Wonderland

I had gone home to eat dinner with my parents and change my clothes. I was very excited but wasn’t meeting up with Ellie until midnight.

I noticed my dad glaring at me at the dinner table. We hadn’t spoken since my graduation.

He suddenly cleared his throat, preparing to speak.

“I’ve been thinking,” he began, “I’ll get off your back for two years, and in return after these years, you will decide if you want to study business and inherit my position, or if you want to get matched to someone who does,” he finished.

I didn’t feel like doing either, but having him let me do what I wanted seemed like a win.

“I think you’ve got yourself a deal. Does that mean that I can get my own place?” I asked, hiding my excitement.

“Yes, dear. I can get you your own place, and a car once you have your license,” he sighed.

I lit up with a bright smile. “Thank you, Daddy!” I said, grinning while I ran over to him and gave him a hug.

He wasn’t completely disagreeable.

After dinner, I went into my walk-in closet to select my outfit. I had missed this for the two short days I’d been away.

All of my clothes were color-coded, freshly pressed, and neatly arranged by our maids. I picked out a tight, high-waisted black and gold skirt, and a red blouse.

I chose a pair of black heels to go with the outfit.

At midnight, my driver dropped me off at Wonder Hotel. Ellie had told me the club was located inside it.

I found it very hard to believe what kind of hotel could want that kind of traffic.

When I went through the front entrance, a strong wave of demonic energy washed over me. I could feel the energy of various supernaturals, and a demon?

Suddenly, I felt very unsure about this, and even a bit frightened. Was this just a plan to get rid of me?

Was I walking into a death trap?

Ellie got up from her seat in the lobby with a drink in her hand.

“Are you ready, Bella? This place is a game changer, compared to a normal club!” she said.

I didn’t get what she meant. We were in a very beautiful art deco hotel lobby, but besides her voice, it was dead silent.

“I guess,” I said, unsure.

She put her arm around me and guided me to the elevators. I refrained from telling Ellie I’d only been to a club once and it was mere days ago.

“The energy is insane here,” I almost whispered as we stepped inside the elevator. “Is there a demon here?” I asked.

“You can feel it already? There is supposed to be a protective charm, stopping us from feeling it from the outside,” Ellie said, pushing an invisible button away from the rest.

“I just need to fix this quickly. It’s bothering me,” she said as she unbuttoned my top buttons, giving me cleavage.

“Never fasten all the buttons when you come here. It makes you look like a Saint. It will make them suspicious of you. At least the ones who know what you are,” she explained.

“About the demon, when Alex leaves us, watch him, but discreetly,” she added in a hushed voice.

When the doors of the elevator opened, I got hit with more than the intensifying energy. Music boomed.

Music that couldn’t be heard from the lobby, nor in the elevator.

We exited into a full-blown club. Lights were flashing.

People were drinking and dancing. Ellie took my hand and dragged me through the crowd.

I felt overwhelmed. I had never felt this many mixed energies before.

Most of them were new to me.

“Found our little kitten in the lobby,” Ellie said while she sat me down on a couch.

I recognized Alex in the group, but the others were strangers.

“And she found her way here on her own, did she?” Alex asked, shaking his head with a wicked grin.

He took a shot glass, filled it up with tequila, and pushed it toward me.

“Take this! You look far too sober!” he teased.

I knocked it back without hesitation. I needed to calm my nerves.

I knew most supernaturals could feel others’ insecurity. Going out to a party with people I didn’t know was really very stupid.

Especially in such a dangerous place. But the fear I had felt was fading.

Instead, I got filled with excitement. I wanted to do something bad.

“So who is this kitten?” a beautiful woman with wild brown hair asked with a silky-smooth voice.

It comforted me in an odd way. I had no idea who she was, but I already knew I liked her.

“Bella!” I said quickly before anybody else could.

“The Princess at our headquarters. She’s done something bad enough to end up with us losers from the very start,” Ellie chuckled.

I wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but I knew this wasn’t the place.

“I see. Well, Bella, I’m Aurora. Have you ever encountered a witch before, or is it your first time?” the brown-haired woman asked.

“I’ve encountered a few,” I admitted, starting to look around.

I wondered if Erik was the type who would hang out here. I had never seen anything like this place.

There were tails and horns in the crowd. Even a fully shifted wolf was dancing—really?

On a couch not far from us, a vampire was feeding in the open.

Seeing that made me want to act, but Ellie pulled my attention away and I took the hint.

“You have got to try their drinks here. They are somewhat magical,” she pointed out, giggling.

While Ellie went to get me a surprise drink from the bar, Aurora was looking at me curiously, like she already knew me.

“Aurora? Not Aurora Nord, right?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Now she giggled. “I see you know of me,” she answered.

