"Maybe," she replied bashfully.

  "It’s really beautiful. Hope he asks you today…the dance will be soon, for sure."

  "Don’t remind me," Ava moaned, selecting a beige sweater and blue jeans.

  "We’re off. See you at lunch?" Winta was already pulling her boots back on.

  "Wait, you’re gonna skip breakfast because of snow?"

  "Absolutely," Winta quipped and sailed out with JiSoo.

  Alone, Ava pulled on and laced her boots, (heeled for a lady, according to Mom). She buttoned her brown coat, added black leather gloves and a head warmer.

  The Snow Dance was supposed to be the most popular social gathering at Animage. Levine would be inviting other shifters from different elite schools all over the world. It made Ava nervous just thinking about all those strange people walking around in their territory, even if only for a few days.

  She made two French braids out of her purple mane and put the head warmer on again, deciding it was better than stuffing it all in. Ava had put the dance out of her mind completely...until the snow showed up. She didn’t want to dance, or try to talk to new shifters. She was way too awkward for that.

  One part of her wished Tarun wouldn’t ask her so they could abscond from the dance altogether.

  Tarun, however, had no intention of absconding.

  He’d prepared for this. Rehearsed in front of his mirror countless times. Today was the day, and he spent it pacing his room. Glancing at his bedside clock, he saw it was 9:52, and they were supposed to meet at 10:00. He hadn’t seen her at breakfast—she must have come in after he and James left, but he knew she wouldn’t stand him up.

  He wanted to take her someplace special; however, there weren’t a lot of choices within the Animage portal… But he had one idea. Tarun took one last look at the mirror, swept back his platinum strands, and headed out.

  At the school’s double-door entrance that led out to the ocean and field, Ava stood waiting for him. Crap, was he late? No, she must be early. He paused for a moment, just watching her as she tucked an unruly chunk of hair into her head warmer, tapping her feet to music in her head. Her black scarf fluttered in the wind as she turned to stare at the young kids playing in the snow.

  She’d stuffed her fingers in her pockets, blowing out puffs of fog and watching it float away. She was so stunning and didn’t even have to try. That was the best part: that she was unaware of her effect on people, especially boys.

  Boys who whistled appreciatively, and girls dashing evil glances at her as they dragged their boyfriends away. Tarun’s heart turned to mush when she smiled, dimples dipping, the errant purple hair escaping again. He itched to be the one tucking it behind her ear for her.

  He moved toward her, but then a gang of the dolphin girls surrounded her. Odd. This was new. She smiled at them, conversing easily. He couldn’t stop his chest from swelling just a little bit at that. Her newfound confidence shined bright—perhaps some good had come from her fake friendship with Elaine last year after all. Confidence looked good on her.

  He chose to wait until they were gone because attention wasn’t what he needed. If he approached, he might get trapped there. And yes, he would be the first to admit the mighty white tiger couldn’t take on those dolphins.

  Ava glanced around the reception hall discreetly—searching for him, he thought. In a few weeks, these halls would be unrecognizable. He’d seen pictures of the Snow Dance festivities in his dad’s old yearbooks. Levine could probably change the look with a mere whisper to her crown, but the lady was old fashioned and rather chose a team of students to do the job. Including him. He’d received the note under his door this morning. Unfortunately, Deacon, his jerk of a roommate, also got one.

  The fact he was on this year’s committee mildly amused him. At his former high school, no one would ever have called on him for such things, and he sure as heck wouldn’t have volunteered. But that didn’t matter in Animage. If Levine demanded something, it was law.

  The dolphins melted away, leaving Ava alone once more. Tarun, nervous as could be because he worried she might say no to his offer, made his way out of the stairwell and headed to her.

  She looked up just as he approached. She flashed her bewitching smile at him, and his heart skipped a beat.

  "Hi," she greeted him, lowering her eyes. That was another thing he could never get used to: the way she switched from a tigress to a shy kitten at the drop of a hat.

