*Selene's POV*
The atmosphere of the Blossom Ball just as it had been advertised on the invitation—elite and extravagant. This was one of those events that temd to redefine the meaning of wealth.It had a very strict standard for eligibility to buy the ticket,new money couldn't get you in,you couldn't have a scandal to your name,you had to have good ties with the Royal family. I was everything they didnt want,and yet I got four VIP tickets,how hypocritical. I tucked my head out the car’s window and took a big sniff of the flower scented air. This Palace have been reported to have a century old garden with the rarest and most precious of flowers. Of course, I thought it was all another assumption by the press since journalists were not allowed near the property but the air itself was a testimony to this claim. “Miss Fortlyn.”an usher greets me as the limo comes to a smooth halt.”Welcome to the Blossom Ball.” “Foxx.”I corrected as he opened the car door. “It's Miss Foxx.” “Of course.”He nods slowly,his big brown eyes watching me dreamily as he says my name.“Miss Selene Foxx.” I smile satisfactorily holding his gaze.“Good.” He gawks at me for a second before quickly collecting himself and holding out his hand to help me out of the car. He led me to the big redwood doors of the Castle. A strange sense of nervousness hit me again.It arched through my veins like ice and froze me for a split second. Even as strange as it was,it felt all too familiar. It was the same gutwrenching sensation of inferioriry that I felt when he rejected me. I took a steady breath and cursed my senses back into me.I wasn't Selene Fortlyn,I am the freaking Selene Foxx. And that enough was motivation alone. In four years I had built myself to be the most wanted and influenctial actress in the tabloids. My heart easened up, my pulse became steady. With the subtle nod,the guards pulled the door open and the grand bright light shone upon me. I straightened my shoulders and walked into the lively room. I recieved a series of double glances and the ballroom became progessively quiet. Conversations halted mid-sentence, laughter died on open lips, and every pair of eyes turned towards me and eventually the only thing I could hear was my own footsteps. I felt the electric shock ripple through the room, almost as if I could touch it, taste it. It was delicious. With deliberate steps, I began my descent. Each click of my heels echoed through the hushed ballroom, marking my return. My gaze swept over the crowd, catching the widened eyes, the parted lips, the disbelief etched on their faces. God,this is addictive. My eyes grazed the room for familiar faces to fuel me,but I found none.I couldn't find Yolanda,Noelle…or Ares.My smirk fades a bit,I had hoped they will be here.I sighed and tried to find my way to my seat. “You look stunning.”Someone says breathlessly beside me. I turn to him and smile at his nervous face. “Would you dance with me?”He manages to ask. “Aw,you are cute,”I say,fighting hard to keep my eyes from going back to looking for Ares. Another man shows up at my left with a glass of wine. “I got you a drink,I thought you might be thirsty…would you do me the honour of dancing with me?” I was just about to accept the glass when two more men appeared before me,flattering me with compliments and asking me for the same goddamn dance. I lifted my eyes to the dancefloor and notices several women with jaws dropped watching their dance partners come to me for a dance. This wasnt planned,but it sure was going to be deviously fun to mess with snobs. Pretty soon the crowd of men circling me had grown to have over thirty members.All with the same question. I raise my left hand as if to decide on who to pick,and their eyes light up with hope,their hands stretching further to me. One of the men pushed the other as my hand approached theirs. “I was here first.” The offended man grunts and retakes his stand firmly. “You are aware I physically cannot dance with all you, are you not?.” “Understandable.”a blonde agrees,gently taking my hand,and bowing to kiss it. “One dance will be enough.” I give him a sly smile and pull my hand away from his grasp. “Then,it's settled.Let me propose a little game”I say loudly. “I shall dance with only one man.But dont worry,you all have a chance..I will dance with The man who brings me my favourite flower first.” There was a pause and their eyes searched each other in avid confusion. “What is your favourite flower?”the shortest of them asked. I shrug as I worm my way out of them. “It's all part of the challenge.” In the next minute,my darling contestants rush out the door in a frenzy,almost falling over one another as fight the urge to burst up In laughter. I went to the VIP section and found my eat besides Greta and sat myself besides her. “Are you enjoying yourself ?”she asked as I crossed my legs. “It will be a crime not to.”I whispered back. Her eyes narrowed