57. Summer
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Summer
W hen I get home, Alice is lying on the couch, flicking through the channels of the television. She immediately clocks my anger and quirks an eyebrow at me.
“What happened to you?”
“Nothing,” I grumble as I storm past her into the kitchen. I yank open the fridge and grab a bottle of water before slamming the door closed. Stomping back into the living room, Alice barely manages to pull her legs out of the way before I collapse onto the couch next to her.
Alice stares at me for a long moment, waiting for me to speak. When I don’t say anything, she nudges me with her foot and says, “Come on, let’s go out tonight. We both need it.”
“I don’t know, Alice.” I had come up with a plan for Rafe, but now I am in a foul mood, and I want to kill everyone. It’s probably not wise to fuel those desires with alcohol.
“It’s a casual thing in the forest. Plus, it’s close enough to the full moon that the shifters are fun, but not close enough that they’re psycho,” Alice says, nudging me again.
I let my head fall back, resting it against the back of the couch.
I stare at the ceiling, thinking. The last thing I want to do is go back to the forest, but I do like the idea of annoying the stranger by being there for fun, not there with him for training.
In the end, I decide to go because even though she hasn’t said it, Alice needs this.
She needs a break, a moment to set down some of the burden she has been carrying for months.
I heave myself off the couch and walk across the room to pick up the package that was left on the table next to the door.
“What is that?” Alice asks, sitting up with a frown.
I tear the package open and pull out another, smaller box, tossing it to her with a grin. She catches it and flips it over, reading the front. Her brows furrow in confusion, and then smooth out as realization dawns.
“Shut your slut mouth. For Rafe?” she asks with a soft chuckle.
I nod as she tears into the box and pulls out the set of baby monitors. “I figure it’s a good way of keeping tabs on him while we’re out, and as long as we stay in range, we can get home quickly if we hear him fussing.”
“Did you order these from the runic network?” I nod, and Alice turns them on. “Let’s test it,” Alice says, thrusting one of the monitors at me. She smirks and jumps off the couch, bolting through to the kitchen. I wait, and less than a moment later, her voice chirps through my monitor.
“Rafe is a weenie,” she says, her words crystal-clear, as if she’s right next to me.
“A massive one,” I reply, depressing the button that allows me to respond through the monitor. Alice’s cackle can be heard both through the receiver and through the walls.
“What are you two cackling at? You sound like witches around a cauldron planning the demise of all men,” Rafe calls from upstairs.
“Oh, look, the baby is fussing,” I say into the receiver. Alice is laughing when she returns from the kitchen. “Why don’t you go get ready, and I’ll feed and change him before we go out?” Alice laughs harder at my words.
“I heard that, and you are both dicks!” Rafe yells.
My lips twitch as I put the receiver down and go into the kitchen to get Rafe’s meat.
I set up the monitor while he eats, and once he’s full, it doesn’t take long to get him settled into bed.
He is still healing and worn out from constantly trying to work out.
He barely protests when I guide him into bed after his shower, and he’s practically asleep as I get him tucked in.
I turn out the light before sneaking out of his room.
After my shower, I stand in only a towel, looking through my closet as I try to decide what to wear.
It’s a party, but it’s in the forest, so probably not heels.
Usually I prefer wearing heels when I have to be on.
They give me confidence, and while Connor and Alice have definitely helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin, I have a lifetime of trauma to overcome.
Finding out that I am light fae hasn’t helped.
It is just proof that I am alone in the world.
Fuck it. It is what it is, and it may be true, but I am loved. That is what I need to focus on.
I decide on a short, forest-green dress.
The hem flares out a little where it hits me at mid-thigh, but the thing I love most about it is the detail on the straps.
It is designed to look like vines crossing over my shoulders, the delicate embroidery along the low-cut neckline continuing the theme.
I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to this dress tonight, but I feel beautiful in it.
I slip into a pair of black chunky heels and meet Alice downstairs.
She is dressed just as slutty as I am in a bralette, the shortest shorts I’ve ever seen, and stacked platform shoes that add multiple inches to her diminutive height.
