I touched the answer button on my cell and said, “Hello, William.”“Hey, Daisy,” William said. “I hope you’re not busy.”I softly sighed. “Not at all. Victor was giving me a dance lesson, but we’re on a break now.”“Oh, great,” William said. “Your ball is almost here. I bet you’re excited.”“Yeah, I am. I just bought my gown today. I can’t wait to wear it.” I couldn’t believe I was having this casual conversation with William after the kiss with Victor.“That’s great. I can’t wait to see you wearing it,” William said. “I know you're busy, but I was wondering if you have time to see a movie tomorrow after school?”“A movie,” I repeated.“Yeah, I’ve got three tickets to ‘The Battle of Granger.’ It was about the biggest battle of the Werewolf Civil War, and you love history more than anyone I know.”“It sounds great,” I said, but my mind was still on Victor and the kiss.“Since I have three tickets, you can bring somebody with you,” William offered.“Hold on a minute,” I said and hit the

Alex waved and smiled as we got out of the Mustang.I hurried to his side, put my arms around his neck, and kissed him on his cheek. Was it my imagination, or did he look more frail today than before?But his voice was still strong. “I came outside to get some air. William, it’s good to see you. Cook will have dinner ready in about an hour. Why don’t you stay and eat?”“I’d love that, sir,” William said. It had been a few hours since we had the steak tartare, and I was sure William would be able to eat again.“Good. Let’s go into the house and get comfortable,” Alex said and started inside. “We’ll get Benson to serve us a cold drink in the living room.”I took Alex’s arm, and the three of us made our way to the living room. We got comfortable on the plush furniture, andBenson brought us glasses of cold sparkling grape juice.“So, how was the movie, you two?” Alex asked.I knew Alex enjoyed history. There were many books in the library near my room from different periods of the past.

Victor and Adam’s POVExplaining to Daisy what it was like to shift caused an intense craving to be in my wolf form. It brought back the pleasant memories of running freely through the darkness with the other night creatures.I left the living room and Daisy before I couldn’t control the shift any longer. After running out of the living room, I left the house at the side entrance, shedding my clothing along the way.I ran into no one, and as soon as I cleared the house, my body morphed into its wolf form. I could feel Adam’s delight to be unrestrained once again.“Do you smell them?” Adam asked me. “There is a large nest of rabbits nearby.”I breathed deeply and detected the family of rabbits, but my sensitive nose caught the scent of larger prey in the nearby woods.“Let’s go,” Adam urged me. “It’s been a long time since we’ve feasted upon a fresh kill.”I gave in to my instincts and ran. It was a joy to run like the wind over the high grasses. Adam and I raced across the fields and

“This was the last day of school before your ball,” Victor said as he held the Lamborghini's door for me. “Are you excited?”“Excited and nervous,” I replied. “My hands start shaking whenever I think about it.” I held them up to show him I was serious.My mind kept imagining the worst-case scenarios that could happen at my ball. I knew I was letting my anxiety get the best of me, but it was hard to turn it off.“Relax, you’re going to be fine,” Victor assured me. “You know all the dances, and you do them very well. Best of all, you have a gorgeous gown to wear while doing the tango with William.”“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Victor added reassuringly. “Your father and I will be there to watch over you. And you will have your best friend, Amy, there too.”“I can’t wait to wear my gown.” I smiled just thinking about it. “And Amy is spending the whole day with me tomorrow to start getting ready. We’re having our own spa day and having ‘the works’ done to us.”“That sounds like

Amy went home after breakfast. I missed her as soon as she went out the door. After watching her drive away, I wandered around the mansion, looking for something to do.Due to a staff development day, there was no school, and there were no more dance lessons with Victor to fill my afternoon.The music room didn’t hold much interest for me since I played no instruments, and the gaming room wasn’t much fun alone. I was bored within an hour.Next, I went to the ballroom and listened to my footsteps echo through the ginormous empty room.I stopped near the fireplace and studied my parents' portrait for several moments before I blew my mother a kiss. My father said she chose every detail of the room, and this was the place I felt the most connected to her.Alex told me that she loved to dance and often came to this room alone to practice. So I tried it.Envisioning myself dancing with Victor, I waltzed around the dance floor, my arms raised as if I were holding onto an invisible partner.I