” Their words still burned even though my feelings for Bassett had long faded away.

  “You are what you are on the outside. You know there is nothing small about your heart and mind. Nor your power.” She spread her hands out wide.

  “Do you think Belle is ever going to forgive me for this? Even if I’m not officially given the blame, I’m sure she’ll find some reason to be angry.” And being on the receiving end of her ire wasn’t a good place to be. I knew from lots of personal experience.

  “And whose fault will that be? Your sisters are good wolves, Kat, but they each have their flaws. Just as we do. Belle takes out her own feelings of inadequacy on you. She always has. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. It also doesn’t mean you should give up on her or let that affect you.”

  She was right, and I knew it. To let that fear derail me was being weak, the exact opposite of what I wanted to be. “You really do always know what to say.”

  “And that’s not magic. That’s experience.”

  “I’ve had more experience tonight than I ever have before.” I wasn’t wearing a watch, but it couldn’t have been too many hours yet. Still, I needed to get moving. I wasn’t missing out on that chance to dance.

  “Not just with Delman I take it.”

  “I wasn’t meaning in that way at all. Just being in a place like this. It’s all so different.”

  “Everything will be different for you once you unleash your magic. I can’t wait to watch you flourish.”

  “I love you, Grandma.” I pulled her into a hug.

  “I love you too.” She hugged me back. “Now are you ready to get those twins in here?”

  “Yes, but what’s the trick to getting back to the room?”

  “See if you can figure it out.”

  “And if I can’t?”

  “If you take too long Delman will come looking for you. I guarantee it.”

  I eyed the stone walls on all sides. “I guess I also have to
figure out how to get out of here.”

  “I can help you with that part.” Grandma reached forward and a door appeared in front of her.

  “That’s so crazy. I’m not sure if I will ever get used to it.”

  “Sure you will.”

  I turned back toward the others. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Don’t take too long.” Delman watched me with longing.

  “I will do my best.”

  I wrapped my hand around the handle that had appeared when the door did. I tugged on it, and the door moved inward. I didn’t dare glance back before I stepped back out into the ball. Otherwise I might chicken out.

  Chapter Ten

  Once again, no one seemed to notice my sudden appearance in the ballroom when I stepped out through what was supposed to be a solid wall. Even the two guys standing right beside where I stepped out didn’t bat an eye. They continued their conversation as though nothing had happened. I wondered if they didn’t see me, or if there was some sort of shielding that came with using magic. If it was the latter, that was going to be very convenient.

  After taking a moment to ready myself, I left the comfort of the wall. I blended right back into the crowd as I went in search of the twins. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to say to them when I found them, but sometimes making things up on the fly was the better way anyhow. No one wants to sound rehearsed.

  I still couldn’t quite believe the direction the evening was going. Hopefully I could find the twins quickly and get back to Delman—and everyone else.

  “There you are.” Tony found me first. He was holding a tall glass filled with a purple drink. If the ball wasn’t so secretive, our hostess could have made great money selling a book of all the drinks. I’d never seen such unique cocktails before.

  “Here I am.” Okay maybe I should have rehearsed something.

  “You really do look beautiful tonight.” It might have been a nice line if it weren’t for the surprise that laced his voice. Had he expected me to show up in a potato sack, or was it that he couldn’t believe I could clean up?

  “Thanks. Uh, where’s your brother?” I really didn’t want to waste time on small talk.

  Tony frowned. “Really? You still want to talk to him?”

  “I need to talk to you both together.” I wasn’t doing this one by one. Figuring out how to magically transport them to the room would be hard enough to do once, let alone twice.

  “I see you’ve ditched Delman. Or did he ditch you?” Tony didn’t bother to hide his glee.

  “What difference does it make?”

  Tony grinned. “It doesn’t. Just glad you aren’t playing around anymore. The night isn’t going to last forever, and we need to know. We have a future to plan.” He swirled the dark liquid around in his drink.

  I didn’t even want to think about either of those futures.

  “I can’t decide anything until I find Bassett.” I felt a twinge of guilt about misleading them, but the same result was going to happen no matter what. I wasn’t choosing them. This at least would give them a head start at finding the right mates. As awful as I thought they were, they had to have some redeemable qualities. Everyone deserved a chance at happiness.

  Tony nodded in the direction of the bar. “He went to the restroom a while ago. Must have gotten lost.”

  “Or maybe there was a line.” I wasn’t sure why I was defending Bassett, but hearing the word restroom reminded me I really needed to go. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m holding you to that,” he called after.

  I didn’t bother to turn around.

  I wove my way over. Miraculously there was no line for the bathroom. Maybe there was something magic happening there too. I did what I had to do and then walked over to the sink to wash my hands. I looked into the large mirror. It was the first time I’d looked at my reflection that night, and I liked what I saw. It wasn’t about my features or anything, but there was a glow and a strength there I’d never noticed before. Theoretically, it could have been the cocktails, but I knew it was something else. Something inside of me.

  A knock on the door snapped me out of my staring. I’d gotten lucky escaping a wait, no reason to do it to anyone else. I opened the door and headed back out to the ball. It was time to find Bassett.

