When I woke the next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to realize I had got a good nights sleep, despite my worries. After getting out of bed, I put on my robe and made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen, making myself a rather large cup of coffee, my morning ritual. Adding milk and hazelnut creamer, I stirred it, taking a sip and smiling. I loved coffee enough to practically live on it.

I made my way back up the stairs, careful not to spill my coffee, and took a seat in front of my vanity. I pulled a curling iron from one of the drawers and turned it on. Finishing my coffee, I brushed my hair, and began the long process of curling my waist length black hair. After about an hour or two, my hair finally fell in large curls. I had made sure not to let the curls fall flat though, leaving my hair with quite a bit of body to it. I now started my makeup, using a brush to apply foundation the exact shade of my skin, then adding concealer and bronzer to perfectly contour my face. I brushed a little highlighter over my cheekbones, giving them a light glow.

Winged eyeliner traced my eyelid, over the top of light pink shadow. Alecia had insisted I wear fake lashes, telling me every other girl there would be. I had picked a soft pair that weren't too long, but looked natural, light and beautiful. I applied them and stared at my reflection. It looked like me, but a way better version. My skin looked perfect, and my eyes sparkled. I smiled at the mirror, touching my face with my manicured hand. Alecia had done my nails yesterday. They were now longer, an oval shape painted a pearl white. She said they would look perfect with my dress.

My dress sat in my closet in a zipped bag that hadn't been touched since it had been brought in yesterday. I was both excited and scared to look at it. I walked over to it, taking it out of my closet and laying it on my bed. Slowly, I unzipped the bag, revealing the dress to me for the first time. I pulled it out, took my robe off and slipped it on.

The gown was gorgeous. Since it was custom made for me, the fit was perfect. The top all the way down to my waist was form fitting. It was a nude pink color and covered in jewels that ran into the silky, flowing, white skirt of the dress.

My back was completely exposed and no matter how many times I tugged on the sleeves, they rested on my wrists. I stood in front of the mirror for an hour thinking over every word I would speak, every reaction I would have to any problem that may arise. I thought about how many people may be there, a few hundred? A thousand? My heart rate increased and I subconsciously tugged on my sleeves again, uncaring of the fact I knew they would never reached my hands.

"Celia, are you ready?" My fathers voice spoke from the bottom of the stairs. I was shocked it was already time to go, I knew the ball started at 6, so it must have taken me longer to get ready than I thought. "Yes.." My reply was quiet, voice shaking. "Alright then, lets get going, we have to arrive with Aulex and since he's alpha he has to be early." I put on my shoes, which were a tall heel the same color as my dress, took one last look in the mirror, and walked out the door before I ran into the bathroom and locked myself in, away from the rest of the world.

My dad was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, when he saw me, he smiled, and began making his way to the front door, knowing I would be following. We stepped outside and I was shocked to see a shiny black limo parked in front of our house. He opened the door motioning for me to get in. Once inside, I tried counting in my head to calm my wild heart beat, but it wasn't working. This limo spoke more about this ball than my father had, it was going be very fancy, and there were going to be many guests. We don't rent vehicles like this unless were trying to impress a large number of packs.

Not realizing the limo had stopped, the door opening broke me out of my thoughts. I hadn't realized we we're already here. Had I zoned out for that long? I took a deep breath, pulled on my sleeves, and stepped carefully out of the car. I nearly stopped breathing as I took in my surroundings. We had pulled up to a huge, beautiful hotel. There were too many people dressed in gowns and tuxes walking up the stairs to the entrance to count. I walked as closely to my father as I could, keeping my head down, and my face covered by my perfectly curled hair.

The inside of the hotel was even more amazing and intimidating than the outside. The room where the event was being held was obviously made for such extravagant parties and balls, and also to hold many people, much to my disappointment. The large crystal chandeliers spotted the ceiling, lighting every inch of the room. Dresses and champagne glasses sparkled as guests moved through the large room, talking with one another. There were already a couple hundred people here, and these were just the alphas and their betas, my heart raced at the thought of more people, and my palms began to sweat, this was going to be a very long night.

