"Close your eyes!" I shouted running to my room from the washer and dryer in a pair of shorts and my bra. As the past half dozen trips should've told me my dumb dog isn't smart enough not to lay right at the door so I trip over him every single time. And of course my equally dumb sister never listens to me.

"Haven't you found anything to wear yet? I'm starting to feel like this is a Victoria Secret shoot or something." Kind of ironic coming from her as she was kicked back in my reclining chair wearing nothing but a nightshirt with puppies sleeping on it and dark rimmed reading glasses on the edge of her nose. Her laptop sat on the arm of the chair neglected at the moment as she poured herself some red.

No actually. I have my black dress that I normally wear on the rare nights I do go out but it was plain and boring. Seriously, every girl on the planet probably has at one and I'm sure many tonight will be wearing theirs but I wanted to stand out. If the Dark Soiree was about showing off your mate, I wanted to make damn sure I make Nancy proud.

"Damn it!" I mumbled to myself finding nothing but some mismatched socks in the laundry room. How two socks can go into the dryer, one comes out while the other is never seen again, I have no idea.

A bright light bulb appeared above my head as I got an idea. I know who has something that should work and we haven't even discussed rent yet. Opening Joann's door I rummaged through her closet when my eyes lit up at the perfect outfit, A dark burgundy bodycon strapped dress.

"Find anything yet or do I get to watch you run around half naked all night?"

"I think so. I didn't even know I had this." I yelled back smiling as I took it off the hanger.

Sneaking it in my room I couldn't believe how well it fit me. I literally felt like a million bucks with the way it sparkled as the light hit it. I twirled in front of my full length mirror several times checking myself out before finishing up.

"So let's see what you- THAT'S MY DRESS!"

"Really? I found it hanging up in the back."

I shot her a smile grabbing a Venom out of the fridge. She looked so corny upset with me as she sat in the loveseat with her arms folded and the face of a child having been scolded.

"You're going to stretch it out, or worse, tear it, and then I'm going to kill you. Mom bought me that dress when we were in Seattle. I haven't even worn it yet."

"Well all she got me was a stupid Seahawks shirt and I don't even like football so it's only fair I get to borrow it."

"You loved football. Don't forget, Me and dad use to watch you play in high school and you were great. Nobody does that well at something they hate. Not to mention I knew of at least two girls on the cheerleading team that had a crush on you." She let out a long sigh waving her her hand "All this came out of nowhere. Don't blame mom she's only worried about you. I'm worried about you. Have you even told Nancy yet? Look what happened with Chris?"

Of all the damn nights she had to start with this shit! Why can't she just give it a rest? When I tell Nancy is my business. I'm just waiting for the right time. What makes her think she'd be anything like Chris? Chris was a guy for one thing! And while there was some scary moments I did live.

"It's none of your damn business, Joann! And for the record, I hated football back then too but dad made me go. I guess he figured it would make a man out of me or something. You know what? It doesn't matter! I'll wear something else"

"Crystal..."

"No! I'm sick of you constantly bringing this shit up especially when I think something's going well. I get that it's weird that she's married to Jake but people meet in weird ways everyday. I'll tell her but since Linnea is coming with us it probably won't be tonight. Give it a rest for one night, Joann!"

I started down the hall back towards my room. "You can wear it, Crystal. Just could you at least cut the tag off? Unless of course you want everyone to think you're thirty percent off."

Nancy was waiting for me beside a black Ford Expedition in the overflowing parking lot of the bar having what looked like a heated debate with Jason. I guess he was a little upset about having to be here while we took off. I stopped to let her know that I was going to find a place to park in one of the other lots nearby. Okay, that's a lie. I stopped so I could stare at her without risking running someone over. She wore a black leather skinny jeans with a gold satin wrap crop top and black heels. To say she looked stunning was an insult.

"You can park here since mines better off road. We'll have to swing by and get Linnea since Greg's not happy about her going out."

"This is bullshit, Nancy!"

Jason said heated as she started to get in. Nancy turned back to him with an expression that made me want to hide.

"I don't give a shit! I pay you to do what you're fuckin told not to bitch about things. You don't like it, you can take your shit and leave."

Jason went back inside as Nancy pulled out and I took her place. What was that all about I wondered. Did something happen? I wanted to ask but decided against it, at least for tonight. It was supposed to a fun time.

I locked the doors and got out only to find Nancy having gone from a terrifying Alpha to a puppy.

"What?"

I asked her trying to hide my smile as her eyes looked me up and down stopping a little too long at my cleavage. Mission accomplished!

"N-N-Nothing. Y-you look great is all."

"Should I drive?"

"Why would you need to do that?"

"Because you're still staring at my chest." I laughed getting in.

"Oh shit! Sorry." She said turning away embarrassed.

"It's alright. I just don't want to get in an accident because of it."

