Moonlight Ball

Chapter 1: Moonlight Ball

Daniella

I wondered how many of us wanted to kill each other right now. I drew back even further into the shadows as I watched everyone move about. 

The smiles were all fake. The pleasantries were nothing more than smoke screens to hide everyone's internal disdain for one another. 

Welcome to the party everyone.

They called it the Moonlight Ball. It happened every year during the winter solstice. It was a tradition that I would have been happy to skip but seeing as I was the Beta's daughter my attendance was expected. 

Regardless of the title, I had come of age and all wolves over the age of 19 had to be in attendance.

I hated these things. They always felt so pretentious and more of a show of strengths rather than a social gathering. 

I sipped on my champagne in the comfort of the shadows. I felt most at peace away from the glaring spotlight that followed me daily. 

While some shewolves yearned to be in the spotlight to catch the gaze of various males, I took comfort in the shadows. 

I guess that's why I was more a less an outcast in my own pack. I didn't move as everyone else did. I was…more free-thinking than the others. My takes on life were considered obscure and questionable.

I blew away a wisp of my blonde hair that fell over my eyes. This updo that my mother had done was now beginning to take its toll on my scalp. I was almost certain she had stabbed me with at least seven of those ghastly pins. 

Dressed to the nines the top-ranking wolves from all seven packs moved about the room gracefully. It was the one night when we forgot our century-long feuds and gathered together as 'friends'. 

I used that word loosely of course. 

This year the ball was being hosted by my pack, Haven Pack. We were the second largest of all seven and boasted some of the best warriors in the western region. 

We were a kind and caring people and were known for our hospitality and trusting nature, well at least some of us were. 

The ball had been all anyone could talk about for the past month and a half. The female wolves gushed about how they could likely find their mate during the solstice, and the young males were elated to be chosen to join such a prestigious event. 

I, however, was less than thrilled. I didn't like crowds, parties, or being restricted in a damm corset. I would have much rather spent my time in the library. Instead, I was here, barely breathing in my corset, and in shoes I could hardly walk in. 

To be fair my mother had picked out a gorgeous white gown that hugged every curve of my body. Not that I had many of those to begin with. If I didn't hate every second of the event so much I would have appreciated the get-up more. 

My mother had also changed my hair. She highlighted my golden locks to give it that—what did she call it again?—sun-kissed shine. To be honest with you I didn't hate it. The added brightness made my brown eyes shine a little bit more. But the fact that it had taken almost six hours to get it like this was ridiculous to me. 

I went to sip my drink but noticed that my champagne was finished. I breathed a heavy sigh turning in the direction of the bar. I was not about to go through the rest of this night sober.

Where was Declan when I needed him? My eyes moved around the room in search of my best friend but he was nowhere in sight. He had promised that he would come tonight but knowing him he was probably with some girl. 

This ball was created decades ago by our ancestors after the Great War. It was to symbolize the unity between all packs no matter how different we all were. We were still one people—one pack. 

The statement was almost laughable. 

It was a nice notion to have but this was the real world and in the real world, unity and peace were but mere fantasies. Wolves played in the game of power and only one could stand on the top step. 

I walked over to the bar and signaled for the bartender. 

Jack sauntered over to me with a smirk plastered on his face. He looked from my empty glass to my face, "Are you trying to leave here on two legs or not?"

"Just fill it up, Jack." I handed him my glass and he laughed. 

He turned and got to work on my drink. 

Jack Whitehall was all things playboy and bad news. But he also happened to be one of my father's best warriors. He was somewhat of a protégé and my father's 'pride and joy'. 

If only I had been born a boy who loved to fight like Jack, instead of a girl who loved to read about science and magic. 

"Made you something a little stronger sweetheart," he turned back and placed a gin and tonic in front of me. 

I gasped with glee, "Just what the doctor ordered." 

I was sure my mother was somewhere in the corner of the room with a disapproving look on her face but I didn't care. She made me come here but she could not control what I did.

I took a sip of the cocktail and winced when I felt the bitter taste of the gin. 

"Yep," I coughed a little, my throat tried to familiarise itself with liquor. "That hits the spot for sure." 

I turned ready to return to the corner of the room where I had come from when I caught the heated amber gaze of my mother. 

Oh shit.

There were 

She was sitting at the table with Luna Rachel and some other lunas from various packs. 

She wouldn't approach me, at least not now. But the look in her eyes told me all I needed to.

We will talk at home. The golden amber screamed at me from across the room. 

Hopefully, I would be too wasted to hear her scolding me for the umpteenth time today. 

"I must say you look stunning tonight, Dan." Jack's voice came from behind me. 

I looked over my shoulder at the golden playboy, "how many women have you said that to tonight?" 

"Just you," he rubbed the sharp edge of his jawline. 

Jack was an attractive man women practically drooled at the very sight of him. I mean, how could they not? Sparkling blue eyes, chiseled body that was sculpted by the moon goddess herself, not to mention those golden locks of his. He was the definition of sex on legs. 

