Chapter Twenty

I wasn’t any closer to solving the murder by the time Homecoming rolled around. I’d been hitting the research books almost every night. Another full moon had arrived, but both Connor and Vaughn insisted that their pack was on full alert.

Our football team was terrible, but we went to the Homecoming game before the dance anyway. They had been pretty good before Connor had dropped out of sight. He wasn’t the quarterback, but he played some other position where you had to be big and run fast.

I hadn’t thought much about whether he’d return to our football team, but then they announced, “Mahoney, number seven,” and the crowd screamed out their approval.

“Connor’s back on the team?” I asked Vaughn, who sat on one side of me in the bleachers while Skyler sat on the other side.

“They need all the help they can get,” he replied.

Since Connor’s pack went everywhere with him, I wasn’t surprised when they announced Lucas and Beckett’s names, too.

When Connor managed an interception, the crowd roared and started chanting his name. Skyler tried to hide it, but she wore a proud smile as she chanted along with the rest of his fans.

To the crowd’s amazement, our high school football team won by three points.

…

After the game, Skyler and I got ready for the dance at my house.

“What about the tickets?”

“Already taken care of,” she replied. My dresser was covered with makeup, with Skyler’s collection taking up the greater portion of it.

I wore the purple dress Granny had helped me pick out. I kept staring at myself in the mirror.

Skyler’s dress was sunshine yellow. She wore four-inch heeled sandals with it, and her dark hair was flat-ironed and shiny.

“I’m glad I’m not a real vampire,” I said, studying the two of us in the mirror, “or I wouldn’t be able to see my reflection, and even I have to admit, we look good.”

There was a knock on my door. “Connor and Vaughn are here,” Granny said. “You girls decent?”

“We’ll be right out,” Skyler said. She primped in the mirror, and I couldn’t resist teasing her.

“Just friends, huh?”

We headed for the living room. “That was before,” Skyler said.

“What was before?” Vaughn lounged in the doorway, looking handsome in a black suit with a gray shirt. His eyes met mine.

“You look amazing,” he said.

“Thanks,” Skyler said, giggling.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he said teasingly.

“I know,” she replied. “But I do look good.” She spun around, her skirt twirling.

Vaughn finally tore his eyes away from me. “You look nice, too, Skyler,” he said.

“Are you guys ready to go?” Connor asked. Vaughn nudged him, and he added, “Tansy, Skyler, you both look beautiful.”

Skyler stuck her nose in the air. “Compliments don’t count if they’re forced.” Connor handed her a corsage, and she allowed him to slide it onto her wrist before she linked arms with me. The guys trailed behind us.

Skyler said, “The answer is before I decided to make him regret leaving.”

I looked at her blankly but then remembered my just-friends question. “I think he already does,” I told her.

Her face went fierce. “Not enough.”

Skyler and Vaughn fought over who would drive, but Vaughn won when he said, “Your convertible’s too small for the four of us.”

Skyler finally gave in and climbed into the backseat of Vaughn’s car before Connor could open the door for her.

Once we were on our way, she said, “Christian asked me to save a dance for him.”

I turned around and raised my eyebrow at Skyler.

Connor let out a low growl, but Skyler ignored him. My best friend knew how to hold a grudge, and he’d better be prepared to beg if he wanted to have a chance with her again.

I hesitated. “Christian was acting kind of weird in detention the other day.”

“Weird how?”

“He was being a little more aggressive than usual,” I commented.

“Everyone always thinks werewolves are aggressive,” Connor said. “But it’s usually the vampires starting shit.”

“Christian’s human,” I said. But the Thirsty Thieves’ music seemed to bring out something toxic in their fans. The band was up to their old tricks.

She shrugged. “It’s just a dance. It’s not a date.”

“Of course it’s not a date,” Connor said. “You’re with me.”

“As friends,” she reminded him.

“We’ll see,” he replied.

My best friend had been through a lot. We all had. Maybe the dance would give us a chance to have fun and be normal teenagers for a little while, even though tomorrow, I’d still be queen of the vampires on the hunt for a werewolf killer.

