Chapter 1

Lily POV

            Tonight, is the Summer Ball and our Pack, the Golden Moon Pack, is hosting this year’s event.  I am hoping to meet my mate tonight.  Well in truth I hope to meet my mate all the time.  Tonight, is just special because it brings a lot of unmated werewolves together into one space.  Wolves and she-wolves come from across the Country to attend this event.  This year is no different.

            I never found my mate in our Pack, so I hope my mate is here tonight.  And I hope he doesn’t live too far away from my own Pack. Katie is my best friend and I can’t imagine life without her.  We’ll both be happy for each other when we find our mates, I just hope we find them together, so the loss is easier for us both.

            I have been a Beta since I was born.  Not the Beta who will be Beta to the Alpha, but rather a Beta female.  My brother Reid is the Beta for our Pack.  Katie is the Alpha of our Pack.  It’s rare to have a female Alpha but after a lot of hard work and frankly, fighting for her space, Katie has done the Pack proud.  Our good friend John is her Gamma.

I am a Pack member of the Golden Moon Pack.  I am an newly licensed educator.  I love children and teaching has been a passion of mine for a long time.  Whereever I end up I hope to continue my education studies and teach our youth.  

            The ball is just around the corner so Katie and I are just getting ready.  Katie hasn't found her mate yet either so we have fingers crossed for both of us tonight.  After we get our hair and makeup done we each get dressed.  I went with a tight-fitting navy dress that accentuates my curves.  My dress has a high neckline with the material hanging down in the back just above my bra strap.  It had silver bead accents on the top of my dress.  Katie is wearing an emerald green dress in a tight-fitting dress that flares out from the knees down to her ankles.  Her’s is a V-neck in the front and a matching V in the back.  It has gold bead accents on the bottom above the ruffle.  

            We both looked stunning and were dressed in ways that befitted both an Alpha and a Beta.  We were giddy with excitement but we both admitted to feeling nerves starting to tug at us.  We didn’t have long to think about it.  My parents and Katie’s parents both showed up to wish us both well.  They were so proud of us, and each had special family jewels for us to wear for the evening.  My mom put a white gold diamond necklace on me.  Katie’s mom put on a diamond necklace in gold on her neck.  Matching earrings were also shared. 

            Our moms had tears in their eyes but both of us stopped them, we didn’t want our makeup ruined before we got to show off a bit.  Maybe as the night wore on there would be tears but for now, we were going for no tears.  As our parents left us to do our final preparations, we took a few minutes to ourselves just reflecting on our lives.  Where we were a couple years ago, who we are today and the changes in confidence that we have now compared to then.  Looking at my watch, I realize it is time for us to get our shoes on to head out.  Kate put on her gold stilettos, and I put on my black stilettos, and we make our way out towards the convention centre.

As we head out, I feel nerves bunching up in my stomach.  Most people would not expect me to get nervous, I am usually the life of the party.  But the reality is I have a lot of nerves at various times.  Only Kate really knows this.  I feel Kate reach over and squeeze my hand as she picks up on my anxiety.

            I am looking forward to finding my mate but admit some fear of being rejected.  I know it’s not fair to compare the situation to what happened to Katie a couple years ago, but I guess to me, it just shows you never know what can happen at any of the Balls that we might find our mates.  In case you didn't know Katie was rejected by her fated mate a couple years ago.

            I see the crowd of people waiting to arrive.  Katie and I head toward the back entrance so nobody sees us before the doors open.  We both look fabulous if I do say so myself.  I am supporting Katie as she is hosting her first ball.  I helped with the decorations and theme for the Summer Ball this year.  As well I helped with planning the food for the event. 

            As we enter the convention centre, we are both blown away.  The decorators have outdone themselves.  This is a magical, stunning place with little lights all over making it a romantic setting.  The tables have white tablecloths, with emerald green chair covers to match Kate’s dress.  I was in on the planning but wasn’t allowed to see the Summer Ball venue until we walked in tonight.  Each table has three candles on gold candle holders of varying sizes.  The food at the buffet hasn’t been brought out yet.  The DJ is playing soft music for background music until the dancing starts a little later on.

