(Above are the girls' outfits for the Gala, it does not represent what they look like.)

After Connor and I talked for a little while longer, Trish and Lily pretty much threatened me to come get ready with them. They didn't really have to, I was planning on going with them anyways.

"So, are you and Connor all good?" Lily asks as she does her make up.

In all honesty, this is why I'm here. These girls want to know everything about me, I swear. No secrets here. "We're better. Not perfect, but at least we're talking. He explained himself, and I can understand why he gets jealous, but I'm also not just going to let him get jealous over every little thing. It's going to be a learning curve for him, but he'll be alright." That's the simple version of the rest of my conversation with Connor.

In reality, our conversation went more like this.

"I still don't like how you get jealous so easily. Girls drool over you all the time. You don't see me saying that you can no longer be around girls, that's impossible.

Philip is staying here, and is also a part of the Senate. He's going to be around, and he's going to want to talk to me. I doubt he likes me, but I get that he makes you uneasy."

I sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed my legs.

Connor stands in the middle of the room, unmoving. "I can't help but feel jealous, but I promise that I'm working on it. It's hard when I have a mate as beautiful as you." He slowly walks towards me to stand two inches from me. His head bends down to me, those eyes turning black as pitch. "I can't picture any other man touching you." He runs a finger down my cheek and bends down to whisper in my ear. "Or kissing you."

Yeah. Connor knows my weakness, and my weakness is him being close enough for me to unconsciously reach out and kiss the life out of him.

Okay, so maybe it's not so unconscious, but it's still a weakness.

Lily begins to talk to the room, excitedly trying to picture this galla. "I bet it's going to be gorgeous. This place is beautiful. They probably go all out for this thing."

And they probably did. If Philip had any say in this party, it'd probably be the biggest gathering I've ever been to.

"All I care about is the guys. I'm going to drown myself in a sea of men tonight." Trish applies mascara in the mirror and smirks at us. "It's been far too long since I've used my flirting powers to get free drinks."

We spend the next couple hours talking and laughing. It's pretty nice, since we haven't had this kind of bonding in a while.

There's a small, but persistent knock on the door. Lily jumps out of her seat to open it and flings herself onto Desmond. "It's about time to go ladies." He says, holding Lily close to his side. They step to the right slightly to show Connor and Hunter standing next to each other.

Connor walks to me and holds out his hand. "Are you ready?" His eyes sweep my body as I stand and he places a quick kiss on my cheek. "You purposefully meant to torture me with this dress, didn't you?"

I shrug and place a lingering kiss just at the corner of his mouth. "It was a selling point of this dress, I will admit." Connor drapes his arm behind me and around my waist.

"Okay, we get it, tons of sexual tension, just, don't start grinding against each other at the Galla. I don't think these people would enjoy that. Hell, we don't enjoy it." Trish says, always as blunt as an overused kitchen knife.

I blush and back away from Connor, but only a little. His arms is still on my waist, refusing to let me go completely. "Alright." He clears his throat as he speaks. "Are we ready to go?"

Hunter is escorting Trish through the door, so they're standing with their arms intertwined. Lily and Desmond are obviously going in together, and they're steadily chatting with each other. We're ready to go physically, but mentally, I'm hoping I'm ready. Connor and I just started speaking to each other again. Granted we did only take a break for about a day, but we were both very upset. Now I have to act like everything is superb and talk to a bunch of people that believe they are better than their entire species. Am I ready for that? Probably not, but I took to long to say it so we're already on our way.

Instead of getting nervous, I straighten my back up and lift my chin a little higher. So what if these people are powerful? I'm Sophelia Sinclair Desperte, and I am afraid of nothing and nobody.

I take a moment to drink in how hot my mate looks in a tux. Not to be one of those kind of mates, but my man is s-e-x-y. If fabric could melt, he'd be the one to melt it, no lie.

"Is there a reason you're trying to make me drag you away?" Connor discreetly whispers in my ear. "I can smell the arousal coming off of you, and it's not helping my wolf remain calm."

I gently elbow him and laugh to myself. "I didn't mean to. It's just that you look good. I like the tux look. It suits you." I throw a wink at him and he chuckles.