accusingly “This is why you asked me to take another car?You were late on purpose.” “Late appearances are the best–”I paused to stop a man coming to me with a dozen of freshly uprooted lilacs. “Are these your favourite flowers?”He asked hopefully. I pluck out a petal in disgust. “Lilacs? Really?” His face saddens but soon lits up again . “There is still time.” With that he heads out the door,I notice a few other men were beginning to abandon their dates and join the hunt for my flower. This obviously earns me a few new glares in which I relish in. “If eyes could kill.”I say,running my eyes around the room. A guy returned with a big bouquet of tulips. I scoffed and shook my head before he could Even approach my table. “At this rate,you are going to destroy the garden.” I grab a champangne glass from a passing tray. “Exactly.Its like killing two birds with one stone.A destroyed garden and destroyed egos.” And then suddenly,a man emerges from amoung the crowd with a large bouquet of blood red roses. “Roses are cliché,not my favourite.”I drawl and roll my eyes as he keeps walking to me. “I am not a part of the competition.”He says smoothly. His intruging voice dancing in tunes. “Then why the roses?” “It was a gift I promised myself to give you if I met you.”He stretches the flower to me. “As an appreciation of your talent.” How adorable,I thought as my eyes ran over his emarld green suit.There was not a wrinkle in sight.His eyes matched his clothes and his hair matched his brown leather shoes.He looked like he was from one of those families that thought poverty was a myth. I accepted the roses and inhaled its scent. “May I have this dance"he asks. I shoot him a look. “I thought this was just an appreciation of my talent.” “It is…”he says nervously.Greta clears her throat behind me and I gently kick her in the leg. “Then why are you asking me to–”i catch one of the men bringing in hibiscus in one hand and white jades in the other and rolled my eyes. “Fine.” I gave Greta my roses and followed the rich boy to the center Of the ballroom. “You look even more beautiful in person.”he says with a bright smile. “The camera doesn't do you justice.” “Oh sweetheart,”I say leading his hand to my waist. “Let's just dance.” “I have been a fan of yours since your first movie.” I ignore him and lay my head on his chest.His heart was drumming heavily. Damn,he must really be nervous. “So,”I began as my fingers traced silver thread lines on his chest. “Roses boy,what's your name?” “Dominic Torchelli.”He says into my ear. The name sounds too familiar to ignore.I pull my head off his chest to stare at his face. Its only know I realized how handsome he looked,his rugged features paired nicely with his muscultr build,however his eyes looked alert and professional.Like someone who worked with alot of papers.That was a lot of analyzing and yet I didn't recognise him. “Who are you?”I ask. “A business man.”he replies simply. “I own a chain of hotels.” Then it hit me,I know knew why the name was to familiar. He was in the news couple of days ago,announcing that his new hotel was named after me. “You are the mad man who named his hotel after me?” His brows raised in alarm. “Mad man? You dont like things named after you?” I return my head on his shoulder before I speak. “No.Its obsessive.” “Then what do you like,Selene?”He whispers to me. I run my eyes over him and shrug. “That,Dominic,is for you to figure out.” As the final notes of the waltz faded into the air, we paused in the center of the floor, letting the silence stretch, savoring the tension that hung thick in the room. Then something to called me. The inaudible voice didn't gently nudge at me to answer,it was a forceful pull,urging me to listen to it's demands. My confused gaze flicked up to the voice and that was when I saw him.His icy eyes had caught me…trapped me. I tried to look away,I really did.But something about the mere thought of looking the other way felt blasphemously wrong. He stared down at me in disapproval,like I was an insolent child who had defied his rule,like he would punish me any second.And so he did. “Arrest that man!”he says loudly. My heart turned cold in my chest. What man? Why? I pulled away from Dominic's confused face as the guards approached him. “What's going on?”I asked,surprisingly breathless. “What did you Do?” “I don't know ”Dominic replies,his gaze frantically darting around the room.”I didn't do anything.” “Innocent people are not arrested”I say in annoyance.The media will make the worst assumptions about this for sure. Dom glances at Ares and then at me. “My only crime was dancing with you.” I raise an eyebrow and mustered the courage to look back up at him.And again,his eyes was still rested on me.It was heavy,intrusive,blue. His eyes were shamelessly glued on me as If the rumours weren't bad enough. But I wasn't going to falter,if he wanted to worsen our reputations so bchit.I chinned up and narrowed my eyes. This made him smirk. A goddamn satisfactory Smirk. It felt like an insult. Like this was all premeditated to get a reaction out of me. But why? Noelle had now perched herself dutifully beside him,clutching on his elbow with her white gloved hands.Her hair and dress white,she looked just like the magazine had portrayed her,the image of a perfect wife. I felt a subtle sting in my chest and I pulled my gaze back to Dominic being dragged outside. This situation Wasn't my problem,I didn't know Dominic,we merely danced. I should walk away,pretend it didn't even happen–but I couldn't,not know that it was obvious Ares was doing this to get at me. My mind ran to Dom’s words. ‘My only crime was dancing with you.’ Hate wrapped around my lungs and squeezed it hard,I should walk away. But then like a challenge to myself,I decided against it immediately.It was one thing to hate a man and another to let him push you around.If Ares wants to play this game,then we play we shall.*Ares's POV* Elais gets up from his seat the moment I enter the room. “We have done the research on him.”he begins with an unusual coolness. “He is into real estates and hotels.He has already bought land in the territory for construction.He is from Ravenclaw pack but his family relocated to England years ago.I doubt he is the spy.” I stare at my beta blankly,he wasn't giving me anything I can use to pin on this man and drive him out of my territory. “Did you find anything incriminating?”I oblige despite my countless requests that he did it earlier. He hands me the file and shakes his head. “No.” I frowned,Elais could find out if you cheated on your fifth grade test if he wanted to. No one is perfect,if he had searched,he would have found something. “Did you look for anything incriminating?”I asked calmly. Elais rubbed his hand on his jaw. “No.” Be calm,I tell myself.You already snapped once tonight.“Why not?” His eyes searched around the room for listeners and found n
*Yolanda's (Selene's stepmother) POV*“That's it Selene has returned!”the reporter exclaimed. I switched the channel.“And in other news.”the blonde began with a bright smile. “The Selene Foxx has just marked this town as her playground with tonight's latest activities–” I switched the channel again.This time it was my favourite show;‘The Analysts’,sitting in a circle discussing the exact same thing the other channels were discussing. I swallow hard and try to give it a chance.Maybe they were seeing it as the catastrophy that it was that she returned.Or perhaps they cared that she had completely stolen the entire point of the Blossom Ball and made it about her. Oh but I was wrong. I was so wrong. “I think Ironclaw should feel particularly blessed that they got to witness this phenomenal women right at their ball.”On of the TV hosts said as he admired the picture of her on the screen.“And they say she is staying for six whole months?” “She is indeed. She is said to b
*Selene POV* I reached for a bath bomb and threw it in the tub.I dissolved into bubbles and filled the water with a red tint. I took a sip from the champagne glass and placed cucumber slices on my eyelids. I could barely sleep last night,let's reiterate that : I couldn't sleep last night.My eyes were stuck on my ceiling,face frowned and mind in disarray watching the fan slowly turn the controls in my head. Blue. It was such a beautiful shade too,I had forgotten–or at least tried to forget what his eyes felt like. It slid into my blood,defrosting me from the inside. I had grown into the habit of calculating everything precisely before I went to bed.It helped me concentrate and gain clarity.It used to be just a hobby,but tonight,it suddenly felt like a need. I then began to replay his actions from the night before,the arrest,his smirks,his distracting gaze,the disappointment etched in his features…it was like I was watching a movie,scene by scene…each piece more puzzling. I
*Ares's POV* The moment the door cracked open, her scent hit me like a punch to the gut. A wave of something—memories, anger, desire—crashed over me all at once. She was standing there in nothing but a silk robe, her hair wrapped up in a towel, eyes flashing with the kind of fire that had swore drawn me in and destroyed me all at once.I cleared my throat as I took a step further.Seeing her again felt like reopening an old wound, one that never healed properly, festering beneath the surface. Yet, I’d sought her out, walked straight into this room knowing it would happen. I’d prepared myself for it—at least, I thought I had.“Well,well… What a pleasant surprise.The Alpha himself in my hotel room.”she said,her voice in a deadly calm,her hands sitting in a fold under her breasts.“Quite a scandal,don't you think?”I didn’t answer immediately. I let my eyes roam in the room she stayed in, taking it in. Every piece of furniture stood in effortless elegance as they blended into each other.
