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I didn’t tell him I’d never had a night “on the town,” but hopefully my sister would have something I could borrow to wear or at least advice on what from my limited closet would work. “That sounds great.”
Chapter Twenty
Minx came through. My sister had in her possession a black leather halter-top bodysuit that fit me like a glove. A very tight glove that she had to help me put on, and if I had to use the ladies’ room at any point during the evening, I might have a serious problem. But I didn’t care. I would suffer if necessary, and as I twirled in front of the mirror hung on the back of my bedroom door, I felt like a whole new kind of wolf.
“I’ve never worn anything like this,” I said. “And I’m not sure I can carry it off.” I’d had something like a little black dress in mind when I asked her for help, but she simply told me she had the perfect outfit and promised to meet me in my room at six thirty.
“Be showered and leave your hair unstyled. I’ve got this.” She actually gave a little bounce when we parted in the classroom hallway just before lunch. The day dragged from that point, classes feeling twice as long as usual, and as soon as I got out of shifter literature—who knew how many famous authors were actually shifters?—I ran for my room and put a pore-clearing mask on my face and one guaranteed to repair my hair on a molecular level on my locks. After twenty minutes, I showered and washed and conditioned my hair then sat down to try to relax. While I waited for Minx, I gave myself a manicure and pedicure, painting my nails a glossy bloodred. I wished they were longer, but unlike some of the actresses in martial arts movies, I couldn’t manipulate weapons with claws. I thought they looked nice anyway.
“I’m here!” Minx burst into the room, carrying a large tote bag. “Lex let me into the suite. He looks very excited. They all do.”
“Are they dressed? I’m not late, am I?” If they were excited, I was giddy.
“It’s six thirty and you said they are taking you out at eight, so unless you slow things down with all the silly questions, we have plenty of time.” She dragged the straight-backed chair from the corner to the middle of the room and sat me down in it. “Now, no peeking.” Dumping the tote on the dresser, she sorted through the contents and lined them up. “First, I want to get your hair started then makeup then we’ll get you dressed, okay?”
“Makeup? I don’t really wear—”
“Me either, but this is your first date with your mates, and it’s a special occasion.” She held a tub of reddish goo up to my cheek and shook her head. “Not this one…” More rearranging of items. “Hah! I think this is it.” Another tub, a shade paler. “Perfect.”
“What is it?”
“It’s everything. Blusher, lip stain, eye shadow, highlighter…”
“Does it apply itself too?”
“Where would the fun be in that? Anyway, hair first.” She had a blow dryer with an extra-long cord, a flat iron, tubes and jars and cans of product that smelled like a salon. “I was never a girly girl, and still am not most of the time, but there are occasions when daring femininity is called for.”
I’d never had a sister before, but if this was what it was like, I was either in love or ready to run away by the time she finished poking and prodding and pulling and styling and gluing on the heaviest false eyelashes I could remember. At the stroke of eight, I was made-up and hair-styled and perfumed and powdered and poured into the outfit. I opened the door at a knock and found all three guys waiting for me, dressed in pressed slacks and button-down shirts and jackets.
Minx waited, gave me a little push, and stepped around all of them. “I’ll call you to hear all about it, Ava. Tomorrow.” And she was gone, her laughter lingering behind her. I turned my attention back to the three. Their hair had been styled too. I almost asked if they went to a salon or helped each other look so sharp, but figured they wouldn’t appreciate the comment, so instead I just told them they looked nice and accepted their compliments delivered in growls that must have been half wolf.
Dinner was in the nicest restaurant I’d ever been in, by far, on the top floor of a high-rise not far away from the academy. It actually rotated slowly, giving us a 365-degree view as we ate, and the food was incredible. If this was what “out on the town” meant, sign me up. We sat for a long time, just talking and laughing, while I got to know them better, until finally the place was shutting down, and we had to leave.
“That was the best evening of my life,” I told them as we strolled down the sidewalks past boutiques with their windows filled with the latest fashions, bakeries and coffee shops, and all kinds of businesses catering to the citizens of this fine city. It was a little cool, but Minx had included a leather jacket with my borrowed finery, and I snuggled into its folds. “Yep, just about perfect.”
“Just about?” Lex asked, from my left as we turned onto a small side street.
“I’m hurt.” Nolan was on my right.
“What do we do to make it perfect?” Behind me, Wolfe leaned in to speak close to my ear, his warm breath brushing over my skin. “We are open to any and all ideas.”
“I—what the?” I landed on my knees as we were tackled by an animal of some sort, turning to see it on top of Wolfe. I’d have expected him to be able to take on just about anything, but this sneak attack caught us all off guard. “Get off him!”
I tried to launch myself at the melee, but Nolan and Lex grabbed at my arms, and before any of us could act, it was all over and the speckled wolf was bounding down the street. Nolan released me and shifted, tearing off after the animal, while Lex and I dropped beside Wolfe, who lay in a growing puddle of blood. “What do we do?”
“We need to get help,” he said, standing and looking around. It was so late there was nobody on the side street. “I can’t leave you here alone.”
“And I can’t leave Wolfe.” I searched for the source of the blood, hoping I could use pressure or something to stop the flow before he lost too much. “Wolfe, can you shift?”
“He’s not conscious,” Lex said.
Wherever his wound lay, it was not on his front. “Help me roll him over.” I gripped his shirt, but his limp weight was too much for me. “We have to find the bite or whatever she did to him.” I knew it wasn’t good to move injured people, but what choice did we have?
Together, we managed to get him onto his stomach, and Lex gripped his jacket and shirt and tore them away revealing the ripped open side of his throat. “Oh my gods.” He looked up at me and shook his head. “We’re not going to be able to stop this. Even a healer couldn’t.”
“I am not going to lose one of you before we are even mated!” Any doubts about these males being my mates were in the rearview mirror. “Wolfe, can you hear me?”
No response. Only eerie stillness and a siren in the distance that was not coming to help us.
