Chapter One

Haravin finished the grocery list and took her apron off. She checked her phone, and there was a message. "Yes, Ford?"

"Oh, thank god. Can you get the call sheets from my desk, Haravin? I need them here as soon as possible."

She walked into his office and got the sheets that were right on top. "Sure. I am on the way."

She got her purse, her lanyard, and the pride credit card for incidentals and headed out to run the sheets to the bossy omega.

She hummed as she drove and listened to music. Her head bobbed, her fingers tapped, and her feet wanted to move. The other night at the party, dancing with Rick had woken up some of the ballroom instincts that she had squashed. She wasn't going to dance without a partner. Her flamenco wasn't that good.

Haravin got to the studio. "Haravin for studio six."

"Yes, miss. Straight ahead and to the left," the man in reflective shades directed her.

"Thank you. Have a good morning."

The man smiled and shooed her along. The gate went up, and she drove in.

Haravin cautiously drove as folks tended to burst out of the studios and charge into the lanes, no matter the markings.

She got to studio six and parked in an available and unmarked spot, then grabbed the stack of pages and walked with it to the studio where Ford was working. She held up the lanyard, and the guard on the door said, "Morning, Haravin."

She nodded. "Hey, Ben."

"Go on in. They are setting up."

"Uh-huh. For what?"

He shrugged. "No idea."

She sighed and sensed a setup.

She walked in, and her eyes adjusted to the dimness and found Ford chatting in one of the pools of light. She moved to him, and he beamed when he saw her. "Haravin, can you help us out?"

"Uh, with what?"

"Some of the ladies have been having a problem with the dancing, so we were wondering if we could put tracking dots on you and then superimpose their faces digitally."

"No credit?"

"Not if you don't want it."

She winced but asked him, "Did you want me to mimic their height as well?"

Ford paused. "Could you? We just need to get the scale right."

She nodded. "I can."

"Great. Get to wardrobe, and special effects will meet you there to place the dots."

"Okay. Here are your call sheets."

He took them and wrinkled his nose. "I have them on my phone."

"I know, but I didn't know why you wanted me here. I don't know which partner you have in mind, but I need somebody with stamina."

He grinned. "That's right up my alley. See you when you are ready."

She snorted and walked off to wardrobe. She got to the average height of one of the elf-mate betas, and from there, they sought out the most generic costume covered with the dots that the computer would use to change appearance. That was Ford's favourite thing. Watching the images being manipulated into something spectacular was his ideal hobby, next to playing with is family.

"So, miss, what are we doing with you?"

"I am getting a dance outfit for what I guess is the credit sequence."

The ladies blinked, nodded, and got her a pixie bodysuit with reflections for wings built into the back of the dress, and other markers were in place so they could turn her into anyone.

She put her street clothes in a locker, and when the special effects team came in, they brought a hairstylist to put her hair up in a tight style and gelled it down. The woman kept apologizing.

Haravin smiled. "Don't worry. I used to dance competitively. This is not the tightest my hair has been."

"Oh, thank goodness. Your hair smells great. What do you use?"

"I dunno. All of my products smell like fruit. Or cookies." She smirked.

"Right. Special effects is here for the dots. Ready?"

"Yup." She sat still while the man loomed in and checked a chart for dot placement.

When she was set up and moving her face wouldn't shift the dots, she asked, "I don't have to smile for this right?"

"No. It is best if you keep your face still as possible."

"Cool. You have gotten my hands?"

"Yes. We are good."

"Okay. Any idea where I am going?"

"Main stage. I will walk with you."

He picked up his kit.

She waved to the wardrobe ladies as she went out and thanked them, then she pattered to the stage with her shoes held in her hand.

She pattered up to Ford and tapped his arm. "Boo!"

He turned and jolted. "Haravin. You look... different."

She nodded. "Yup. Where is the poor bastard I am dancing with?"

Ford gestured to one of the dark elves in his troll makeup. "Narro. He's the best dancer in the bunch."

"Okay. I will go and introduce myself."

She walked over and said, "Excuse me."

He nodded. "Yes, what?"

"I am going to be your dance partner for this. What music are you looking at?"

He looked at her. "You?"

"Yeah. So, what are we dancing to? Should we practice?"

He was unimpressed, and she smiled.

"I don't think you are suitable for this."

