05|Meeting The King

Dorothy could feel her nerves as she stepped out of the limousine. Many eyes immediately stared at her, she was a vision to behold. She was dressed up for the first time today. The golden gown clung to her figure in all the right places, her red hair had been curled and let loose. Elegance was a simple way to describe how she looked. 

People's attention was easily turned towards her as she made her way with her pack with Alpha Ryan leading the group. She turned around intrigued, her heart thumping as she realized she was inside the borders of the most powerful pack.

Maybe it was excitement or fear but everyone else felt the same way. They couldn't believe that after so many years, the king had allowed them a chance to enter the borders of his pack. Some hoped they could get the opportunity to see Alpha Ace but he was nowhere to be found.

 The atmosphere was tense as everyone made their way to the ballroom. The Nightclaw pack truly lived up to its expectations, rows of gorgeous and powerful people greeted the guests as they entered. 

The huge ballroom looked like a palace. Men dressed in tuxedos and women adorned in beautiful gowns wandered around. The sounds of orchestra and low chatter filled the air. Glittering crystal chandeliers are arranged in rows, casting a soft light over the room. Expensive painted artworks decorated the tall walls of the building.

Dorothy entered the ballroom and almost gasped out loud. It was just out of a fairytale. She had her head low as she stayed at the corner of the room, accessing the crowd. She knew no one and no one bothered talking to her but she preferred it this way. 

She was going to escape today. She promised  herself.

Her eyes quietly scanned through the crowd, looking for an opportunity when everyone was too busy to notice her absence.

 “Oh my Goddess, you are gorgeous” a female voice brought Dorothy out of her trance. She looked up to see a beautiful woman clad in black. Her raven short hair bounced with each step she took and her brown eyes looked at Dorothy in admiration.

“Oh thank you” Dorothy blushed, her face turning red at the speed of light. She was surprised, a woman had actually complimented her without wanting to dig out her eyes. The woman before her held her hand, drawing closer as if to see her face more clearly.

“Which pack are you from? Let's be buddies, you can call me Sofia” Sofia rambled on and Dorothy relaxed, the once nervous atmosphere gone. 

“I'm Dorothy from Shadowmoon pack” Well not in a few hours anyway, she had been sold to another pack.

“Which pack are you from?” Dorothy asked back and when Sofia was about to answer, a male came into view. He wrapped his arms around Sofia, a smile appearing on his chiseled face. 

“I've been looking all over for you, my love” He whispered into Sofia’s ear making her giggle. Dorothy smiled as she watched the scene. 

He must be her mate.

“Look, Lucas, I made a friend. Isn't she pretty, she's from the shadowmoon pack” Sofia turned to Dorothy who smiled nervously. 

The man before her was a beta but from which pack, she doesn't know.

Lucas's eyes trained on Dorothy and for a moment, he looked confused before he tilted his lips up in a warm smile. “Hi, I'm Lucas, nice to meet you, Miss-”

“Dorothy,” She replied with a smile.

“Beta Lucas, your attention is urgently needed” a panicked voice interrupted their conversation. 

Lucas glanced at the man before looking at his mate, both frowned as they had a silent conversation. 

“I think my family is looking for me” Dorothy lied “It was nice meeting you”. Sofia gave her an apologetic glance as she walked away. Something must have happened but she didn't have the chance to linger around much longer.

Now was the time.

She walked away, her steps deliberate as she looked around for an escape route. She was going to jump from the balcony, earlier she noticed there were few people there.

“This... place feels oddly familiar” Alya who had been quiet since their arrival spoke in her head making Dorothy pause in her steps.

“It's probably just in our head” She felt it too but now wasn't the time to talk about that.

She sneakily made her way through the grand ballroom, her eyes narrowed as she looked around, careful not to appear suspicious. Dorothy stopped as she stood on the balcony, the cold night air, a welcoming relief to her. She stared down, it was quite high but it wasn't a problem for her.

Just as she was about to jump, Dorothy’s smile froze as she heard a voice. 

“Oh my, that's quite high” Alpha Killian looked down from the balcony, his head resting on his hand and his lips forming a small "O" of surprise.

“Fucking shit” she screamed, getting weird glances passed her way. Her eyes widened as she looked to her right, staring at the gorgeous man. He tilted his head to look at her, his hand supporting his chin. 

“Do you want to jump?”

Dorothy pouted, mentally cursing her luck. Right, she never had anything such as luck in the first place.

“Haha no, just enjoying the view” she nervously chuckled and Killian stared at her legs that were already over the railing.

“I think you should get off before saying that, you look a bit funny” he laughed which earned an eye roll from Dorothy.

She got off and moved back, her eyes lingering for a moment. Killian moved towards her, his arms wrapping around her waist to bring her closer. 

“You look stunning tonight” he whispered stroking her cheek, “As much as I love to entertain you tonight, I have to speak with the boring Alphas but I would be right back so don't try to jump and most of all don't miss me” Alpha Killian winked, releasing her, his steps light as he walked away.

Dorothy rolled her eyes, her hand running through her hair in frustration and just as she did, she felt a hand grip hers.

“So you are the white breed everyone is talking about,” a man said as he roughly grabbed her arm. 

In a place far away from all the noise. A man sat in the dimly lit room, his eyes closed and one arm rested casually on his bent knee. He wears a slightly unbuttoned shirt that reveals a hint of his muscular chest, his black hair falls past his brows and covers his eyes. Ancient tattoos adorned his hands, snaking up his forearms and disappearing beneath his sleeves.

The air around him intensified as the expressionless man suddenly frowned. His eyes snapped open revealing a pair of piercing gray eyes. He had caught a sniff of something that belonged to him.

“Let go,” Dorothy asked, her face filled with panic. Fuck why is she always in this situation? 

“Killian is going to have you anyway so I can have just a little taste” The drunk man’s head cocked, attempting to drag her out of the ballroom. 

In the corner of her eyes, she could see Killian walking towards them angrily, his hand clenched by his side but before he could get to them, a sound of broken bones was heard.

The Alpha screamed as he tried to pull his broken hand from the tight grip that held him. Everyone's eyes shot up, and the sounds of gasps filled the room. Dorothy slowly looked, her eyes meeting a pair of cold ones, the world had seemed to stop for her and an intoxicating pull so strong drew her to the man before her. 

She had met him, her mate.

“Mate?”

“Mine”.