For the past two nights I've been sleep deprived. I can't seem to get the memories of that night out of my head. It's the morning of the ball and I look terrible, my sleepless nights have left me drained of energy and its showing big time. Not to mention how much makeup it takes to cover up this mark.

I let out a frustrated sigh and toss my makeup kit onto the bathroom counter. This is useless. Now Gavin won't even talk to me. Actually he won't even look at me! I don't know what his deal is, he put this mark on me and now he is just neglecting me? Not to mention that every time I see him I feel a strong desire to be next to him. Him ignoring me is just giving me more pain.

Luckily, my scent hasn't changed drastically and no one has noticed the mark because of my amazing make up skills but I feel lonely somehow. I miss Gavin in my bed at night. I miss his presence around me. I'm not sure if I feel this because of the mark or not but I want him back.

I look at the mirror and lightly graze the mark Gavin left on me with my finger tips. It's weird. If I didn't know the way marks worked, then I would have thought it was disappearing.

Sadness creeps into my heart at the thought. It won't disappear will it? Marks don't go away, right? So many questions that I don't know the answers to.

I look at it again. I don't regret it, oddly enough. Something about it feels... right. The only thing that hurts me is how much Gavin regrets it. He doesn't want me to be his. He is only confirming the thoughts I had from a couple of days ago. He will never want me.

I sigh and pick my make up back off the counter. I need to hurry up and cover it before Marla and Stacey come to get me. I have a dress appointment soon and I can't miss it.

I patch up the area and make it look like nothing is there. If you stare at it for long enough you can tell that there's something there, but if you aren't looking for it, you won't see it. That's good enough for me. No one will be looking for it so that's what matters.

I leave my hair in a messy bun and put on a little mascara. I hear a knock on my door and I check my mark one last time. Yup it is covered. I shove the makeup back into the drawer I found it in and march into my bedroom. I open the door wide.

Marla and Stacey are standing there. I see Marla looking at me sympathetically. She walks into the room and looks down at her feet. Stacey follows in behind her and stands by her side.

I decided to get dressed without them because they have been no use to me lately. Marla has been very distant and Stacey is just mean. Marla lets out a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry." She says. I stand there shocked. Wait what?

"You're sorry?" I ask gently. "For what?"

"I have been very neglectful of you and I am sorry." She looks up into my eyes and I see the honesty behind her apology. "I saw you and him." she adds quickly and looks away.

"Saw him and me?" I ask. "What do you mea-"

"On the balcony. The night of the festival. You released a lantern together." She sighs and shakes her head. "I let my jealousy take over and Stacey always backs me up. I'm sorry. You guys don't even talk to each other so I know it was only a friendly gesture. I'm truly sorry." She says.

Pain flashes through my heart as the realization hits me. She's right. It was just a friendly gesture. Gavin knows how alone I am here and because I helped him get his sister back, he is here to get me back. Nothing more than that.

"Thank you." I say quickly. She looks at me shocked for a moment. "I was starting to get lonely without you guys." I say. She smiles.

"Well you don't need to be alone anymore, right Stacey." Stacey looks at me with sorry eyes and nods. I smile.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot." I add.

"I see you're already dressed, sorry we haven't been helping you... Are you ready for your appointment?" Stacey asks. I nod.

They lead me out to a car. All three of us hop in the back seat and the driver takes off to our destination. We pull up to an extravagant building. There are manikins in beautiful dresses lined up in the front window. Stacey leads us into the building. We get to the front desk and a women with crazy red hair stands.

"Ms. Brewer?" she asks.

"That would be me." I say.

She smiles and leads us through a door and into the back room of the dress store. She gets me into a separate dressing room that has a dress in a bag. The woman turns to Marla and Stacey.

"We will be out in one moment to show you the dress, please wait here." She motions toward two open seats.

The woman shuts the door behind us and I stand in the middle of the small room. She walks over to the covered up dress. She slowly pulls down the zipper to reveal a glimmering white and gray dress. It's beautiful, the dress is mostly white but at the bottom the white fades into a light shade of gray then into a darker shade. She takes it off of the hanger and walks over to me.

"I'm Jackie by the way." She says. "I hope you enjoy the color and style. We had our designers and crew working on it for a while."

I reach out and run my fingers over the material. "It's beautiful." I say lightly.

She smiles. "You really think so? I was hoping you would say that. How about you try it on?" She asks. I nod.

