Chapter 29

Two weeks went by with daily dance lessons and speech therapy. Victor told me I was improving in both areas.

But the best thing was I saw the improvement myself. So did many others at school.

“You seem different lately,” Amy said as we ate lunch.

“Different. How?“ I asked

“You seem more … confident, I guess,“ Amy replied. “And you’re not stuttering nearly as much.“

I couldn’t help grinning. “William hinted at the same thing yesterday in werewolf history class.”

“That’s so great,” Amy said with a squeal. “Do you think he’s gonna ask you out sometime?”

“I don’t know,“ I replied. “But he talks to me more and more every day.”

“How is Victor?“ Amy asked. “ You two must be getting along better. He picks you up at the gate every afternoon.“

“He’s a great teacher, and the speech specialist he found for me is fantastic.“ I shrugged. “We still fight sometimes. He can be such an arrogant jerk. But I’m grateful for his help.”

“Do you think Victor is hot?” Amy ask me

“Why do you?” I countered.

“No, but Victor is doing all this stuff for you. Maybe he has a thing for you,” Amy said.

I shook my head emphatically. There had been no repeat of the incident when I thought he would kiss me. I had been wrong about his intentions that day.

“Victor is going out of his way to make sure I have a good chance with William,” I said. “I don’t think he would miss me if I married William and moved far away.”

“I can’t wait to see you dance at the ball,“ Amy said.

“Then you are coming?“ I asked.

“As long as you don’t mind if my father comes, too,“ Amy replied.“He’s worried about some rich Alpha being rude or taking advantage of me.”

“Of course, he’s welcome.” I put my arm around Amy’s shoulders. “I want you both there for my real birthday celebration and my first shift.”

Amy and I finished our lunches and headed back to class. Some of the other kids noticed my newfound confidence and treated me with more respect. I was enjoying my time at school more and more each day.

On my way to the gate to meet Victor, I ran into William on his way to football practice.

“Hey, Daisy,” William brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes, and made me wish I could have done it for him. “Why don’t you come to the game this week and watch me play? It’s a home game.”

“I’d like that, William.” My heart was pounding in my ears as I looked into his eyes. “It sounds like fun. I’ll ask Amy if she can come with me.”

“Great!” William gave me a huge smile. “I’ll see you there. A bunch of us are going for pizza afterward. Maybe you can come along.”

“That would be nice,” I said.

I climbed into Victor‘s car with a wide smile.

“I saw you with William,“ Victor said as he revved the powerful car's engine. “Did he ask you out on a date yet?”

“He asked me to go to the football game this week to watch him play,” I replied, “I don't think that qualifies as a date.”

Victor sighed. “It’s a beginning.”

“And everyone at school has noticed I’m different lately. It feels great like I’m starting to fit in.“

Victor’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I’m happy for you, Daisy. You’ve been working hard, and you deserve it.”

The frown on Victor’s face told a different story. Had I done something wrong?

We rode silently to my house, where Victor insisted we start my dance lesson immediately.

“You’re doing well, but your tango still needs work,“ Victor said. “So let’s start there.“

I slipped into Victor's arms as the music began to swell. We were acting out my romantic daydream of me doing the tango with an incredibly handsome man, and I was utterly lost in the moment.

The dance steps were starting to come naturally as I gave myself to the music. Victor spun me around, and I attempted a low dip.

His strong right arm held me tightly as I arched my back.

As he was helping me to rise again, Victor's left hand brushed against my breast. I gasped as a thrilling sensation coursed through my body.

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor.

I lay on my back on the cold marble floor, my breast still tingling as Victor stood over me. There was a strange light in his eyes, but his mouth arched downward in a frown.

“You dropped me!” I exclaimed and rolled to one side to look for my glasses that had slipped off my face.

“I did not drop you,“ Victor said and shook his head. “You slipped.”

I didn’t want to argue with him. He was giving up a lot of his time to help me. All the practice was making me less nervous about the ball.

So I sat up and brushed myself off before standing. Victor stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. He was still staring at me.

“You would look better if you did something with your eyebrows,” Victor said. “And maybe your hair.”

“Why are you suddenly mentioning that?” Where were the beauty tips coming from?

“I’m just explaining that presentation is everything, Daisy,” he explained. “People form an opinion of you a few seconds after they meet you. The better you look, the more respect they will give you."

“So, plucking my eyebrows will make the world like me better?” I snorted.

“I was merely suggesting a few improvements to your appearance,” he explained. “You could tame your eyebrows, go to a good hairstylist, and maybe buy a few more adult items for your wardrobe besides baggy blue jeans and sneakers.”

With Victor saying these things while staring at me, I suddenly felt…weird.

“None of those things are any of your business,” I blurted and stalked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Victor yelled across the ballroom. “We’re not finished with your dance lesson, and Dr. Creed will be here soon.”

“I don’t care,” I yelled back. “I’m done with lessons for today.”

I hurried to my room and slammed the door.

What was that weird feeling?

I guess...It reminded me of all the nasty comments I received before. And I hated it when similar comments came from Victor.

I went to my dresser mirror and looked at my image.

The girl in the mirror looked the same as she had for the last two or three years, and she didn’t look good.

It was no wonder. When my hair grew into my eyes, I took a pair of scissors to it. And I had never plucked my eyebrows or fussed with makeup or any girlie-girl stuff.

The things Victor mentioned were the same things other kids always make fun of me over. I always refused to validate their mean opinions by changing what they didn’t like about me.

I ran my fingers through my mop of hair, pulled the unruly mess back in a makeshift ponytail, and removed my glasses.

Benson told me I looked like my mother, the stunning woman in the ballroom painting. I didn’t see much of her in the girl in the mirror.

But then I remembered the photo of my mother when she was young, the one they showed on the news. I did look a lot like her in that photo.

Maybe…

A knock on my door made me jump. I put my glasses back on and said, “Come in.“

“Miss Wilson, I’m here to collect your laundry,” Jennifer said.

“There are some things in my bathroom hamper.” I realized I was still holding my hair back. “Jennifer, do you know anything about hair?“

“Yes,” Jennifer replied. “I was employed at a hair salon before I came to work for your father.”

“Could you…show me something simple I could do to make my hair look a little better?”