[Damian]

The bass of the music was a physical thing, thumping through the walls and shaking the floor beneath my feet.

Kids were everywhere, moving and yelling, but one presence was conspicuously missing: the birthday girl, Lyra.

“Looking for someone in, particular?”

The familiar, sarcastic drawl of Alek, my Beta, yanked my thoughts back to the present. I glanced his way—he was leaning against the doorway, surveying the chaos—before returning my gaze to the various dancing ...