I strip out of my clothes and she helps me into the beautiful gown. As she ties up the back I look into the mirror. I look stunning. The dress fits in all the right places. It squeezes my stomach slightly but not enough for it to be uncomfortable, and it makes my boobs look slightly bigger than normal which is amazing considering they aren't very large. She finishes up the back and I twirl. I smile as the dress flips around me gracefully and falls nicely as I stop turning. The different shades of white and gray on the dress work beautifully together and the sparkles that line the bottom rim glimmer in the light. It's breathtaking.

"I love it." I say and spin around one last time. Jackie claps her hands together excitedly.

"I hoped you would! I am so glad you like it, do you want to show your friends?" She asks. I shake my head.

"No, I want it to be a surprise for later." I glance at the back of it and smile. I can't believe they are letting me wear this amazing dress.

She helps me out of it and I throw my old clothes back on. I slip on my boots and stand as Jackie walks over with the gown in its covered state. She leads me out of my room and Marla and Stacey look at me confused. I laugh and continue to follow Jackie. When we get back to the entrance she hands Stacey the dress and we get back into the car.

The whole ride home both Marla and Stacey hammer me with questions and comments about what the dress really looks like and whether or not I like it. I tell them that it is a surprise and they can't know anything until I put the dress on tonight. I cannot wait to see their faces. I feel butterflies flutter in my stomach at the hope that they will enjoy it as much as I do.

When we arrive back at the mansion, Stacey takes the dress up to my room and Marla takes me to the kitchen. Since I'm not allowed to eat much today she is going to make me a fruit smoothie. It's how we are going to get around the system because I am starving! They don't want me to be bloated or not hungry when dinner time comes. Apparently many pack members have brought their home made food for me. I cannot wait to taste some of the native food! I'm sure it is delicious.

Marla opens up the kitchen doors and we walk in. I see Kenneth, Wesley and Gavin standing around the fridge talking. They hear the door open and they look over at us. I feel a light blush cross my face as I make eye contact with Gavin. I start to feel self conscious and wish I did something nice with my hair instead of leaving it in this messy bun. Then I remember that he doesn't want me anyway, why should I worry what he thinks about me?

Marla pushes her way through the guys and get out the blender. Kenneth smirks as he sees her pull together a bunch of fruit.

"I thought you weren't supposed to eat anything besides breakfast today?" Kenneth says. I smile and sit down on one of the high stools that lines the island counter.

"Ah, but I'm not eating. I'm having a simple drink." I say with a shrug. He shakes his head.

"You always know how to work around the system don't you?" He asks. I nod. I glance down and my hands for a moment.

I feel awkward right now. Maybe it is the tension between Gavin and I. I'm not sure, I just know that I feel weird and I don't like it. Suddenly my body shivers in delight. That's odd. I look up and see Gavin looking at my neck. I feel heat rush through me and like a magnet I want to be next to him again. Crap, I need to control this urge. It has to be the mark. I bit my lip to stop myself from moving. Gavin lifts his eyes. They pass over my mouth then meet my gaze. I know I'm the only one feeling this, I have to control it.

Suddenly my neck starts to sting. It begins to feel hot, not in a good way either. I have to bite my lip harder in order to not let out a scream. I feel my breath begin to stagger and I stand from my stool. The guys look at me questioningly. I blink a few times. Once I make certain I won't let out a cry from pain I look at them.

"I'm sorry I suddenly got tired." I glance at Marla. "Marla I'm sorry, I am not feeling thirsty anymore, I think I'm going to lie down." I turn and quickly walk away from them. As I'm about to exit I reach up and grab my burning neck.

It hurts so bad. A throbbing pain surges through me and I let out a little cry. This isn't normal, what is happening? I manage to stumble into my room and close the door. The pain is so excruciating that I nearly fall onto the floor. I use the wall as support and walk into the bathroom. I flick on the light and walk over to the sink. I grab a face cloth and run it under cool water. Then I dab my mark. The cooling sensation of the towel feels nice for a moment then I feel another sting flash through my body. I wipe the make up off slowly and see that it is slightly red. The teeth marks are still deep but they seem to be getting smaller?

Okay, now I know I'm not imagining things. It really is fading. It is still prominent at the moment but after a good month of this it will certainly be gone. How is this possible? I hear a little thud in my room and I turn to see what it was. A figure crosses the room and meets me in the bathroom. I look into his dark familiar eyes. I feel tears being to cloud my vision as the pain increases. I close my eyes and hold my neck.

"What's happening?" I ask lightly. I just barley managed to get the words out.

"It's the mark, it is starting to retract." He says.

"It hurts." I say through my tears. "Please..." I whimper, "make it stop."

