Chapter 1

Zahra's POV

Bass shakes the floor beneath my heels, heavy enough to vibrate through my ribs. Bodies move like a single creature under the flashing lights, sweat and perfume thick in the air. I can smell other shifters even through the haze of alcohol and humanity. The university’s shifter presence is small, but not small enough to miss.

Corinne tosses her blonde curls and laughs, her hand wrapped around mine as she pulls me deeper into the crowd. “You need to loosen up, Zoe! You’ve been studying too hard this semester.”

I grin despite myself. “That’s literally what we’re here for.”

She rolls her eyes, Talia and Evie, snort beside her, Briar, leans down to shout over the music. “You can do both. Study and party. It’s called being a student—like the rest of us.”

I lift my hands in surrender. “Fine. But if I fall asleep in my lecture tomorrow, I’m blaming you four.”

Talia winks and spins into the lights, hips moving in time with the pounding beat. I can feel the pull of it too—the rhythm settling into my blood. I have never been in a nightclub before. I think I’ve only danced once in my life, years ago at that ball. But never like this. Not with this much noise, heat, and the press of bodies everywhere.

It’s overwhelming and liberating all at once. People move like they’ve forgotten what space is, bodies grinding together without shame. I watch, a little horrified, as a guy slides his hand up some poor girl’s skirt.

‘She doesn’t seem to mind,’ Zanthe murmurs.

I look, again, trying to work out what’s going on, the girl does seem to not be hating it, but... 

“Is he—?” I can’t even finish the sentence.

Corinne and Talia follow my line of sight and burst out laughing.

“I forget how inexperienced you are sometimes, Zoe,” Talia says between giggles. “He’s fingering her.”

“Fingering her what?” The words come out too loud, but I’m genuinely confused. It now looks like she’s in pain. Why isn’t she pushing him away?

“He’s flicking her bean,” Evie yells, laughing so hard she nearly doubles over.

I blink at her, completely lost. Maybe those shots back at the dorm weren’t a good idea. I still have no idea what she’s talking about.

Briar takes pity on me. “He’s touching her clit,” she says, leaning closer so I can hear. “You know—stimulating her.”

She laughs when my face must make it obvious I still don’t understand. Then she leans in even closer, her lips brushing my ear as she whispers, “If you rub your finger over your clit, it will feel good, and if you keep going, you’ll orgasm.”

“What’s that?” I ask just as the girl on the dance floor convulses and sags against the guy before he spins her around and kisses her messily.

“That’s an orgasm,” Briar says, her tone amused and loud enough for me to hear over the music.

“It looks awful,” I say flatly.

“Trust me, it’s not. You should give it a go sometime.” She flashes me a wink, and the others burst into laughter.

‘Zahra, are you there? Why is your link closed?’ Shit. Edwardo sounds unimpressed.

‘Sorry, Ed. We’ve arrived. Making our way to the bar now.’ My face heats at the idea that they would have heard that entire conversation. Fuck. I need to be more professional.

Corinne leads us over to a booth near the edge of the dance floor. It’s fractionally quieter here, but not by much. The other booths are packed with people drinking, laughing, and enjoying the night.

Briar flags down a waitress as we slide into the seats. I have no idea what she orders, but I hope there’s at least water in the mix.

“Are you telling me you’re a complete virgin?” Evie asks suddenly, eyes wide with disbelief. “Like never done anything at all? Completely innocent?”

I groan internally. Fuck. They all heard that for sure. My link is wide open now.

I squirm in my seat. “What?!” Talia shrieks. “Like nothing at all?”

I grimace, feeling my face flame. Great. Fucking great.

I squirm in my seat. “What?!” Talia shrieks. “Like nothing at all?”

I grimace, feeling my face flame. “Well, my ex-boyfriend and I did some stuff, but I can’t say I ever enjoyed it.” No, I definitely didn’t enjoy the way he touched me. Or forced me to touch him. Especially not—no, don’t go there right now. My stomach twists at the memory.

“What do you mean? Have you ever had an orgasm?” Evie asks. Fuck, she really has no filter.

“I don’t know,” I say, with a small shake of my head, cringing internally. Fuck my life. Literally everyone I work with is listening to this. I hear a few cleared throats through the mind link—because apparently that’s a thing people do inside their heads now.