She sighed and grew nine inches. "Right. What are your objections? Quickly. I am on the clock. I have shit to do today, and I can't wait for a prima donna to delay me. Chop chop."

He frowned and looked at the sound guy. "Can we get some ear buds?"

They got some earbuds, and the playback started. She read his lips and saw, "Waltz."

She shrugged, and he held her hand as they walked into the area where the cameras were aimed. The music started, and she moved with him. He looked surprised, and the movements grew more energetic as they twirled and spun through the allotted space.

His gaze met hers, and they started a cha-cha and still moved smoothly. She was lifted, spun, bent back, and flipped into a landing split.

He helped her up and was grinning. The playback was cut, and they removed the earpieces. He blinked. "You can dance."

"No shit. Now, what are we doing and in what order."

Ford came over with a dazed expression and smiled. "That was great. Narro, you have the list?"

"I do. Can you think of better pairings for the music?"

"I can now that I know how she can move. What is your name, miss?"

"Haravin."

"First or last?"

"First."

"Thank you for coming out to dance with me, Haravin. Ford had the idea but no clue on how to execute it."

Ford was looking excited. "Okay, the list is coming to the tablet. You two practice, and when you are ready to start recording, just give me the signal."

Narro looked at Haravin. "So, what are your thoughts?"

"I need to hear the music."

"Are you comfortable with lifts and being tossed?"

"Sure."

"Then, let's get practicing." He smiled, and there was anticipation in his eyes.

Four hours later, Haravin was exhausted and sweaty and ready to drop. "If you ask for another one, I am going to break that camera, Ford."

Narro was leaning over with his hands on his knees, breathing hard. "What she said."

Ford grinned. "Oh, come on. One more."

"No! I am neither your omega nor your alpha. Begging me to go again isn't going to work." She stretched.

Ford pouted.

"That doesn't work on me either."

He paused and grinned. "Fine. You did great. Now the rest of us have to get to work putting the overlays on."

"Sure. You get the hard job. I am going to get changed, head home, and shower. Everybody's home for dinner, right?" She looked at him with challenge in her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am." He looked sheepish.

She patted him on the cheek and headed off with a wink to Dexter, who was on omega-sitting duty that day. Dexter broke off and walked with her. "Can you show me how to dance?"

"Sure, but watch some ballroom and figure out what you want to learn first. There are dozens of different dances. So, pick some songs and text them to me. I will tell you what styles go with which dance."

Dexter cleared his throat. "Can you even show me when you are as tall as Ambrose?"

"Absolutely. The dances are different, the music sharper or slower, but they're gentleness and power in equal measure. They are harder to execute, but I can show you some examples."

He smiled. "It's Olivia's birthday soon, so I want to make sure that I can pull off something nice with both her and Ambrose."

"Sure, tiger. If you get the homework done, we can work on it after the babies go to bed, or do you want to hide it?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much is hidden in our links. We can practice on the patio. May as well use Ford's sound system."

They reached the wardrobe trailer. "Fine. This evening. We are having pot roast, salad, roasted potatoes, and trifle for dessert. If I have enough time, Yorkshire pudding."

He grinned. "You spoil us."

"It's fun. You all are appreciative. See you later, Dexter."

She walked into wardrobe and was stripped of her dots, handing over the shoes. Her hair was stuck gelled, so she just got dressed and headed back to her car. Narro waved as she walked past, and she nodded.

Outside, the light was bright, and she paused for a moment before she headed to the lot to retrieve her car.

She placed an order for groceries and headed to Ford's. There were the daily chores to do and then the after-nursery babysitting while everyone unclenched from their work. She then did three hours after dinner and headed back to her apartment most days, back before dawn for breakfast to watch the family scatter. Olivia and Ambrose worked from home, Argus ran the big cat sanctuary, and Ford went to work under guard. Usually, bodyguards he had used for years. Today, it was Dexter, but Haravin believed it was because Dexter learned about the dancing.

She chuckled and made her way back to the omega district. She got home, parked, and headed inside after notifying security that groceries were coming.

The normal routine settled around her, and she got back to her position as housekeeper for a very active pride.

She was showered, and dinner was underway with timers on her phone. The littles arrived home from their high-security daycare, and their mother emerged from her office. Haravin prepared a snack, and Olivia took care of the babies. Ambrose wandered in, and the pride began to reassemble for the night.