*Selene's POV* “Pablo darling.”I said sweetly when he picked up the phone. A raspy smoke infested voice came from The end of the line. In between a croak and something that resembled happiness. “Selene,my favourite girl.” “Pablo, my favourite man.”I giggled back to fuel his ego. He was a mob leader who took care of shady business in my name with dreams and hopes that we will one day be in bed together. Poor hopes never came to fruition. “I missed you darling–you don't call me anymore.”He complained. That's because I don't need you anymore,I said internally but feigned sadness instead. “I'm so busy these days mi amor,if I had the time you would have grown bored of Me” I heard a gunshot in the background and frowned. “Are you occupied?”I asked,frowning. “Never too busy for you…”he replied with a laugh. “So when are you going to visit me–” “Soon.”I smiled,opening a notebook on my lap. “But I wanted a little favour from you.” “Hm.”He groaned unhappily. “I have a
*Selene's POV* Something wasn't right. I could tell Something had gone horribly wrong by the way he looked at me tonight,by the way everyone looked at me tonight. My eyes grazed over the attendants of tonight's claiming ceremony,brushing over the entitled faces of the packs elite,trying to discern their gazes. It didn't help. I steadied my breath and try not to fidget,I only did that when I was nervous,and I refuse to allow this little inconvenience to make me nervous. I was here to by Luna,that's all that mattered. “Selene Fortlyn."Alpha Ares said,his tone commanding the attention of everyone in the room. I glanced up at him as he made his way down the stairs. “Alpha Ares.”I replied confidently as I bowed gracefully before him.Confidence wasn't something I had always had always displayed so boldly,but there was something about watching my mate before me that gave me the audacity. The lingering noise of gentle whispers was sucked dry out of the room,gently replaced by the m
[Four Years later] *Ares POV* “Did you watch her last night?”I heard my sister ask as she sits beside me. I had. I watch Selene's interviews religiously,I don't know what would have kept me sane if she hadn't become a movie star. “No.”I lie without remorse,chewing hard on my food as if it was the cause of my problems.I dread these types of questions. “Why not?”she asked knowingly. Part of Me knows she knows I watch Selene,but I rather choke on my meal right this instant than to actually admit it out loud. “Any way,”Athena continued,cutting herself some lemon cake. “She said she has no intention of being Luna,and her visit is strictly professional.” “I'm not looking for yet another wife.”I say immediately. “I know.”she chuckles,picking strategically through the bowl of fruits for the most perfect pieces of strawberries. “I just want you to keep it in the back of your mind that if you choose to chase her,you will be crawling on Your hands and knees…and she would still
*Selene's POV* Greta walked in noisily and opened the curtains as wide as it could go,letting the eager sunlight inside the room. I groan and rub my eyes open. Sometimes I wonder if she actually does it to try to blind me with so much light. “Wake up.”Greta says as if the light wont have been enough to wake up the dead. She marches to the foot of the bed and throws a bright red magazine at my feet. I could recognise The Timeless magazine cover anywhere,any time. “What's the news today?”I yawn,sitting up. “I rather you read it.Its interesting.”Greta replies monotonously. “Page twenty-six.” I hesitantly reach for the livret and flipped to it. My eyes almost widens at the picture of me plastered besides him. Almost. I was used to this by now.They did it when he was getting married,they did it when we were in Italy at the same time,they did it when Noelle was rumoured to be pregnant…. The only shocker was that even Timeless,a magazine I once adored for speaking only go