  Unable to help himself, he tucked the wisp of hair behind her ear and grinned back at her. "Hey you."

  He extended his elbow and she put her hand through his arm, and a faint yet unmistakable lavender scent drifted to him. She relaxed into him, easily meeting his much longer stride somehow. They said nothing for some time, just reveling in each other’s presence.

  "I got my dad’s letters."

  "You are beautiful."

  They’d spoken at once, and he covered his discomfort with a rather awkward laughter. "You first. Wait, did you say you finally got his letters…as in plural?"

  She told him all about it, gesticulating wildly. He loved the way her face grew animated when she talked about something she was passionate about.

  Even after everything they'd been through with the eagle shifter, Elaine never ceased to surprise him. But he was pleased that Ava hadn't cowered and quivered in her shell this time.

  "She's unbelievable," he exclaimed. "She had no real reason…"

  "Other than to spite me? No. She absolutely didn't."

  "I wonder how she got them," Tarun pressed his tongue into his cheek. "I mean, letters rarely get misplaced. They are pretty on top of things in the mailroom."

  "Yeah, I've noticed those bunnies take things pretty seriously. I'm sure she must've paid somebody off."

  "You're probably right," Tarun admitted. "That's definitely her style."

  Ava clenched her jaw and nodded.

  Tarun tilted his head down to get a better look at her. "So… You good? You look kind of stressed."

  "No, I'm fine. It's just…" She trailed off.

  "Just what?"

  "I just keep having these nightmares."

  He placed his opposite hand over hers that rested in the crook of his elbow. "Really? What kind of nightmares?"

  "You remember the hydra dragon?"

  "How could I forget?"

  "I keep seeing her in my sleep. I can't get the whole thing out of my head. And with everything else going on, I just don't know what to do."

  "Are you worried about her because she's dying? Because that's understandable. But Ava, you know you can't save everyone, right?"

  "I know, but Sir Waters… He was so miserable. Still is, obviously. I really want to help her. No one deserves to be a prisoner in their own body like that." Ava tilted her gaze upward. "And good lord, I'm a unicorn that can't heal anyone. Do I even qualify to be at Animage? With every day that passes, I keep thinking Levine will kick me out."

  Tarun stopped walking and faced her, but first waited for a gang of sharks to pass noisily before he spoke. "Listen, Ava, you are kind, beautiful, strong, and courageous. I believe in you. If anyone can master this, you can."

  Her eyes lit up somewhat, and a smile crept across her lips. "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

  "Hey, you never have to feel like you don't belong here, okay?" He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Especially now. And I'm not just talking about the unicorn thing. You belong here with me. Got it?"

  She gave an almost imperceptible nod as she stared back into his eyes.

  Without thinking about it, Tarun leaned his head down and kissed her gently on the lips. She returned his kiss with grace and poise, lightly flicking his tongue with her own. He couldn't believe how good it felt to kiss her. The feeling was miles above any girls he'd ever kissed before.

  He continued to kiss her until he felt her shiver beneath his grip and realized they needed to keep walking to stay warm.

  Pulling away, he grinned stupidly. As he stepped back, Ava reached down and interlaced her gloved fingers with his.

  As they resumed walking, Tarun told her about being placed on the dance committee against his will, which Ava found somewhat odd.

  "I don't know why Levine decided to torture me like that," he said with a laugh. "I'm just going to have to listen to all the girls bickering when they can't decide on anything. What colors, what themes, what kind of decorations or music… You know how these things go."

  "Maybe it won't be that bad."

  Tarun raised an eyebrow. "Elaine is also on the committee. So yes, I think it will be that bad."

  "Oh, I see." Ava chuckled. "But think about it, maybe Levine needs you there to put out fires. People listen to you, Tarun. Especially girls. They fawn all over you."

  She had a point. "I guess I didn't think of it that way."

  They approached the back hills at the end of the property, and Ava paused, a gasp hanging in her throat. "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?"

  Yes, I’m looking at her.