By the time everyone was home, dinner was ready and cleaned up. Ford was the last one in, which meant he had to take care of dishes.

Haravin was loading the dishwasher when Ford came in, and he cleared his throat. "Uh, Haravin, can I show everybody your dancing today?"

"Sure. That is the point, isn't it?" She smiled. "Go ahead."

"I want you there to see it."

She nodded. "I will be in in a minute. Just have to clean the counter."

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "Thank you. Frankly, you have to explain how you did some of it."

"Oh. Okay. See you in a minute."

She finished tidying up and walked into the viewing room, where everyone was settled. She stood at the back and nodded to Ford. He grinned, the lights dimmed, and the playback commenced with her dancing with Narro, flipping, spinning, and moving her feet in rapid steps. It was the final round, and her skin had a golden glow.

Olivia was smiling. "How do you know how to do that?"

"I was enrolled in ballroom when I was five. I danced until I was in my early twenties. Then, my partner and I went our separate ways."

"Oh, did you break up?"

"We were never together romantically. We were friends, and his omega completed our friend group. They finally formalized things, and I was on my own." She smiled. "So, I left our hometown and headed here. I didn't really want to return to competition, so I got some part-time work and eventually ended up here." Haravin blushed. "That was more than you needed to know."

Olivia blinked. "Where did you live?"

"Grandview. About seven hours west."

Ford brought up the new performance. "Let me guess, you came here to compete?"

"Yeah, now and then. Why?"

"Because betas who have your sort of adaptation came here at some point and were altered by the curse or blessing or whatever it was that changed you. The seeds were sewn anyway."

Ford chuckled. "The guys were working on the first images, and this is what they have."

She watched as her body was overlaid with one of the pixies'. The tracking hung onto her, and it looked like the other woman was moving around the dance floor. "Oh, wow. That's amazing. I am out of practice, but it still looks good."

Ford snorted. "Rick looked this over and was shocked. He never would have put those moves together, but they work."

"Well, the dark Elite move a certain way, so we had to go with what worked for Narro."

"Wise." Ford smiled. "He asked about you."

"Did you pass him a note in gym class?" She looked at him with raised brows.

"He's interested in you."

"If I shift while on top of him, I will crush him. Dark Elite or no. I weigh close to two thousand pounds when shifted, so unless there is an alpha who can manage that, I am not interested."

Ford blinked. "Right. So, solid gold?"

"Gold encrusted. I am still stab-proof, fall-proof, and I don't need to breathe underwater." She chuckled. "Frankly, I am terrified of meeting the alpha who is counterpart to that."

Ford blinked. "Yes, I am drawing a mental image and can see your point. Do you know where you were when you activated?"

"This doesn't seem like a group conversation."

Dexter grinned. "He's just going to tell us later."

Haravin wiped a hand over her face. "Yes. Okay. Five years ago, I was in a museum. There was a group of people in suits near a new exhibit. One of the guys backed into me, I fell on my ass, and he helped me up. When I sat on one of the benches, it cracked under me, so I jumped up and ran. I was able to control things for the most part, and then I heard about the book club. I wasn't sure that I qualified, but they helped me figure out what I could do, and then I got the job here."

Argus asked, "Which museum?"

"That big one with the giant fish fountain downtown."

"Uh-huh. And what time of year?"

"August. Why?"

He smiled. "Nothing. Just making some notes."

Dexter cleared his throat. "Will you show me how to dance now?"

"Sure. We had better practice on the stone."

Dexter grinned. "Sound thinking."

They got outside, and she said, "Who is going to lead?"

"Can you teach me both?"

She grew a foot and a half and nodded. "Yes, I can. First, I will lead, and then you will know what you should be doing. Okay?"

He nodded, and she started a slow song to get the general feel of things. They went on to some songs he had picked, and she changed size to match the person he imagined he would dance with. They danced for a few hours, and then she had to call a halt. "Sorry, Dexter. I have to head home."

"I don't see why you don't live in. All the others have."

"Because I need time without people, and someone is always at my door wanting to chat."

He smiled. "You are a very good listener."

"I know. Now, practice on your own or practice with family. I will see you tomorrow morning."

She double-checked the kitchen and waved goodnight to the pile of bodies tangled in the living area, the babies held carefully by the fathers, and the omegas cuddled on the floor.

She was out the door and on the road in ten minutes. She yawned. It had been an exhausting day.