“No.” The word bursts past my lips much louder than I’d intended. “They already have tickets, and an upgrade to VIP won’t be necessary.” I texted Tyler earlier to check and arrange a time for us to meet. It’ll be nice to have the VIP room to escape to if I need to get away from them. “All I need is a photograph, then I’ll make sure it gets featured inThe Valley Voice.” I grimace. “I ordered us matching costumes.”
The theme of the Halloween party is “Monster Masquerade.” Nothing says a courting pack more than coordinating outfits.
“What did you order?” Faye asks.
“Skeleton outfits,” I reply. “A dress for me and matching suits for them.” I cover my face with my hands. “With crowns.”
“While Kady’s going to be dressing as skeleton royalty, have the rest of you got your outfits yet?” Delilah asks. “I just need to finish off my mask. I’m making it myself.”
“You’ll look great in whatever you wear.” Faye tells her. “Laz bought us all costumes to go as Mario characters before he found out it was a masquerade party. I’m sure Ren will find a way to make us look spookier.”
“Typical Laz.” Sabs shakes her head.
“Cole’s not too happy about it.” Faye giggles. “I’m pretty sure Laz wants him to dress as Toad.”
I snort at the thought of a jacked alpha like Cole dressed as a tiny mushroom.
“You’re still coming here to get ready, though, right?” Sabs flutters her eyelashes at Faye. “It’s Stella tradition.”
“Of course!” Faye grins. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“I’ll need all the moral support I can get,” I add grimly, the buttery pastry I just grabbed turning to ash in my mouth.
Usually, I’d be excited about a night out with my Stella sisters, but letting the world think I’m hooking up with the Blandon Pack will definitely put a damper on the evening.
I stand in front of Delilah’s full-length mirror, repositioning the silver tiara on my head. My black, slim-fitting dress is floor-length with a slit up the side and has a glow-in-the-dark skeleton design over it. Faye hands me the Stella sacred balm for me to rub a tiny amount on my pulse points before applying it to herself. We always wear it on nights out as an extra layer of protection and to help us find each other easily in the crowd by scent alone.
“What do you think?” With her arms above her head, Sabs grins to reveal pointed fangs. “Too much?”
Behind her, Delilah is puffing, pulling the two threads of Sabs’s corset together. “Your boobs don’t fit in this!”
“Let me help.” Faye steps in.
Somehow, with a few tugs and heaves, the two of them manage to coax Sabs’s big boobs into it.
“Perfect!” Sabs smiles, making a few adjustments to make sure her nipples aren’t peeking out while Delilah and Faye are left panting.
Delilah wipes her brow. “Can you even breathe in that?”
“Enough,” Sabs replies victoriously. “I’m going for a vampire burlesque vibe. Really, I just wanted an excuse to wear this corset.”
She looks incredible. Her black corset is encrusted with crimson jewels and shows off her hourglass figure. Her short,garnet-colored sequin tutu displays her long legs, paired with black knee-high boots that look primed to kick any asshole alphas who get in her way. She’s crimped her red hair and clipped in mini black bats throughout her waves. She also has a black bat-shaped eye mask and a drip of fake blood down her chin to add to the outfit.
While Sabs looks like a femme fatale, Delilah is her opposite. She’s dressed like a cute pumpkin in a patchwork-style dress in various orange hues with raggedy edges. Her green beret has a little stalk pointing up and balances precariously on top of her thick curls. Her mask is made from an actual pumpkin that she expertly carved to shape her face, with delicate grooves and patterns cut throughout.
“I don’t think I could pull off anything that looks like that.” Faye motions to Sabs. She’s dressed as a gothic Princess Peach in a blush-pink gown with a high lace collar and black ribbon accents.
“You totally could,” Sabs waves her off. “But Damon would probably kill any alpha who drooled in your direction.”
Delilah applies a final layer of gold eyeshadow then frowns down at her phone. “It’s time to leave.”
So we can take our time checking out the spooky trail around campus, we decide to walk to Club Knotty instead of driving. There’s a pumpkin carving competition happening in Omega Village, which people have been losing their shit over all day. I was too busy this afternoon to participate, working on finishing up some reading around the Omega Rights Act. Despite everything that’s going on, I’m still trying to get ahead on next semester’s assignments, so I ended up heading to the library to avoid being harassed by Delilah and Sabs who were buried in pumpkin guts. Sabs’s pumpkin is a disaster, with a giant hole for a mouth and lopsided eyes, while Delilah’s has an intricately carved S for Stella in hers.
“Evening, girls.” Margie—OV’s head of security—waves then points at Sabs’s pumpkin. “TheScream, right?”
Sabs bites her lip. “Actually?—”
“Yep!” I chirp back. Pretending it’s a Munch painting is the only way we’re going to get any points.