  The white fluffy powder had covered the field—a wide expanse of land behind Animage. It created caps on small mounds of hills.

  "Come on," she beckoned and ran off as fast as her ridiculous boots let her, digging holes with each step. Tarun laughed mirthfully and strolled after her.

  She plopped down on the snow, and when Tarun caught up, he dropped beside her. Ava then shifted away and spread her arms and legs wide.

  "My mom and I used to make snow angels every time we went somewhere with snow." She swept her arms up and down, her legs, too. "Try it, it’s fun."

  Tarun could think of plenty of fun activities, and this was not on the list. But she appeared so blissful, her smile and happiness dizzying, that soon he was waving his arms and legs in the snow right along with her because he just couldn’t help it.

  When she finally got up, Tarun followed.

  "See? Pretty." She pointed to their snow angels.

  "Yeah." Pretty? He didn’t do pretty things; he was a rough, tough, and buff man. He unconsciously puffed his chest just to confirm.

  "I um, okay…um, where are we going?" She looked down, as if she just realized she’d made him play in the snow with her. So cute.

  He chuckled, "Come on, we’re almost there. I wanted to show you last year, but you ran out on me."

  Color crept to her face again, "I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have thought you were using me like that."

  "I would never."

  "I know that now."

  Tarun steered her to the spot where they’d first kissed. It was covered with snow but still recognizable, especially with the tree smack dab in the middle.

  He reached for her right hand and asked, "Ready?"

  "Tarun, what are you—" She broke off and sighed, seeing his raised brow. "Ready."

  He led her to a small mound that looked like a snow-covered anthill. By the side, he pulled a hatch, and the snow fell away, revealing a wooden door he creaked open.

  Ava’s jaw dropped.

  "After you, Baby." He stood aside to let her crawl in.

  Oh no, did he just call her Baby? She didn’t look like she hated it though.

  Ava obviously trusted him because she went on all fours and crawled right into the secret hideaway.

  He just called her Baby! That was a big deal, right? Ava considered this as she crawled along. She’d scarcely recovered from the fact there was a hatch in a random hill on school property when another shock jolted her.

  The space she’d crawled into was ablaze with candlelight, small white and blue lights casting shadows over a cave tall enough to stand and run small laps in. Ava stood and turned in a circle. "Oh, Tarun, this is beautiful. How did you do this?"

  He didn’t answer, not in words. He watched her take it all in—the food he set on a table concealed with a black tablecloth, the candles he elaborately arranged in all corners. The sparkly wine glasses (smuggled from the dining hall) filled with cheap wine.

  "You did all this for me?" She couldn’t keep the wonder out of her voice. No one had ever done anything even remotely this amazing for her before.

  "I just figured we’ve never been on a real date; this was all I could come up with…"

  "And it’s perfect." She walked to the nearest seat. She was so close to letting the tears fall. It was perfect. He was perfect. She turned to tell him that, and there he was standing in the shower of candlelight, strumming the first mesmerizing notes on his guitar.

  Aaaaand she melted for him.

  JiSoo was having a somewhat similar day with Kaelan at the school. He reminded her of an overgrown child or something. Perhaps that was why he was selected as the beta for his pack. He was constantly raking his hands through his shaggy hair, particularly when he was nervous, which seemed to be every time he was with her.

  On another guy, the jean shorts he wore would have been an eyesore, but they were cute on him, and so was the black flannel he had on, the sleeves rolled up to emphasize his forearms. All this completely distracted JiSoo.

  They hung out finally on that Sunday, and she knew it was about time. When JiSoo ran out of excuses, she settled on a day.

  She and Winta had spent the whole morning sledding, and it was an absolute blast. But eventually they parted ways so she could go off with Kaelan. JiSoo didn’t feel bad about it though; she had left Winta in good company. James was more than eager to have the pretty elephant shifter’s undivided attention.

  "I like traditions, you know? Things you can follow through, you know?" Kaelan rambled. "Protocols that never get broken… I like that."

