01 - Wereless

***Beatrice's POV***

Mother says being different is a good thing. She always quotes 'uniqueness makes you special'. But I don't want to be different. I want to lift a car with my bare hands, run a mile under a second, recognize anyone by their scent before they even come into view, and morph into a soft fur creature with upright ears, sharp teeth, pointed muzzles, and inquiring eyes. Just like everyone else in this community, but instead, on my eighteen birthday, I became a giant egg-like ice cube. As if it wasn't already embarrassing enough to freeze anything and anyone when I can't control my emotions. My Father, Matthew Stevens, was the werewolves Alpha King, and my mother, Naomi Steven's, his Queen Luna. You would think a child born to two strong pure-blooded werewolves would at least have some were-genes in them, right? In my case, science doesn't add up. I am what you call an outlier, a misfit. 

-"Hey pumpkin, what are you doing out here so far from the party? Carl is looking for you. It seems Jessie needs help with—." He pauses, taking in my gloomy aura. Taking a seat on the fountain's basing with me, he seeks to understand what's on my mind. "Care to fill me in on why the soul of every party is surrounded by plants?" He gestures to our surroundings, reinforcing his inquisition. We currently sit on a three-tiered fountain in the center of a glass greenhouse, full of exotic plants in all shapes and sizes—a haven at the back of the Crescent Moon Alpha's Mansion Gardens. 

Uncle Leo is a precise mirror image of my father—perfect groomed jet black hair, bold and expressive brows, three-day stubble boxed beard, caring blue x-ray eyes capable of reading the deepest secrets of your soul. It was challenging to distinguish them growing up, but it has gotten easier now that I am older. Uncle Leo had a rough patch in his life. Everyone avoids talking about what happened to him before I was born, and when they speak, the details are always vaguely told with the same downhearted expression. I might not know who uncle Leo was before I existed, but I sure know who he is now—my best friend. Bad, good, trouble or no trouble, he is always one step behind me, ready to catch me if I fall.

-"I needed a breather, the party suffocating politics were giving me a headache." I excuse myself with a small white lie. The truth was I couldn't bear to see Liam interact with the other females, especially after putting a hold on what we had.  

-"A yes, this year's ball is very exuberant." He giggles as his distant gaze recalls something funny he most has seen among the guests. 

Carl, my half-brother and current Alpha king, hosts an annual evening ball where every supernatural creature's leader is invited. A tradition he implemented for cultural diversity and to celebrate old and new alliances. He was tired of the century-long anti-social werewolf ways. In a united supernatural community, problems get solved a lot quicker.  A lesson Carl learned from the Clash of Elements War, where multiple supernatural beings came together to fight the evil threatening their world. Carl was only five years old back then, and now he is twenty-seven, but such an event leaves deep wounds, especially when so many noble souls were lost. 

Since I am my brother's Social Relations Mediator, I get the magnificent honor of organizing the event. Please note my sarcasm.  It's a lot of work to ensure nothing clashes with a particular culture. For example, Djins hate steel and salt. All salt shakers are forbidden near their buffet table and must be watched by a staff member at all times in case someone has the wrong idea to offend the Djins. Drakons, dragon shapeshifters, don't even get me started on those. What I am about to tell you might sound weird but is an absolute must. Any virgin must have a chaperon at all times. This goes for both females and males. Why do you wonder? Well, Drakons tend to lose their heads about them. Such innocent souls must not stray around the house on their own and get caught under the drakon's sharp claws because there is no stopping them without causing an enraged flamethrower.  And of course, we have to guarantee no silver, wolfsbane, vervain makes to the house in any way, shape, or form as most guests are vampires and werewolves. God forbid one of them gets injured. Decades of the treaty would come crumbling down in the blink of an eye.   

The soothing water sounds and the display of sparkling tiny drops down the fountain, whimsically shining under the moonlight, have my uncle and I mesmerized. We contemplate the beautiful show for a few moments in a warm, comfortable silence.  

-"Bea, did I ever tell you that you were the best thing that happened to us, to me? Before you were born, my world was in complete darkness. Every day was a long torturous routine of PTSD therapy and visits to your aunt Brianna in prison, which made me more lonely than anything. Your parents might have physically saved my life, but within me was an empty shell, lacking meaning, till the day your father placed you in my arms. Your fragile little hand gripped my oversized finger with no intention to let go. I knew then you were my life's purpose." Holding me by the shoulders while establishing eye contact. "Believe me when I say you are exceptional. Because you are!" He kisses my forehead. "So whatever is bothering that great mind of yours, shake it off. You are worthy of the best the world has to offer." He sees right through me every time. There is nothing I can hide from him.  I nod affirmatively with a smile. 

-"So, what was it that Jessie needed?" I ask, focusing on why he was looking for me in the first place. His hands let go of my shoulders.

-"Oh right! I almost forgot."  His right arm rubs the back of his neck. "Something about running out of O negative blood bags."

