Apprentice to the Alpha 

Three: Wolf or Witch?

---Marie---

I look in the mirror and am pleasantly surprised. Damn it, is my best friend a wolf or a witch because she performed literal magic on my face. I told her I wanted a natural look, and she complied. She somehow managed to smooth out my pores while still hanging on to my freckles. She applied brownish-red eyeshadow to bring out the green in my eyes without making me look clownish, a feat I can never seem to accomplish. Plus, she chose a lip color that is slightly pinker than my natural, to make my lips look almost kissable. And my eyelashes? She didn’t even bring falsies, but I swear to the Goddess, they’re double their usual size.

“f*****g witch, what did you do to my face?” I ask, mesmerized.

She looks panicked, and I feel a little bad for my word choice. “I’m so sorry! is it too much? I know you asked for natural, but I couldn’t help but darken your lids slightly. I can change it!”

“No, stand by your choice, b***h, I love it. You’re definitely some kind of wolf-witch hybrid, but I won’t complain as long as you keep using your powers for good.” I say, tracing my fingers down the contour she expertly applied.

“Well, I had to perform a little magic. You’ll finally be kissing miss popular tonight when you realize I’ve been right the whole time!” She sings as she applies a little last-minute blush to my cheeks.

Just then, I remember the mystery guy from the street corner. “Speaking of romance, did you get dream boy’s number?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You mean Josh? Yeah, I’ve had it as long as I’ve had a phone, silly! I’ll send him an I love you text right now!” Playing dumb, I see.

“Kai. That was his name, right?” I notice a slight twinge to her cheeks when I say his name.

“The boy of my dreams is Josh. He’s my mate, remember? Kai is just some dude I met. Hopefully, we can be friends, though! We somehow managed to get along right off the back even though I was spaced out and literally ran into him.” She says earnestly.

Shit, she’s good at making me feel bad for teasing her about this. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But wait, what do you mean? like you were running and f*****g plowed right into a stranger?” I ask, imagining her knocking over that tower of a man.

She laughs, “Kind of. I was skipping, deep in thought, and straight-up didn’t see him. It’s good that he’s so tall because he probably would have fallen over if he wasn’t. But somehow, he didn’t mind? I’m excited to meet up with him at the party. He’s new to the area, and I want to make sure he has some friends.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll see him soon. Let’s head downstairs to see if my parents need anything before the party officially starts. Thanks again for the makeup; I swear it’s the best job you’ve done thus far.” I say, checking my watch. It’s an hour till showtime.

***

---Evelyn---

Wow, Marie’s mom really did invite the whole state. There are hundreds 18ish werewolves here! I’ve never been to a dance this big, maybe I’ll have to ask her parents to throw me one for my birthday too! Only I’ll make it a masquerade and ask for a formal dress code. Imagine twirling on the dance floor in a ballgown; that would be a true princess experience. I trip over my own foot and faceplant. Goddess, give me strength; I can’t go 5 minutes without embarrassing myself. On second thought, maybe twirling isn’t an option for me.

“Are you alright?” I hear a party-goer ask me. s**t, someone saw this time. I guess I can’t always be lucky enough to be invisible. I look up and notice a pair of familiar hazel eyes gazing at me with concern. “I was looking for you, but it’s packed! I guess I should have come early to make sure I found you before the crowd got here!”

Stammering out a reply, I stare into his eyes. I temporarily forgot that I had been trying to tell myself that this man was totally ordinary and not at all attractive. “Thanks for the hand; I should probably learn how to pay attention one of these days. I’m glad to see you here! How was the diner?”

“I’m pretty sure the food was made by the Goddess herself; I’ve never had such a good Reuben sandwich in my life.” He says, helping me to my feet.

I don’t know about the sandwich, but the Goddess definitely made this man’s biceps. “Next time you’re in town, make sure you try the hash browns. I know they’re just potatoes, but I’m pretty sure the cook puts drugs in there or something. They’re orgasmic.” s**t, I said the word orgasm to an almost stranger.

Kai throws his head back and barks out a laugh. “Deal. Next time I’m in town, I’ll order eggs over easy with hash browns. I’ve always loved that particular breakfast combination.”

---Marie---

It’s 9:30, and I haven’t seen Eve in over half an hour. Where the hell did that girl disappear off to? I swear she is the clumsiest girl I know. I really wouldn’t be surprised if she figured out how to trip through the ground itself one of these days.

I almost miss her as I squeeze past a couple that is grinding hard and would probably be f*****g right here on the dance floor if all these people weren’t around. Or maybe they would. Werewolves aren’t good with the whole PDA thing, and I’m considering giving them directions to the nearest hotel when I finally spot Eve. She is sitting on the ground under a maple tree, deep in conversation with that Kai dude she swears she’s not crushing on. I see her twirling her hair again as she giggles. Aha! Caught in the act! I decide to leave them alone for a while. I’m not sure what all this means, but I know she’s got it handled.

I’m in the middle of trying to find someone else to hang out with when I hear the siren blaring.

Rogues.