by Petra Landon
“So do you.” Tasia smiled at her friend with affection. Sara was an ethereal beauty; the combination of her Italian genes and Native American ancestry made her quite the head turner. Hawk, her twin, had the kind of stunning good looks that caught everyone’s attention when he walked into a room. Sara’s was a more subdued kind of beauty.
Tasia turned to Sienna. “You … you’ve performed a miracle. This room! My jaw almost dropped when I first saw it.”
“I agree” Sara piped up with a grin. “Hawk has been busy beating his chest for dispatching invitations and clearing out the Café of all furniture. Mighty pleased at his accomplishment, he was. Without you, Sienna, this place would like a combination of diner and mess hall.”
“Men.” Sienna rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “Always great at overlooking the really obvious stuff, aren’t they? I’ve plenty of time on my hands now, and it was nice of your brother to let me go crazy here.” She gestured at the space around them.
“Quite a turnout” Tasia remarked, her eyes wandering the room. The large space teemed with people. Chatter and laughter flowed as easily as alcohol. A bar had been set up in one of the open-air balconies, cleared of the gas barbeques that usually occupied it. At the center of the rectangular hall were tables laden with the spread Sienna had worked with the caterers to order for the night. The tables helped separate the long space into two distinct sections.
“It’s rare for the Alpha to throw a party like this” Sara agreed. “Some of the Shifters have traveled a fair distance to attend.”
“You guys never have parties?” Sienna looked surprised. “Why not? I thought Packs partied together all the time.”
“The individual were-packs celebrate together, every now and then. Usually, other Shifters on friendly terms with the were-pack also get invitations to these events. But something like this, that includes the entire Pack, is rare.”
“How big is your Pack?” Sienna asked curiously.
“Five hundred, give or take. We’re one of the larger Packs in the country” Sara explained as Sienna looked taken aback by the number. “Two hundred reside here in San Francisco and the bay area. The rest are scattered all over Pack territory in northern California.”
“Well, it certainly looks like half the Pack is here” Sienna murmured.
Sara cast a glance around the room. “There’re many I don’t know. We have more than a few non-Shifter guests tonight.”
Sienna’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t expect the Alpha to invite these many Wizards.”
The Alpha had never hidden his dislike for Wizards. Given that, the number of Wizard guests at this party seemed notably high. Had they been invited to make Jason and her feel more at home tonight, Sienna wondered. The man had a knack for surprises, she mused. Aloof and disinterested he might appear, but there was a streak of decency that ran strong in the Shifter. His offer of the Lair as a safe haven for her had caught her unawares. His invitation to Jason to join her at the Lair had astonished Sienna, but his decision to give up all claim to her locket, refusing to use it to get more concessions from the Wizards, had stumped her.
“He sent my dad a blanket invitation to include all Wizards in the city” Caro explained, walking up to them. “Anyone willing to celebrate the Pack’s success on a joint mission with Wizards was welcome, was how the Alpha put it.”
“That was very nice of him” Sienna remarked.
“I thought so too. Hi, I’m Caroline. You must be Sienna.”
“Hi” Sienna greeted her with a smile. She knew of Caroline Hamilton. “Tasia never misses her weekly lunches with you, even if it means having her Shifter bodyguards tagging along.”
“Yeah, they’re kind of hard to miss.”
Caroline greeted Sara next before lowering her voice to address Tasia. “I was honored to receive my own invitation to the party, by the way. Separate from the one extended to my dad and his Wizards. I guess I know who to thank for it.”
Tasia glanced around instinctively, wondering if she should remind her friend before Caro said something she didn’t want overheard by ears with extraordinary abilities. The Shifters had phenomenal hearing — an ability inherited from their beasts. This ability forced Tasia to be constantly on her guard, now that she lived with them. Her friend, like most Chosen, might not be as hyper aware.
“Don’t worry, Tas.” Caro directed a mischievous smile at her, correctly gauging Tasia’s dilemma. “Dad gave me a pep talk right before we came in here. Tonight, I won’t forget.”
“Good. It’s quickly becoming the bane of my existence.” Tasia’s words were heartfelt. “Besides, you’re wrong, you know. I had nothing to do with your invitation, Caro.”
