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√FOUR.

CHAPTER FOUR.

Karina, dressed already in a maxi pink gown, helped with my hair and make-up after I gave her thousands of warnings to resist using pink on my face. She handed me a hand mirror when she was done, and I got a glimpse of my face in it. Looking at the mirror felt like I was looking at a total stranger. Although the make-up Karina did was mild, I could still see a huge difference between it and my clad face. I had never done make-up before, not like there was a need for it, considering I had also never attended a party before — not even when I was in high school.

Upon rising from the chair, I returned the mirror to Karina, who awaited my verdict with an anticipatory expression. Yielding to a resigned sigh, I mustered a smile, conceding, "I love it."

"I knew you would," she sat down on the bed, picking up a brush. She applied a blush to her face. "I need to apply some final touches to my make-up. How about you go and wear your dress? Everyone is dressed already, except you."

By everyone, she meant Yuri and Tennessee. They were seated next to each other on my bed. Both of them were fully dressed and prepared for the party. Yuri had a purple dress on while Tennessee had a gray dress on, one the color of her gray hair.

"You look so beautiful, Eline," Yuri complimented, looking up from her phone, and Tennessee nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," I said in a whisper-like tone, feeling flustered at the comment. It was the first time I would ever be called beautiful by someone. Not even my own family had ever called me beautiful.

"Go dress, Eline. It's already dark outside," Karina chipped in.

I nodded in response to Karina and headed towards the bathroom with my dress. I almost got a mini heart attack when I looked at the mirror, not because I thought I looked hideous or anything, but because for the first time in my life. . .I felt beautiful. Eline Kadesh felt pretty for the first time in forever.

With my eyes still glued to the mirror, I smiled, taking my robe off. Before Karina helped to apply my make-up, I had my bath and took the hair off my legs and thighs. It took me over half an hour to get rid of the hair plaguing my thighs, but when I eventually did, I felt naked. I guess that was my feline nature being feisty for feeling naked without fur.

Karina and Yuri had both talked me out of wearing either a bra or a pair of pants underneath the dress, so I planned on doing so. Having wrestled with the dress as if solving a mathematical equation, I finally adorned it, the hem resting a few inches below my knees. Gazing at my transformed self, I marveled at the newfound confidence exuding from the amalgamation of curls, makeup, and attire. The dress, with its daring waist cut and revealing chest area, triggered doubts in me, but I pushed them aside, not wanting to disappoint Karina and Yuri.

With one final look at myself in the mirror, I left the bathroom. On entering back into the room, Karina was the first person to stand up, her phone in her hands as her camera flashed at me. "You look drop-dead gorgeous," she exclaimed, mouth wide open as she stared at me.

"You're going to have the guys at the party drooling an ocean over you tonight," Yuri added from where she was still seated next to Tennessee who had a smile on her face as she stared at me.

"I bet even Draken would drool a spit comparable to the Atlantic Ocean for you," Karina teased.

I frowned, leaning my back against the bathroom door. "Can we stop mentioning Draken's name, please?"

Before Karina could retort, a phone notification sounded, prompting Yuri to rise. "Dylan's outside waiting with the car," she announced, securing her phone in her purse. "I'll go with Tennessee first. Don't keep us waiting, the two of you. I mean it."

Karina hummed while I nodded as I watched Yuri leave the room with Tennessee to meet up with Dylan — Yuri's boyfriend.

"Don't just stand there, Eline. Go pick a shoe and a purse."

A groan escaped my lips. I didn't want to go to the party. Hell, I didn't even know who was hosting the supposed party. I picked up one of my Harry potter themed crocs and I didn't miss the look of absolute terror that Karina passed at me. "What?" I feigned ignorance, knowing fully well she was repelled by my choice of shoe. "This is what I'm wearing, and I have no intention of changing it. Either I wear these crocs, or I stay home."

Karina opened her mouth to say something, but with a sigh of retreat, she agreed to my condition before she continued stuffing her purse with some pills and lipgloss.

I wore the Crocs and took my purse, placing my phone and some cash into it. Then I left the room with Karina.

A Range Rover was waiting for us by the parking lot. Karina helped open the door to the backseat, and I entered first while she followed behind, closing the door once she was in. I was sandwiched in-between Tennessee -who had her eyes glued to her phone - and Karina who was now rumbling through her bag. Yuri was seated in front, next to her boyfriend who was by the steering wheel.

"Hey, Dylan," I greeted quietly as I used the seatbelt.

"How are you girls doin'?" Dylan asked, throwing us a boyish grin as he looked back at me and Karina from where he sat behind the wheels. "Excited for the party?"

"Just drive, Dylan," Karina said with a faux laugh.

"Don't be a party pooper, Karina. I'm only trying to raise the mood here," Dylan replied.

"Everyone knows I'm not a party pooper, if anything I'm the opposite," Karina brought out her lip gloss from her bag, reapplying it on her lips. At this point, her lips were as glossy as a newly glossed ceramic. "Can you tell your boyfriend to drive, Yuri?"

Yuri responded with a nod before mumbling some words to Dylan. That got him smiling as he turned on the car stereo before starting the car, while Karina hissed loudly to no one's surprise. Everyone knew Karina and Dylan were like cats and dogs. For some reason, they could never get along with one another.

As rap music began blaring out and the car began to move, I couldn't stop thinking about the party. I knew the party was like a tradition for every first session of a school year, but I'd never been to a party so I didn't know what to expect. I also thought about the chances of meeting Draken Gallagher at the party tonight, and for some reason, it made me anxious.

The journey was a short one and as the car drove into a huge estate, I didn't miss the crowd loitering around the area. The majority of them were holding red cups in their hands, one probably spiked with some sort of ecstasy. The air around them made me feel inferior.

"This place is huge," Karina exclaimed as she looked out of the window. I trailed her gaze, acknowledging the truth in her words. The estate was indeed huge. I used to think places like that only existed in Disney cartoons.

"What did you expect from someone who bears the Gallagher name?" Tennessee said, looking up from her phone for the first time since Karina and I entered the car.

"I know Draken's family is rich rich, but I thought they'd be modest since his father is the Duke of Edinburgh," Karina commented.

"This is Draken's estate?" Their words finally dawned on me.

Karina nodded. "Where did you think the party would be held?"

I shrugged. "Anywhere besides Draken's residence, I guess."

Dylan finally packed the car around a huge water fountain, nothing like I'd ever seen before. It was a sculpture of two werewolves, with water coming out of their mouths in such a way that I could see a sign being formed with the water, one that seemed like a younger wolf pup.

"This is about to be the best night of our lives," Dylan said as he took off his jacket and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. I was left alone with the girls, my heart threatening to beat out of its cage at the thought of being at my first-ever party.

"I'm out," Yuri left the car, and not quite long Tennessee also left.

"Coming?" Karina smiled at me and I nodded as I climbed out of the car.

There was loud music blaring out of the house as I admired the mansion. Even Karina's phone was out as she took a picture of the place — It was magnificent. The moonlight shone brightly on the mansion, causing the windows to scintillate like caustic diamonds. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my nerves while also trying to calm my feline side which was anxious about being out of her bubble.

Just as Karina and I were about to enter the building, the first people I saw in the crowd were Draken and Amanda. They were by the entrance, bodies mashed together, lips slurping as they kissed while a crowd cheered them on.

The night hadn't even started, but that sight made my mood go sour.

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