“Let’s go destroy some shifters,” Alice says, her smile catlike.
I roll my eyes but shove the baby monitor into my thigh holster, which I donned just for this. Alice looks at it and bursts out laughing.
“What?”
“You look like a mom ready to slut it up.”
“Well, I am. We have a demon baby.”
Alice links arms with me, and we leave the house. As we approach the forest, Alice leans into me and squeezes my arm. “Thanks for this. I need it.”
“I think I do too,” I say, tightening my hold on her.
Since Connor died, our social life has been nearly nonexistent, but maybe this is a first step.
I brush my fingers over the halo as I always do when I think of Connor.
It hums comfortingly, but it feels far away, faint.
He’s trying to give me space to move on and enjoy the party, but he also wants me to know he is here.
Or maybe I’m reading into it too much. Perhaps he’s just busy doing dead-guy stuff.
“Plus, it keeps me away from Max,” I add. I’m not sure where the words come from because Max is not the real issue, and it was not him that my thoughts had conjured. In truth, it keeps me away from the stranger.
“Still?” Alice cackles.
“Shut up,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Wait, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you,” she says, leaning in and dropping her voice conspiratorially, “does it get better during the—” She holds up her hand and makes a circle with her forefinger and thumb, pushing her index finger of the other hand through it .
I glare at her. Why the fuck did I have to bring up Max? I have serious regrets.
“Holy Drac, it does!” Alice gapes at me. “I have literally no one to share this news with.”
I stop walking and give her a reproachful look. “I will go home.”
“Please, you love me,” Alice says, nudging me playfully.
“You’re an asshole.” I roll my eyes but continue walking. The music booms, reverberating off the tree trunks, shaking the leaves. The beat leads us to a clearing, a different one from where the stranger and I usually meet. This space is packed with shifters in various states of inebriation.
“Whoa,” Alice says, looking like the cat who got the cream. “There are way more people here than I expected.”
I smirk at her. It’s my turn to give her shit. “Well?.?.?. you have your pick of the litter tonight, Al.”
“Hey,” Alice says, glaring at me, “don’t put me in a box.” She looks back at the shifters, and I swear I see her eyes darken with lust. “Even if it’s the right one,” she says a little more quietly.
I laugh and tug her with me into the mess of people. Alice licks her lips more than once as she scans the clearing, carefully choosing her prey like any good predator.
“Alcohol,” she says, her nose crinkling in feigned disgust, but she’s not fooling anyone, much less me. “Lots of alcohol.”
We make our way to one of the makeshift tables that have been erected along the edges of the clearing, and Alice grabs two plastic cups full of beer.
Neither of us likes beer, but I’m not sure we could expect anything else at a shifter party.
They truly are all frat boys. Of course, there are female shifters, but none of them would be caught dead at a party like this.
All the women here are of other species, and even the male shifters seem to enjoy that fact.
Alice and I take a sip, and I grimace.
“Fuck me. What is this—” I glance at Alice when she abruptly stops talking, and I notice she’s locked eyes with a handsome wolf shifter.
I sigh and look down at the pale yellow liquid in my cup. “I’d rather be at an incubi party. You get sexually harassed, but at least the liquor is good,” I quip.
“Good, yeah,” Alice says, her voice distracted as she flirts with the wolf shifter with nothing but her eyes.
It’s so interesting to me that Alice always manages to pull shifters when both species have an unspoken rule about despising each other.
Yet Alice can’t seem to help herself, and the shifters don’t even try to resist her, not that I can blame them. My best friend is completely stunning.
The shifter prowls toward us, smiling wolfishly. “A fae and a vamp duo. Don’t suppose you’re Alice and Summer?” he asks, his voice gently accented. His dark eyes briefly flit over me before they’re back on Alice.
Alice’s lips tilt into a half smile. “Actually, my name is Bert.”
I roll my eyes, but my lips twitch. It’s fun to watch her like this.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her practice the art of seduction, and her version is most certainly a predator ensnaring their prey.
