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The Luptons

My shoulders knotted as I watched the three werewolves approach.

“Wasn’t one of them supposed to become Samuel’s fiancée?” Bo asked in a stage-loud whisper.

“The discussions never progressed that far,” Caroline murmured.

The Luptons stopped at our table.

Victoria addressed the middle-aged werewolf with a stiff nod. “Danielle. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Victoria.” Danielle Lupton’s smile was razor-sharp. “We were in the neighborhood.” Her gaze shifted briefly to the other side of the salon. “Priscilla invited us.”

Her daughters exchanged amused glances at her tone.

Danielle’s gaze landed on me, her expression inscrutable. “I take it you are the famous new luna we’ve been hearing rumors about.”

I held her eyes unflinchingly. “Hi, I’m Abigail West.” I paused. “Everyone calls me Abby.” I offered her my hand impulsively.

Caroline drew a sharp breath.

The noise level in the salon dropped to an expectant hush.

Surprise flared briefly in Danielle’s eyes. She recovered her composure and graciously shook my hand. “It’s nice to meet you…Abby.”

“Don’t mind Mother,” one of the Lupton sisters said with a smile. “It takes a while for her to warm to new people. I can already tell she likes you.”

Danielle cut her eyes to her daughter.

The latter shrugged. “What? It’s true. Everyone in our pack calls you the Fluffy Rottweiler.”

Martha choked on her tea. Caroline muffled a snort into her napkin.

Danielle sighed, not at all unfazed by the revelation of her unflattering nickname. “These are my daughters, Lauren and Beatrice.”

Lauren was the one who’d spoken and looked to be the older sister. She was dressed entirely in black and had purple streaks in her hair. Multiple silver rings adorned her fingers and a skull pendant hung around her neck.

She looked like she belonged at a heavy metal concert rather than a fancy tea party.

Beatrice was her complete opposite. The younger sister wore a designer outfit in pastel pink and had started filming the salon with her phone.

“This is going to get so many likes,” she enthused. “My followers love supernatural tea drama.”

“Bea,” Lauren drawled. “Put the phone away before Mother has an aneurysm.”

A vein had started throbbing in Danielle’s temple. Victoria gave her a sympathetic look.

“But my fans—” Beatrice protested.

“Can wait.” Lauren’s dark lips curved as she observed me. “I gotta say, you’re not at all what I anticipated.”

“I’m not?” I asked warily.

“Nope. I always thought Samuel’s mate would be as stuck up as he is. After all, the guy acts like he permanently has a stick up his ass.”

Victoria and Caroline narrowed their eyes slightly.

“I’m trying my best to remove it,” I said bluntly.

Victoria and Caroline gasped and gave me hurt looks.

I crossed my arms defiantly. “You both know it’s true.”

Lauren burst out laughing, the sound echoing around the salon. Bea and Danielle seemed shocked at the sight.

“I like you,” Lauren chortled, wiping her eyes. “Mind if Bea and I sit here?” She dropped into an empty chair without waiting for a reply, her sister following suit. “Mother’s going to catch up with her old friends.” Her grin widened. “And by catch up, I mean engage in passive-aggressive warfare.”

I found myself smiling back.

“Lauren!” Danielle said sharply.

“What?” Lauren’s expression turned innocent. “I’m just stating facts.”

Danielle lowered her brows. “You do know I’m the luna of our pack, right?”

Lauren shrugged. “And I’m your top enforcer. Now, why don’t you be a dear and go over to Priscilla’s table? Isobel looks like she’s about to fall out of her chair with curiosity.”

Danielle’s shoulders slumped. She addressed the table. “I apologize in advance if my daughters say anything to upset you.”

“I’m sure they won’t,” Victoria said diplomatically.

Danielle excused herself and left.

“By the way, I heard what you said to Helen the other day,” Lauren said as a waiter poured her and her sister tea. “That woman needed someone to take her down a peg or ten.”

The rumor mill in Amberford was a scary thing.

“Is it true you threatened to punch her in the throat?” Beatrice asked carefully.

“It was a manner of speech,” I half protested.

“No, it wasn’t,” Bo said.

Lauren and Beatrice stared at my dog.

Lauren arched an eyebrow. “He talks?”

“I’m Abby’s dog.” Bo preened a little. “And Pearl’s friend.”

Pearl flicked her tail in a pleased manner at this.

I grimaced. “We think he might have werewolf blood in his ancestry.”

“Which part?” Bea asked warily.

I noticed a pair of vampires rise and start to make their way to our table. A witch followed at a leisurely pace. I straightened, Caroline and Victoria growing similarly alert beside me.

They’d warned me that this would happen. No one could ignore a new luna, let alone a white wolf. As such, the leaders of the various supernatural factions in Amberford were bound to pay their respect to me.

The afternoon progressed with most of the assembled socialites coming over to officially meet me. Though I sensed wariness and hostility from some, the majority seemed merely curious.

Everyone having finally done their duty, the subtle tension in the salon gradually abated. I started to relax.

“You did well,” Victoria said quietly.

“Yeah.” Lauren grinned. “Shame no one did anything that warranted a punch in the throat.”

Caroline chuckled.

Beatrice looked disappointed at the lack of social-media-worthy drama.

I sighed, gave Bo a muffin, and decided I might as well enjoy the rest of the tea party.

I was in the middle of explaining to Lauren and Beatrice how I’d ended up as a werewolf when my skin prickled with awareness. A hush fell over the salon.

My breath caught when I looked toward the entrance.

