Intertwined Destinies: Blood Moon Series 1

12. NIGHTCLUB

The male stood with pride and confidence in front of them. Candice stared at his charcoal eyes, wondering how such an intimidating being could seem so handsome. His body appeared built from hard muscle. Bird shifters were said to have the appearance of gods. Now, with one of them in front of her, she couldn't agree more.

"Mason, is this her?" He asked.

"Yes." Mason wrapped an arm around Candice's waist, pulling her closer. "Mon amour, this is Ryder, the Raven King."

Ryder took her hand, raising it to his lips to kiss it. "I'm delighted to make your acquaintance."

"How do you both know each other?" Candice asked.

"I've known him since the day he was born."

Before Candice could ask anything else, his eyes focused on something behind her. Perplexed, she glanced over her shoulder to find her friends heading in their direction, accompanied by some of Mason's pack members.

Yvonne walked side-by-side with Angel, their fingers intertwined. Even though Candice wanted to pull Angel away from Yvonne and knock some sense into her, she forced a smile. She had to respect Yvonne's decision to give Angel a second chance.

Abigail headed toward Candice, her snow-colored curls bouncing with every step. She had made a waterfall hairstyle adorned with small pastel flowers. The bodice of the dress she wore hugged her torso, the pleated skirt stopping halfway down her thighs.

Where were they all heading?

Abigail took three more steps before halting. Candice followed her gaze to see the enormous black wings vanish into Ryder's back as an act of magic. His hair changed from feather-like to pitch-black curls, falling over his bright green eyes. A half-smile on his face, he beamed at Abigail, a sheen of excitement in his eyes.

Abigail appeared rooted in place. She didn't move an inch or blink. Ryan wrapped an arm around her neck, breaking her trance.

Candice stared into the distance, fighting back tears. She couldn't believe that their paths were intertwining with their destined ones. Something seen as rare became frequent. Their families--the entire pack--would have celebrated for weeks with delight.

"We want to go out and have some fun," Ryan said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

For more than two months, they spent their time in the pack house or training. Candice preferred to be inside, but most of her friends enjoyed spending time out and having fun. For them, it must have been suffocating to be locked inside for so long.

"What if we get attacked?"

"They won't dare attack a place filled with humans. We all know the law," Mason said. "Besides, I doubt they would try to do so when they know you're not alone."

"I guess we can go. We all need some distraction from everything." Hopefully, she won't regret it.

"Okay, I'll send a message to Landon to get the cars ready."

As Candice kept up with Mason's pace, she glanced back and stifled a laugh. Ryder walked beside Abigail, but she stepped closer to Nick, trying to create distance between them. He spoke to her, but all she did was nod or shake her head. Whenever she met someone new, Abigail struggled to make conversation. It was worse if it was someone of the opposite sex.

By the time they returned to the house, Landon stood at the front with the SUVs. Of course, Mason's pickup truck was also there. Candice hurried into the house and headed upstairs to change into nicer clothes. She rummaged through the closet and frowned when she didn't find something she liked. Giggles came from the corridor before the room door opened. Her friends entered with Stephanie and Sheryl.