“No?” Caro grinned. “Are you sure, Tas?”
“Uh, Tasia.”
A young Shifter stood fidgeting before them, his nervous gaze on Tasia. It was Evgeny, one of the Shifter bodyguards assigned to escort Tasia when she ventured outside the Lair. Evgeny and an older Shifter, Joaquim, had been her designated escorts since the early days of her association with the Pack. It had taken both Shifters a long time to warm up to Tasia. Solitary by nature, Shifters did not socialize much, except with their Pack. Tasia had also come to realize that they did not trust easily, especially other Chosen. After nearly two months, Evgeny had succumbed to chat with her, while his more taciturn partner would occasionally remark on the weather.
“Hi Evgeny” Tasia greeted him warmly. She liked the gangly young Shifter. He had a sunny nature and always seemed very young to her, even though Evgeny was only a handful of years younger than her. “You know Sara and Sienna, right? This is my friend, Caro.”
“I met her at your studio once” he responded laconically.
“Yup, we’ve met” Caro assented. “How are you, Evgeny?”
“Good.” He paused, seemingly at a loss on how to proceed.
Tasia glanced beyond him to note a group of young Shifters watching them avidly.
“What’s up, Evgeny?” she inquired gently.
“Uh … I was wondering if you wanted to dance, Tasia. With me” he added a little self-consciously.
“There’s a dance floor?” Tasia exclaimed.
“Yeah, it’s the other end of this room. The tables of food separate it from this space” Sienna piped up. “Hawk insisted on it. It was his idea.”
“I’d love to, Evgeny” Tasia declared promptly.
“You would?” He seemed a tad uncertain.
“Absolutely” Tasia was enthusiastic. “Shall we?”
His young face broke into a happy grin at her response.
“I’ll see you guys back here in a bit” Tasia said with a laughing glance at her friends, as she made to follow the young Shifter.
“That boy is very sweet” Sienna remarked softly.
“Yes, he is” Sara agreed. “He’s a really nice kid.”
“We’re were-pack mates” she explained at Sienna’s inquiring look.
As Tasia followed Evgeny, her eyes fell on the group of Shifters she’d observed watching them. “Your friends, Evgeny?”
“Yeah” he said sheepishly. “They’re just curious about you, Tasia. Most of them have never met a Chosen that isn’t a Shifter.”
Tasia pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Perhaps, you can introduce me to your friends later, Evgeny. I’m going to be living here for a few more months. And, I wouldn’t say no to some new friends.”
“Sure, Tasia” he agreed easily, leading her onto the dance floor.
As Tasia sampled the dance floor, the man who had insisted on it for the party made for the group she had left behind.
“Ladies” Hawk greeted them collectively, his glance encompassing his twin and her two Wizard companions. “Hi Caroline.”
“Typical” Sara remarked. “Ignore us and go for Caro.”
“I could never ignore you, Sara mia” he countered easily, unperturbed by his sister’s teasing.
“Congratulations, Hawk” Caroline remarked, having been to the Lair Ca
fé before. “You’ve done a fabulous job in here.”
“Thanks, but this is all Sienna’s doing.”
His eyes wandered the room. “Where’s Tasia? I thought I saw her.”
“She’s on the dance floor” Sienna answered with a straight face.
“Dance floor.” He looked taken aback. “By herself?”
“No.” Sienna was carefully nonchalant.
An arrested expression flashed across his handsome face. “Who?” he demanded peremptorily.
“Evgeny.” It was Caroline who answered him.
“Evgeny! Our Evgeny?” he asked Sara.
“Yes” Sara nodded. “She’ll be fine, Hawk. Let the girl breathe. You’ll suffocate her with your overprotectiveness” she said bluntly, in a manner only a sibling could manage.
“Right” he said absently.
A short silence prevailed. Sienna attempted to suppress her grin while Sara merely gazed at her twin with affectionate exasperation. Hawk’s eyes zeroed in on Caroline, who was watching him, her eyes puzzled and curious.
“How about a turn on the dance floor, Caroline?” he invited.