I hear Gavin hesitate to move closer to me. He finally gives in and places his hand on his mark. A cooling sensation takes over and the throbbing begins to subside. I steady my breath and slowly begin to relax. My muscles feel weak but I stay standing. After a little bit I look up into his eyes. Sadness creeps over me as he looks at me with no emotion. He doesn't even care that I'm in pain...

His hand slowly slides down my neck and I get ready for the pain to flash through me again. Only this time nothing happens. It is fine, there is no pain anymore.

"How... how is it going away?" I ask him. "I thought marks were there forever."

He sighs and takes a few steps away from me. "They fade if there is no contact between the two werewolves. It takes a while but soon you will be free again Evelyn." He looks away. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

He means he will be free again... I can't believe I let this happen. I knew he didn't care about me. I'm such an idiot sometimes. I hope it fades quickly so that I don't have to see his stupid face again.

"This pain, will it happen all the time?" I ask. He nods. "But once the mark fades away completely the pain will be gone, right?" I ask.

"Yes." He says. I sigh and look back in the mirror at my mark. It is no loner red. It must have gotten less irritated when Gavin touched it.

"Well I guess I can stand the pain." I say.

Hurt courses through my body from speaking the words. I guess I just have to accept his rejection. There's nothing I can do, if he doesn't want to be around me I can't force him. I always imagined things going so differently when I was marked. Things can't always be a fairy tale.

"Thanks for helping me out though." I add quickly and touch my neck. "I will try to mask the pain better next time. Don't worry I will make sure no one finds out. Your secret is safe with me."

Gavin nods. He doesn't speak a work as he walks back into my room then disappears into thin air. I feel tears prick up in my eyes. I gently wipe them away. These tears aren't from the pain of the bite, they are from the pain in my heart. Gavin just officially rejected me.

I guess I always saw it coming. I mean I am the only girl in the pack without an actual wolf. I probably couldn't hold any werewolf's baby. When male werewolves mate with a female human, they often avoid having children because it is so dangerous to the female. The baby could easily hurt the mom. Considering Gavin has his power, he probably wants to pass the gene down to his kid, I just don't know at this point if a werewolf kid would survive in me. I guess it is best he rejects me.

Speaking of children, I can't stay here and be with Kenneth or any of the other guys. One, because I now have this mark on my neck and Gavin would get found out and two, I can't hold a werewolf child without my wolf. Why didn't I think of that before? I'm young and they want me to have the kid as early as possible to create this unity between the two pacts. My body definitely won't be able to handle it at this age.

What am I going to do?

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

I look in the mirror and smile at my appearance. I look lovely, I just wish I was truly happy on the inside. The events from earlier keep ringing through my head and sadness constantly flows through my body. I just don't know what I am going to do anymore.

"You look amazing." Marla says to me as she finishes connecting the two small braids at the back of my head.

"Thanks, you guys look amazing too." I say. She giggles. She lets go of my hair and twirls in her sparkly purple dress.

"Thanks." She says. "The perks of working at the mansion is that we get into the parties. They also give us free dresses. Can't have their help looking bad during the dance!" She says excitedly. I laugh.

I look and see Stacey examining herself in the mirror. She is wearing a bright yellow dress. It sparkles at the waist and looks perfect on her. She turns to me and smiles. I smile back and look at myself again in the mirror. My hair is done perfectly thanks to Marla and my make up is also done perfectly thanks to Stacey.

I covered up the mark earlier. Hopefully no one will notice it tonight. My dress is low cut and my shoulders are exposed but my hair is down and curled so hopefully no one will see.

"Time to go girls." A deep voice says from the doorway of my room. I turn around and see Kenneth standing there. Why is he always around?

I hop off the little stool I was standing on and pass by him. Marla and Stacey quickly follow behind me. We walk through the halls and down the stairs. Then we come face to face with the ball room.

The decorations are done beautifully. The chandelier glimmers down on expecting guests and the tables all have beautiful cloths placed over them. The center pieces are little flower glasses with a single fish in each bowl.

I walk gracefully to my designated table and sit down. Good, see I got to my table and no problems have surfaced yet. Now I just need to get through six more hours of this.

I tap my fingers on the table and sigh. This is a lot more boring than I thought it would be. Suddenly a plate is placed in front of me and I sit up straight. I hear a giggle and I look to my left. I see Marla standing there.

"You look bored silly! Why don't you eat this then go dance. We can't have the guest of honor being bored now can we?" She asks. I laugh and shake my head.

"No, I suppose you are right. Sorry Marla." I say as I pick up my fork.

"Well I'm going to get back to serving the guests. Please enjoy your time Evelyn." She says and walks away.

