The ballroom is all the opulent magnificence I’d imagined... plus a thousand.

I wouldn’t be here except Hans and Jenny pushed me from the library, saying it would be good for me. I huff out a breath. As if socializing with stuck-up peacocks would be better than planning a war.

The last two trials are coming next week. The full moon is coming soon, and will be the next ball, which Hans has ensured I will be at since the king is making his grand pronouncement. There’s talk of a betrothal, but surely Arin wouldn’t… right?

The floor is a marble tile streaked with silvery veins. It’s polished until the tiles are slick and glimmer like starlight. I slipped on them three times on the way in, and I can’t imagine how the dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of dancers lined up on the floor keep from falling like newborn foals.

On the other side of the dancers is the throne, where the King sits with the Queen. They both watch with gracious smiles as those directly before them talk with animated gestures. Beside me is the food.

I found a place in the corner of the room that has a large plant on one side and a towering bookshelf on the other. Which means the corner both protects my back and the huge things on either side cast this area in shadow, just how I like it.

I run a hand down the huge plant’s leaf that’s bigger than my two hands combined. I feel the individual veins that feed the rest of the plant and soaks in sunshine. It’s much more than a typical peony, the blooms as big as Ran’s head and smelling so good I almost think I’ve stepped in an apothecary.

I lean my head out, looking at the food and debating if it’s worth scuttling from my hole and risking anyone finding me.

I meet blue eyes over a lady’s shoulder as the prince bows to his latest dance partner. Another thing he’s good at. He dances like a swan on a lake, graceful yet powerful.

I jerk back into my spot with a squeak, praying he doesn’t poke his head where he isn’t welcome. At least not tonight. I need room to appreciate... what, exactly? The magnificent room. Yeah. That’s it. It’s awe inspiring and turns my mind to mush.

Really, the people and the titters and looks are what’s making me have a mini panic attack, while actually thinking about talking to anyone makes my head swim.

Speaking of, I see ladies glancing at my corner as if they saw me. They have dresses bigger than a ballista bolt, or bigger than a dragon’s maw. Not kidding. I could fit three of me beneath their skirts, easy.

Not to mention when I first arrived and spoke my way through a few nobles before finding this hideaway... it’s almost as if the emotions and everything all caught up and then my Gift flared. Just as it often had in the past. And yet… this time was different. I could feel how she wanted to be used. Wanted to be useful. So I let her flow through me, taking in the emotions of the room. I went and hid until it passed, and now I have a killer headache—not due to my Gift, in fact, she’s gently warming me from the inside out with gentle flares of happiness—plus the knowledge that most of these people in here... are not as bad as I expected. One of the ladies who has always hidden her face behind her fan or laughed outright at my small stature... she is extremely insecure and craves acceptance. Just like me.

There were a few bad apples... most were, in fact, extremely selfish, but they felt normal. They had stresses, worries, angers, hopes, joys, and fears. Just like the commoners I’ve felt.

It seems the nobles and the commoners are not from such different worlds after all. They just live by different rules.

One of the ladies, in a more billowing dress than normal that falls like layers of clouds of bright pink to the floor with a trailing train that has swirling gems to make it look like a candy cane threw up on it, does something weird with her fan. She was one I couldn’t read at all, similar to Arin and his mother. There are varying degrees of people here I can’t get a bead on. I believe they have some sort of Gift or charm which may prevent my Gift from reaching them.

And this lady, with her bright blue eyes and coiffed hair perfectly styled beneath a tiara, looks like a princess. Wait! She is. She’s that princess who introduced herself and flirted with me last ball. Gag.

A lady in red flutters her fan, looking meaningfully at the Princess.

I’ve decided the upper tiers have an entire language with their fans. But I’m not interested in learning the secret language to a club I want nothing to do with. I just want to know if I can forge a fan with razor sharp edges... because, you know, research. And also because if I’m ever forced into a dress like that, I want to know I have something I can stab someone with because my feet are going to be useless beneath that much fabric. I’d be better off punching through a pillow stuffed with cotton.