I stayed glued to my dads side as he moved through the growing crowd, talking and laughing with members of nearby packs we knew well, and greeting the ones we didn't. I stood quietly, hands clasped together in front of me while my dad spoke, I knew I had made a promise to Leah, but there was no way I would be able to keep it. He didn't introduce me often, knowing how much I hated it, but this time it was the alpha of the River Stone pack who noticed me.

"Who's this, William?" The Alpha asked my father.

"This is my daughter, Cecilia." He said introducing us. "Alpha Rendon was one of the first alphas I met when I was first given my position as Beta. He gave me and Aulex a lot of advice for leading after we lost our fathers in the battle against the rouges." He said smiling at Rendon.

"Its nice to meet you." I said quietly shaking his hand.

"You as well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow your father for a moment. The alphas and Betas meeting is going to begin soon." He said nodding towards my father.

My dad checked his watch. "In less than five minutes actually. Celia, why don't you go speak to some members of the other packs? Maybe make some new friends?" He spoke cautiously, knowing I was going crazy inside my mind right now, but there was a firmness in his voice that told me there was no discussing this. He was leaving me here, alone, with all these people.

I nodded my head at him, and tried sending him a smile, but I think it came out more of a grimace. I was scared to death. People were swarming around me, and the sound of their voices was amplified as my father walked away.

I could practically hear my heart beating and my breath began to come out in short pants, I was having a full blowing panic attack in the middle of the ball room. Just the embarrassment of that alone was enough to make it worse and my chest tightened painfully. I rushed through the crowd gasping for air, not sure where exactly I was going, just knowing I needed to get out of here. I ran through a maze of hallways and finally found a door labeled exit.

Pushing the door open I rushed out into the cool night air. I fell to the ground and tried desperately to get myself together. After about 10-15 minutes of trying to remember how to breath correctly, I was finally feeling better. I stood up and took in my surroundings.

A stone wall encased the large garden, green ivy growing up the sides. Roses of every color were planted about, and beautiful decorative fountains added a soft, relaxing noise to the night's air. I found a stone bench and sat, dipping my hand in the fountain beside me. The water ran over my hands and I focused on the calming sounds of the fountain and wind moving through the flowers. Plucking a rose from the bush to my other side I held it in one hand, calling on my Gift, and using it to turn the red rose different shades of pink.

"Its not very safe to be out here alone you know." A voice spoke. I gasped, startled by the unknown presence now in front of me.

"I was.. I was just getting some, um, some fresh air." I spoke softly, looking down at the rose, feeling like I was being scolded.

Suddenly the strangers hands were on my hips, roughly pushing me against the stone wall. A scream escaped my mouth before a hand was pressed firmly against my lips, keeping me from making any noise. Tears fell from my eyes, my fear now, much worse than in the ball room.

He quickly tucked my hair behind my ear and grabbed me by the neck, his face was so close to mine I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke, "You see, when pretty girls like you go places like this, so nice and secluded, bad things happen to them." He said fiercely into my ear.

I was crying uncontrollably now, and I tried with all my might to pull away, but the more I moved, the tighter his hand around my throat became. Suddenly, his body was ripped off of me and I fell to the ground, tears staining my face. I looked up and saw a man holding my attacker in the air by his neck as if he weighed nothing.

"It looks like filth like you shouldn't be out here either, because bad things will to happen to you as well." He said calmly, right before snapping his neck. I gasped, scooting as close to the rough wall as I could get.

I probably looked crazy, my tear stained face, eyes wide, mouth slightly open from shock of the nights events. I didn't think of that though, because the moment my eyes met the man who had just saved me, I didn't know whether to focus on the fact that this was Alpha Luca Michaels, or the fact that he was my mate.

The eye contact was too much and everything that had just happened had my head spinning. I shifted my eyes down to my hands, and realizing I was still holding the rose I brought it closer to my face. Its soft pink petals were now black, and they edges burnt. In my fear, I had killed it. I dropped the rose, and a single tear fell to the ground with it as I realized tonight would change my entire world.

- Author's Note -

Photo at the top is her dress :)