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me.”
    “Ah, so you are the one. Do you feel this is the right place for you?”“Yes, my Queen. I do. Danni and Cleo have made me feel less anxious about being away from home,” Benita replied with a little
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    Better Off red
    more confidence. She was the only one of us to address the queen so directly. The queen seemed to enjoy it.
    “I have to agree with your father. This is the perfect place for you. And you prefer to be called ‘Benny’?”
    “Yes, my Queen.”
    “Benny it will be. Amy…” she went on with a teasing tone.
    “Why are you here?”
    Amy’s breathing had calmed completely. There was still nervous energy coming off her body. She inhaled deeply before she answered. “I wanted to get into all the good parties,” she replied.
    “But that’s not why you accepted our invitation?” the queen asked.“No, ma’am.”
    “Have you ever been with a woman before?” the queen asked bluntly.
    “No, but I do have a crush on Danni.” It took everything I had not to turn to Amy. She’d never mentioned anything about liking Danni like that. I didn’t think it was something she would freely admit, ever. Forget confessing it to a room full of people she’d just met. I knew then I was totally screwed. I wasn’t a liar and I didn’t have anything to hide, but this confessing of the truth was beyond embarrassing. The queen gave me about two seconds to figure out what I was going to say. My name coming from her lips wiped the response from my mind immediately.
    “Ginger.”
    “Yes.”
    “Why are you here?”
    “I wanted to look out for my roommate, and lately, I’ve been questioning my sexuality. My brother suggested joining a sorority might help me find some other girls who feel the way I do about other women.”
    She relaxed slightly. “Is that right? I’ve heard there are a few girl bars downtown. You didn’t start there?”
    “No, I didn’t, but I did like hanging out with Cleo and Danni.”
    “They are very special. Are you attracted to my favorite pets?”
    She winked at Danni behind me.
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    reBekah WeatherspOOn
    “Yes, but…”
    “But what?”
    “I’m more attracted to you.” I couldn’t believe what I’d just said, but I couldn’t take the words back. They were out there for everyone to hear and analyze, everyone including the queen. Quiet laughter filled the room. I swallowed again, keeping my eyes focused on her. Her nostrils flared slightly as she licked her bottom lip. I felt a small rush of moisture between my legs.
    “I see,” she said. She swallowed then and tipped up her chin to address us all. I exhaled, glad I hadn’t pissed her off.
    “We will proceed.” The queen’s eyes closed as if in a brief moment of prayer before she looked at me again and spoke. “I thank you all for your honesty, and now it is my duty to reveal the truth in your presence. Samantha’s editor may have had some valid suspicions.” She paused, then started pacing in front of us. “Our kind wandered and scavenged for centuries, taking of the innocent and the evil, the undeserving and the unaware, to feed our bodies and maintain our survival.”
    I didn’t want to believe what she was saying. This wasn’t a cheerful “welcome to the party” type speech. The queen was talking about something ancient and deadly. She could have been trying to scare us for the sake of the ceremony, but the intense green and golden glow of her eyes told me she was being completely serious.
    And there was something else. I watched the queen as she talked. I hadn’t noticed at first, but as she went on, her canines grew larger and longer. The tips were sharpening, and the length was making it harder for her to close her mouth all the way when she paused. Those teeth were real and they kept growing.
    “Our kind grew tired of the death and the pain, the destruction of lives and families. We humbled ourselves at your ancestors’ feet and we were given all that we would ever need in return