After the waiter took our order, Mia and Delta Bruce started full-on making out. I was not expecting their blatant public displays of affection. I must have made a face because Gamma Jamie noticed my unease. She burst into laughter and bumped her shoulder into mine.
“You’ll get used to them,” she said. “Bruce is unmated.”
“Okay?” I said. “I’m unsure why that is an explanation.”
“Mia is his favorite side piece,” she said. “He is a man.”
“He doesn’t think about his mate?” I ask her as quietly as I can while yelling over the music. She shrugged nonchalantly.
“He’s been unmated for a few years. He might have given up on finding her,” she said.
“She’s still out there though,” I said.
“Not everyone is blessed to find their other half, Luna,” she said.
“That’s so sad,” I said quietly as I looked over to Bruce.
“What?” Jamie yelled. I shook my head.
“Nothing!” I yelled loud enough for her to hear. She nodded and a huge smile spread across her face as the waitress came with our first round of drinks.
“Luna first!” Beta Jake said. He grabbed one from the waiter before she could put them all down.
“Thank you!” He said loudly. He put it down in front of me and I looked at it for a second. I gave him a smile and picked it up. The drink came in a small shot glass and looked innocent enough. I lifted it to my lips and threw my head back. It burned down my throat and I fought hard not to cough it up.
“Oh, Goddess… that was awful!” I croaked. Jake and Jamie burst into laughter. Even Bruce and Mia separated for a minute to laugh. Jake put everyone’s shot’s in front of them before handing me a fruity-looking drink.
“Here,” he said laughing, “this one tastes better.”
I looked at him suspiciously. Everyone threw their shots back without a second thought. I took the drink from his hands. It was pink and had an umbrella sticking out of the glass. I sipped it and my eyes widened. Sweet strawberry.
“This tastes really good!” I said loudly.
“Told you!” Jake said as he grabbed another shot. He placed one in front of me and downed his.
“Be careful, Luna,” Jamie said. “It’s sweeter but it’s just as strong. That drink will do damage if you drink it like juice.”
I nod and sip as she warns me. Jake put another shot in front of me and gave me a challenging look.
“It’s easier if you down the shot and then sip your sweet drink,” he said.
“He’s right,” Jamie said. “But—” She was cut off as a reggae song started playing and Jake jumped from his seat.
“This is one of my favorite songs!” He yells. His smile was contagious. Jamie groaned and slouched back against the seat.
“He loves everything J Boog,” Jamie said. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Don’t look at me. I danced with you last time!”
He whined and looked at Bruce and Mia but they were practically eating each other’s faces at this point. His eyes turned back to Jamie.
“It was multiple songs, Jake! MULTIPLE! Find someone else to vibe with out there,” she said and picked up another shot. Jake’s eyes found mine and I let out a breath.
“Okay,” I said.
A huge smile broke out across his face and stretched out his hand for me to take. Before I could have second thoughts I took his hand. He pulled me out of the booth and laughed as we headed to the dance floor.
We walked through a crowd of people bumping and grinding against each other. Some were making out and others looked like they were doing the deed. I did notice a few friends were dancing happily with drinks in hand.
“Can I tell you a secret, Luna?” He asked, his voice a low whisper as if we were about to share something never shared before. At this point, we’d stopped walking and I started feeling light-headed.
“You may,” I whispered back, stifling a giggle.
“I can’t dance,” he said loudly. Loud enough that people next to us turned to look in our direction.
“Well then… I guess you’ll have to learn quickly,” I said. I stepped away and grabbed his arm. I lead him deeper into the dance floor, the music was so loud, I swear I could feel the rhythm.
“Luckily for you, I’m a fast learner,” he said. Jake twirled me around and tugged me into his strong arms. I had to fight a surprised squeal as he lifted my arms to his neck and pushed me forward with his hands on my waist.
The song finished and followed by another. I took a step back and turned around. My body swayed with the music and his hands found my waist. We were having so much fun, I stayed for the next one and the next. I moved my body to the beat.
The next song started, it had a smooth rhythm that was easy to get lost in. Jake whirled me around and when I looked up I couldn’t help but gasp. I wasn’t dancing with Jake anymore. His eyes were glowing, his eyelashes low; Jason, his wolf, now looked down at me.
I swallowed.
“Hey, Jason,” I said.