It’s not like what the stranger does with me.
This is much less dangerous, much less intriguing.
But maybe that is just me, because the shifter seems more than interested.
Another shifter approaches, clapping the wolf on the shoulder. This one is taller, less rugged, but very handsome. “I hope you’re not menacing these stunning females, Harris.”
Harris barely takes his eyes from Alice, and I chuckle behind my hand at how ridiculous he and Alice are. They should just bang already. I don’t even want to know what they’re wordlessly saying to each other.
“Now hold on a minute, you wouldn’t be the famous Disaster Duo, would you?” the newcomer asks.
“Guilty,” I say with a smile, wondering how we are going to rid ourselves of that name.
“Rick,” he says, pulling his hand from Harris’s shoulder and holding it out to me.
I look at his hand but don’t take it to shake. Alice and Harris suddenly walk away, and I watch them disappear into the crowd before looking back at Rick.
“I’m a third-year,” he adds.
“Cool. Clearly you know quite a bit about me,” I say.
Rick drops his hand and laughs softly. “Sorry, must be an occupational hazard for you.”
“You could say that.” I so wished never to be this person. I spent my whole life trying to be the person no one knew. Yet I was always the odd one out, the strange female who no one understood, and that made me noticeable to everyone.
Rick grimaces. “Didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I know that sucks. ”
I shrug. “I should go find Alice. Nice to meet you, Rick.” He seems like a nice-enough guy, but the last thing I need is another guy added to the mix. Plus, I’m not sure I’m particularly into shifters.
“Nice to meet you, Summer.”
I feel Rick’s gaze lingering on me as I push through the crowd. Alice is grinding against Harris, and I feel bad for cockblocking her, but I’m feeling a little too exposed right now under all the male scrutiny.
“You good?” She quirks a brow at me but continues to dance as she leans in to talk to me.
I nod. “You?”
She nods too, her arm still draped over Harris. “You know you were talking to the alpha?”
I look over my shoulder, but Rick isn’t there anymore. Alice, obviously sensing my unease, pulls away from Harris and waves him away.
“I’ll find you later,” she says dismissively, and when he doesn’t move, she glares at him until he does.
Alice turns back to face me. “What happened?”
“Literally nothing,” I say, shaking my head.
Nothing happened, so why am I feeling so weird about being here now?
I know it’s not fair of me to ask Alice to stay at my side, but when she left with Harris, I felt like I was being watched by every single person here.
I’m not at all convinced Rick was the problem.
If I am honest with myself, it feels odd to be in the forest without the stranger, to be surrounded by shifter males and to not really know anyone else here.
“Careful with alphas, Sum. They weird me out.”
I blink at her. “So you’ll only be penetrated by certain ranks?” I ask.
“The higher the rank, the more they’re into archaic, misogynistic bullshit. Do I look like I’m planning to be peed on in some weird ritual?”
I burst out laughing and immediately feel more at ease.
“He’s watching you,” Alice says, nudging me.
“Who?”
“Alpha boy.”
“Like, angrily?” I ask, tensing. Not that I got angry vibes from the alpha. He actually felt?.?.?. gentle.
Alice narrows her eyes, trying to read him. “No. Like he wants to say something. ”
I grimace. “I’m going to?.?.?. be anywhere else.” The last thing I want is to get into another weird conversation with a shifter, especially a smooth-talking, attractive one.
“Do you want me to hiss at him?” Alice asks. “I’m really good at hissing.”
“I remember, but no, let’s just move over there.”
Alice grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd until Rick can’t see me anymore. She sources two more drinks for us, and this time we hold our noses and down the drinks. The bitter taste tingles on my tongue a little, and as soon as our cups are drained, the clearing starts to spin a little.
The music seems to ebb and flow, and I can almost feel it curling around my bones. I look down at the cup in my hand, watching as it turns into three cups. I look up to see three Alices looking back at me, their brows furrowed.
“What—”
Color spirals in my vision. The dancing bodies seem to move both in slow motion and weirdly fast before everything goes black.