Caro looked fleetingly surprised as she met the dark eyes of the handsome Shifter. Hawk was the most unlikely Shifter she’d met. Granted, she hadn’t met that many, but this one blew the Shifter stereotypes away. Caro found him fascinating.
“Sure.” She accepted his invitation.
Forty-five minutes later, Tasia was back amidst her friends after an energetic turn on the dance floor. More guests had poured in at a steady clip, the room now more crowded than before. Hawk’s idea, implemented by Sienna, of a makeshift dance floor with dimmed lighting and subdued music, was a roaring success. While the Shifters had mostly kept their distance, the other Chosen had embraced it enthusiastically. Tasia had danced with Evgeny, Hawk and Jason before being introduced to Evgeny’s friends. Eventually, they had all moved back to this side of the hall as the throngs converged onto the dance floor. As guests wound their way to partake of the food and the dance floor beyond it, the crowds here had thinned.
Tasia used the golden opportunity to observe the Shifters she worked with in a more social setting. Her nearly two months at the Lair had served to give her a better understanding of Shifters and Packs. While her original assumption of them as some of the most unpredictable, aggressive, violent and dangerous Chosen still held true, she was also starting to see a different side to them. They adhered to a strict code of honor, prized loyalty very highly and would always rally around their Pack mates in the face of danger, regardless of any individual differences. While there were still moments when she found their Pack culture and traditions alien, these were fewer than when she had first come to live amongst them.
Elisabetta held court with a group of men hanging on her every word. Attired in a green dress that matched the color of her eyes, the stunning Shifter seemed in her element. A powerful and ambitious Were-Alpha, Elisabetta had a habit of dispatching stinging barbs with a sweet smile on her beautiful face. It made Tasia very wary of the Shifter’s sharp tongue. Despite the admiring male attention directed at her, Tasia couldn’t help but notice that Elisabetta was distracted tonight. The beautiful Were-Alpha darted sidelong glances at a tall good-looking man, part of a small group of Shifters and other Chosen. The Alpha looked different tonight, without the jeans and tee that was his usual attire. Engrossed in conversation, he nursed a glass of amber liquid in his hand, seemingly oblivious to the female Were-Alpha’s glances. Like the night she had stumbled upon him brooding into his glass of Scotch in the Alpha’s Room, the drink in his hand seemed more decorative than anything else. Then too, he had taken his time with it. Hmm, he wasn’t much for alcohol, she mused thoughtfully. And, he wasn’t interested in the gorgeous Elisabetta. Or perhaps, he was merely adhering to his principles. As Hawk had explained to Sienna and her, the Alpha didn’t do romantic entanglements with his Pack. How had Hawk colorfully put it? Tends to fuck up the chain of command. It sounded like something the Alpha would say. Raoul Merceau took Pack business and the chain of command very seriously, as Tasia knew to her cost.
Tonight, a mix of his Shifters and other guests surrounded the Alpha. Atsá, the Were-Alpha who was Hawk and Sara’s grandfather, was his stately self. Accompanying him was his usual companion, the brightly-dressed grandmotherly Were-Alpha, Maartje. Duncan, more dapper than usual, was the third Shifter in the group. David and Stuart Hamilton, Caroline’s father and brother, and Jason LaRue made up the Wizard contingent around the Alpha. Caroline’s father, the ranking Wizard in San Francisco, was known to be on good terms with the Alpha. In addition to the six, two other men and a slim middle-aged woman made up the contingent around the Alpha.
“That boy is one handsome devil” Sienna remarked, her eyes on Hawk as he flitted from group to group in his effortlessly charming way.
“And doesn’t he know it” Caroline remarked sotto voice from beside Tasia.
“Oh, the boy has charm in spades and he knows it” Sienna concurred. “But that one can be tamed by the right woman. You mark my words, he’ll make someone a very good partner.” She directed a sidelong glance at Tasia.
Caro, a witness to Hawk’s demonstrative affection with her friend, turned to Tasia impulsively. “Now that you’ve had a taste of Pack life, would you go out with a Shifter, Tas?”