I stare down at the plate in front of me. Oddly enough my stomach doesn't feel hunger right now. It only feels loneliness. I sigh and push the food around a bit to make it look like I attempted to eat it. Maybe eating isn't the best thing for me right now.

I stand up and look onto the dance floor. Couples glide around one another in captivating circles. The colors blend into a beautiful sea. Just then I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and see Wesley standing there.

"You don't seem to be having to much fun." He says worriedly. I give him a happy smile and grab his hand.

"That's nonsense. I just got here. Want to dance?" I rush all my words together and don't give him a chance to answer.

I sway onto the dance floor with Wesley and stop in the middle. I take a deep breath. I've got this, I just took lessons and I did a phenomenal job dancing then. Wesley smiles and slowly leads me into our first dance. I close my eyes and allow the rhythm of the song to flow through my body. I allow Wesley to lead me and the next thing I know I am dancing circles around the other guests. I laugh as we spin around and my dress twirls with us.

"There's your real smile." Wesley says happily.

"Thanks you Wesley." I say. "You really know how to brighten a girl's mood." He laughs at my comment.

We dance for a few songs, but at a certain point random men from the pack begin to ask me to dance. I accept each one kindly. When I danced with each of them they shared with me a story. Each was sad or happy in its own way, but at the end of each story they shared a simple thank you with me. They are so thankful that someone would be willing to put aside the differences of the packs and make amends. It touched my heart to see how happy and thankful every guest was to me. I didn't realize how much of a help I was being to them.

After a while of dancing with random guests Kenneth decides to join in. He steals me from one of the pack men and gracefully guides me around all the dancers. I don't object to him as he takes me away. I need some time away from them, their stories are beginning to affect me.

"You look ravishing tonight." He says. I laugh.

"Ravishing? So I look edible to you?" I say and raise an eyebrow. He laughs.

"Oh Evelyn, you always look edible. I don't think you realize the beauty you possess." He says. I roll my eyes.

"You're a silly one Kenneth." I say. He laughs.

"I wasn't joking my dear Evelyn."

Suddenly pain surges through the mark on my neck. I feel the urge to fall to the ground but I keep myself up. I can do this. Mind over matter. Another sting of pain flashes through me. I bite my lip to hold in the cry. I take a few deep breaths. I look up and smile at Kenneth.

"It has been a lot of fun Kenneth." I say and let go of him. "I need to use the rest room though. Thank you for the dance." I say.

"Anytime beautiful." He says.

I force out a giggle and wave to him as I leave. I hurry out the ball room and into the closest bathroom. I push the door open and check under all the stalls. No one is in here. Good. I lock the door and then lean on it. I stand there in agony as pain starts to flood my vision. The room starts to become fuzzy and my head throbs. This cannot be normal.

I stumble over to the mirror and grab onto the sink hard as another flash of pain spreads through my body. I take a deep breath and look in the mirror. To my relief the mark is still not very visible. I sigh. I can do this, pain is all in the mind.

I wipe a sweat drop off of my forehead. The pain seems to be subsiding for now. My head just feels really hot and things are starting to spin a little. That's fine though, the pain is gone.

I walk up to the door and unlock it. I step out into the hall way. Suddenly my arm is grabbed and I'm being dragged toward the front door. I'm about to let out a scream when my mouth is covered by a large hand.

Then I remember my training. I bite down hard and my capturer releases my mouth. I grab onto their arm and quickly twist it behind their back. I hold them in a tight grip that is painful and hard to escape from.

"Shit Evelyn." A familiar male voice says. "Where the hell did you learn to do that?"

I let go of his hand. No freaking way.

"Jason?" I say stunned.

He grabs his hand and rubs it. He turns to me and smiles.

"That's me. Your prince in shining armer coming to save you." He looks toward the ball room. "Come on, we need to get you out of here. Fast."

He grabs my hand and drags me to the exit of the mansion. I look back at the dance hall. I can't believe I'm leaving. All those people are here to celebrate me and I am just leaving them in the dust. What kind of savior leaves their people all alone... I guess I never did have it in me.

He leads me to a black car and tosses me in the back. He climbs in after me. I look up at the driver as he speeds away from the mansion. Is that-

"Evie I'm so glad you're safe." he says. I feel tears prickle up at the edge of my eyes.

"Bryce, you guys came for me." I say stunned. He laughs.

"Of course we came for you Evie. How could I leave my only sister-in-law alone? After Gavin sent us the letter telling us where we could find you I tried to get tickets for a plane to get us here. Unfortunately they were all booked and we had to wait a few days before we could even buy our tickets. I'm so sorry we took so long." He says as he steers the car.