She was on our watch list of possibly dangerous supernaturals. With that aura of hers, she might be, but she couldn’t be, could she?

Was she truly the wife of the Immortal and legendary Damion Nord, the guardian of all spellcasters?

I burst out laughing. That was ridiculous.

As far as I knew, they stayed out of the public eye. Why would they even be in this country?

“Yeah right, you’re not fooling me!” I said.

She just smiled, looking very much amused. “You are adorable. I understand why Ellie calls you kitten,” she said.

I was just thinking about why she’d used Louisa’s nickname for me when I noticed Alex wasn’t at the table anymore.

I was supposed to observe him. He was talking to a woman on the dance floor.

I watched her giggle and take his hand, dragging him off the floor. I noticed the demonic energy shift.

She didn’t look like a demon—could it be a possession demon? They couldn’t be killed since they lacked a physical body.

They needed to be extracted and sent back to hell by magic, which only a small number of us were trained to do.

Aurora was asking me trivial questions while I glanced at the scene, wondering what Alex was doing. I almost got up to rush to his rescue when he suddenly kissed her.

I knew the event taking place could only be seen by umbra and other demons. The demon slipped from the woman’s body.

It looked like a black fog, and it tried to manifest in Alex, but he was wearing some kind of charm on his wrist. Instead of possessing him, the charm he wore seemed to be extracting the demon, trapping it within.

The woman looked confused and disoriented when Alex broke the kiss.

“All right, I bet you’ve never had one of these!” Ellie said. She was back with two blue drinks, topped with cotton candy.

“Here you go, kitten, bottoms up,” she said as she handed me one of them.

I had no idea what it was, but it smelled really nice. She bumped her glass against mine before emptying it in one go.

“Don’t listen to Ellie, Princess, don’t chug it!” Alex called, joining us.

I couldn’t see the woman anywhere, but I noticed the faint, red glow dangling on his wrist. That just made me feel challenged, especially after what I’d seen him do. Of course, I downed the sweet, burning substance in one go.

“See you on the other side,” Aurora said, laughing at me.

My world started to vibe, my confidence rose, and I felt relaxed. I felt great, like the world would bend to my will.

“Now let’s go dance,” Ellie said, dragging me to my feet.

I vibed with the music and danced like I never had. I didn’t notice when Ellie slipped away.

Before I knew it, I was dancing with a gorgeous, flawless man. I could feel a strong energy from him.

He was no human. The only humans on this dance floor were the spellcasters.

Maybe it was the drink talking, but I didn’t care at all. This man was perfect.

I let him lead me off the dance floor and into a dark corner. There, he started to kiss me.

His lips were cold—it was odd, but it didn’t matter. He was a good kisser, making me want more.

I started to grind against him in response to his hands traveling along my body while we were kissing.

When he went on to kiss my neck, I suddenly felt an arm around my waist. Someone dragged me away from him.

“Sorry, she just got a little carried away. She’s had the everdream,” Alex said, his arm still around my waist.

“Whatever,” the man said, and wandered back to the dance floor.

“You almost just got yourself bitten by a vampire. You’re lucky Aurora noticed,” Alex said in a low voice, loosening his grip.

“Wouldn’t that have been fun?” I asked mischievously.

“Not really! You would have felt weak, drained for days, and wanting more. You shouldn’t mess with vampires for a few years. They are very dangerous,” Alex informed me.

“Ellie already left. We should leave as well,” he added.

I didn’t feel like leaving at all. I was horny and furious at Alex.

However, I suddenly felt really sick. I left with him anyway.

I threw up against a tree when we got out. Alex held my hair back.

“Next time pick one, don’t mix alcohol and everdream,” he mumbled with sympathy.

“Should I call you a cab? Or have you got somewhere to sleep in the city? You will feel horrible tomorrow,” Alex said when there was nothing left to throw up.

“I’ll just go to Jasper’s. I still have his keys,” I replied.

I had told my driver I wasn’t going home tonight. I didn’t want my parents to see me drunk.

“Alex, that charm? Did you use magic?” I asked him, glancing at his bracelet.

“No, it’s an enchanted item from the headquarters. I’m heading there now so it can be banished,” he replied.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I replied.

Alex didn’t believe me and ended up walking me all the way to Jasper’s apartment.

***

I snuck in quietly. It was almost morning, after all.

Much to my dismay, I saw a trail of clothes leading toward the bedroom. I didn’t bother to check.

He definitely had another woman over. I had thought it wouldn’t bother me, but it did, at least a little.

I was tired and feeling petty, so I grabbed a blanket and lay down on the couch. I’d stay over anyway.

There was probably going to be drama in the morning, but I was too tired to give a damn.