  "Mmhmm," JiSoo grumbled from her perch on the oak branch. He’d rambled about a lot of other things, most of which didn’t make sense to her. But on the bright side, he was nice to look at.

  "One of the traditions is this school dance, you know? I read they create all sorts of games, you know, for boys and girls to play together. You see, the thing is, all the girls in my pack already have mates, you know? I was thinking…just a thought, you know, theoretically…what if you joined me?"

  JiSoo, ever the difficult one, decided to play dumb. "Join you where?"

  He looked lost for a second, then he fumbled in his pocket and withdrew a sheet of paper. "Here."

  Of course, he wrote it on paper. It seemed fitting for a brainy wolf. She collected it from him, holding it like a ticking time bomb.

  On the paper, Kaelan had drawn a picture of a boy and a girl staring intently into each other’s eyes. Music played in the background, denoted with several random music notes around the figures.

  Oh no he did not.

  Kim Min Hye finally had a worthy competitor, she concluded, smiling as she thought of her favorite K-Pop star. Kaelan might be the sweetest boy she knew, and she couldn’t help herself anymore. "I would love to go to the Snow Dance with you... You know?"

  He grinned from ear to ear, not catching the way she teased him at the end there. Bobbing his shaggy head up and down, he said, "You won’t regret it. It’ll be perfect."

  What he didn’t know was that JiSoo was jumping for joy on the inside, too. "I’m sure it will be," she retorted cooly.

  He visibly relaxed. After that, he mercifully left his poor, over-fluffed hair alone, stopped talking fast, and looked directly at JiSoo. "You know, I had a whole speech prepared for when you said no. I got nothing for yes, you know?"

  JiSoo showed off her little teeth in a wide smile. "Why yes, I do know."

  Winta blew her nose in a tissue and kicked the wall.

  She was alone in her room, but that was the norm for her. Michaela was usually out, so Winta rarely saw her. And she still couldn’t sleep there for risk of accidentally sleep-shifting into an elephant and trashing the room.

  It was what alienated her last year, and now...same thing.

  Winta was fiercely grateful for Ava and JiSoo. Of course, they were off living their lives and having the best time. Unfortunately, her day had taken a turn for the worse.

  She tore out another tissue and blew into it, coughing and rasping for breath. She’d left James on the hill earlier so she could get in an hour or two of studying.

  But they agreed to meet at the library later; then he had something planned for them.

  Winta had dashed up to her room, thrown on a simple sweater dress, and oiled her hair. Ecstatically, she’d skipped to the whirling stairs.

  And that’s when her world collapsed right in front of her.

  That flaxen hair was unmistakable. No one else in school wore that much pink.

  Winta’s vision blurred; she’d blinked severely to make sure she was seeing correctly.

  It was right there in front of her.

  Elaine. And James. Kissing.

  She slapped her trembling hand over her mouth to keep her scream inside.

  They hadn’t seen her, but she’d certainly seen them.

  How her chest hurt…

  It constricted painfully as she rushed back to her room. James wasn’t who he claimed to be. Not at all. Why hadn’t she seen it? He was a cheap cheat. A liar. And betrayer...was that even a word? Whatever. It’s what he was.

  And of all people in the world, he had to do it with Elaine? In public for all to see. Kissing her on the stairs like a drowning man who could only be saved by pink lip gloss and Chanel no 7.

  Well, James was dead to her from that moment on. And when he came knocking minutes later, Winta refused to open the door. He could return to where his roving tongue came from.

  Winta wailed into her tissue as she counted the minutes until JiSoo and Ava got back.

  Scintillating music drifted from a small speaker, filling the cave with a warmth that forced Ava to relax, let go of her inhibitions, and just be.

  Was it the food—he’d somehow managed to smuggle lasagna to this place—or the wine? Granted, it was the cheap red cooking wine the seniors snuck from the kitchens. But it was the thought that counted, and she told him as much.