"Wait." I say. "Gavin sent you a letter telling you where to find me?"

"Yes, we have been planning this whole time. I got a hold of him and we decided tonight would be the best night to get you because you wouldn't be surrounded by your guard-maids." He says.

He has been planning with Bryce to get me out this whole time? I mean I knew he came to help me but I didn't know he went as far as planning a huge rescue scheme or anything. Warmth fills my heart a little. Does this mean he cares? Wait, no. He still only wants to help me because I helped him get Adriana back. Nothing more. I need to stop thinking like he could actually care about me.

They take me to an airport and hand me my ticket. I look down at the dress I am wearing and look back up at them curiously. Do they really think that I am going to sit on an airplane for a long time wearing this dress? Jason laughs.

"You do look beautiful in that dress Evelyn, but won't that be uncomfortable on the plane?" He asks. I frown at his stupid comment.

"Of course I'm going to be uncomfortable! Did you think about bringing me some spare clothes?" I ask. Jason and Bryce look at one another. Then they turn back to me and shake their heads. I sigh. "I guess I will just have to-"

"Here." Someone says from behind me. A shiver flows through my body and I turn around. Gavin is holding a carry on bag, out in front of me. I take it from him and look into his eyes.

"Thanks." I say. Jason grabs my shoulders to turns me toward him. His hand scrapes over my mark and I bite my lip as pain courses through my body. Shit, not this again.

"Go change quickly and meet us at gate eight. You're lucky Gavin was prepared." He says and pushes me toward the women's bathroom.

I grab the stinging mark with my hand and let out a sad breath. I thought the pain was over with for the night. When Jason touched it, it hurt worse than the usual pain I get.

I get into the big stall and strip out of the gown. I open up the carry on and see one of Gavin's t-shirts and sweatpants. I quickly put them on and try to shove my dress into the carry on. I manage to squeeze it in and I close the zipper with a relieved sigh. I hurry out of the restroom and find gate eight.

People are standing in line and boarding the plane already. I look around and spot the three boys. They are toward the front of the line and I rush up to them. I sigh as I pull my ticket out of my sweatpants' pocket. My head feels a little light and dizzy. I feel myself stumble a little but I catch myself. I must be tired. Then I feel someone grab the carry on bag I was holding. I look up to see Gavin looking at me with a hint of worry in his eyes. When I make eye contact with him the worry goes away.

"Here, I will hold it. It is my carry on after all." He says. I just allow him to take it. It feels nice to not have to carry anything. Especially since I feel so lightheaded.

The man at the counter allows us to enter through the gate and go onto the airplane. Bryce and Jason got two seats that were toward the front of the plane while Gavin and I are toward the back. We are in the same row but there is a seat in between us. After we get situated a large man comes and sits between Gavin and I. At first I don't seem to care, but he is so large he takes up the whole arm rest. Since I'm in the isle seat I have no where to rest my head or do anything to relax.

The captain's voice rings through the plane and tells us to fasten our seatbelts. The plane begins to move and soon we are descending into the air. Once the plane settles in the air the seatbelt light goes out. The man in the middle of us excuses himself and heads off the bathroom. I feel a flash of tiredness flood through me.

Unfortunately that isn't the only thing that affects me in that moment. Another painful wave flashes in my mark. I suck in a sharp breath and close my eyes. Please pass, please pass. To my dismay, my chanting does nothing and I feel another sting and my body heats up. My head starts to spin and I feel woozy. Just then a cold and relieving pressure touches my neck. I sigh as the coolness flows through my body. Then, just like that, it is pulled away from me. I whimper and open my eyes.

I see Gavin next to me with his hand near my neck. He quickly looks behind my head and I follow his eyes. The man who sits next to us is waiting patiently to get back into his seat. I hear Gavin sigh.

"Sir, I don't want to be a pain, but would it be a problem to switch seats with me. My girlfriend here hates airplanes and it would be best for both of us if I sat next to her." Gavin says. I look at him shocked. Did he just call me his girlfriend? A spark of happiness flows through my body. I know he is just using it as a cover up, but it still makes me feel good.

The big man looks down at me and nods. "Sure, that's fine. My wife gets the same way with airplanes so I understand." He slides into Gavin's old seat and settles down.

"Thank you." Gavin says to the guy. The man laughs then leans his head on the window.

Gavin buckles his seatbelt next to me and gets comfortable in his new seat. I feel the heat begin to return to my neck again. I bite my lip to try and ease the pain. Then I feel Gavin lean my head onto his shoulder. He proceeds to take that hand and rests it on my neck. The coolness spreads through my body and for once in the longest time, I feel content and happy.