"Phew, Charles! You look hot."

Dylan stood at the bottom of the stairs, eyes widened in disbelief. I could have sworn I saw a bit of drool escape the corner of his smirking lips as I descended from the top floor of the pack house. For once, I agreed with him. I looked devastating-- No, I looked Black Lupis.

After convincing Dylan to take me to the Broken Valley Pack. I'd been lucky enough to find a floor-length black gown in Sophia's closet. The dress was nothing special. Long, silken pleats of obsidian skirt brushed against the wooden planks, cinching at the waist. The dress hung off of my shoulders with simple black strings, and the iridescent spun silk of the bodice shimmered when it caught the light. A circular diamond rested just below my collarbone.

I also managed to navigate the dangers of Sophia's bathroom, an abyss of old clothes and makeup strewn across the counters and floor, in order to find charcoal black mascara and eye-color. In the end, I settled upon simply curling my chestnut hair into a simple half-updo. I wished that Sophia had been there to help me apply the makeup, but she had gone to the Broken Valley Pack as her brother's date. Go figure.

"Close your mouth, Dylan. You'll catch flies," I teased, reaching the bottom step and patting his cheek.

The Delta, my date for the evening, wore a maroon jacket atop a simple white dress shirt with matching maroon pants. He looked handsome, albeit, a bit like a wannabe contestant on the Bachelorette.

"Brat," he muttered under his breath for the second time today.

It had been difficult to convince Dylan to accompany me to the Broken Valley Pack. But when I told him of my gut feeling that Nolan needed our help, he eventually cracked. My words weren't a lie. I did have a gut feeling, an intuition that screamed at me to go to my mate. Maybe it was only jealousy... But what if it was something else?

And so, despite the risk of looking like a bat-shit-crazy rejected mate, Dylan and I decided to crash the party.

Ever the gentleman, Dylan offered me his arm, and we exited the house without a look back. While waiting on me to finish getting ready, he had pulled his silver BMW, our chariot for the evening, to the front of the pack house. I scooted into Dylan's car, careful not to rip my borrowed gown.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Dylan questioned, a hand resting on the keys in the ignition.

I nodded, even though my heart thudded like a broken metronome in my chest. "I'm sure. Nolan needs to realize that he can't just lock me away... I can take care of myself."

Dylan didn't need more reassurance. He turned the keys and the engine roared to life. The Broken Valley Pack resided in the heart of a mountain range at the edge of our region's territory. Lucky for us, the drive would only take three hours, and, if Dylan drove fast, we would arrive to the gala only an hour late.

"Arrival in t-minus ten minutes, Charles," Dylan announced from the driver's seat, and I straightened up from where I'd been slouched on the passenger side. Makeup grease now tarnished the window where my head had been resting against the glass. I'd have to clean that up later...

I typically possessed an uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime, but especially in car rides. Not to mention, I'd barely slept the night before. And yet, the unfamiliar fear churning in the pit of my stomach kept me from resting my eyes. Fortunately, Dylan was good company.

"Okay, let's go over the plan," I gingerly ironed out any wrinkles on my gown with my hands.

"The plan?" Dylan cocked a brow.

"Yes," I huffed. "Like, what we plan on saying to Nolan and stuff?"

Dylan chuckled, "That's on you, sweetheart. I'll get you in to the dance, and I'll be your arm-candy. But Nolan is your responsibility."

I rolled my eyes, unusually heavy due to the abundance of makeup I'd painted on their lids. "Don't tell me you are scared that the big, bad Alpha might growl at you?"

Dylan glared at me, but soon returned his gaze to the road and stepped on the gas. He was right. Nolan was my responsibility. And I'd spent a majority of the drive to the Broken Valley Pack thinking of the various things I could say...

When the time comes, you'll know the right thing to say, I promised to myself, took a deep breath, and watched as Dylan pulled right up to the Broken Valley pack house.

Alpha Kayan spared no expenses for his daughter's eighteenth birthday. The colonial-style manor of the Broken Valley Pack had been transformed into a scene of elegance. Whispers of light danced across the Corinthian columns that supported the facade of the house, and a few straggler party-goers stood on the front-porch with champagne bubbling in their hands.

Clearly, we were the last to arrive.

Upon exiting the vehicle, Dylan mumbled something under his breath about a lack of sufficient service. The valet boys must have gotten lost somewhere between the booze and the girls in the pack house, leaving us to fend and park for ourselves. We left the car at the very front of the house, a bit of a dick-move, but also convenient if we needed a quick getaway.

Once again, Dylan offered me his arm, and my fingers absent-mindedly fidgeted with his maroon-sleeves as we glided up the stairs to the entrance.

"Remember, don't draw any unwanted attention toward us," I whispered seconds before we reached the front door.

"Roger that." White flashed in Dylan's easy-going, perfect smile. I did a final sweep of my appearance, clutched Dylan's arm a bit tighter, and nodded. In unison, we pushed the doors open and...

Oh Moon Goddess! We barged in right in the middle of a toast!

One hundred glasses of champagne were raised in the air, and every head in the room snapped toward the entrance-- toward Dylan and I. We froze in the doorway, exalted on a bit of a pedestal compared to the rest of the ballroom. Damn the strange colonial architecture.

Heat crept up my neck, threatening to turn my face a blotchy shade of red, but I kept an even expression on my face as I surveyed the room beneath me. On the opposite side of the room, Alpha Kayan stood with his Luna, his eldest son, and his daughter. The four monarchs of the Broken Valley Pack stood so perfectly beside one another, they could have been posing for a picture. In the corner, just a few feet behind Alpha Kayan, stood Nolan.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of his blue eyes, glaring daggers from across the room. My knuckles bleached in restraint as I gripped Dylan's jacket sleeve even tighter than before. If looks could kill, I'd be dead on the doorstep.

I fought the urge to turn and walk right back out of the pack house, but a servant scurried forward holding a tray of champagne. The boy handed two bubbling glasses to Dylan and myself, which seemed to ease the tension that clouded the room. Alpha Kayan cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to the speech, and I felt like I could finally breath again.

Dylan led us down from the doorstep so that we could quietly take our place in the corner of the dance floor. "So much for avoiding unwanted attention," he whispered in my ear.

When Alpha Kayan finished his speech praising his beautiful daughter, Savannah, I downed the contents of my champagne glass in one second. Moon goddess, I need another!

My eyes swept the ballroom in search of more alcohol, praying that the servant might let me take the entire tray of champagne this time. I also prayed that I had enough time to consume several glasses of the fizzy liquid before an inevitable encounter with Nolan...

I still hadn't managed to flag down a servant when it happened. I felt him before I saw him. A familiar prickle traveled up the length of my spine, like a delicious electric current that begged to be indulged. A whisper of pine and peppermint in the air announced his arrival, and Dylan and I turned to face him. The Black Lupis Alpha.

Feared by all and loved by none. The sad reality of my own thoughts hit me like a ton of bricks, but Nolan had done this to himself. He had pushed me away time and time again, and I hated him for it.

But when I caught sight of him, I realized that he was not alone. Sophia stood on one arm, looking resplendent in a shimmering silver gown. But I couldn't keep my eyes on Sophia long enough to compliment the rest of her appearance.

Instead, my gaze flickered to Nolan's other arm. And the beautiful, blonde birthday girl that clung to it like a leech.