Jessica glares at my dress, her eyes tracing over the seams of the black number. It's a deep front cut, my back on display. A floor length twinkling gown that barely sticks to my shoulders. My hair is pinned up, light curls falling to the side of the face. My makeup is styled smokey, a bright red lip to pair. I pull the heels I purchased over my feel settling myself on my toes before looking back to Jess, "Something the matter?"

"How'd you find such a scandalous dress with so little time?"

"The human help. Ares sent them out yesterday to pick up a plethora of dresses, I just chose from those." My mark burns on my neck today. Ares tells me it's because of the new magic coursing through my blood, however something feels more off about it than I anticipated.

"Such a gentleman." She spits at me grabbing her purse from the side table. Something had to have crawled up her ass and died before she walked in here. She seems off, completely one-eighty from the normal personality that I'd grown so used to.

"Something wrong?"

"Only the fact that you get everything at your fingertips while the rest of us have to bend to your will." She groans under her breath. I raise a brow, she just rolls her eyes in return, "Never mind let's get down there. The car's waiting."

"What crawled up your back end and shat?"

"The fakest Luna in the house." She retorts leaving the room quickly. I grab my purse as well following. She's walking proudly on her heels, my own legs trying to catch her speed. She barely looks back when she struts through the door, her mate on her side. Ares greets me with a kiss on the cheek and large smile. I return it. Jessica is a later problem, her attitude most likely due to a bad meal or something.

"Ready, love?"

"I am. Let's get this over with." I mumble letting his hand wrap around mine and guide me to the waiting car. Jess and her mate take a separate car, their words traveling silently between them. I lean into Ares before he opens the door taking in his scent. My nose has been the first thing to start "wolfing up" and everything is bothering me. Ares contributes most of the "bother" to the pregnancy, especially when I ran from the room to puke at the smell of coffee. We ride in silence to the ball. Everyone in the pack plans to be there, this being one of their most cherished moments. A new fucking Luna.

Tonight, he plans to announce me as his Luna, officially claiming me to the pack. Just yesterday, the child's wolf caused me to kill. No one batted an eye. My body was overtaken by an unborn child, then used to kill someone we thought was threatening me. We pull into the driveway, the large building taking me by surprise. It's a brick building styled as one would style a castle, however it's a brighter, more welcoming color, "Excited to dance?"

"Excited to eat dinner. I'm starving." I'm ready to get home. Right now. I don't want to be here.

"Then let's get you inside my beautiful mate." He climbs out of the car tossing the keys to a valet. Ares grabs my handle letting me out from the passenger side. I keep steady on my heels, our steps powerful and concise. Ares keeps my back straight as we walk. The wolves are watching, and I can't make a mistake.

The deltas greet me, the beta watching from a distance. Omegas litter the dance floor shaking their hips, most have a glass of some kind in hand. I grab a wine glass off a tray for show, Ares doing the same with a whiskey. The pack moves for us to pass through, I keep my chin up. Shoulders back. The scent of Ares covers the room. The Alpha is showing off, letting everyone know who's in control. The King to be.

We guide ourselves to two chairs seated the front. I'm encouraged to sit in one first, Ares taking the other. The pack lines up to give us grace and say peace. However, one person is noted. A glare covering her face when she stands in line. Her aura scents deception and my heart hurts to see it.

Jessica walks up to me. Her curtsey is a mock and something crawls under my skin. The wolf within me feels threatened. Something's wrong with this interaction that I'm picking up on. I tilt my head to Ares who keeps a tight smile across his face. His teeth are a glistening white, the canines descended. He's dripping the rich tonight. Tux tailored to perfection, the watch, and the style of his hair. If he'd walked into my old job, I'd have begged for him to be in my section. I can't handle it. He's too... polished. Nothing like the rugged man that fucked me against a tree or fell to his knees begging for my forgiveness. This is a show, and we're the fucking ponies.

"Hey, Jess. How's it going?" Rip off her head, "You really do look great tonight."

My skin is bubbling with anxiety. I feel the warm hand of Ares lay over mine. The sparks calm me, his notice on my discomfort heartwarming. Jessica gives a tight, very fake, smile, "Thanks Luna! Can't tell you how much it means coming from you."

Light her tongue on fire, "And how are you, beta?" I look over to Josh. He's looking between me and Jess trying to figure out what's happening. Ares seems to be doing the same thing. I notice a subtle tug on the back of Jess's arm. He knows something. Something I would love to be included on. Any longer of this and this child is going to massacre. Bad feeling. Kill. Kill. Kill.

"I'm doing great. Just wanted to wish you both the best. I know it's a rocky road going from the human realm to wolf. Proud of your adjustment. Wolf will look good on you." He nods to the fresh mark on Ares. Ares doesn't bother to hide it. He pulled down his collar to make sure it was noticeable sitting in front of the crowd.

"Thanks." The dismissal was obvious. I'm not into conversation with anyone right now. Especially the raging bitch that's become of my best friend. My ice cream buddy, my number one. Now we're here and I don't know why. I can't find a moment that I would've upset her. It was just a while ago we were laughing in a tree together while the wolves protected us. She pretended to be a servant to help save me from the dark claws of James. But here we are. And she won't talk to me about it.

They leave without another word. Their interaction felt more formality than genuine, "I'm ready to go." I lean over to whisper under my breath. Ares tightens his hold on my leg giving me a softer, more meaningful smile.

"I'll make a few announcements after our dance, introduce you to an important guest, and then we can leave. What are you craving for dinner my love?"

"Definitely a large amount of clam chowder."

"I am disgusted, but if that's what you want!" He snorts in laughter. We finish out our greetings with the people, then run through the choreographed dance. He makes sure to watch my head while we spin. Especially when the quick moments make me want to bolt to a bathroom.

