My stomach turns in queasy circles as I stare at myself through the mirror in Damien's room. A blonde maid hurries around me, preparing my hair and makeup. She is sure to make everything perfect. My fingers entwine nervously around one another. I stare down at the large bruise on my arm that's being smothered with cover up.

This morning, I awoke alone in Greyson's bed.

I checked the time and knew I had woken later than I planned. Actually I was running very late, I was already supposed to be getting ready for the announcement. Yet, I still hadn't told Greyson about any of it.

Clarity filtered my mind last night. I decided that in the morning I wanted to tell him everything about Damien: him becoming my mate and how I am being forced into it. I also wanted to mentions my feelings for him, ignoring whether or not that would be a smart decision.

So I hopped up from the bed and got dressed. I searched around the room, obviously couldn't find him. I ran into the hall, checked Derek's room and Leo's room, but Greyson still wasn't there.

I was headed to the kitchen when I was intercepted.

Damien caught me by the arm. He smelt Greyson all over me and nearly snapped my limb right off. He dragged me to his room while I assured him that noting happened, lying through my teeth to protect Greyson. Finally he believed me, but now here I am, with a bruised forearm and getting ready for the announcement.

Maybe I will be lucky enough to catch Greyson before the announcement?

"Ow," I squeal as the maid tugs my hair in a strange and unpleasant direction.

"Sorry!" She tells me quickly, "I'm running short on time... my apologies."

I smile at her through the mirror. She is clearly worried that she won't finish before I need to be on stage for the announcement. "Don't worry about it. Just relax." I try and calm her as my heart palpitates in my chest.

What I really want is for her to hurry. If she doesn't finish soon, I won't be able to look for Greyson.

I notice the relief in her eyes as she nods. I watch as she takes in a deep breath and steadies her hands. She continues to work at a steady pace, but sadly for me, it's not as fast as I would like.

"You know," the maid tells me as she fiddles with my hair, "I'm surprised Damien chose a mate."

"And why is that?" I ask, but not really curious. I don't care much about Damien and his choices, but I suppose I should considering we will be a matched pair soon.

"Well... it's just... oh I'm sorry I shouldn't be talking about this. Especially to his soon to be mate."

"I really don't mind." I tell her. "You know how it works in this pack, I didn't choose him, he chose me."

"Are you sure? I don't want you thinking bad about Damien..."

"Oh trust me, I don't think I could hate him anymore than I already do."

"You don't like him?"

I laugh, "does anyone?"

I notice her cheeks blush in the mirror. "Well... I've never really thought about it that way..."

"So go on with your story," I offer.

She nods, "well, as a maid, I am often hanging around Damien's, Milena's, and Alpha Serg's rooms. I notice that Damien really enjoyed his freedom of being single. Often times I would notice him bringing more than one girl back to his room at night. I just figured settling down wasn't going to happen for him anytime soon..."

"Well if he is going to continue that, he needs to go find somewhere else to be with those girls considering I'm going to be sleeping in his room from now on..." I tell her honestly. Her words shocked me none. I knew Damien took advantage of the service and I really don't expect him to stop using it now.

Her eyes widen, "well of course he won't be using the service. He has you."

I laugh at her, "if he thinks he is getting near me in that type of way, then he's got another thing coming."

She stops fiddling with my hair and I look up to find a horrified expression on her face. Oh boy. Did I tell her too much?

"You... you can defy him like that?"

I shrug, "I'm sure as hell going to try."

"Well... I don't know whether I should wish you luck or not... this situation is rather, strange if you don't mind me saying."

"Oh not at all. I agree with you actually." A silence falls between us. I quickly fill the void, "what is your name again?"

She giggles and continues with my hair, "I never did introduce myself. My name is Marissa."

"Well Marissa, it is nice meeting you."

"You as well, Lucia."

---------------

I stand in the hallway in my nice sleeveless blouse and tight pants. I have t-minus 5 minutes before the announcement is being made and I have to be on the stage. People are already gathered in the big hall. Word spread fast that the Alpha was holding an assembly. Everyone is eager to listen to whatever it is he has to say.

People pass in huge crowds as they filter into the giant room. I stand patiently outside the door, waiting for any familiar face in the rush of people. I'm about to lose hope when suddenly a familiar black bob waltzes into my view. I perk up immediately as she flows into my line of vision. Then I sigh in disappointment when I realize she is only walking with Leo.

"Lucia?" Rina asks as she hops out of the flow of people. Leo follows behind her. They join me at the wall.

"Rina, where is Greyson?" I ask her, my voice frantic.

Leo cuts in, "he came a while ago. He was looking for you and figured you would be here already." He pauses then adds, "why are you all dressed up?"

My eyes widen, "he's already in there?" Ignoring his other question.

"Yup." Leo tells me.

"Shit."

"Shit?" Leo asks.

Rina give him a small smile and pats him on the shoulder, "don't worry about it Leo. Why don't you go in, I need to talk to Lucia for a moment."