We walked into the gym, which was decorated in our school colors of blue and gold. Haybales and a fake pitchfork were scattered by the photo booth. There were instruments on the stage, but no one was playing them. Instead, someone’s phone had been put to use, and Shawn Mendes sang about mercy. We were early enough that there were only a few couples swaying on the dance floor.

“I wonder what band is performing,” Vaughn said. There was a poster in front of the stage with the band’s name on it, so we went over to check it out.

“I don’t frickin’ believe it,” Skyler hissed.

“What?” I asked.

“The Thirsty Thieves?” she said.

Vaughn and I exchanged looks.

“I saw a bite mark on Christian when we were in detention, and his personality has gone from decent to dickish.” A cold shiver was working its way up my spine.

“They booked a band of vampires for Homecoming,” Vaughn told me. “And the whole pack is at the dance.”

“This is going to be bad.” I narrowed my eyes. “I can’t believe he’d come anywhere near me,” I said. I touched the scar on my face, trying not to remember the pain I’d experienced from Travis’s vampire fire.

“He’s probably pissed off that you own all his stuff,” Vaughn said.

“Not all of it,” I said. “They still have their instruments and their tour bus.”

“He’s used to his dad paying for everything,” Vaughn added.

Connor’s gaze went from Vaughn to me to Skyler. “I’m missing something,” he said slowly. Skyler obviously still hadn’t told him about what had happened to her when she followed the band.

She avoided his gaze. “I see Marcus didn’t bring a date. I’m asking him to dance.” With a little wave, she made a beeline away from the conversation. Connor watched her go with a pained look on his face, and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

He watched them talking and laughing for a minute before he grunted something and disappeared.

Christian walked up to us, carrying a clipboard. “Hi, Vaughn, Tansy.”

Vaughn tugged me closer. “Hey, Christian,” he said. “The gym looks good.”

“Thanks,” he said. “And the best news is that Thirsty Thieves is performing.”

I gave him a polite smile. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Later, Tansy,” he said. “I have to go see if the band needs anything. They’re supposed to perform soon.” He bustled off. I stared after him. Christian hadn’t been aggressive or hostile. Maybe he’d just been having a bad day? Even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t true.

The band hadn’t set up yet, so we sat at a table the farthest from the speakers.

My jaw dropped when I saw Rose and Lucas walk in, arm-in-arm. I nudged Vaughn. “When did that happen?”

Right behind them was Thorn with Beckett and Xavier on either side of her.

“And that,” I said. My boyfriend just shrugged.

They spotted us and came over. “Where’s Connor?” Lucas asked, but I noticed he pulled a chair out for Rose before he sat. So he did have manners when he wanted to.

Thorn sat in between Beckett and Xavier, smiling widely at something Xavier said.

Xavier picked up her hand and examined it. “That’s a pretty bad scar,” he told her. “I have some lotion that will help.”

“Xavier’s our Boy Scout. Always prepared,” Beckett teased, a flirty smile on his face. I just couldn’t tell who he was flirting with, Xavier or Thorn.

Someone turned up the volume on the music, and Vaughn said something I couldn’t hear to the guys. Then they all stood. He pressed a brief kiss to my forehead. “We’ll be right back.”

…

But the guys weren’t right back. At least half an hour passed before Thorn said, “This blows. C’mon, let’s dance.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I said, but then the music stopped. Maybe the battery of the phone they’d been using died. Christian and Skyler came over. She was breathless and glowing from dancing, but I noticed her eyes went to where Connor had been.

“Where’d your dates go?” he asked. Then he started chuckling. “Not too smart of them to leave you girls all alone and unprotected.”

Thorn looked like she wanted to tell him to shove his misogyny right up his ass but instead used a form of non-verbal communication and flipped him off. It didn’t seem to faze him.

Christian’s gaze went from Rose to Thorn to Skyler and then me. “I’d like to taste the rainbow,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, but then I realized we were standing in a line and our dresses were the colors of the rainbow—red, green, yellow, and purple.

Sky caught on, too. “Not even in your dreams, Christian,” she snapped.

