Prologue
A few months ago …
Crowded and noisy clubs weren’t usually Olivia Jones’s scene. Despite what some people might think, just because she worked as a fashion model, she did not spend her evenings at fabulous parties or bottle service-only VIP sections at nightclubs. No, after a long day’s work, all she wanted to do was slip into her pajamas, crawl under the covers, and crash.
Yet somehow, this evening, she found herself alone at Blood Moon, New York’s only Lycan nightclub, waiting to order a drink as people crushed around her, the music and beats pounding from the speakers. For Lycan shifters like her, coming here was a ritual of sorts. This was the place everyone went to once they turned twenty-one, a hangout where they didn’t have to worry about being outed to the general human population. She’d gone here countless of times with her cousins and friends once she was old enough to party, even sneaking in here once or twice before she was of age. They’d come here just before midnight, drinking and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
Tonight, though, she was alone.
Why did I come here?
She blew out a breath, muttering to herself.
Maybe because I’m pathetic.
And the fact that she saw Liam’s picture with thatskankcome up on her social media feed.
Ugh.
Her inner she-wolf snarled in agreement.
She wanted to unfollow him, but then everyone would think her breakup with Liam Halloway was anything but amicable. While they hadn’t been together that long—they’d met at a music festival last year where his up-and-coming band performed—their romance quickly progressed from late night texting to flying across continents to spend time together. She’d even cancelled a few jobs, much to her agent’s chagrin, to follow him on tour in Europe for a month. For a while, they were the hot couple of the moment, the rock star and the model. They’d been happy together, or so she’d thought.
Even though it had been weeks ago, it still stung that she caught him cheating on her with some social media influencer. Worse, his main concern was how this all would affecthiscareer and somehow convinced her to agree to release a statement saying they were breaking up to focus on their work and would remain friends.
She should have seen the red flags from the beginning, but she’d been caught up in the romance. Liam posted numerous selfies of them on his socials, constantly taking her to popular clubs and restaurants where he knew there would be photographers, and once or twice, called the paparazzi himself. Olivia did only the bare minimum on social media herself, and he would always beg her to post photos of them or stream a live video from one of his shows. “Olivia, love, you’re barely breaking a hundred thousand followers,” he had said. “You gotta do more stuff to get those numbers up.”
Her she-wolf let out a snort, as if to say “I told you so.”
Way to rub salt in the wound.
Normally, her animal didn’t care about the men she dated, but it had expressed its disdain at Liam every now and then, especially when Olivia did something just to please him, like posting a selfie of the two of them or stopping to answer questions from the paparazzi.
Their breakup had been weeks ago and now it seemed Liam was soft-launching his relationship with his new girlfriend to their combined three-point-four million followers.
“What can I get you?”
The bartender’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Whiskey soda, on the rocks,” she shouted over the din. “Lots of ‘tourists’ tonight, huh?” she added with a smirk.
“Yeah,” the bartender said with a chuckle. “More and more every night.”
‘Tourist’ in this case, didn’t refer to the people who visited New York City, but rather, the humans coming to Blood Moon hoping to catch a glimpse of the newly-outed Lycans.
For centuries, their kind had lived under the radar, with humans never knowing that such creatures existed right under their very noses. However, they were accidentally exposed during a battle with their arch-enemies, the mages a few months ago. While the Lycans had come out victorious, the mages had kidnapped three hundred human hostages and by the time they were freed, it was too late to do anything. The proverbial cat was out of the bag, with no way to put it back in.
Olivia hadn’t been outed as a Lycan, but then again, her breakup with Liam had barely registered a blip with the press or on social media. However, she wasn’t afraid that she would never work again, rather, the opposite. She actually knew a few Lycans in the industry, other models, as well actresses, and they said that they’d actually been evenmorein demand once theirsecret came out. Humans, apparently, were fascinated by the “Supernatural Beings,” as they’d been dubbed.
And tonight’s crowd only proved it.
“What do they think they’re gonna see?” Olivia asked as the bartender handed her a glass.
“Right? It’s not like we’re just gonna shift for fun.” Even before they had been outed, Lycans had always been forbidden to change into their wolf forms in public, even here at Blood Moon where the occasional human slipped through the doors.
Olivia tsked. “I’m sorry. Can’t be easy on you guys here.” She nodded at the other bartenders slinging drinks and taking orders.
“Business is good though, and so are the tips.”
She raised her glass toward him. “Thanks.” She slid over a bill. “Keep the change.”