Sadly unlike other women, I was immune to his charms. His spells didn't drop my panties the way they did other women. 

"Ha," I snorted. 

"You know I have only ever had eyes for you, Dan," he said with a serious expression. His blue eyes pierced through mine like he could see right into my soul. For a moment, just a small moment, I saw something flash across his face but as quickly as it came it faded. 

Hmm, strange.

I raised my eyebrows. "The day Jack Whitehall settles with one woman is the day the sky turns purple."

He placed his hand over his heart. "You wound me, Daniella. I am simply waiting for the right woman to come along. If I'm being honest that woman is standing in front of me right now but she's playing hard to get."

I nearly joked on my drink, "Wow, we're really laying it on thick today aren't we?"

"I mean," he shrugged with that signature smile on his face. "A man has to do what he has to do to get the woman of his dreams." 

"And I'm the woman of your dreams?" I shook my head in disbelief. 

"From the moment I laid eyes on you sweetheart." 

"Save that for your mate, Jack." 

"And who says that's not you?"

"It's not," I gave him a deadpanned look. "We would both know if I were your mate."

Our wolves had this way of just knowing when they were looking at their mates. It was a predestined pairing that was curated by the goddess herself. 

He shook his head, "What happens if I don't like my mate? What happens if I fall for someone else who isn't her?"

I turned to face him fully, my ears not believing what they were hearing. "Are you saying would reject your own mate?"

He shrugged running a hand through his thick blonde hair. "It's not unheard of."

"Yeah," I sipped on my drink lazily, "But it is taboo Jack, you know this. A mate bond is sacred and predetermined by the moon goodness. To reject a mate is committing blasphemy." 

"What if the moon goddess made a mistake?" Jack leaned his elbows against the counter, "What if our true mates are the ones whom we choose for ourselves? There is no freedom of choice in the mate bond. And to me, it sounds more like bondage than a blessing."

What he was saying was sensible but I chose to believe in fate and the moon goddess who gave us our gift to shift. Call me old-fashioned but I liked the idea of someone being tailor-made specifically for me. To be understood by someone in a world where no one truly knew you. To be fully seen by someone in a world that constantly overlooked you. 

I put on a good show of not needing anyone and being okay with playing the role of the pack outcast but it got lonely. Besides Declan, I had no one else. 

"I guess we just have two different perspectives on it," I sipped my drink, my throat now fully accustomed to the bitterness. 

I turned my attention back to the people before me. The filling strings played in the background setting a very calm and subdued environment. 

"Seems like every alpha is in attendance tonight." The alphas were never hard to miss. They carried this air of dominance and power wherever they moved. "Well, every alpha except Alpha Caden of course."

"You didn't hear?" Jack said drawing my attention back to him.

"Hear what?" 

He ran his large hand through his blonde hair. "Alpha Caden is coming tonight."

The glass stopped mid-way to my mouth. "What?"

"I heard that he'll be in attendance tonight."

"Who told you that?"

"Alpha Luca," he tipped his head in the direction of our alpha and my father. They were huddled in a corner seeming to be in deep conversation. Even if I wanted to listen in on their conversation I couldn't. Wolfsbane lined the exterior of the building dampening our wolf abilities, which was why my wolf had been quieter than normal. 

The wolfsbane had been put in place to keep everyone in check. Even though we learned how to control ourselves and our wolves, we were still part beast and sometimes that beastly side slipped through when tensions got too high. 

If Alpha Caden was coming tonight it meant one of two things.

One, something was wrong and the alphas needed Caden's assistance. Two, Alpha Caden was up to something and that was never a good thing. 

Both scenarios were enough to make my stomach churn. I placed my glass down deciding that it was time to stop drinking. 

If Caden was coming I needed to stay alert.

Alpha Caden was the leader of the Blackmoon Pack, the largest and most feared pack in all of New America. He was known as a ruthless leader who had a thirst for violence and blood. 

Ten years ago rogues attacked Blackmoon Pack and nearly wiped out every last wolf in sight. Caden's mother and father died protecting the pack lands and their son, their only living heir. His sister was said to have died in the attack as well but her body was never recovered. 

After the attack happened Caden took on the position of alpha and became the youngest alpha in history at age 17. Many thought he would fail his pack but much to everyone's surprise, he managed to turn Blackmoon into one of the strongest and most successful packs in the entire country. 

They had nicknamed him the Prince of Death. This was because if anyone was foolish enough to go toe to toe with him they would always find themselves at death's door. 

There were stories of him taking on six rogues and successfully killing them all in human form. There was even a story about how he ripped one of his warrior's hearts out with his bare hands when he was found guilty of treason.

Little was known of the man but the things that were known terrified even the strongest and bravest of men.

"Why is he coming?"

Jack shrugged wiping down the counter. "I'm not sure but I think it may have to do with the rogues in the north that have been giving alpha Richard trouble."