Samuel cut an arresting figure as he crossed the floor to our table, his dark suit molded to his muscular physique in a way that made my inner wolf stand to attention and pant.

He stopped at our table and leaned down to kiss my cheek, his eyes smoldering behind his designer specs. “You look beautiful.”

I managed a strangled greeting.

Victoria stared at her son as he took a seat. “I thought you had somewhere to be.”

“I rescheduled.” His gaze found mine, the mate bond humming between us. “I love what you’ve done with your hair.”

My cheeks grew warm. “Thanks. Caroline helped.”

I wasn’t going to admit to him that she’d used products from the Moon Shine: Extra Glossy Coat range to tame my locks.

Samuel’s expression cooled as he gazed at the Lupton sisters. “I’m surprised to see you two here.”

Lauren’s smile turned sharp. “Why, if it isn’t my favorite stick-in-the-mud.”

Beatrice sighed at the hostile sparks between Samuel and Lauren. Caroline bit into a sandwich, her avid gaze swinging between the pair like she was at a tennis match.

“So Lauren is the chick he was originally supposed to get engaged to?” Bo whispered to Pearl.

“Yes.” Pearl wrinkled her nose. “Although I doubt they would have made it down the aisle without killing each other or burning the church down.”

Samuel and Lauren pretended not to hear her.

“Still working too hard?” Lauren asked sweetly.

“Still terrorizing innocent civilians?” Samuel countered.

“Only the ones who deserve it.”

“Here we go again,” Beatrice muttered.

Caroline grinned.

“Abby here was just telling me she was trying her best to remove the stick permanently wedged up your ass,” Lauren told Samuel silkily.

“Unlike you, Abby can do whatever she wants to my ass,” he retorted smoothly.

I choked on a macaron. Martha and Felicity sucked in air with shocked delight. Victoria looked like she was contemplating fainting. Caroline wheezed behind her napkin, eyes crunched up and shoulders trembling.

Bo looked at me cautiously. “I wonder if Ellie knows you’re into butt-play.”

Caroline’s wheezing got worse.

I groaned and pushed away from the table. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” I was halfway across the salon when I realized my dog was following me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m your bodyguard, remember?” Bo said.

I’d forgotten Victoria and Caroline had assigned him the role with strict instructions to howl like a banshee if I got into any trouble at today’s tea party.

A waiter guided us to the closest facilities.

The place was exactly what I’d expect from the luxury hotel. The walls were covered in deep burgundy silk damask wallpaper and decorated with gilt-framed mirrors. The marble floor had been laid in an intricate pattern of black and white diamonds. Crystal wall sconces cast a warm light over the gleaming antique fixtures.

Even the toilet stalls were fancy, their brass hardware polished to a mirror shine.

“This bathroom is nicer than our apartment,” Bo commented, his paws clicking on the marble floor.

“You’re not planning to follow me into a stall, are you?” I asked suspiciously.

“What and watch you poop?” Bo huffed indignantly.

I was eyeing a discrete sign requesting that werewolf guests please refrain from marking territory when Helen emerged from one of the stalls. She paused at the sight of me, her mouth pressing to a thin line.

“This is the ladies’ room,” she said pointedly, glaring at Bo.

“Luckily he identifies as a service dog,” I said sweetly.

Bo embraced the blatant lie and straightened proudly. “I’m here to make sure Abby doesn’t suffer from constipation.”

Helen made a disgusted sound and went over to a sink. I waited until she’d washed her hands and left before using the facilities.

“Did you poop okay?” Bo asked when I came out of the stall.

I swallowed a sigh and hoped Pearl’s etiquette lessons cured my dog of his sassiness.

We’d just stepped out of the restroom when a scent danced under my nostrils. I stiffened, instantly recognizing it.

“Bo, can you smell that?” I said tensely.

My dog was staring at a door opposite where we stood. “It’s coming from over there!”

We bolted through the door and found ourselves on the castle grounds.

The scent grew stronger. With it came a tang of magic that raised goosebumps on my skin. We moved swiftly along a stone path, our breaths misting in the cold air as we followed Wheeler’s trail. It wound through manicured gardens dotted with stone benches and ornate fountains and led us toward the forest backing the castle grounds.

We lost Wheeler’s scent at the tree line.

“He was definitely here,” Bo said, nose to the ground. He looked up and whined in frustration.

I stroked his head, equally annoyed. My skin prickled uncomfortably.

That strange magic I’d felt earlier was stronger out here.

“Let’s head back,” I said reluctantly.

We took a different route and emerged in a rose garden. We’d just come in view of a door when movement caught my eye. Bo stiffened beside me, ears pricking.

A figure was rushing around the side of the castle, her back to us.

It was a woman wearing a dark dress. My pulse quickened as I tracked the direction she was running from.

She’d come from the forest.

The woman disappeared before we could go after her.

“Wasn’t that—” Bo started.

“Come on!”

We hurried back inside the castle and made for the salon. I scanned the room as we entered it, my pulse racing. Priscilla and Isobel sat at their table, deep in conversation with Danielle Lupton.

I headed over to where Samuel and Lauren were still trading barbs.

“Did Priscilla or Isobel leave the salon at all?”

They both looked up, startled by my urgent tone.

“No,” Lauren said. “They’ve been here the whole time, talking to Mother.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Samuel’s expression sharpened at my troubled look. “What’s wrong?”

I hesitated. “Nothing. I thought I saw one of them outside just now. I must have been mistaken.”

His frown told me he wasn’t buying my answer. I avoided his eyes and focused on my cooling tea.

There was no point raising alarm bells until I had proof.