MATED TO THE ALPHA AND HIS BETA - Season 5 Episode 90

Stella

“Why do they call this place Paradise?” I asked Selena when we were through the front doors and standing in a vaulted entryway.

“It’s what the humans call the place they think they go to in the afterlife,” she said in a low voice. Her eyes were wide as she looked around. She grinned, looking excited. “But this place looks more like the opposite of heaven, if you ask me.”

I took a few seconds to scan my internal library for information about humans and their afterlife and then nodded. Human heaven was supposed to be white, high above the clouds, and filled with creatures they called angels playing harps. I had to laugh a little bit to myself. Angels existed all right, but they were not the way humans thought they were.

Selena was right about this place. Humans had an almost universal idea of hell that had been described by books, movies, and TV for so long that even people whose faith didn’t support an idea of a hell would’ve recognized that was the vibe this place was putting out.

“I don’t get it,” I said to her.

She laughed. “They’re trying to be ironic.”

Paradise was dark, with velvet draperies on the walls, covering up bricked-in windows. Dim, flickering torches lined the walls. A small alcove off to the left led to restrooms, and another on the right looked like a place to leave coats.

The music was louder in here but coming from a different room. Selena tugged my arm toward another set of doors. These were massive, made of carved wood with huge brass handles in the shapes of some kind of bird with a huge beak.

They weren’t heavy, though, and when I pulled one, I almost fell back from how easily it opened. Selena laughed at me, but I didn’t take offense. I was too eager to get inside and see what kind of paradise this place actually was.

“You haven’t been here before?” I asked her as we both went through the doors.

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She shook her head, her eyes getting even wider as she looked around the massive space. The ceiling was so high it looked like it disappeared into the sky, and sparking lights and painted stars gave it the appearance of a galaxy lit up with hundreds of stars. Flashing lights swirled different colors across the ceiling and along all the walls. A giant silver ball covered in mirrors dangled from the center of the ceiling. The lights reflected off it, sending out shards of brilliant light in all directions.

“This place is fantastic!” Selena had to shout over the thumping beat of the music pounding out of the speakers. She clung to my arm.

The people on the dance floor were bumping up and down in time to the music, and I couldn’t stop my feet from shifting, too. The far end of the room had some black leather couches and chairs set up. The wall behind them had more of those dim torches, and also…

“Are those…shackles?” I asked Selena.

“It’s a dungeon theme!” she shouted over the music. “Humans are soooo into their themes!”

I looked around, taking in all the

other oddities. A coffin tipped against one wall with the door hanging open and a mannequin inside it wearing a tuxedo, a cape and with its arms crossed over its chest. Red eyes glowed, and fangs protruded from its mouth,

“That’s what they think a vampire looks like,” Selena said, pointing and laughing. “They are so lame sometimes.”

“How did you find out about this place?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been to the human city a few times. But I never was able to get into any of the clubs!”

I laughed. “What would you have done if we got turned away tonight?”

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“I wasn’t worried. I knew you’d be able to get us in,” she said. “Let’s get some drinks!”

The long wooden bar was so busy we had to push our way through a bunch of other people to get to it. I had to admit that Selena had been right about my clothes. I never

would have fit in wearing wheel m

I’d

had on before, but here, the black

leather was perfect. She managed to press up against the bar and shook

her hair over her shoulders.

I watched her and did the same thing.

“Two gin and tonics,” she shouted as the bartender turned toward us. To me, she said into my ear, “Hey, can you do your magic wand trick and get us free drinks?”

I could. I felt a little funny about it,

but when the bartender slid two glasses toward us and gave me an expectant look, I quickly pulsed a bit of invisibility toward him. He looked right through us. He’d forgotten we were there and was already turning to help someone else. Content

Selena crowed as she drew me away from the bar. “Drink up, niecey-poo! This party is just getting started!”

I watched her down the drink in two fast gulps.

Anticipation and excitement were flooding through me, tinged with a little bit of uneasiness. Her eyes gleamed, a flash of her wolf that had heads turning her way. Were things about to get out of hand?

And…did I mind if they were?