“Trust me, you’d know,” Corinne says, grinning. “Haven’t you ever touched yourself?”

I clear my throat, shifting uncomfortably again. “No. And as I said, nothing ever felt good, so I wasn’t about to try it on my own. I’ve never had the inclination.”

They’re all staring at me now, eyebrows raised. “And you’re nineteen?” Talia says, her mouth practically hanging open. “Oh honey, we need to fix that right now.” She glances around.

“What are you doing?” I ask, worry pinching my gut.

“Looking for a suitable guy to rectify your little situation.”

“I don’t have a ‘situation,’ and I’m not going off with some random guy.”

“You most definitely have a situation. I’ve never heard of anyone getting over the age of fifteen without having a sexual awakening. This is so dire, I’m even considering fingering you myself right here.” Briar snorts so hard I swear I see snot fly across the table, and the others start laughing too. My face burns.

Thankfully, I’m saved by the waitress returning with a tub of ice, bottled water, and a bottle of champagne. She pours our glasses before heading off again.

“Well, cheers ladies. Here’s to helping Zoe pop her O-cherry tonight,” Evie toasts, and the others clink glasses, laughing.

“Fuck that, I’m going to make it my mission to help you lose your V plates!” Talia practically yells. Corinne snort-laughs again. Great. I’m sure the entire club heard that

Talia and Evie don’t understand mates. As humans, it’s a completely foreign concept to them, and I can’t exactly tell them I’m saving myself for my soulmate. They’d check me straight into a mental asylum. But Briar and Corinne get it. Not that either of them waited, but they understand why I want to. I hope they’ll help keep the others off my back.

The mind link is quiet, but I know they’re all listening in. The bunch of gossips.

‘Zahra, I’m in position. Nine o’clock. I have eyes on your group.’ I quickly scan the room as I take a sip and spot Gavin leaning on the railing at the edge of the dance floor across from our table.

‘Zahra, I’m in position. Twelve o’clock. I have eyes on your group,’ Lance’s voice follows through the link. I give him a subtle nod when I clock him. Hayley and Morgan check in next, their positions spread around the club—Morgan at the bar, Hayley near the toilets. We’re all in position and good to go.

The girls and I chatter and laugh. They’re now expanding on how they all lost their virginity and to whom, how many guys they’ve slept with. It’s a shocker, honestly. I know it’s rare to save yourself, but they’ve all had several partners—and in Talia’s case, she’s into double digits.

Zanthe lets out a happy hum in the back of my mind. ‘We missed out on this. It’s nice to have some time to be normal.’

‘I guess so. I’m enjoying being at college instead of training all the time and studying online. It’s nice to be a teenager for once,’ I admit. And if it weren’t for the missing girls, I might have actually enjoyed it more.

The waitress returns with a tray of shots I didn’t even know had been ordered—way too many of them. Unless I want Talia and Evie to be comatose before too long, Corrine, Briar, and I are going to have to do at least three each. Fuck.

I down the clear liquid and nearly gag at the taste. ‘Fuck, I wouldn’t mind missing out on this part though!’ Zanthe just scoffs.

‘I’ll burn it off quickly. You’ll barely feel the effects.’

“What the fuck was that?” I ask Corrine over the music, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

“Vodka,” she shouts back, giggling at my expression.

“Come on, let’s dance.” She grabs my hand, as well as Talia’s, and we all push onto the packed, writhing dance floor. The beat of the music is so heavy I feel it in my bones, my whole body vibrating along with it. Combined with the faint buzz from the shots, and Champagne, I start to relax.

Corrine and Evie flank me while the others move in front, forming a loose circle. I watch as they swing their hips in perfect time to the music, their movements fluid and confident. I try to copy, but it feels awkward and stiff. Evie steps behind me, her hands firm on my hips, guiding me in rhythm with hers. It helps, and even though it’s weird, once I let my core loosen and follow the beat, my hips start to sway more naturally. I think I’m actually getting it.

“Yay! you've got this” she yells in my ear before stepping back beside me. Briar flashes me a thumbs-up as I keep swaying, and I relax even more. Fuck, I’m dancing. And it feels so damn freeing. I actually love it.