Linnea lived in small white house just heading out of Lakeside so picking her up didn't mean taking a detour. Not that I would've minded. I liked her and was curious where she lived and about her mate, Greg. Being that he didn't know she was a werewolf meant I couldn't talk to him about things like I wanted but it still couldn't hurt to know the guy.

He greeted us at the doorway dressed casually in black slacks and a blue button down shirt. His short straight brown hair and dark rimmed glasses gave him more of a computer geek look than the big brawny outdoorsman I had pictured.

"You must be Linnea's friends. I'm Greg and she's -

"In the kitchen."

I heard her call out. "I'll be out in a minute." He motioned us inside with his arm rolling his eyes. I gave him a polite smile as we entered.

The place was cramped but cozy. The couch and single chair took up a good portion of the living with their entertainment center that had four game councils from what I could see connected to a twenty inch television. Yep, a computer geek.

"Would you like something to drink? I think we have some soda left."

"No thank you." I heard Nancy reply as I looked at the pictures that covered the walls. It was clear someone was an avid photographer. Many were of scenes of hikers and the outdoors and I remembered Linnea telling me they met on the Appalachian trail.

"I love taking pictures." Linnea said coming out of the kitchen in a very short black dress. "Everywhere I go I see more through my viewfinder than I do with my own eyes. You ready?"

"Wait! You're wearing that?" Greg was not sounding excited in her choice of attire.

"Yes mitt hjärta (my heart). Don't worry, I'll be fine. And I made you some kanelbullar you love so much. They'll be done in five minutes so don't forget to take them out." She gave him a kiss on the lips then turned to us wrinkling her nose "He's such an Alpha!"

We busted up laughing except for Greg who was obviously lost on the relevance of the remark.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure she's safe." I assured him.

"And no cops! If you even think cops will show up I want you to leave. I mean it, Linnea. You know what can happen.

Wait, was Linnea in trouble with the law? Why was he so worried? I couldn't picture her doing anything that would get her into trouble. I glanced over to Nancy who didn't seem concerned about it all which bothered me even more. Surely there was a lot of things they did that I'm not aware of.

"There won't be any cops where we're going. " Nancy assured him. "It's ran by a different set of laws."

The drive there was longer than I thought, near Roosevelt Lake. Linnea had the radio blasting hard rock music almost the entire way till Nancy turned it off when we reached an area that looked like a good spot to kill someone at. It was pitch dark except for her headlights and the dirt road surrounded by trees was full of potholes. My poor little car wouldn't of stood a chance.

"Listen... you shouldn't be here. You're way too new to all of this. Things here aren't like elsewhere. Not only do human laws not apply but you got both sides trying to show their superiority, taking things further than they normally would. Anytime you want to leave, we're gone. Stay at my side the whole time. Got it?"

I nodded rapidly the fear of what I got myself into finally showing itself. She looked over to Linnea "And if anything happens to her I'll do far more than just kick you ass. I might anyways for even mentioning it to her. What the hell were you thinking?"

We drove for about another ten minutes till the road opened up to large area with several rows cars were parked some with out of state plates but nothing that looked like a party.

Once Nancy found a parking spot and we got out Linnea could barely control her excitement as she took several several large sniffs of the air with a large grin on her face. I was just about to ask her if she knew where we should go when a large wolf ran past us followed by two more closely behind it.

"Oh no they didn't! Are you offended? I'm offended. You know what that means"

She reached behind her back and unzipped her dress

"Uhhh Linnea? You're beautiful but is a strip show necessary?" Will I ever get use to seeing my coworkers naked? Nancy seemed entirely uninterested rolling her eyes as if she already was.

"That's cute. For you, sure. Consider it on the house. But for them... Det är dags att låta odjuret ur hennes bur!" (It's time to let the beast out of her cage)

I grabbed onto Nancy as Linnea let out a growl and crouched down as she started to shift. White fur cover her body as it jerked and twisted her hands and feet becoming paws with long sharp claws. This was something I definitely didn't think I would ever get use to. It must of only took a couple of seconds but it seemed like an eternity till a gorgeous white wolf with traces of grey around her eyes and her tail stood before us.

Linnea must of found my shocked look amusing as she licked my hand just before taking off in a full run in the direction the others went.

"Does that hurt?"

Nancy's arm wrapped around my waist pulling me close enough to smell her. I didn't have their nose but i found it intoxicating."Only the first few times. After that it's just a normal thing it does like running or jumping.

I thought back to when Jason shifted at the bar. He didn't look at all like a wolf but moved on two legs, not four.

"Jason shifted into something else at the bar. Is he different?"

"Weaker werewolves can only do the one shift that you saw Linnea do. Stronger ones, normally alphas and betas, can shift into both. It allows some speech and is better for battle but that's about it.

We haven't even got there yet and already my mind was exploding with everything I was learning. As we walked up a small dirt path I could hear music playing in the distance. My heart was pounding a million times a second. I was so glad Nancy came. Without her, I'd be a complete mess right now but with her arm still around my waist I knew nothing would hurt me.

Linnea was right, I would never forget this night.