The Velvet Shadow [slash]

Chapter 4

Tyrallin sat with his friends in one of the small nooks at a table on the first floor of the Velvet Shadow. Atsayal sat in Jerrik's lap, an arm around the sire's shoulders.

"Come on, Tyra," Sally said over the dance music as she leaned across the table toward him. "It's just after midnight. We've been dancing for hours. Can't we just go home?"

"You giving up, Sally?" Tyra teased. However, in truth, he was getting tired, as well. He took another sip of his water bottle to rehydrate. "We haven't met Bowzer yet. We should give it a bit more time."

"How do you know they haven't left by now?" Sally demanded.

Tyra shrugged casually. "I was talking with some other fans. They went out back to see if they could wait and catch the band leaving. Some guy with the band shooed them away, saying the band was at a party upstairs, and nobody's allowed to wait in back for them. They said they went to check back again later, but some security was there."

"Boo," Sally muttered. "But I read in every magazine that the Bowzer boys always come out after a gig and give autographs to the fans. I can't imagine they're just staying with the elite guests, but obviously that's what's happening. Ah shoot." She grabbed her glass of soda and drank the rest down in one gulp.

"Maybe we should ask again?" Atsayal proposed. "One of those intimidating security guys should know. And if they tell us Bowzer's definitely not coming down again, we still can leave."

"Like security's going to tell us anything," said Tyra. "They probably don't even know. Dammit, and I promised Feadri an autograph. Auuggh, Forests, this suuuuucks!" Tyra leaned back his head on the backrest of his chair and shouted this last part.

Somehow, the shout felt really, really good to Tyra. Somehow, it turned into a howl.

Jerrik, of course, picked it right up and howled as well.

Then, amazingly, so did someone else at another one of the tables. Then someone on the dance floor began a howl.

The sounds of the howls were primitive, basic, and they felt wickedly good and throbbed in time with the dance music that pounded through the room.

Sally laughed uproariously. "Look at what you boys started! Oh, hell, ARRROOO!"

Tyra grinned. Suddenly he felt that his energy had been restored, and he got up to head back to the dance floor. "Come on, let's dance!"

The howling continued as they walked to the dance floor, growing louder with every moment. More people joined in until it seemed that everyone was howling their lungs out.

The friends were so deeply rapt that it took them a moment to realize that suddenly the shouting and howling grew shrill, excited. There was movement in the crowd, and several security men squeezed through.

"It's them! It's Bowzer!" Jerrik suddenly shouted, being able to get a brief look at the backstage entrance. Four familiar, multicolored heads showed up there.

Tyrallin stopped and fell silent as Jaydin took the stage and howled back at them. All the other dancers on the floor also quieted at the sound of Jaydin's howl.

The alpha dog had arrived.

Jaydin picked up a mic that was on the stage and turned it on. "Hey, I can't see where the DJ is located, but can we can get this techno crap shut off? I'd like to be able to talk to the people here. And can I get some full lights up here on the stage?"

There was a bit of a delay, but his requests were seen to in fairly short order. When the music stopped, Tyrallin felt the impact of the sudden hush like a jolt to his body.