Flight

“She did more than that. She transferred schools, changed her number and everything.”

“Oh, geez.”

“Yeah, he was crushed and never really got over it. I think he was worried you would do the same thing to Levi.”

“Oh… So I understand him not wanting to be with another human, but why not date a Pteron? Wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

“Uh, we’re not exactly encouraged to date our own. Plus, there aren’t too many girls.”

“Why aren’t you supposed to date each other?”

She peeked over hesitantly. “Well, dating would be fine, but we aren’t supposed to get serious and Owen wants serious. But anyway, it’s about keeping some variation in the gene pool. It’s supposed to keep us stronger. The Pteron gene is 100% dominant so as long as one partner is a Pteron, your kids will be.”

“Oh. Great.” I wasn’t sure what to make of the genetics talk, but I appreciated Hailey being open with me.

“So why doesn’t he just date other shifters then?”

Hailey laughed dryly. “That’s seen as the worse affront possible.”

“Wait, so you are encouraged to date humans but not other shifters?”

“Yeah. It’s considered dating down. Humans are like a blank slate, whereas other supernaturals are considered tainted. Don’t ask.”

“Okay…” I decided not to press further and tried to steer us back to a safer topic. “So where are we going exactly?” I looked down at my tank and short jean skirt, glad that Hailey was dressed similarly. I wasn’t quite sure what to wear to a shifter party.

“It’s at a warehouse on Tchoupitoulas street.”

“Say that again.”

Hailey laughed. “Chop-a-too-lus.” She exaggerated the phonetic syllables of the word. “Try saying that five times fast.”

I smiled. “No thanks. I’ve never been to a warehouse party before, but then again I’ve never been to a party with shifters either, so I guess the location is the less important part.”

“It should be fun. These things are usually pretty entertaining.”

“Who’s throwing this party anyway?”

Hailey parked. “Just a couple of Weres I know.”

“Weres? Wait, like werewolves?”

“Yeah. And just follow my lead.” Hailey got out of the car, slamming her door behind her. I hopped out and we walked up towards a large abandoned building. I didn’t say anything, but the whole thing had me a little nervous.

Hailey led us to a doorway and I stopped short when I noticed two large guys standing on either side like bouncers.

“Code,” one boomed while simultaneously checking us out. The other guy didn’t even acknowledge us.

“Howling wolf,” Hailey said evenly. If I wasn’t so nervous the password would have made me laugh.

“Head on up.”

“Come on.” She grabbed my hand and we moved inside and into an industrial elevator. Pulling the grate down, she gave me an encouraging grin. “Let’s do this.”

I could feel the beat of the music as Hailey pulled up the grate when the elevator reached the top floor. We took a short flight of stairs to the roof. We could now hear, as well as feel, the loud dance music as we stepped out. Strands of lights illuminated the roof, giving it a warm feel I wasn’t expecting. After a quick glance at each other, we moved into the crowd of dancers.

We danced with each other for a while, laughing as a few guys made a ridiculous attempt at break dancing.

“All right, I need a rest,” Hailey said after several songs, walking away from the crowd. I followed; glad I had decided to come with her. There was something fun about going to a party where you knew no one. So much less pressure and work.

“Hailey?” A couple of guys headed toward us.

“Hey, Jason.” Hailey smiled at a guy around our age with light brown hair.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“Yeah, there wasn’t much else going on,” she said nonchalantly. “This is my friend, Allie.”

“Hey, Allie, nice to meet you.” Jason reached out his hand, but it was quickly pushed away by his friend.

“Hi Allie, I’m C.J. Welcome to our party. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.” With spiky black hair, a sports coat and a pair of Chuck Taylors, C.J. was like a walking contradiction. I had a feeling he thought it was part of his charm.

“She’s from New York,” Hailey interrupted.

“Ah, trading up are you?” C.J. asked. I wasn’t sure what he was asking, so I looked over at Hailey for help and she nodded.

“Yeah, I needed a change.”

“I get it. You wanted to check out some new stomping grounds, or I guess skies.” He gave me a flirtatious smile and it hit me; he thought I was a Pteron. I smiled back at him, pretty happy about his assumption. It wasn’t a bad thing if guys thought you were super-strong and able to fly.

“Want to dance?” C.J. asked, gesturing to the swelling crowd.

“Umm, I think I’m going to get a drink,” I replied, trying not to hurt the guy’s ego, but I wasn’t interested.

“All right, let’s get some drinks then.” He reached to grab my arm and I stepped away. If he had been a regular guy I would have made my feelings clear, but the knowledge that he was actually a werewolf made me rein in my temper.

“Great. Hailey, you want to come?”

Half expecting Hailey to pull a Jess and ditch me for the guy she was talking to, I was pleasantly surprised by her response. “Definitely, we do everything together.”

Trying to make sure he understood Hailey’s implication, C.J. just stared after us as we slipped away arm in arm.

“Nice one.” I laughed.

“Yeah, he seemed like a clinger.”

“So, can they really not tell?” I asked, hoping she got what I was actually asking.

“Nope. You can only sense a Pteron when we shift.”

“Oh. I guess I was thinking there was a scent or something.”

“A scent? Nope, I mean what would a crow smell like?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, a bird?”

Hailey laughed.

After grabbing some drinks, we decided to dance again, and I groaned inwardly when C.J. and Jason caught up with us. I didn’t push to lose them again because Hailey seemed to like Jason enough, but I wasn’t so gentle removing C.J.’s hands from my waist the second time.