“Me?” Tasia exclaimed in surprise, distracted by the glimpse of a familiar face headed in their direction. For once, she was oblivious to her surroundings, too distracted to pay heed to the subtle undercurrents in the conversation.
“Yeah” Caro reiterated. “Would you date a Shifter, Tas?”
“No.” Tasia’s response was vehement, with absolutely no hesitation. “Never.”
Her association with the Pack was a precarious one. Another disastrous misstep with the Alpha and she might find herself out in the cold, to start all over again somewhere else, far from San Francisco and possibly with a new identity to boot. Tasia was supremely conscious of this. While these past weeks with the Shifters had been daunting, confusing, and difficult, Tasia knew how much having a Pack to watch her back had changed her life. To be fair to him, the Alpha had not intimated anything of the sort to her. It was just a feeling Tasia had, driven in part by her own ambivalent feelings regarding this association with the Shifters. In some ways, she was more wary this time around, with her second attempt at a partnership with the Pack. Tasia liked the way the association was shaping up this time. Barring one particularly bad hiccup, things were better with the Alpha. Yet, the rare glimpse of Shifter traditions and their way of doing things, even the casual violence that seemed so much a way of life for them, gave her pause. Throw in Raoul Merceau, the ruthless and aloof Alpha of immense self-control, capable of terrifying fury one minute and surprising compassion the next, and it did not add up to an advertisement for romantic entanglement with a Shifter. That is, if she was even allowed the luxury of any kind of relationship with a Chosen. That such a relationship would be a dangerous idea, both for her and the Chosen she picked, had been made very clear in unambiguous terms to her. Therein lay singular disaster for her. A relationship with a human was the best Tasia could ever hope for, a Si’ffa who would remain oblivious about magic, the Chosen, and her kitty of dangerous secrets.
Her friends looked taken aback by Tasia’s vehemence, although Sara seemed to be attempting to hide a smile.
An expression of comical dismay spread across Tasia’s face. She should have been more tactful with Sara around, she realized too late.
“No offense, Sara” she apologized contritely, both embarrassed and sheepish. “I … sorry.”
“None taken.” Sara’s response was prompt. “I happen to agree with you, Tasia. You wouldn’t catch me dead going out with one.”
“Why not, Sara?” Caroline was genuinely curious. Here was a Shifter woman saying no to any kind of entanglement with her kind — and a smart Shifter woman at that; one with a good head on her shoulders. Sara was no average Chos
en parroting a widely-held view amongst their brethren, based on the rumors and stereotypes that abounded in their world. Her views had clearly been arrived at from her own experience with Shifters.
“Too much aggression, blood and mayhem all the time” Sara said simply. “I see that every day in my Pack. I would prefer less rampaging in my personal life.”
Tasia couldn’t help but silently agree with her friend’s candid opinion. By and large, Shifters tended to be an honorable bunch that adhered to their strict codes of conduct – codes that many Chosen considered archaic. In many ways, they were uncomplicated, forthright and more straightforward than other Chosen she’d encountered. But they were also a throwback to an earlier time. Tasia could see how a woman in a different era might appreciate such a focused protector as a mate, but dealing with one as a romantic partner today would be exhausting.
“What about you, Caroline?” Sienna asked the Wizard who seemed reflective after Sara’s candid response.
“I’d never even met a Shifter until the night …” She paused, conscious of the Shifters in their midst. Caro had met her first Shifter the night she had walked into the Lair to ask the Alpha for assistance. “For Tasia” she continued cryptically, wary of listening ears. Her presence at the Lair that night was meant to be kept secret. “I have to admit that your Alpha surprised me” she directed at both Sara and Tasia.
“Never” Tasia exclaimed incredulously. While invitations to the Lair were few and far between, Caro’s dad conducted business regularly with the Shifters. Plus, the Alpha seemed to know David Hamilton well. Under such circumstances, how could Caro have never met a Shifter?
“This party is very unusual, Tasia.” It was Sara who responded. “Chosen factions rarely mingle socially. For many in the Pack, you’re the first non-Shifter they’ve had the opportunity to interact with.”
No wonder Evgeny’s friends had been so curious about her, Tasia mused. She’d put their curiosity down to youth, but now it struck her that it was more than that.