"Sure," he looks between the two of us suspiciously, then disappears into the crowd.

Rina turns to me, "what are you still doing out here? Don't you need to be on stage?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to Greyson."

"About?"

"I think you're right, I need to tell him but I haven't gotten the chance," I tell her frantically.

"Shit, why didn't you tell him last night? Also where did you go last night, Leo and I tried looking for you?" I sigh and turn to look through the door, examining the crowd.

"It's a long story and I'm running a little short on time here." I can't see any familiar faces.

The flow of people filing into the ball room is dying down as everyone is settling in the room. I still can't seem to find Greyson anywhere in the crowd. My stomach flips in nervous knots.

"Well then let's go try and find him, fast." she concludes.

Immediately we jump into action. My feet quickly move beneath me, gliding me straight into the ball room. We push into the crowd. I bump into several people, pushing my way through. I hear several groans and annoyed hollers, but I blatantly ignore them. I huff in annoyance as I realize I can't see much, being shorter than most of the people gathered is a real disadvantage at the moment.

"I can't find him or Leo anywhere," Rina whispers from behind me as she squeezes through the group of people.

"Same, but we can't give up." I tell her.

We scavenge the floor for what feels like hours but is only a matter of minutes. Finally the familiar shine of brown hair floats into my vision. My eyes immediately lock onto the back of his perfectly shaped head.

"Over there!" I tell Rina quickly as I change direction in the crowd.

I push through the final group of men and land behind Leo and Greyson. Rina is quick to join. I'm slightly out of breath when I reach out and tap on Greyson's shoulder. He turns toward me and so does Leo. Rina places herself by Leo's side. She places her hand in his and slowly intertwines their fingers.

When Greyson sees me, there is sudden relief in his eyes.

"Hey," I say as I get absorbed in his adorably shining emerald eyes.

He smirks at my sudden dazed state. "Hey, I got worried this morning when I couldn't find you."

At the mention of this morning my mind snaps into action. "About that, I really need to talk to-"

My voice is drowned out by the loud boom of the microphone going on. Greyson's eyes move from mine toward the stage. My eyes stay locked on his back. The whole room quiets as a large and familiar voice bounces through the room. I freeze as I realize what's going on. My heart drops and my wolf trembles.

"Hello everyone and thank you all for coming to my sudden gathering. There are a few things I wanted to accomplish during this meeting, but first, I wanted to start the night off with some good news." There is a pause. "Lucia could you please come join us on the stage?"

My heart crumbles at the words. My arms shake lightly.

Greyson turns around. He looks down at me with questioning eyes. I watch him for a moment. Whisper, "I'm so sorry..." then turn and walk through the crowd.

Everyone parts as I walk through them. I can feel the Alpha's eyes along with every other person's eyes staring at me as I make my way to the stage. I walk up the wooden steps, my heart racing in my chest. My wolf paces in my head. Thoughts pester into my brain, giving me a headache. I was too late, but I will have to try and explain everything to Greyson later. He will have to listen to me. He won't understand the situation otherwise.

As my feet land on the stage, I look up to see Damien standing a few steps behind his father. The Alpha smiles lovingly at me. I feel my stomach twist in sickening knots at the sight. Damien smirks. Then he lifts up his hand, offering it to me. I gulp as I notice the Alpha watching me expectingly. I squeeze my hands into small fists for a mere moment. Then I step forward. I relax my left hand and place it in Damien's right.

I hear the crowd whispering.

As soon as my hand is intertwined with Damien's, he pulls me quickly to his side. I stumble a bit from the sudden force. Once I steady my feet, I realize I'm now facing the crowd. I look out. My eyes unconsciously find a pair of dark almost-black eyes staring back at me. My wolf howls in pain. 

Greyson's face is neutral. He looks between my eyes and my intertwined hand. My heart shatters and I look down, avoiding his hard glare.

"Today symbolizes the rebirth of our pack. We may have lost many good men in the recent battle, but in that loss, we discovered the most powerful of the bunch. You all. It is you that stand before me that symbolize how powerful and how strong our pack is. Together we were able to fend off and protect our home from the cowardly and venomous hunters. What we have left, is the strongest of the strong. With this rebirth, we also have solidified the future of our pack. My son, Damien, and Beta Emmanuel's daughter, Lucia, will be coming together as a mating pair and will be a symbol of the future of this pack. Together, we will become stronger!"

The crowd roars. The Alpha continues to work the crowd, riling them up. I notice Damien smirking proudly from next to me but my heart can't seem to rise from the ground.

I take a shaky breath. With all my willpower I glance back out and into the crowd of people. I search for a pair of green eyes, but nothing. I frantically scan the room again. I search every face. I desperately scan every nook and cranny of this damn hall. After a minute of this relentless search, I ultimately find nothing. My eyes finally settle upon my best friend. Rina stares up at me, no emotion shown on her face. Leo watches me from next to her, his eyes petrified.

But my mind can only focus on one thing.

Where is Greyson?