Aurora

Mrs. Kala sent me home to get a change of clothes and get a couple hours of rest. I didn’t tell her about my encounter with Alpha Wolfgang. It would’ve been more trouble than it was worth.

I had to be back at the leader’s house tomorrow night. The gala wouldn’t begin until nine o’clock.

I thought about Wolfgang’s cocky smirk, fuming.

Should I even go back?

When I got home, I was greeted by the unpleasant sight of my stepmother walking around, nude.

“Eww!” I said loudly, to get her attention. “You know, these rooms were made specifically for our privacy. Not for walking around the house completely naked.”

I turned around, waiting for her to grab some clothes.

“Oh, sorry about that, hon. I wasn’t expecting you back so early. I just came from patrolling the southern area of the village,” she answered nonchalantly.

My stepmother was a seeker, with a keen sense of smell.

On occasion, the alpha assigned her to patrol, to see if she could sniff out the scent of the rogues that had been lurking around the border lately.

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at her, then went straight to my room and threw myself on my bed.

I tried to sleep, but sleep just wouldn’t reach me, so I got up and decided to head downstairs to prepare dinner.

Once I got to the first floor, I noticed that I was completely alone in the house. Montana must have gone out again.

I shrugged. “Better for me.”

I went into the kitchen and made some pasta, then sat in front of the TV and began looking for a movie to watch.

My phone began to ring. I looked down, smiling when I saw that it was my friend.

“Hey, Em,” I answered as I kept scrolling through the list of movies on the TV.

“So…how’d it go with cleaning and setting up for the grand party?” she asked.

I hesitated. I thought about telling Em about what happened with Alpha Wolfgang, but decided against it. She’d just squeal and go on a rant about how hot ~he was.~

All the girls in the village had a crush on him.

“So far, tiresome. That place is enormous. I thought we’d never finish with the decorations.” I stuffed a forkful of pasta into my mouth as I spoke.

“Ugh, I can imagine. What time does it start?” she asked.

“I have to be there around five thirty. The whole ordeal starts at eight.”

“Do you know what time you’ll be off?” she asked.

“Not really, but i’m sure it won’t be anytime before twelve.”

“Well…that sucks. Guess I’ll just have to wish you a happy birthday tomorrow.”

“Yeah, they ordered me to leave my phone at home, so I won’t be reading any texts until I get back.”

Emma growled. “That sucks.”

I couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

We spent the rest of the evening chatting and laughing. I barely noticed the time flying by. I eventually fell asleep, and the next day moved by in a blur.

I found myself heading to the leader’s house. I presented myself at the gates, then headed inside.

Once inside, I went to the maid’s quarters, where I changed into my official uniform.

It consisted of a white button-up shirt with long sleeves, a red bow tie, high-waisted black pants, and black heels.

Once we were dressed, all the maids headed to the gala room, where the lights were dimmed. We each took out trays and prepared to receive the guests.

Mrs. Kala assigned each of us a certain area of tables that we were to keep our eyes on, then instructed us to stand against the wall nearest that section.

The place soon began to fill with people, all dressed in their most expensive outfits.

The last ones to enter were our allies, the Blue Moon Pack from the West.

Their alpha came in, along with his daughter, Tallulah Wilhelm. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and bright hazel eyes. Her entire being exuded perfection.

After them entered our pack’s gamma, Remus Boman, who was in his late twenties. He was hand-in-hand with his mate, Aspen.

Remus had dark brown hair, with a couple of gray strands here and there. He had brown eyes, and was one of the shortest men in our village.

But despite his small size, he was not only one of the smartest in the pack, but one of the strongest.

Next came the beta, Maximus Barone. He was tall, with dirty blond hair and green eyes.

All the girls were crazy about him, despite the fact that he was a womanizer. He was the second strongest in the pack.

Last but not least, the man of the hour stepped into the hall.

Our alpha, Wolfgang Fortier Gagliardi. If women went crazy over the beta, he was the real panty-dropper.

I couldn’t help but admire that mop of jet black hair that always looked as if he’d just got out of bed, and eyes so blue they shined like sapphires.

Everyone could see the muscles bulging under his clothes, and I remembered how it had felt to be held against them... It was like he’d been crafted by the Goddess herself.

But there was one problem with him…

The man did not know how to smile, or to be nice to anyone.

Even though he was drop-dead gorgeous, his sneer, combined with his powerful alpha aura, made people run away from him.

At least, that’s what I thought.

That smirk flashed in my mind again, but I shook the thought away.

You’re here to work, not daydream!

Most of the time, Wolfgang was seen only with his beta, who happened to be his childhood friend. Or with Tallulah, the daughter of another alpha.

For a moment, our eyes met, and his intense look left me rooted to my spot. It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to cause a great stirring within me.

Once the alpha took his seat, everyone else did the same.

And so the party began.

It all went by so fast. I was so busy with my tables that I didn’t notice how quickly the time passed.

“Rory, Mrs. Kala needs you in the kitchen for a moment,” one of my coworkers said.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I answered, picking up empty dishes and refilling some champagne flutes.

Once I entered the cooking area, I was attacked with confetti.

“Happy Birthday, Aurora!” Everyone shouted. A beautiful cake, sparkling with eighteen candles, was placed before me.

“Oh my Goddess! Guys, you shouldn’t have!” I said, looking at the cake in awe.

“Oh, c’mon! It’s not everyday you turn eighteen,” one of the cooks said.

“Yeah, pretty soon you’ll hear your wolf. Then you’ll be able to transform, and—,” Mrs. Kala drawled as she looked at everyone. “—find your mate!!”

I rolled my eyes as they all laughed.

After eating some cake, we all headed back up to the hall to continue with our work.

Suddenly, I heard a strange voice in my head.

“Hi, Aurora…” It was faint, but clear as the day.

It was my wolf. She had awoken at last

“Um…hello?” I answered in my mind.

She giggled, and came into view in my mind’s eye. Her fur was white as snow and her eyes were purple.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am your wolf. My name is Rhea.” she said as she sat there, staring at me.

“The pleasure is all mine, Rhea” I replied~. ~“I hope we can get alo—”

My words were cut short as a delicious scent filled my nostrils. The scent was a mixture of wild pine, almonds and amber.

It was captivating, almost as if it were pulling me toward it.

Rhea caught a whiff of it also. She put her nose high in the sky, sniffing.

Then she said something that shocked me to the core.

“Our mate is here. I can smell him.”