Doctor Vasquez's Pediatric Dentistry was located next to the Albertson's grocery store off Falmouth Road in the human quarter of Hecate City. Kelsi had been working there part-time since her senior year of high school. She hadn't planned on staying past graduation, but a little surprise named Riley entered her life and college was put on indefinite hold.

"Did you watch the ceremony yesterday, Kels?"

Kelsi dropped her purse into her desk drawer and turned to look at her co-worker, Nadine. The curvy receptionist was human, as were all the other employees of Dr Vasquez's dentist office. "No," she replied.

"No?" Nadine exclaimed, pivoting in her chair. Her long, red and black braids swung as she moved. "Why not?"

"I didn't know it was on." And that was the truth. She wouldn't have watched it even if she had been aware of the ceremony. That being said, her friends managed to keep her abreast of the situation by constantly updating their group chat. Admittedly, as much as Kelsi loathed discussing betas and alphas, their chatter was a welcome reprieve from the stress of dealing with Donovan.

"Huh. Well, have you heard about the Luna Ball?"

Kelsi flinched. "Yeah ..." She was still on the fence about going until Riley finally came out of her room for dinner last night. The invitation was still on the kitchen table and Riley automatically picked it up, inquiring about its nature. Of course, Toria told her all about it, which turned the mopey child's mood upside down.

"You have to go, Mom!" she exclaimed, eyes shining as she clutched the invitation to her chest. "It looks like so much fun!"

After all the shit Donovan put Riley through, how could Kelsi tell her daughter "no"? Well, she couldn't. With Toria grinning like a drunken college student, Kelsi put on a smile and affirmed that she and Auntie Toria would be going together.

It made Riley's night—and that's what mattered the most to Kelsi.

"Cool," Nadine exclaimed, swinging back and forth in her chair. "Maybe you could explain a few things for me ...?"

Kelsi glanced up at the clock and saw they had a few minutes to kill before clocking in and opening the office. When she started working, the staff was skeptical and somewhat fearful of her presence. It was Nadine who gently took Kelsi aside and explained that they had never been in the same room with a werewolf before and all Kelsi needed to do was reassure them that she was really no different. It was also Nadine who helped train her and answer all of her questions. So, while Kelsi didn't want to talk about the ball, she couldn't turn down Nadine's request.

"Sure."

Nadine clapped her hands. "So—what the hell is it, anyway?"

Kelsi rolled her eyes and sat down. "It's an old, antiquated system that dates back to when the goddesses were regularly anointing new alphas. Basically, it's the Bachelorette for werewolves." At least, that's how Toria explained it to Riley.

Nadine's mouth rounded in an "O". She was a huge Bachelor and Bachelorette fan. "So he's got to pick a wife that night?"

"I think so."

"Why?"

Kelsi shrugged. "It's a show of strength." Because that's what alphas thrived on.

Nadine nodded and turned towards her computer. "Well, that hottie's going to need all the strength he can find."

Kelsi's scoff of disbelief swiftly turned into an "Oh?" of curiosity. "Why's that?" she added, folding her arms to cover up the unintended exclamation. Where did that come from?

"Because the entire town of Silver Rush, Nevada has taken up a petition against him claiming it." Nadine pulled up a tab and showed Kelsi an article from CNN.

"Do you blame them?" Kelsi asked, leaning forward and skimming the article. "A whole town full of humans suddenly finds themselves subject to an alpha?"

"Yeah," Nadine remarked dryly. "How about that?"

Slowly, Kelsi turned and looked at her co-worker. "Oh. Shit. I'm sorry." She flushed in embarrassment.

The older woman flashed her a little smile and shrugged. "Well, it's going to be a lot better now. For all of us."

"It certainly is, ladies," Dr Vasquez announced, walking into the room. The dentist was in his late forties and looked more like someone who punched out teeth for a living rather than fix them. Beneath his long-sleeved shirt, swirling black lines of a tattoo could be seen on his wrist. "I've already bought ad space in the Hecate City Chronicle—and I've never been able to do that before."

"Good morning, Doctor Vasquez," Nadine and Kelsi chorused.

Dr Vasquez pulled off his jacket and went to hang it behind their rack of filing cabinets. "Is that about the new alpha?" he asked, nodding at the CNN article.

"Yup," Nadine replied, making no attempt to hide the website. Dr Vasquez was cool like that; as long as they got their work done, he didn't mind the occasional Internet browsing.

"My daughter's friend got an invitation to some sort of ... dance?"

That got Kelsi's attention. "Your daughter has a werewolf friend?"

"Yeah, she just moved to the area from Seattle. She works at the same daycare as Bella."

"Kelsi was just telling me about the Luna Ball," Nadine explained, gesturing toward Kelsi.

"Oh, yeah?" the doctor asked. "You're about the same age as my daughter. Did you get one too?"

Kelsi cringed. She was about to lie and say "no", but Nadine was too perceptive. The older woman reached out and slapped Kelsi on the upper arm. "Girl! You did not!"

"No!" she refuted hotly, shaking her head.

Nadine rolled her eyes. "I love you, Kels, but you can't lie for shit." She turned back to the computer and pulled up a picture of Alpha Lee Bloodmoon. "Lord, if I was only thirty years younger and a werewolf. That young man is fine."

Luz and Marcella, the two technicians, wandered into the reception area, drawn by Nadine's shout. "Our little werewolf girl got invited to the Luna Ball!" Nadine exclaimed as Kelsi groaned and covered her face.

Luz's eyes widened and Marcella's mouth dropped open. "We'll be rooting for you!" Luz said at the same time Marcella told Kelsi, "You better take some pictures."

"I don't want to marry him," Kelsi argued, shifting in her chair.

"Why not?" Luz asked, raising her eyebrows.

Kelsi cocked her head and eyed the other woman quizzically. "Because I don't?" Why was that so hard of a concept to grasp? Was it because Alpha Lee was handsome? As if looks were the only thing that mattered.

"They why go?"

Kelsi sighed. "Because my sister let it slip to Riley and she got really excited about it. I couldn't say no."

Dr Vasquez clapped his hands. "We can continue this conversation at lunchtime, ladies. It's now eight o'clock."

"Yes, Doctor Vasquez," they chorused and drifted off to their respective tasks.

Kelsi pivoted in her chair and pulled out a stack of files to enter into the system. As she moved, she caught Nadine looking at her with one raised eyebrow and a smile. Kelsi shook her head and got to work.