-"Did she check the basement? I stored the extra supply down there." I facepalm myself. "Damit, the basement doesn't have wheelchair access."

Jessie is our soon-to-be Luna, in other words, Carl's mate. Werewolves have this destined soulmate given by the Moon Goddess, and it doesn't have boundaries. They can be supernatural or human beings, male or female, from across the whole world. In Jessie's case, she is human, and unfortunately, she was a victim of a car accident caused by a drunk driver, which left her wheelchairbound.  

Standing up, I soothe the imaginary wrinkles from my simple but elegant black evening gown. Its halter A-line design modestly accentuates my curvy figure. Any sophisticated look needs a good lipstick and a pair of earrings, I chose Guerlain Kisskiss Fabulous Rose lipstick and a single pearl earring suspended from a white gold sphere.

-"Time for us to return to the party, uncle Leo." I state, and he hums in agreement, standing up and offering his arms for me to hold. 

Before exiting the greenhouse, uncle Leo begins to remove his black tuxedo jacket to cover my exposed shoulders from the snow-covered garden's low temperatures, but I stop him. I'm a December baby with an Ice mythical creature inside me. I can say 'the cold never bother me anyway'. A giggle escapes my lips as Elsa's song from the movie Frozen plays in my head, and we resume our steps through the frozen grounds up the stairs leading to the ballroom.  Like a true gentleman, uncle Leo opens the french doors for me to step in first.  I survey the room the moment we walk in, looking for Jessie, but spotting my parents instead. Mother gently pats father's chest as he secures his arms around her waist, whispering something in her ear. Probably something inappropriate too, because my mother's face is a bright red tone. My uncles, Gabe and Rob, are not too far from them, in matching burgundy tuxes, twirling to the soft background, foreheads glued together, completely immersed in their world. If I ever find love, I hope it's a deep as those two have for one another. 

Uncle Leo excuses himself as aunt Brianna and their teenage twins set, Noah and Sophia, request him. I give the twins a fist bump before walking away to find Jessie. 

The ballroom's architecture is covered fifty percent with glass, on the side giving access to the garden. The other fifty percent contains golden victorian crown molding, tied with the same yellow details of the three equally spaced chandeliers. Pearl white walls and greenery arrangements tone down the extravagant elements displayed throughout the room.

Guests stop me occasionally to compliment my efforts on such a beautiful, organized party. I try not to be rude and converse with them for a few minutes before excusing myself and resuming my search for our Luna.  Finally, I find Jessie, and she is with Carl. He kneels, bringing himself to her level. His hand cups her face while his thumb gently caresses her cheek. They share a deep longing gaze that makes their love almost palpable.  

-"You two should get a room, please." I say, crossing my arms and faking being annoyed.

-"Being jealous, are we, little sister?" Carl stands up, smiling at me.

-"Absolutely!" My answer causes laughter among us. "Do you still need the extra supply of blood, Jessie?"

-"Yes, please. Do you know where I can find some?"

-"Yeah. Don't worry. I will go get it."

Bowing respectfully to them--they are king and queen after all-- I make my way towards the exit door near the buffet tables, with a quick detour to ensure no salt made its way to the Djins side of the table, where I end up finding my two besties - Caroline and Maxine. 

Caroline is the definition of a gorgeous, strong female. Brown hair with natural caramel highlights, emerald green eyes, fit figure. She has any man drooling, and her criss-cross back spaghetti straps wrap-style burgundy dress with a skirt slit doesn't help their case either. She is stunning. Uncle Rob and Uncle Gabe, her adoptive parents, made her the first Alpha female among werewolves. Grayfang's pack is an open mentality pack way ahead of its time. 

Maxine, the dark-haired, brown-eyed, tall hybrid, is a tribrid --one-third vampire, one-third werewolf, and one-third witch. Unlike most werewolves, she doesn't have a wolf spirit. Her capabilities are more lycan-like. While Caroline is chatty and outgoing, Maxine is rather reserved and mysterious. Let me tell you, the elegant sleeveless dark red velvet evening dress makes her slender tall figure project a strong message--don't mess with me, I bite!

Our parents are best friends, and despite being from different age groups, we grew up together. Caroline is the second oldest. Carl is the first. Maxine third. Morris Jr and gorgeous blond locks, green eyes Liam the fourth, and me fifth.  

-"Why are you girls over here? Wait, Carol, are you hiding from Carl again?" She avoids him whenever he asks her something, and she fails to deliver. 

Everyone thought Carl and Caroline would end up being mates, but they weren't. Carl was very protective of her and still is, but in a brother-sister way, nothing else.

-"You bet I am. I was supposed to give him these nonsense reports about my pack two weeks ago, and I haven't even started looking into it. On top of that, I am fuming because your brother dearest so kindly delegated me to welcome the foreign old school Alpha from Europe." I could see the fire in her eyes as she cracked her fingers. Carl supports the idea of a female alpha, probably why he has chosen her to show our ways to the European Leader next week.

