get over how she wanted to kiss him and slap him all at the same time.
But what she knew for sure was that she wanted to see him. And she couldn’t explain why.
The rest of the day dragged by. Knowing there was fun later made the minutes tick so slowly, Lexi worried she might go insane with anticipation. After dinner, she washed up and helped her mother out with some chores around the house, her parents going to bed soon after.
And when they were gone, she didn’t waste any time rushing to her room and putting her outfit together. Lexi went with a pair of high-cut jean shorts and a short T-shirt, showing off a strip of her milk-white belly. She did her hair up, painting her lips with ruby-red lipstick.
As she took a look at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t get over how she looked like a woman who wanted to mate—there was nothing modest about her outfit.
When the time came, a grin formed on her lips as she opened the window and slipped out, the evening cool and calm, the moon still bright and full above. A full moon meant shifter energies ran high, and there was something in the air that she could never quite put her finger on.
Lexi closed the window slowly, making sure not to cause any commotion. Then she hurried over the campground, making her way to the barn—and old building mostly used for meetings and storage—and ducking around the back.
Sure enough, Shana and Sam were there waiting for her, the two of them talking and laughing about one thing or another. And they looked close—as in, flirting close.
“Hey!” said Shana as Lexi approached. “There you are!”
“Sorry,” said Lexi. “Had to wait for the parents to get to bed.”
“Doesn’t matter,” said Shana. “I just got a text from Winter in the Leafcutters, she said the party’s already started. You ready?”
Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I guess.”
He’d never really been the partying type, and it was clear he was mostly there because Shana wanted him to be.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing Sam’s arm and giving him a soft push. “You know this’ll be more fun than staying in and playing video games all night or whatever.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Shana gave him one more grin before turning to Lexi.
“Come on—shift and follow me. It isn’t too far away.”
“Ready,” said Lexi, eager to get moving.
The three of them shifted and took off, Shana at the front of the group as they hurried through the woods. Shana was right—the party wasn’t far away. After only a few minutes of running, Lexi spotted a massive bonfire roaring among the trees. She wasn’t sure exactly where they were, but guessed it was somewhere between clan territory.
When they were close enough to hear the music and carrying on of the party, Shana stopped and shifted back, Sam and Lexi doing the same.
“All right,” said Shana as they all regarded the party. “Like I said, everyone’s going to be here.”
“Is that going to be dangerous?” asked Sam. “I mean, some of the clans don’t exactly get along with each other.”
Shana waved her hand dismissively through the air. “Come on—all those rivalries and crap, that’s stuff for the pack elders to worry about. Do you care about any of that shit?”
“Not really,” said Sam.
“Exactly,” said Shana. “And if you ask me, hanging out like this is good for the packs. Imagine if we all were friends instead of constantly fighting over turf or women or whatever. It’d make the woods a hell of a lot more fun.”
“Oh,” said Lexi. “So consider this a diplomacy mission?” She grinned.
“Something like that,” said Shana. “A diplomacy mission where you might get laid.”
“Shana!” said Lexi.
Sam’s face went red, and Lexi noticed his eyes flick over to Shana for a brief moment.
“Come on,” said Shana. “Let’s have some fun.”
The three of them made their way through the rest of the woods, eventually coming out and into the clearing.
The party was huge. Lexi guessed a hundred or so people were there, a massive bonfire in the middle of it all. A live band played rock music, the instruments plugged into a generator. A dozen kegs were there, partygoers filling their red cups, some of them already visibly drunk. That woody, earthy scent of shifters was thick in the air.
“OK,” said Sam. “So what do we do when we’re here?”
“Huh?” asked Shana as she waved to a few people she evidently knew. “What do