The Grand Soirée
After reaching the private entry to the top level of the grand ballroom, I could tell it was absolutely packed from the sound of chatter, laughter and glasses clinking. It sounded cheerful.
My parents and Ezra entered first and the ballroom fell quiet. My hands suddenly felt clammy and a wave of nerves crashed over me, and I tried to steady my breathing and focus on Lucian's speech.
"I'd like to first of all thank you all for gracing us with your presence this evening. We're not only celebrating this occasion with fellow Alpha's, packs, friends and allies.. but we're celebrating with you tonight, as our family, as the light of our life, Aurelia, makes her debut from pup to wolf." He paused.
"May the drinks flow steadily, may the dance floor always be full and without further ado, I'd like to present the birthday girl and my daughter, Aurelia!" He finished and I knew that was my queue.
The full ballroom fell into applause as I came into view and Mother gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, along with a "Go get 'em" smile. Ezra linked his arm in mine again to escort me down the grand staircase.
It was showtime.
I put my game face on - which was a sultry smile, since I wanted to start off strong. Considering I only had less than eight short hours to choose an Alpha and a forever mate of my own, before my father got to choose.
We reached the bottom of the staircase where our parents were already waiting for us. Ezra saw someone he knew and melted into the crowd immediately to go and say hello. Traitor.
My Father grabbed my arm and escorted me forward gently, before I could dash off to find a private corner and make a game plan. I came face to face with two familiar faces and realised that Lucian was already playing his cards.
"Alpha Cassius, Luna Vera." I greeted them both with a genuine smile.
I knew them well, they were from the Landow Pack and one of our strongest allies. I had attended meetings with my father where Cassius had been in attendance, and he was always attentive when I spoke of my opinions and ideas which I really appreciated. It wasn't really a normal custom to have your daughter, let alone a female in general, attend meetings and have a say in Alpha business.
I had previously thought my Father was supportive of my dreams of becoming the next Alpha of the Whitebridge Pack and taking over when it was time. Now I knew that he was just training me to become a really, really, really, strong Luna for someone else.
"Aurelia, have you had the pleasure of meeting our son?" Luna Vera asked politely.
Of course this was a set up.
"I don't believe I have had that pleasure, Luna Vera." I replied back equally politely, paired with a smile so that I didn't grit my teeth in frustration.
I had only been here minutes and I was already meeting bachelor number one, who was quite obviously at this point my Father's first choice of future Alpha for his darling, little political pawn.
Without skipping a beat and clearly waiting for his queue, an absolute Greek god stepped forward from the background and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Alright, this might not be so bad.
The still beautiful and mysterious son of the Luna and Alpha gently took my hand and kissed it as I wracked my brain for his name. Surely he would have been mentioned by Cassius or my Father in one of the many casual conversations they'd had with me present.
"Atticus, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." I said, holding my breath and hoping that I had remembered his name correctly.
He gave me a smile with his kissable lips, that made me swoon and feel a little weak at the knees.
"Aurelia, the pleasure is all mine." He then turned to my Mother and kissed her hand with a quick greeting before directing his attention to my Father.
"Atticus, my boy, great to see you again!" My father bellowed with laughter, quite pleased with himself as they both entered a firm handshake. It was almost like they were finalising a business deal.
I took that second to really take Atticus in.
He was an adonis. Black, slicked back hair that was similar to mine, tanned skin that pronounced his muscles underneath his well-fitted black suit, a smile that always met his gorgeous deep brown eyes on his scarily symmetrical but beautiful face.
He caught me looking at him and I blushed in embarrassment as I began to look towards the floor.
A soft hand gently cupped my cheek and tilted my head back up, until I was looking into those incredible deep brown eyes that belonged to Atticus.
"Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to grab a drink?" He asked softly while he offered me his arm.
I took it with a smile, while at the same time trying not to look like I was desperately wanting to touch him more.
Both of our parents had smiles from ear to ear and quickly melted into the crowd, leaving us alone - but the excitement in their voices as they walked away snapped me back to reality, knowing that they were definitely already planning the wedding.
