After grabbing a shower, I got dressed in some of my own clothes. Luckily, my mom brought a duffle bag with her yesterday containing all my own clothes and fresh undies finally. I got dressed in black wide-legged pants with a stay groovy hippie-inspired shirt and paired with my all-too-trusted doc martins. I found them casual and overall comfortable. I then made my way to the best place in LA that I knew of for tonight’s dress.

When I entered Fabuleux robes, a French designer loved by all of La for their unique designs, I knew I would not be disappointed until I was. All of their designs were so avant-garde and way outside of what I was looking for. Dare I say I would’ve loved something a bit more sexy than scary? When I eventually found a beautiful red dress that was calling my name from the moment I set my eyes on it. If a mate could be a dress, I’m sure I feel the mate bond. When I asked one of the girls for help she made her way towards me with an attitude filling her aura. “Can I try on this dress” I asked kindly, despite her face showing just how irritated she was by me. “It’s too expensive” she said while chewing her bubble gum and with such and annoyingly squeaky voice. “Excuse me” I asked making sure I heard correctly. “My gosh are you deaf I said it’s too expensive for you” She looked me up and down with judgement in her eyes. “Listen here if you aren’t going to help me ill spend my money elsewhere.” “Fine by me you know where the door is” I glared at her trying to restrain myself from ripping her head of her body.

I could smell she was also a wolf. Maybe she was jealous because of the news. Maybe she wants to sabotage me. In all honesty, I don’t care if I wouldn’t want to pay her salary anyway. I then went across the street to their largest competitor and, wow, what a difference. The shop was fully decorated in white marble from floor to ceiling. It felt like I had walked into heaven itself. A girl quickly hooked her arm to mine. “So what are you looking for: Wedding, Prom, Engagement, Fancy event? You name it we’ve got it” I smell she was also. Wolf. But overall, so much nicer. She had pinned straight black hair and pale skin with green eyes just like mine. She was a rare beautiful girl. She was also the same height as me, tall with legs to die for. “Umm mate ball”, I said to her in a whisper. She winked at me “Got it”.

She then directed me to the most beautiful green dress I have ever seen. “It would fit perfectly with your hair and eyes as well as your skin tone”. It was one of a kind dark green floor length dress with a sexy slit. A single stretched satin rose from the skirt to accent the tulle bodice with just one shoulder strap being that satin. The other half of the bodice was this shimmery sheer green tulle lined with flesh-colored fabric to make it seem like it's fully see through. It was sexy and absolutely beautiful. “That’s my dress”. “Yes. That’s your dress knew it the moment you stepped foot in here she’s been waiting for you. Want to try it on” “Yes” I squealed, being so happy to find the perfect dress tonight. When I tried it on, it fitted me like a glove as if it was made for me. The corset aspect of the dress in the bodice was so pleading to my figure and made my girls pop. Almost pop out but not quite. My waist was set in an hourglass figure and the small draped detail just above the slit that lands on my hip accentuated my curves in all the right spots. The slit showed off my biggest asset being my long legs. When I had bought the dress me and the girl that helped me chatted I found out her name was Riley. I got her number and we started making plans to meet up. Since Layla was gone, I needed a different friend and thought that would be great.

When I eventually arrived at Ash’s place, it was already three pm and I had to be in the pack house with Ash at six to greet all the alpha's before the ball officially started at seven. I have so much work to do hair, makeup, nails, shaving. “Did you find something?” he asked me from the lounge. “Yes and its perfect, you might not be able to keep your hands to yourself.” I said smirking at the thought of his face when he sees me in this dress. “Let me see” he said trying to grab the dress and open up its cover. I ripped it away and ran to my room to hide from him and locked the door behind me. “Oh come on Red, I have to approve of it” “Too late, I already have” I said in a stern voice, letting him know I wouldn’t back down. “So when will I see it?” “In two and a half hours” 

Whilst he was complaining, I went into the shower and shaved all areas that could contain hair that shouldn’t be there. When I came out, I got to work on my makeup. I was going for an all-glam look. I did a smoky eye with green shimmering eyeshadow on top and a dramatic eye liner that took me about a million tries each time to get them perfect. I made a fancy low messy bun with a few loose strands in the front to show off the beautiful emerald necklace and earrings I had paired with my dress. They were dainty pieces to not take the attention off the dress or clash with it. I had also decided to pair the dress with minimalist satin high heels. Just as I was getting my shoes on, I heard a knock on the door. “Red, it's time”. 

When I was done, I did a twirl in the mirror to just make sure I didn’t look comical. I then opened the door and found eyes lingering all over my body. I started to feel insecure again. “Is it OK?” “OK … really scarlet…. You look… breath taking”. A smile crept up on my cherry lips. “Never saw you as the nervous type, Ash” “Me nervous never,” he said whilst pulling himself together. “Let’s get going then” He said whilst offering me his arm to link,, into. Which I did. We arrived at the pack house to greet all the alpha's. Everything went well. We ended up waiting for another while when we saw Silvermoons car arrive. Again, it was not the Alpha but the beta. I was happy to see Layla climb out along with him and we ended up catching up. When we entered the mate ball it was much more lavishly decorated than before. It was as if I had stepped into an enchanted forest, not the pack house. Both I and Layla were shocked at the décor. “I guess it’s because of you”, she said from beside me. Bumping into my shoulder playfully, “So you know?” “Scarlet, everyone knows" .Being an alpha's mate is a big deal.”

After giving me a long lecture about the responsibilities of a Luna and introducing me to her mate, Damien. She also explained to me the marking ceremony because she too had one. Mine would just be way more panned and way more would be placed onto my shoulders. I eventually ended up feeling like a third wheel and getting tired of being lectured and my future foretold by Layla. I decided to go look for Ash. He was nowhere to be found. No one knew where he was. Everyone said they hadn’t seen him in a while. I ended up wandering out of the pack hall and roaming the rest of the pack house in the search for my mate. Then I felt the excruciating pain filling every corner of my being. It lingered in the darkness but seemed to be getting worse with each step I took. Then I heard it. It was like death themselves was waiting to impale my heart with their scythe. When I saw them in the room through the ajar door, it felt like death's scythe ripped through my heart and pulled it out of my throat. The sight of Ash with her….