"First and foremost, I want to thank every wolf here tonight, It's been an honor to speak with each of you and share this time." Ares holds up a glass of whiskey, the pack cheers violently, "My mate and I are thankful for all the help we have received in the time we have been together. Winning more land for our pack has never been a bad thing." The wolves roar. Their glasses go into the air, some howling. Ares has his canines fully out, his wolf forward. He's getting high off this energy.

He announces a few minor things. Updates on Tyson, a new delta being ranked, and congratulations to a couple for having their first pup. It's nice to see him keeping up with everything, but it's still odd to watch. I can't believe the excitement of the pack when he mentioned the hundreds of dead wolves for the sacrifice of their own pack. It's a little unnerving. I stand next to him with a smile and try to maintain a good posture. It's not much longer now. Ares wraps his hand around my upper arm guiding me away from the center towards a man standing on the edge of the room. His eyes are a piercing blue, tattoos covering him much like Ares. He holds the essence of power as well, but something seems dark about him. Not in a way that stirs the need to kill, but in a more fear filled focused. I shouldn't piss this one off, "Mate, this is Darius Night. He's Alpha King of the Canada and some overseas divisions. He runs Night Contracting currently. Mr. Night, this is Veronica Smite. My mate."

"Lovely to meet you, I've heard such great things. I've wanted to speak with you both about coming up and helping me re-organize my life basically. Our numbers are growing by the day, and I must get something under control. With the business and the wolves, I've become so divided that nothing getting done." He laughs lifting his glass of wine to Ares, "I'm in the market for a COO if you know of anyone."

"I can't think of a single person that would be good enough for you. I wish you the best of luck, however."

"Thank you for the kind words. I'll be traveling through some companies over the next year to find the right fit. I've my interested peaked on a certain upcoming marketing director. She seems very promising, and something in my spine tells me to speak with her."

"Then what's holding you back?" I finally interject. Darius gives me a smirk.

"If she is something important to me, I need to get things in order before I collect. She's human, and as you would know Ms. Smite, that leads to too many problems."

"Collect?" I growl. The baby only encourages internal anger. Not to mention that fact that I still have a minor and continually shrinking spot for kidnappers.

"It was nice speaking with you. We'll reach out with intention to plan with you." Ares gathers me up getting me ready to walk away. Darius looks me over then gives Ares a side eye.

"She's rather fiery, Ares. You didn't tell me your hands were this full."

"I expect your mate to be nothing less."

Darius nod, giving me a small bowl, "I wouldn't hope for anything less. They're the best to fuck, and the best to tame." In short, I almost killed an alpha tonight, but Ares had me out the door and in the car before my claws broke skin.

~

My pajamas are comfortable. Their softness surrounds my skin like a blanket while I hold the tub of ice cream to my chest. My spoon keeps filling up, and my tears keep falling. However, when Ares freaked out asking why I didn't have an answer. I'm just crying and moody and needed ice cream.

Tonight, drained me. While I'm glad this ball is finally over, now we have the next thing to plan for. The trials are right around the corner. And it's unnerving to see how many men are sending in their personal bid against his neck. I believe Ares is up to fourteen men he'll have to take care of. I'm only a couple weeks into pregnancy and yet all the emotions and turmoil are being affected. The healer Rachel told me it's normal and to enjoy this time. However, I'm not fucking enjoying shit about this.

"We have two weeks until the trails. I'll be training with my delta's until then. I've received my fifteenth challenger as of this evening." Ares drops onto the couch cornered from me. His abs are on full display, only a pair of pajamas pants to keep him covered. They're a beautiful silk, however, and I can't fight my need to crawl over to his corner of the world and lay my head on his lap. He helps me adjust to keep the ice cream near me and focuses on running his fingers through my hair.

"And who might that be?" I mumble over a large scoop. He's used to my antics by now.

"I'd expect Darius to challenge. He's been looking to grow his power for the past couple months, but it looks like his need for a mate is taking precedent. And he can't challenge a King until I become one. Here. Look there." He drops the paper to my sights, the name of his beta scribbled across the bottom, "I suppose he's become jealous of me and wishes to grow into an alpha position."

"Josh and Jessica. I can't believe it." I grab the paper with my sticky fingers trying to blur the names away with my eyes. She is more in tune with this wolf stuff than I am.

"There's nothing I can do, however. We'll just have to wait and see how he does. He's a worthy challenge, one that I'll have to give my best to defeat. Josh has a problem with ego on the other side of things, and that tend to trip him up before he can strike for the win."

"And the others? Do you know much about them?"

"Just omegas that have the balls to sign up. It'll be sad to see potential die, but this is far above their heads."

I put the lid on the ice cream listening to the crack of my back as I sit up. Ares watches me with a light smile as I comfortable on the arm of the couch so I can look at him better, "At the end of the day, I need you to stick around. I don't know how to be a wolf, let alone raise one." I motion to my belly growing the future of the pack.

"You've done well adjusting thus far. It was that horrid ex of yours that led to such a bump in the road."

"Or the kidnapping? Buying me off? Force marking?" I joke with him, but his eyes go dark at the admittance.

"You'll never let that die, will you?"

"Why would I? Can't wait to tell our child who their father wooed their mother." I give him a roll of fingers to mock him, "Can't wait till they're old enough so I can tell them all the gory details. Such as, they were made from a tree fuck, one of the least romantic ways to get pregnant."

"Better watch that tongue, love." He looks me over, hands running up my leg giving me those addictive sparks. I meet his eyes, they're inviting. Maybe that's what I need.

"And what if I don't? You dirty kidnapper. I can't believe..."

And before I can get the sentence out, his lips are over mine crushing the ice cream between us.

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