  Finding Bassett and Tony again was harder than I’d thought. I searched the crowds to no avail. I couldn’t find them anywhere.

  I saw what I thought was the back of Bassett’s or Tony’s head and tapped on his back. He turned around while his girlfriend, who he’d obviously been kissing, gave me the evil eye. “Uh, sorry.” I hurried away. I had no idea what that girl was, but I didn’t want to make her any angrier.

  Tony knew I was going to the restroom. I was surprised he wasn’t waiting for me there. He couldn’t have been that concerned with talking to me.

  Someone touched my arm. I pivoted.

  “Hey, are you Kat?” A seriously tall girl with dark hair that fell into her face was inches in front of me.

  “Yes,” I replied a bit hesitantly.

  “Your boyfriends said they’re waiting for you out back.” She bent down to adjust one of her thigh high boots, her cleavage nearly making contact with my face in the process.

  I stepped back. “My boyfriends? Uh, not exactly.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t really care what you’re into, but they asked me to tell you that.”

  “All right. Thanks.” I nodded in thanks and headed toward the back. I stepped outside into the cool night.

  I saw the twins standing around, and I crossed, my heels sinking into the damp grass.

  “Glad you didn’t drown in there.” Bassett stood with his arms crossed. “Took you long enough.”

  And I’d defended him when Tony implied he’d gotten lost? I had to stop being so nice. “I was looking for you guys.”

  “We had Aredella wait for you.”

  I assumed Aredella was the boots wearing girl I’d talked to. I momentarily wondered how they knew her, but just as quickly, I realized I didn’t care in the slightest. “Well, she didn’t find me for a while. Tony knew where I was. You could have waited for me inside. Why drag me out here?”

  The fog was dense, obscuring the moon and giving us more privacy than I wanted. I had no desire to be alone with one of them, let alone both. I reassured myself by remembering what my grandmother had said. Delman would find me if it took too long. I didn’t really expect the twins to hurt me or try anything, but that didn’t stop the uneasy feeling from developing in my gut.

  “We thought it might be easier to talk out here.” Tony appeared far more relaxed than his brother. He’d even loosened his tie.

  “Okay. Talk.” I was anything but relaxed.

  Bassett kicked a rock with his shoe. It rolled across the grass, landing a few feet away. “You’re the one who needs to talk. It’s your choice after all.”

  “Oh yes, because you changed your mind on that.” That came out far more snide than I wanted it to. Getting rid of my anger over their treatment of me was going to take some time.

  “Come on, Kat. Quit jerking us around.” It was Tony’s turn to whine.

  “I do have something to talk to you about but not here.”

  “Okay, then where?” Tony adjusted his tie. They both watched me.

  I took a step toward them and put a hand on each of their arms. They exchanged confused glances.

  “Are we missing something?” Bassett wrinkled his brow.

  I thought about the room. Nothing happened. I snapped my fingers. Nothing.

  “I think she’s losing it.” Bassett spoke about me as though I wasn’t standing right there. I brushed off my annoyance. It wasn’t going to help anything.

  I closed my eyes for a moment and a crystal clear image of the room with the table came in mind.

  When I opened my eyes we were there.

  “What the hell?” Tony sputtered out as he stepped away from me.

  “I told you that you co
uld do it,” Delman strolled over, a huge grin on his face.

  “Took a few tries, but it finally happened.” I tried to play it down, but I was super excited. I’d done it. I’d magically transported us.

  The twins stared around them. “What the hell was that?”

  “That was magic.” Deedy leaned against the table. “Beautifully executed magic. I’m impressed, Kat. For a wolf who just came of age, you learn fast.”

  “And with my help, she’ll learn even faster.” Delman wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

  “Why are we here? We need to have this conversation alone.” Bassett growled. I had a feeling it was directed at Delman.

  “And why did you invite your family?” Bassett pointed toward where my grandmother and Rex stood.

  “Invite them? Like I could add guests to the Monster Ball invitation list?” I may have had magic, but I didn’t have that sort of influence.

  “Calm down, boys.” Grandma walked over. “Kat was doing what we asked her to do.”

  “You asked her to kidnap us?” Bassett frowned. “Because that’s what this is.”

  “Such dramatics, Bassett.” Deedy straightened and headed our direction. “If only you’d had this sort of imagination when we were messing around.”

  “Messing around?’ Bassett paled. “Is that what you call it?”

  “Yes, that’s what I call it. I was letting off steam before I had to mate. In the end, that mating worked out, but not all of them do. That’s why you’re here.” She pointed to the ground.

  “I’m not following.” Bassett’s normal coloring returned.

  “No surprise there.” Delman laughed.

  I pushed his arm. There was no reason to be mean if we didn’t have to.

  He tightened his arms around me in response. I settled back against his chest.

  “It is time for things to change. Forced matches don’t work anymore. The gene pool is shrinking, and we’re going to all end up weak if we don’t do something.” Deedy was at once animated and stone serious.

  “Do what?” Tony crossed his arms.

  “We are changing the system. Land will be distributed evenly. Not every family needs to force their children to start new packs. There will be more choice. More freedom.” Rex was the only one still seated.