"I hope I meet the sun goddess one day. I'm going to ask her how you became so purrfect." We both end up laughing to ourselves. Thankfully, we're behind everyone else, or else we'd be caught snickering and laughing at our own bad jokes.

When we reach the doors, they're closed. Two men stand on either side, like they're bouncers. When Hunter steps up, they both grab a handle and open both sides in perfect synchronization. Connor and I are the last to walk in, and we stand between our four best friends. Lily smiles happily and quickly pulls Desmond away. She's never been to a Galla, even though her father loves parties. Lily never liked them, but I'm glad she's excited for this one.

"Don't wait up for me, I'll be staying until I can't flirt anymore." Trish waves and winks at me before walking into the crowd, and towards her first unsuspecting victim.

Hunter laughs and smiles at me. "I'll keep an eye on her. You two make sure you have fun. This is a once in a lifetime thing." He follows after Trish, as discreetly as a bearded, muscular man can.

A smile rests on my lips as I watch my friends. "May I have this dance?" I turn to see Connor holding out a hand to me. I stare at him, mesmerized.

I never noticed how confident he is, not really. I always saw the goofy, fun loving Connor, but, right now, an entirely different man is standing in front of me. My hand moves on its own and I place it in his open hand. "You know, I've never told you, but" Connor pulls me to him and we begin to sway together, "you would be a great Alpha." Connor nods and spins me around. "Can I ask you something?"

His smile grows slightly and he pulls me back to his chest. "Ask away." He rests his hands on my hips, and I place mine on his shoulders.

My fingers play with the ends of his hair, a habit of mine I can't seem to stop. "Why did you give up your title? You didn't have to do that."

Connor places a kiss on my forehead. "I know I didn't, but I needed to. My dad and I have some issues that I can't get past." I pout up at him and he shakes his head, knowing exactly what I'd begun thinking. "They started before I met you, so it isn't your fault. It's just, things got worse after we faked your death. In the few days before your funeral, my father and I had an argument and I couldn't take it anymore. I gave up my title then and there." Connor rubs his thumb across my cheek and I press a kiss against his palm. "I know you want to know what is going on between him and I, and I promise I'll tell you. It's just not an appropriate time. You'll get upset, and I'd much rather keep that smile on your face for a little while longer." His eyes sparkle happily and I smile up at him.

"As long as you don't run off and scare me like you did right before we came out of hiding, I think I can handle waiting." I smirk at him and Connor laughs softly, just for me to hear.

"Never again. I've spent enough time away from you to last a lifetime. Please, don't give me the silent treatment again, it's no fun." He gives me his puppy pout and, even though I say it doesn't work, I kiss his cheek.

"No more silent treatment, scaredy wolf."

Connor and I don't spend a lot of our time dancing, but we both know enough to not step on each other. Eventually my head finds its way to his chest. As we talk, I can feel his voice rumble in his chest. It begins to put me to sleep. "Let's take a seat. We've been dancing for a while." He murmurs to me, at which I nod absently. Connor will carry me to bed if I'm too tired. "You can't fall asleep yet. You're too beautiful to waste this night sleeping." He says as I take a seat. "Let me get you something to drink. I'll be back."

"Thank you." I give him a smile, already feeling a tad bit more awake. I think it was the mixture of swaying and his voice that were lulling me to sleep.

"Alpha Desperte." I turn in my seat to see Elaine standing with three other women. "Are you enjoying the Galla so far?" Her smile is genuine, but her two friends seem to be uninterested, almost like they're focuses is on something.

"Of course. My mate and I were just dancing together. He only went to go get us a couple of drinks." I answer with a smile.

Elaine waves the other two off with a gesture and sits beside me. "Sorry about them. They can be a bit cold. I'm much better at socializing than them. Then again, Master Philip works on me much more than the others."

I feel my forehead pinch and my lips turn down. "What do you mean, he works on you?"

Her eyes widen and she laughs. "You don't know?" She laughs again and waves a hand in the air. "Alpha Desperte, you are very funny. I am one of Master Philip's creations. He uses magic to create us, but he's crafted me to be an extension of himself." Elaine smiles at me, again, and I can't even imagine how much magic it must take to make something so lifelike. I've seen so many of his servants, how can he have so many and still be able to use arcane powers?

