"Aurelie Boswell, open up! I am not planning to wait outside forever- you have sixty seconds to let me in or I will start with the alcohol on my own."

Yeah, that nutter outside was one of my closest friends for some reason. Somewhere in between crazy student union nights at uni, painful hangovers, and many broken hearts and bad hook-ups, we had become friends for life. Scarlett had been one of my rocks over the past seven years, and was one of the few people who knew that I was adopted and that my biological parents were dead. With her crazy, bubbly personality, she was also the right person to cheer me up and bring me back from the insanity that I had just been put through.

"Okay, okay, I am coming. Don't you dare start without me," I shouted as I walked towards the front door.

As soon as I let her in, she gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before she made herself at home on the sofa in my living room.

"Right, tell me what's wrong. I know we love to drink, but drinking like this in the afternoon is a tad much, even for you and me. Talk to me."

She patted the seat next to her on the sofa and motioned for me to join her. This was going to be a heavy conversation, and I needed some liquid courage first.

"Let me pour us two large glasses of wine first." I grabbed the bottles from her and made my way to the open space kitchen. A minute later, I was back and handed Scarlett her glass.

"To alcohol- helping humanity get over its problems since forever!" We clinked our glasses to honour Scarlett's toast.

"So, where do I begin?... Long story short- I have an older brother who has, apparently, been looking for me all these years and has now finally found me."

"No way," Scarlett gasped as if she had just watched some movie plot twist. All she was missing was a pack of popcorn in her hand. "Are you going to meet him? How did you find out?" She definitely sounded way more excited about the whole thing than I was.

"He showed up at my parent's house when I went over for our monthly lunch. Turns out that he was already in touch with them earlier this week and the three of them must have had the whole thing set up for today."

"And what happened when you met? Are you going to meet the rest of your family? What did you talk about?"

"I don't know... I might have kind of run away from the house mid-conversation." I gave her a sheepish look with my admission.

To be honest, my reaction was justified, especially given all the additional information that I couldn't share with her. Still, I had to admit to myself that it was not my finest moment. I had been in so many high-pressure situations at work and never once had I let the circumstances cloud my judgement or influence how I reacted. But today was different- this was not work, and it was not fighting. It was about finding out that nothing was as I thought, at least as far as my family and my origins were concerned. On top of that, it turned out that I was neither human nor shifter, seeing as I didn't have an animal inside me any longer.

A doubt crept inside my mind- was I now going to be an outcast in both worlds, never fully fitting in either?

I shook my head to make that thought disappear. It was all just crazy. I knew I saw those memories, and I saw my mother change my look with just a word and a touch, but I was still not sure that this wasn't all a dream.

A very long, emotional, complicated dream.

Scarlett must have seen how preoccupied and anxious I looked because she nudged me with her shoulder to grab my attention. "Look, it's understandable- this whole thing comes completely out of the blue. But I know you will figure it out. How about I help you take your mind off things? What do you think about hitting that new bar in Clapham? I heard that they have a dance floor. Nothing like alcohol, music, and dancing to heal the soul."

"That sounds like a bloody brilliant idea. Let me go get changed."

I left Scar in the living room and made my way to my bedroom, where browsed through the outfits in my wardrobe until I settled for a blazer mini black dress with a deep plunging neckline. I grabbed a jacket and my heels and went to get my partner-in-crime, who was now getting a bit tipsy.

"You know, Riley, the more I stare at this picture in your living room, the more it creeps me out. I feel like they are staring right at me. I really don't get why you love it so much," she said as she pointed at the painting of a red dragon and a silver-grey wolf that was hanging on the wall. I had always been really drawn to it, ever since I laid my eyes on it at an antique market.

My fascination with the wolf now finally made sense, but what about the dragon? Perhaps I subconsciously was linking it with the strange birthmark that it turned out I have?

Damn it- I was thinking about all of that again when all I wanted was to forget. What I really needed was to have some fun tonight.

A few hours later, I was happily dancing to the music on the dance floor. I had lost count of the glasses of wine that we had, although I was proud that I managed to fend off Scarlett's Sambuca peer pressure.

The bar was packed with people, and the dancefloor was pretty crowded. Countless warm, sweaty bodies pressed together while they moved to the beat of the music. As time went on, the music became more and more seductive- the DJ clearly knew that time of the night when everyone just looked for someone to hook up with.

I had to admit that I did not come out on the pull, but the lustful looks that I had been exchanging with the sexy stranger right next to the dancefloor were making me feel frisky, so my dance moves got more and more suggestive. His slim-fit black t-shirt left my mind wondering just how ripped that toned body of his was underneath. The bulge underneath his jeans was visible, as he continued to sip his whiskey, but he was still not making a move.

Madonna's Justify My Love came on and my mind was made up. I whispered to Scarlett that I had to go while I continued to sway my hips widely. When I turned to face him, I was not surprised to find that his gaze was still fixed on me and every little movement I made. Slowly, I ran my hands up my thighs, lifting my already very short dress little by little. I didn't want to be slutty- it was just to tease him. I dropped the hem of my dress and continued to move my hands up my body. As I reached my breasts, I used one hand to pull up my hair above my head while I tilted it to one side. My other hand gently caressed my revealing neckline and my now exposed neck. I closed my eyes and carried on swaying my hips seductively, moving slowly left and right in rhythm with the erotic beat of the song.

The guy finally got the message because next thing I knew, I felt his breath on my neck before he whispered in my ear.

"What do you say we get out of here?"