Chapter 2

“So,” Kandrea said after a moment of silence, again glancing at Dannie. “What’s your story? Who is Dannie Mason, really?”

Dannie snorted. “Really?”

She shrugged. “I was hoping being doped up would loosen you up a bit. We’ve been working at Bea’s for almost half a year and all I know is your name is Dannie Mason and you don’t like people.”

“Well, that’s about it. Nothing more to know.”

She snorted back at her. “Liar. I saw what you did to those other guys. What did you do to freak them out so much?”

Dannie grinned part in satisfaction and in part to try and freak her out. “I have that effect on people. I can walk into a room and people back away or try to kick my ass as if to prove to themselves I’m not a threat to them.” Dannie decided to keep the part about her being an empath to herself.

Kandrea nodded, looking thoughtful. “You do have this dangerous thing going for you. A total femme fetale. That’s why you’re a client favorite besides me. We’re like living breathing versions of naughty and nice.” Her eyes widened. “We should totally do a routine together!”

“No,” Dannie said, but Kandrea didn’t seem to be listening to her.

“So why are you here, doing this?”

“You know, the cliché fresh start and all that. Dancing is the easiest way to make money. What we make in a night I’d have to work almost a week busting my ass in some warehouse or a diner. No thank you.”

“Amen, Sister,” Kandrea agreed. “What about your parents? Siblings?”

“You’re starting to push your luck,” Dannie said and received a smile in return. What was with this woman? Nothing she said, no matter how rude, seemed to get to her. “My parents are…” Dannie started then paused. Normal didn’t exactly describe her parents. Her father was the alpha of all alphas, the praetor. Her mother was once the most wanted criminal among the werewolves. “Well, they’re my parents, nothing more to say. My sister lives with them still.”

“Is she a badass too?”

Again, Dannie grinned. “Oh, Cass is the badass.” A pang of loss made her breath catch. She missed her. A lot. But Dannie couldn’t go home. The other werewolves couldn’t handle being around her for long. It made them angry and frustrated, and not being able to do anything about it because her father was the praetor, made them resentful. The older she got the more worried she was that it’d come back on her dad. Nothing Dannie ever did could change how she affected them so it was clear that in everyone’s best interest Dannie had to live someplace else, someplace there weren’t any werewolves.

Kandrea pulled into the parking spot in front of the large, gray apartment complex and helped her out of the car and into her apartment. She eased Dannie onto the couch, poorly hiding the fact she was checking out Dannie’s home. It was nothing special. The white walls had a few photograms and some framed artwork. The floors were a warm brown parquet. The furniture was a mix of cream, whites, and browns too. Dannie would never have a future in interior decorating, but the place was clean and homey enough for her.

“Nice place,” Kandrea said, sounding almost surprised. “Need anything before I call Uber?”

“No, I’m good here,” she said with a wave, sliding sideways down the sofa so she could lay down. “And thanks.” Dannie didn’t want friends. She didn’t want to play nice, but Kandrea had come through tonight. There was something strange about the guy who’d stomped her suppressants. Her empathic stuff didn’t work on him, and, she didn’t know what it was, but he was bad, very bad news. Also, Kandrea was turning out to be a pretty cool person. That didn’t happen often.

Kandrea shot Dannie that bright grin of hers. “It’s cool. I’m sure now you’ll agree to do a routine with me,” she said and looked up from her phone. “My ride’s here. Laters.” She held up her two fingers in a deuces sign and left.

Dannie groaned, Kandrea was probably right. She would agree to the damn routine. Either that or move to another state which was unlikely. Moving took too much effort. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting the suppressant pull her into a deep sleep.

The next morning Dannie woke up with her mouth full of cotton, head fuzzy, and her stomach churning nauseously. It was like a champagne hangover after a New Year’s Eve party. “Ugh,” Dannie said in a gag, sitting up slowly. She ran her hands over her face, trying to wake herself up. Thanks to the injection, Dannie wouldn’t be able to even smell food until at least the evening. With a deep breath, she stood slowly. Her head swam for a minute, but when she didn’t move it cleared. Slowly shambling, Dannie went into the bathroom.

Opening the small safe sat on the floor on the right side of the small closet. Dannie looked at her supply of suppressants. Two. There were only two syringes. That’s it. “What the fuck?”

Dannie swore she had more than enough to last her until Thanksgiving. No way had she used them all. Dannie cursed again and tried to recount how many she had used lately. Shaking her head, Dannie swore again. She should’ve been more on top of this, now she barely had enough for a few months, that is if her shift wasn’t triggered again. That meant only one thing - she would have to go home. “God damn it,” she cursed and went back into the living room. Dannie didn’t want to go back home.

Plopping on the couch, she covered her mouth as her stomach lurched. With a few slow breaths, Dannie took her phone and made the dreaded call.

“Well, this is a surprise. Good morning, Danielle, how are you? Everything alright?” her father asked.

“Not in so many words,” Dannie said then quickly added, “I’m fine. That’s not the problem.” The last thing she needed was him freaking out, thinking he needed to send in the cavalry or something. Alphas were naturally protective and her father was pure alpha. “But I’m out of my suppressants. I lost track and I need to drop by and get some more.” If he heard she was attacked there would be no way he’d let her leave. It didn’t matter to him that she was twenty-one and free to make her own choices.

“When did you plan on dropping by? I can get you on a plane in a few hours,” he replied.

“Thanks. Really, I mean it, thanks Dad, but I can pay for my plane ticket. I was thinking next weekend? Do you think everything could be ready by then?”

“Of course,” he replied. “The Solstice Festival is around that time too.”

Dannie cringed, forgetting about the festival. It was the celebration of everything that made werewolves who they are; everything that set her apart from them. She hated that festival. It was like rubbing salt into a wound. “Yeah, uh, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay all that long. You know, work and all that,” Dannie said, hoping he wouldn’t hear the lie over the phone. Summer was a slow time for the clubs. Men preferred to spend their time outside, like everyone else.

“How about we don’t make any plans until you’re here,” he replied. “If you have any trouble with the tickets, let me know. I’ve got to get back to work. Take care of yourself.”

“You too, Dad. Love you.”

She ended the call and sighed. The Festival meant the house was probably going to be full of guests who were not used to her ability to trigger their instincts. This could get ugly. “Fuck me three ways to Sunday,” Dannie swore and tossed the phone on the couch and ran her hand through her hair.