"That must take a lot of power. I didn't know Philip was such an impressive warlock." I look around the room in search for Connor, I feel like I need to have eyes on him.

"He is very competent when is comes to magic. There are many times he has had to prove his power, mostly in combat. Master Philip has been challenged by many other influential wiccans, but he always prevails. Even out of all the wiccan representatives here, he is definitely the greatest." Elaine waves a hand dismissing it. "Although, Master Philip would never flaunt it. He doesn't care much for boasting."

I nod at her, but continue my search for my mate. He shouldn't be taking this long. "Alpha Desperte, what a pleasure to see you here. I had hoped you would accept the invitation." I turn to see Philip surveying me. "That's quite the dress you've chosen. It's definitely a powerful statement. I'm actually quite glad you chose that one. It suits you well, and your mate seems to agree." He looks behind me, a complacent smile on his face. I turn on my heel to see Connor, a vein sticking out of his neck.

"I was just looking for you." I reach my hand out and grab his. "Philip was just saying hello." Connor nods and pulls me closer to him, nearly placing me behind him.

"Philip." His tone isn't friendly, nor hostile. Instead, it sounds like he's hiding any sign of emotion. "Sophie and I thank you for inviting us."

Philip nods his head graciously. "It was my pleasure. I feel for her cause, and understand her desire for help. I also know that stressing over something can blind you from seeing the obvious solution." He gives us a smile. "I hope tonight reveals some things you didn't expect." With that said, he bows his head again, and walks away to speak to someone else.

I place my hand on Connor's chest in an attempt to pacify him. Instead, he shakes his head, his eyes following Philip. "This isn't jealousy Sophie. I have a very bad feeling in my gut, and it was magnified when I saw that man."

I step in front of him and press my hands on his face, forcing him to look down at me. "Are you sure you aren't just mad because he was near me?"

"No. You were searching for me, even with him right in front of you. This is a protective instinct." He scans the room. "I'm going to go find Hunter. Go find Desmond and Lily. I don't want you alone."

He places a kiss on my forehead and marches off.

What is with everyone believing that I'm incapable of protecting myself? I'm probably stronger than everyone in this room.

We are stronger than everyone in this room, physically, but your skills with your gifts could use improvement. Solis pokes into my consciousness, spouting the truth at me.

She's right. I need more practice. As much as I'd like to say I've mastered being The Tigress, I haven't. There's so much more that I haven't uncovered.

Sadly, I don't think it's something I can practice here. It was hard enough when there was no one around. There's no way I can feel safe and comfortable enough to practice here.

As a matter of fact, despite being surrounded by my friends, and delegates from around the world (who place themselves higher than myself and don't deign to find me even the slightest bit interesting), I don't feel safe at all. Ever since I came out of hiding, I've felt this tiny fear that my worst nightmare will come true, and he will find me again. I will never be able to let my guard down.

A/N:

Hey guys! So this is a really long chapter (over 2,500 words actually, not including this author's note) and even though it took me a while to write, it was so worth it.

I just want to take some time and thank everyone who's still reading. Honestly, Werewolf Academy was just a project for me in the beginning. I didn't want to get stuck in a ritual with my writing, so I decided to change it up and write a story about wolves, you know, the cliché stuff, but then I wanted it to still be me; original and slightly weird.

I did not expect it to get as many readers as it has, nor did I expect so many people to actually like it. I don't like asking for votes, mostly because I don't want to seem like I'm hungry for them. What I love to see, is that 68k reads. That's what matters to me, because it means my writing isn't a waste. I write on other accounts, perhaps not ones you all may follow, but I remain anonymous here so that I can be free to write whatever I want. Yes, I write a lot. I actually have 36 drafts of stories, which is why I take so long to post, because my mind will stray from story to story. As I'm writing one, I may think of something to put in another, and so on and so forth. I enjoy seeing people comment, even though I don't get that many comments, I enjoy those that do. It excites me when I see someone commented, and I can't wait to read it, answer a question, or just thank someone for saying that they liked it. As a writer, knowing you guys enjoy it, means that I enjoy writing it. Even if it isn't a number one story, it makes people happy, and that's the goal.

I love all of you guys, and I hope you guys enjoy what I have planned, because things are about to get good.

Always, your weird writer,

RD

P.S. This is now up to 2903 words.