“You’re not an elf?”

“No, ma’am.”

“And you would not Shift into a fox, not in a box, not wearing socks?”

“N-n-no, ma’am.”

I sighed. “Then I have no use for you.” I tried to get up and only managed it with some assistance. “Thanks,” I said once I was fully erect. “It was nice meeting you and your cute ears.”

He tried to stammer out a reply, but he was having all sorts of problems with his stutter. I felt bad for him. I hoped the other soldiers didn’t make fun of him too much.

I made it to the bathroom without further incident, unless you count having trouble turning the door knob, which I do not. I decided to cut back to the bar through the dance floor to avoid any further run ins with the ornery furniture. I was winding my way through a mass of bodies I’m sure hadn’t been there just moments before when I got the feeling someone was watching me. I looked around and found a pair of grey eyes trained on me.

“Excuse me. Let me through.” I started pushing people aside, no longer concerned about being polite. I had more important issues to address. “Move. I have to talk to him. I have to tell him I’m sorry.” Why wouldn’t people let me through?!?!

He was already gone by the time I made it through the crowd.

“Who are you looking for?” Ashley asked, sneaking up beside me. I cursed the new moon and the noise of the club. I hate being snuck up on.

“No one. I thought I saw someone I knew once.”

“Well, I’ve found you someone new to know.” She wound an arm around my back and led me back towards the bar. “I need you to do me a favor, okay?”

“Sure.” Why not? Unless it involved sacrificing babies, I was game.

“Can you try really hard to be nice? I know it’s hard for you, but if you could be a little less Scout-like, I would really appreciate it. These guys are super-cute, and I don’t want you scaring them away.”

I was offended. “I’m always nice. And I don’t scare people.”

Ashley smiled sweetly and patted my back where her hand was resting. “Of course not, sweetie. You’re always sunshine and rainbows.”

I was going to sunshine and rainbows her face if she didn’t watch it.

I was also going to have to get her to visit an optometrist. After seeing what she qualified as “super-cute” I was fairly certain her lasik surgery had worn off and she needed to reconsider the glasses she ditched years ago.

“Scout.”

“Makya.” No growl. No right hook. See? Friendly.

Ashley’s face fell. “You guys know each other?”

“Makya is Jase’s cousin.” And a member of the Hagan Pack. I could take him, but he would call Toby faster than you could say “severe punishment”. And as Bambi’s mama proved, I was incapable of shutting him up permanently.

“Yeah, me and Harpy here go waaaay back.”

Or, then again, maybe I could manage it.

“Oh, so you’re that Makya,” Ashley said, grabbing onto his bicep with the hand that wasn’t already hooked into what I hoped was the belt loop and not the pocket of the poor creature who must have been Makya’s friend. “Scout has told me soooo much about you.”

I gave her a What the crap? look. She responded with a Play along or else! glare.

Makya’s smile was feral. “That’s our Scout. Quite the little chatter box.”

Ashley tilted her head back and gave a tinkling laugh which I knew for a fact she practiced just as Bobby placed a fresh glass of booze in front of me. I vowed to give him the entire contents of my wallet as a tip.

“So, you want to dance?”

He had to wait for my reply since I was a little busy guzzling down some alcohol goodness. “Umm…not really,” I said as I wiped my upper-lip. I felt Ashley’s boney elbow dig into my rib. “I meant, I’m not really a very good dancer.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t really—”

Makya’s eyes narrowed. “I want to dance, Scout.” He jerked me against him in a move I hadn’t seen coming. “It’ll be in your best interest to do what I want, Wolf Girl,” he breathed into my ear. “I would hate to have to tell my Packmates about how you broke my heart. They might take exception to you being outside of your territory.”

In my head I called him every single bad name I could think of, including a few I made up on the spot.

“Okay. I’ll dance.”

He pulled back just enough so I could see the smugness bleeding out of every pore on his face. “Don’t make it sound like you’re agreeing to be tortured. My ego is a fragile thing, you know.”

If I dropped his body into the lake near the dam no one would ever find it.

“I would love to dance with you.”

“Better, but I’m going to need a smile, okay?”

Hell no. “This better?” I asked, using every ounce of energy I had to pull up the corners of my mouth. Those people who say it takes more muscles to frown than smile are in serious danger of having their pants catch on fire.

Surprisingly, dancing with Makya wasn’t as bad as I imagined. I’m normally very self-conscious about the whole moving to music thing, but the band was loud and rhythmic and my body seemed to respond of its own accord. Since Makya just danced and didn’t run his stupid mouth, it was almost bearable. That was until the band started playing a song that was less pounding and more sultry. Makya closed the space between us, and soon his hands were attempting to be everywhere at the same time.

I tried to move away and redirect his hands to a more appropriate place, like my waist, but they just couldn’t seem to take a hint. “That’s a no touching zone,” I said as one of his hands brazenly groped my breast.

He ignored me and slid a finger underneath the plunging neckline of my dress. You could barely hear the slap over the band, but I’m certain he felt it.

His face was already turning red. I felt confident he would be sporting a hand-shaped mark on his cheek for at least the remainder of the night. “You bitch!” he growled, already shifting into a boxer stance.

I attempted to do the same, but there was a reason Mike Tyson didn’t wear a dress and heels in the ring.

“Back off,” came a command from over my right shoulder. Even with the multitude of sweaty, alcohol drenched bodies crammed around me, I could smell his familiar cinnamon flavored scent.