You could hide a sword in that dress, Ran says, peering from my eyes with a critical gaze.

I scrutinize the dress, realizing it’s true. I rub my hands together, internally cackling while imagining just how many blades I could stuff beneath all that fabric.

Then I look down at my own attire, wincing when I shift a little and the silk outlines a knife stuck up my sleeve.

Hopefully no one notices that or the other few I have on me.

Few? Ran inquires, her voice amused.

Hush, I reply, trying not to blush. How’s the search going?

Something like embarrassment comes over the bond. I found them.

That’s… great?

Yep.

I stifle a laugh, trying to get a bead on her emotions. I’ve never felt anything like this before… I think she’s—wait!—that’s what it is. So in the few days she’s been gone since being caught underground, she’s found something. Or maybe a someone.

Who’s the handsome hunk?

An image of a sleek black wolf with stark white saber teeth and eyes of molten chocolate flashes into my mind. Ran immediately replaces it with streams of wildflowers and gently swaying pine trees and rabbits hopping in the underbrush… but the black wolf is still dead center, cocking his ears at the rabbits. She growls, and the image of the wolf flickers… but she can’t stop thinking of him.

You two are going to make beautiful babies. Will they be black, white, or mixed?

Ran’s embarrassment rackets up about a hundredfold. And then… I feel a fluttering of something.

My heart drops and then soars as tears prick my eyes. Ran… Ran…

Yes, Aria?

RAN!

Please stop screaming into my mind. You are giving me a headache.

RAN! You didn’t even invite me to the wedding and now your gonna have pups? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? But oh my word. YOUR GONNA HAVE PUPS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

Ow.

Ran. Are you ok? How are you feeling? Did you find your pack? Is he part of your pack? When did you meet him? When do I get to meet him? Is he your lifemate?

Sis. Calm down.

I AM CALM!

Ow. Yes. He… he is my lifemate.

I can’t decide if I’m terribly excited or terribly terrified. What a time to bring pups into the world.

Me, too, rider. I… I didn’t mean for it to happen. I’m scared, sis.

The tears break free. You’re going to be fine, love. And so are your pups. Think we can name the two most mischievous rascals Jack and Jill?

That brings a chirping laugh from her, and I smile. Ran, you might not have meant for this, but it is a sacred and beautiful time. I will be there to support you all the way, no matter what. Together—

Forever and always, we finish as one.

That’s my girl. Now go cuddle with your handsome hunk and get ready for those little ones. Do you want me to come?

A pause. No. He-Of-Moon-And-Sky is with me. Take care of yourself and don’t die. As my pack, I need you here when they come. As my sister and alpha, you will teach my pups to hunt when the time comes.

Something in me breaks as I realize what a change this will be. I doubt Ran will want to be my partner in battle crime as she raises her pups. They need to be free, in the forest, growing wild and learning things I was never able to teach Ran and having a pack like Ran has missed out on all these years because of me.

That Ran doesn’t dispute my thoughts says she’s thinking the same things. Our lives are about to change forever.

Beauty, if you need me, reach out. I’m always here, no matter what.

Her heart and mind softens and I feel her love as a warm burst of joy comes over the thread of our bond.

And as she fades to chase after her mate through the underbrush, I realize this is what she felt when I found Silver.

But change is not always bad. It can be bittersweet, but my heart mostly glows with joy for my girl. For what she's found, for what we've accomplished, and for the new life to come.

Change is change, and it's time I flowed with it instead of complaining about it.

Life isn't perfect, but it is good.

I just hope Ran lets me take her pups to a ball. Seeing the peacocks flutter and squawk in indignation about drooling, cute puppies would make my life nearly perfect.

My smile scares a man who was about to approach. His head snaps back when I meet his eyes and I quickly drop the devious smile on my lips. He makes right past me to the buffet area, nearly tripping over a plant.

I push myself a little further into the corner after that. No need to risk more socialization than what is forced on me when I get here and when I leave.