I gestured for Atticus to lead the way and he led me towards a more private corner of the grand ballroom.
As we walked past, people turned their heads to look at us before whispering and I gulped, not knowing if what was being said was good or bad. The night had already started and I was already in someone's arms and everyone knew what tonight was actually about.
We sat at the end of a table and Atticus grabbed two glasses of champagne from a server as they walked past.
"So, tell me about yourself?" I asked, slightly tilting my head to show him that he had my full attention.
"Well, you already know my parents and that I'm from the Landow Pack - which I'm sure you know all about as well, since I've heard you have been quite involved in pack meetings and decisions..." He started off and bowed his head towards me in a sign of respect.
"My Father is going to be stepping down as Alpha within the next year and I'll be inheriting his role which I'm feeling more than ready for, considering I think that it is more than time to begin shaking things up and bringing in new traditions to more align us with the growth that has happened within the world since the dawn of time." My head snapped up at his words.
Was this man even real?
He had a body that I dreamed of wrapping myself around, he came from a powerful, respectful family and his parents already had previously treated me as if I was their own. He also had views that aligned with my own strong ambitions... but I started feeling a little niggle that told me something was off about this whole thing.
Surely if we were this compatible, then we'd be mates… right?
"What kind of things would you change?" I asked, curious to see if he was actually the complete package and deciding to test him a little bit.
"Well, my love, that's a journey that we're going to embark on together." He stated confidently, while subtly shutting down the conversation at the same time.
I pulled away from him a little bit. That was the only answer to my question that I needed.
First off, he called me "my love" when we had only just met. Which was endearing, but he was staking his claim and that made me feel more than a little bit uncomfortable. He already saw me as his. Secondly, my heart broke as I realised that he'd been coached by my father.
While I was very aware that this had been a set-up, I knew that I had just fallen into a trap.
I threw back the last of my champagne and stood up with Atticus following suit.
"It's been an absolute pleasure, Atticus, but I've just spotted an old friend that I simply must talk to!" I said quickly as a disappointed frown formed on his face. I hightailed out of there before giving him the chance to say anything else.
ATTICUS POV
I watched her suddenly disappear into the crowd and I felt a wave of disappointment rain over me.
She was everything I had ever dreamed of, and even more beautiful in person compared to the photos I had been shown.
I did feel guilty that I had been groomed by our Fathers for this exact purpose - taking her hand in marriage, but I knew in my heart that I was instantly in love. I knew with time she would grow to love me as well.
I could.. no, I wanted desperately, to be the one to make her happy.
I started walking in the direction Aurelia walked off in to try and see if I could find her, but after ten minutes of searching - I'd still had no luck. Not even a glimpse of her.
A hand landed on my shoulder and I turned to see Lucian, Alethia and my parents looking anxious.
"Is everything in order, Son?” My Father asked, glancing around for Aurelia.
"It was going great, we were talking and drinking and she's the strongest, most stunning woman I've ever met..." I glanced over at Luna Alethia and Alpha Lucian who were beaming at the praise towards their daughter.
"But then suddenly it was like she got nervous and she said she saw some friends she wanted to talk to and dashed off..." I trailed off as everyones faces grew somber.
"Listen boy, Aurelia is strong willed and by the way she was looking at you - she was absolutely smitten with you. Give her a little bit too cool off, otherwise you'll push her away. If there’s one thing about my daughter: She doesn't like being backed into a corner." I looked at Lucian and visibly relaxed at his words.
"I'll get my guards to locate her so that we know where she is, and then we'll go in again and seal the deal." He added, looking more and more confident with every word he spoke.
"I appreciate it, Sir." I said with a bow of my head before turning around to begin my second lap of the huge ballroom.
"Atticus." Lucian said, stopping me in my tracks.
"Just incase Aurelia manages to slip out of our grasp for the remainder of the ball, I want you to take this." He said while slipping something subtly into my pocket.
"She'll make her presence known when she's ready. So you need to be ready too."