Chapter 54

Sarah POV

After the auction, we were left to ourselves while trays of champagne and canapés seemed to float through the air. Grace was approached by a friend from her old school, and the girls talked with him while I turned to Zane.

“Did you not feel there was something off about the auction?” I asked him.

He looked surprised, then nodded. “Yes, but I can’t put my finger on it. It was like there was this other conversation going on, something significant, but I don’t know what.”

“And the presenters, they were all so young,” I said. “Was that to make us think about children for the charity, do you think? That last one looked like he was about to faint.”

“I noticed that too. I suppose it could have been to make us think about children.” Zane looked around the room, and I followed suit. Everything seemed fine to me, but this was a new experience. I had no idea what to look for if anything were wrong.

A gong sounded, and the entire back wall slid to the side, doubling the size of the already huge room. A sizable band began to play swing music, somehow managing their instruments despite the oversized masks on their faces. More masks lined the walls, and looking at them, I realized what bothered me about them.

The band’s drummer did an expert drum roll, calling the children to their places for the pup dance. I confess I watched the whole thing torn between pride and anxiety, but Chloe and Grace were lovely and charming and made no mistakes. At its finish, the proud parents joined in raucous applause.

The with a flare of the trumpets, Rob Shanton appeared on stage with a lovely she-wolf on his arm and shouted, “Masquerade!” The two began to dance expertly. After a minute or so, an equally lovely werewolf took to the stage and began to sing.

What good is melody? What good is music

If it ain’t possessin’ something sweet?

Nah, it ain’t the melody, and it ain’t the full moon.

There’s something else that makes this tune complete!

No one dared to join the couple on the floor until the song was over. There was friendly applause, though I privately thought Rob bowed a few too many times, almost causing a little awkwardness when the clapping trailed off. But he turned to the band with a flourish, and they began playing another swing tune.

I looked at the masks on the walls again, then around at all the masks people were wearing.

“What’s wrong?” Zane asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

He looked at me.

I shrugged. “There’s a lot of symbolism from human culture in these masks, but it’s not being used right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, take that one.” I pointed at the one directly above the bass player. “The colors are orange and black, which would indicate Halloween, but there are hearts on it with ‘I LUV U’ and ‘BE MINE’ on them, which are Valentine’s Day candies.”

Zane frowned and nodded.

“And that mask over there, it’s got playing cards on it, which would indicate it’s for a gambling or casino theme, but it’s also got a Red Cross on it, which makes no sense.”

“I’ve donated to the Red Cross,” he said absently.

“Not the Moon Cross?” I asked, which basically did the same thing as the Red Cross, but for werewolves.

“Them too.”

I looked at another mask and laughed. “Oh dear.”

“What?”

“That mask has condoms and baby bottles on it! Talk about your mixed messages.”

“Condoms are part of human sexual activities,” a werewolf said to my right, and I turned in surprise to confront his black-on-black mask. “Aren’t they an acceptable fertility symbol for you?”

His tone was more than a little condescending, so I replied bluntly. “People use condoms so they don’t get pregnant.” I knew werewolves never had to worry about unwanted pregnancies, as the females knew quite well when they were fertile, but it seemed purposefully ignorant to me that he didn’t know how a condom worked.

“What about that one over there?” asked a female werewolf who’d come near while I was talking. Her mask was covered with peacock feathers. “It looks so fun.”

I looked. “Green, gold, and purple are for Mardi Gras, which is one of the times humans like to wear masks, so I like that.”

“But what do you not like?” Mrs. Peacock asked shrewdly, though her eyes were twinkling a little.

“It’s covered in Christmas decorations.”

“So, not appropriate?”

I shrugged. “It’s not offensive, just not part of the theme.” I tried to explain even as I realized my audience had grown by two more. If I talked much longer I’d have sell tickets. “Imagine if you saw a mask with the full moon on it, but the colors were orange and pink.”

The woman made a face, and I laughed. “Yes, not insulting, but just not on the mark.”

“I don’t think human symbolism has the sort of complexity you’re suggesting,” the black-masked wolf said, waving his hand in dismissal.

“I assure you it is,” I replied with a smile.

“Don’t be such a stuffed shirt, Mike,” another woman said, stepping forward and taking his arm. I looked over her red rose-covered mask. “You can’t ignore humans all your life and then pretend to be any judge of them.”

Make huffed, and the couple walked away.

I felt a little hand on my hip and looked down to see Chloe and Grace looking up at me. “Can we go over there?” Chloe asked, pointing to a corner that I saw had been decorated for children filled with mask-covered pups running around.

At a nod from Zane, I told them to have fun. Chloe made that expression that meant she wanted to tell me something, and I leaned down.

“Keep an eye on Daddy,” she said into my ear. “Don’t let any of these women near him.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, then I laughed as the girls joined hands and eagerly rushed to the play area. It occurred to me that laughing came so easily these days, and just that thought alone made me want to laugh again.

The band started playing “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire,” a much slower tune, and Zane turned to me with a little bow and a raised hand.

“Shall we?”

“Mind your toes,” I said, meaning it, before looking back to smile at the woman in the peacock feathers, who was looking at me with curiosity. I didn’t ask what was on her mind.

Zane led me to the dancefloor, put a warm hand on my waist, took my right hand in his left, and carefully moved us around. He was easy to follow, making every motion feel like a suggestion, and though I stumbled once or twice, he tolerated it well enough. I actually relaxed a little and began to enjoy myself.

I made sure not to enjoy myself too much, however. Zane felt ridiculously good in my arms, and there was something beyond thrilling in being so close to him.

“Masquerade!” Bob Shanton shouted from the stage, though the band didn’t stop playing. Zane rolled his eyes a little, and we kept dancing as our host continued.

“Who dances with whom? The masquerade welcomes mystery! And now, switch partners!”

The lights went out, making me stifle a little shriek. I heard people laughing and shuffling around, and then the lights came back on.

“What a lovely surprise,” Scott said, and took my stiff body into his arms.