We swept down the stairs and into the ballroom, and I was already racing away from Annecy when she called "good luck."

It vaguely registered how transformed the ballroom looked as I weaved in and out of wolf shifters dressed to the nines, on my way to the narrow, dark hallway on the other side. The room glittered and glowed with thousands of lit candles in the numerous chandeliers. Gold dripped from elegant tablecloths, the chairs, the stage, and the curtain behind it. Even the ...