I’m blown away with how my vision has come together.  Kate will say a speech once the majority of people arrive.  We always have stragglers who want the chance to find their mate or want to mingle with other Alphas, but don’t want to seem overly eager.  That always makes me chuckle but does add for some excitement toward the end of the evening.

Looking at Kate, I can see she’s mesmerized by the decorations and very happy with what she sees.  Grabbing her hand, “Come on Katie, let’s just take a few minutes to take it all in.  It’s stunning, isn’t it?” I ask her.  “Lily it’s more than I could have hoped for, thank you!” she grabs me in for a tight hug.  As she pulls back from me, she takes my hand and we walk to the entrance, “Let’s open the doors and get this party started!” Kate says.

            As the doors open, we hear a lot of people oohing about how amazing the room looks.  From twinkle lights hanging lower than the ceiling, to the white tablecloths with emerald accented chairs, to the candlestick centerpieces, everything is perfection.  As the Packs start to come in, I notice Katie tense up as Boyd, a wannabe suitor, comes in and kisses her cheek.  I nod to him as he moves into the room.  The fact is I don’t like Boyd.  He’s certainly good looking, as most wolves are, but there is something about him I never liked.  And I suspect he doesn’t like me a lot either. 

            As the Packs continue to come into the Summer Ball, I nod at a lot of the people I already knew.  As new Packs entered, I can’t lie, I was sniffing out the males but with no luck.  Katie and I were chuckling at each other through our private mind-link.  No man was safe from our sniffing tonight. 

            As the last of the Packs came through, Katie had to go open the evening.  After a beautiful speech, she raised her glass of champagne and toasted the room.  As we moved towards our seats, we could see some mates who already found each other.  Others were sniffing out their mates.  It was an exciting evening for all of us.  Whether you ended up finding your mate or not, you were excited for everyone in attendance.

            As the evening progressed, I was asked to dance by one of my friends.  I had dated him a couple years back, but now we were just really good friends.  Neither of us had found our mates yet.  He was a year older than me; I am 20; he is 21.  As we were dancing, I started to smell this amazing cinnamon smell with a twist of oak to it.  As I started to turn around a man, came up to me and muttered Mate at the same time I did.

            As my dance partner turned to look, the man yanked my arm pulling me off the dance floor.  It was only as he was tugging me along, I noticed a female attached to his other arm.  What the hell was going on?  I was feeling my anxiety flare as I tried to calm myself down.  This man couldn’t be my mate.  There had to be a mistake. 

            As we reached the side of the room, the man disentangled from both of us.  Looking at me I see an awareness in his eyes of who I was to him.  He was breathtaking.  He had dirty blonde hair slicked back, hair you could run your hands through.  His eyes were a breathtaking silver color that sparkled under the lights.  He was over 6 ft tall; compared to my 5’4” stature he was a giant to me.  He was all muscle and looked like he was in his mid 20’s.  I wonder what he thought of me when he looked at me.

Holding my hand out, I introduce myself, “I am Beta Lily Thompson from the Golden Moon Pack.”.  As I said this the woman who was with my mate smirked.  Looking at her I gave her an evil eye, still not sure why she was still here.

            Not taking my hand, my mate introduces himself, “I am Alpha Jared Montgomery from the Black Shadow Pack.  Who were you dancing with?  His scent is all over you,” he says angrily.  Smiling I nod, “He’s just a good friend of mine, he was kind enough to ask me to dance, while I waited to find you,” I said softly.

            The woman with my mate snickered at this.  “Are you really going to do this Jar?” she asks.  I hate that name – Jared’s name shouldn’t be shortened and certainly not to a container.  What a twit she is.  Still not clear what her deal is, Jared turned to her and asked her to give us a minute.  After a look of disgust, she turned but not before she turned back, “I’m going to the ladies’ room, be ready when I am done, Jar,” she says.

            Looking at Jared, confused, I wait as he turns back to me.  He has an uncomfortable look on his face.  I’m more confused as I stand there and wait for him to explain.  “Who is she?” I ask.  “She’s my chosen mate and future Luna,” he responds.