“Shut up, Bleeder,” he said.

“What did you just call her?” I asked.

“I’d move along now if I were you.” Connor’s cold voice was clear. He and the rest of the guys had finally returned.

Even Christian wasn’t reckless enough to take Connor on, and he said a quick, “Oh, I see someone I need to talk to.”

I raised a where have you been eyebrow at my boyfriend, and he mouthed a sorry. He’d been saying that a lot lately. He’d avoided explaining his behavior, which left me uneasy. And, if I were honest, a little insecure.

“Are you guys the reason the band hasn’t shown up yet?” I asked Vaughn.

The guys in the pack all grinned at me.

“What did you do?” I wasn’t prepared for a fight in the middle of the Homecoming dance.

“Relax,” Lucas said. “We didn’t hurt the suckers.”

“While the vampires were occupied with their fans, we filled their tour bus with water balloons,” Connor said.

“Okay, that seems harmless,” I said. “If it had been diet soda, they would have been ready to tear you apart.”

“They’re not particularly fond of holy water, either,” Beckett said. Even Xavier snickered at that. I didn’t ask where they’d managed to find enough holy water to fill a tour bus.

“Or any water really,” Vaughn added.

“The only liquid they like is blood,” Connor said. Skyler flinched, and his eyes met hers. “What did I say?”

“Nothing,” she said.

“Maybe we should leave,” I suggested. It wasn’t that I thought Travis would ever try to compel my best friend again, but it had to be hard on her to keep seeing him.

“We’re not leaving,” Skyler said. “He took enough. He’s not going to take this, too.”

I wrapped an arm around her. “Okay, we’ll stay.”

The band took the stage, and Christian shouldered his way to the front. I noticed he was joined by a couple of other guys from our class. What was it about musicians?

“Let’s dance,” Skyler said, and our entire group went onto the dance floor, even Lucas. Connor wrapped his arms around Skyler, and she put her arms around his neck. He whispered something into her ear, and she turned red but then nodded.

There was some grumbling at first, but since the band played mostly slow songs, the complaints stopped. I spent nearly an hour swaying in Vaughn’s arms.

“Thanks for coming with me to the dance,” Vaughn said.

“I’m having fun,” I replied. “It’s nice to have a normal night, even with the Thirsty Thieves showing up.”

“The band’s not so bad,” he said.

I stopped dancing and stared at him.

He started laughing. “Kidding.”

I slid my fingers to his ribs and started tickling him. I knew all his weak spots.

“Truce,” he finally said, gasping out a laugh.

“What’s that on his lip? A hairy caterpillar?” I asked. Travis wore a black cowboy hat, skintight Levi’s, and a white satin shirt with way too many buttons popped open. Black cowboy boots completed the ensemble.

He kept shifting back and forth like the probably brand-new boots hurt his feet. I listened for the sounds of compulsion in the music, but I didn’t hear any.

I relaxed and decided to enjoy myself. Snuggling up to Vaughn for a few hours wasn’t the worst way to spend a night.

“I think Skyler and Connor are going to get back together,” Vaughn said.

I gaped at him. “He iced her out. Ghosted her. Broke her heart.” It could be said that Vaughn had done two out of the three things on the list to me. I hoped he wouldn’t make it a trifecta.

“Yeah, but he has his head out of his ass now.”

Skyler bounced up to us, breathless and sweaty. “Isn’t this fun?” She wasn’t letting Travis and company ruin her night.

“It is,” I said.

“Christian’s having an afterparty,” Skyler said.

Christian’s personality had done a complete one-eighty. I could barely stand him now, but I had a feeling it had something to do with his new favorite band. It wouldn’t hurt to go to the party and watch them.

I looked at Vaughn. “You up for it?”

“Why not?” he replied.

Then the lights went on and teachers and chaperones started to herd people toward the exits. Vaughn tugged on my hand. “C’mon,” he said.

When I glanced back, the band was surrounded by several guys. Christian fist-bumped Travis before the two of them headed backstage. The Thirsty Thieves and their new fans were going to be a problem. I knew it.