"Have you ever seen alpha Caden?"

"Nope." He shook his head, "No one outside of his pack has seen Caden. He never used to attend the meetings with his parents, so even as a kid no one knew what he looked like. His parents were extremely private people."

The Blackmoon pack had always been something of a mythical pack. Little was known about it and all that was known was highly censored information d strategically given out by them. 

They showed us what they wanted us to see. 

"There's also a rumor going around that he's looking for a mate. He's nearly 27, if I'm not mistaken, and his elders have been pressing him to mate with someone. And seeing as he has not found his fated one he will choose one tonight."

I nearly choked on the liquid I had just swallowed. "He's looking for a what?"

I could not think of any woman who would be bold enough to mate with Caden. From the stories that had been told of him he may as well have been full beast.

Jack opened his mouth to speak but I didn't hear the words that followed because my wolf suddenly surged to the forefront of my mind. 

Immediately, I was on high alert looking around the room for any possible danger that may have been around the corner. But as my eyes moved across the ballroom I saw nothing. 

Weird.

What is it, girl? 

Silence. But I could feel her pacing back and forth in my mind. Something had her on edge and I didn't like it. 

The atmosphere suddenly shifted. A deafening silence fell over the room and all eyes turned to the large double doors that led to the exit. Hushed whispers followed the eerily silence and then a cold shiver ran down my spine. 

I moved my gaze to the exits where everyone was staring and stilled. 

My entire body went stiff and my heart hammered hard in my chest. My eyes went wide as I took in exactly what had managed to garner every pair of eyes in the room.

Standing on the threshold of the door were three men dressed in all-black suits, but my eyes were glued to the one in the center who towered over the other two at his flanks. Even though I was a good distance from the entrance I could tell that the middle man was breathtaking. 

His jaw was locked in place as he stared at the large congregation before him, displaying the sharp angular lines of his face.

His black hair was long but not long enough to cover his eyes and hide some of his beauty. It had been styled to perfection and there was not a single strand out of place. 

He was dressed in a suit that looked like it was made specifically for him. Unlike most of the men here, he had opted to leave the coat ties and went with a simple two-piece. He didn't even have a bow tie. He had chosen to leave the top two buttons of his white shirt undone.

Good goddess. Was it hot in here? 

Even with my heightened eyesight, I couldn't tell what color his eyes were but from the way they sparkled against the overhead chandelier lights I could tell they were breathtaking. 

Were they blue? Grey? A combination of both? 

The man on his right leaned his head toward the middle man and whispered something in his ear before the middle man nodded and took his first step into the ballroom. 

The attention didn't seem to bother him one bit. He moved through the room like he owned the place. People parted like water as he moved across the room. He carried himself like a king would. Head high, shoulders back, and nose turned up to everyone. The way he walked demanded your attention. It was hard to not look at him. 

His broad shoulders flexed as he walked across the marble floor. There was something about this man that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Who was he? Where did he come from? But most importantly why was my wolf pacing even faster now? 

Everyone watched as the three men made their way to the other side of the room where Alpha Luca stood with my father. 

Wait a minute…my mind ticked away connecting some of the dots that had begun to appear.

My father had positioned himself right beside Alpha Luca and his gaze was locked in on the three men who were sauntering in their direction. Whoever these men were they had my father on edge which was almost unheard of. Francis Davenport was a cool and collected man. He did not get startled easily. 

Who are you? 

 Alpha Luca had a smile plastered on his face but I could tell it was fake. 

"Caden," Alpha Luca opened his arms, "you're late to the party."

Oh, my goddess. That was…

"Traffic," Caden's thick voice carried through the silent room. 

Why did my wolf purr at the sound. 

"Nonetheless, welcome to Haven Pack, please make yourself at home."

This was him.

This was alpha Caden. 

The Prince of Death had the face of an angel, pure perfection at its finest. I didn't know what I had been expecting but it definitely was not this.

"Thank you," Caden replied turning his head to look around the room.

His eyes roamed the area until they finally landed on me in the thick of the crowd. A strange feeling came over my chest, a feeling I couldn't quite put into words. 

It wasn't until I heard the unmistakable word echo in my mind.

Mate 

The word echoed over and over again like a broken record. 

"No," I whispered staring into the cobalt blue eyes of my mate.

My heart plummeted to the floor. The room tilted on its axis, so much so that I had to use the edge of the bar to steady myself. 

"Danny?" Jack's voice pierced through the thick fog in my mind. "Are you alright?"

No…no…this can't be. It can't be him… 

I tore my eyes from my mate and looked at Jack. Worry etched his features but I had no time to reassure him I was fine because I was most certainly not. 

"I need to go," I barely remembered blurting out the words before I set my glass down and dashed toward the nearest exit. 

I pushed my legs as fast as I could in those damned heels until I broke through the side door exit and headed straight for the bathrooms. 

This had to be some kind of mistake. 

How could I be mated to the Prince of fucking death?