-"Alphas never like to be told what to do, and cousin, you are a fine example of that."   

-"Hey!" Caroline nudges me, but what would be normal strength for a werewolf is slightly too much for me, causing me to stumble onto someone. 

Scolding hot hands grip my bare shoulders, preventing me from falling. His eyes glow fiery red as I make eye contact with him. Shoot, a drakon, a large one too, his frame makes me feel smaller than I am. 

-"Apologies, Sir." I break free from his grip, bowing apologetically. "Didn't mean to disturb you." I hope he doesn't go beasty on me.  

He remains silent for a few moments before walking away without a word or acknowledging my apology. 

-"Rude!" Caroline gives a low growl, and I give her a stern look. 

-"Now, now. It would help if you didn't start a war. Better off this way." I pat her shoulder.

As I look back at the drakon, I see Liam giving him a displeased glare and walking towards us. Damit. 

Liam Benson is the new Silverfalls pack Alpha. Our relationship, well, how should I put this into words? We are friends with benefits. Were! I mean, we were friends with benefits. No attachments, just pleasure. I couldn't hope for anything else. He will eventually find his destined soulmate and move on. But that didn't mean my little heart didn't fall for his gentle ways.  

-"Well, it was great catching up with you girls, but I gotta go!" I hurry back into the crowd to then exit through the door by the staircase that leads to the second floor. 

Taking a moment to make sure Liam didn't follow me, I proceeded down the hall towards the kitchen, and just before reaching it, I stopped by the basement door. It's locked, weird. I could swear I left it open. Maybe the omegas locked it to prevent guests from wandering in there.  I approach a servent going by and ask them to mindlink someone for the key. It doesn't take long for someone to bring me the keys and unlock the door, and I resume my task to gather more blood supplies. 

Flicking the light switch at the bottom of the stairs, I notice the light doesn't come on—a great time to go off. Hate dark basements, it gives me the creeps, and I probably should stop watching horror movies. Palpating through the darkness, I feel the nearby shelves to find the flashlight I remember seeing earlier. Relief washes over me the moment I find it.

-"Hiding from me, are we?" Liam's voice comes from the top of the staircase, causing me to jump.

-"Liam, not now. I have things to do." I flick the flashlight on and walk towards the big walk-in fridge at the back of the basement where I stored the blood bags. Liam follows me.

-"You have been avoiding me all night. I'm a little upset about it." He complained while I input the key code on the fridge lock.

-"And I will keep ignoring you for as long as you need to realize we aren't a thing anymore. Do you know how upset my parents and your parents would be if they found out what we did? You will soon find your mate and move on. Just keep it in your pants a bit longer. It can't be that hard." I rant while successfully unlocking the fridge.

Liam slams the door shut as I pry it open, I turn around to give him a piece of my mind, but as I do, he traps me with his muscular body against the fridge door. He leans close to my ear, whispering...

-"Oh, it's hard. Hard for you. You are... extremely... sexy tonight." He pecks kisses in between words, down my neck, while his hand explores up my dress' slit, stopping as it finds my lacy underwear. He knows me too well. He knows what to do to make me drop a pool between my legs. "You can deny me all you want, but I can smell how aroused I make you." His lips brush against mine. I'm going to regret this late but screw it. 

Dropping the flashlight, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. It's hungrily lustful and births out our necessity to become intimate. Wrapping my legs around his waist as Liam lifts me, he takes us to a nearby table, which I can't see, but he can, thanks to his werewolf night vision. 

The door behind us creaks before slamming shut. We scramble apart, both fixing our clothes. Jumping off the table, I reach out for the flashlight I dropped, but before I have the chance to, Liam pulls me back behind him, his chest rumbling with a threatening growl.   

-"Whatever is down here with us is pure evil, Beatrice." Blizzard's voice resonates in my mind.

Even though I am wereless, I am not spiritless. Blizzard is the Ice Phoenix I inherited from my mother and the reason why I am a walking ice-making machine. My mother was able to master his abilities with ease. I, on the other hand, struggle with each snowflake.

-"Bea, I need you to lock yourself inside the fridge. How fast can you input the key code?" Liam asks, his hand keeping a tight grip on my wrist. 

-"I don't know. Maybe thirty seconds, but I need the flashlight to see the numbers. Who is out there, Liam?" I peak from behind him. 

Amongst the black canvas ahead of us, two glowing cerulean eyes watch us closely. Keep you cool, Beatrice, open your mind, look for possibilities. Those eyes, they are like... No way. It can't be.

-"On the count to three." Liam instructs. "One, Two... Three!" I rush to the flashlight, and he attacks the intruder head-on. 

Did you ever hear the saying curiosity killed the cat? Well, curiosity is going to be the end of me. Instead of running to the fridge, unlocking the lock, and trapping myself inside, I decided to point the light at the perpetrator. I wasn't ready for what I was about to see.