Chapter 7

My week passed by quickly. I met Mrs. Montgomery on Wednesday. Thank God, Mr. Playboy was not there, which means he has forgotten about me already. And that is good for me. Honestly, I felt a bit sad and disappointed that I didn’t meet him. He said he would be there, so the back of my brain scanned the environment as if he would pop up at any moment. But he didn't and I brushed it off quickly. I didn’t need a distraction, I was here to focus on my work. Besides, it was clear that my idea was correct – he would forget about me the next day. Something buzzed in my heart after this thought. I guess it was another warning. I should be as far from this guy as possible, so a good thing that he didn’t show up.

The meeting went by smoothly. At the end of it Mrs. Montgomery invited me to her charity ball that had to happen on Saturday. She told me that she usually holds it in December. But she wanted to do it before her house turned into a complete mess. I agreed to come to the event. as I had nothing else to do anyway.

So here I was dressed in a long red flowy maxi dress that reached my heels and had long transparent sleeves. I had black heels and a black clutch. My hair was open as always and red lipstick was a lovely accent for my smokey eyes. I looked decent. That was my goal as I wasn’t prepared to go for such an occasion. I did put this dress in my suitcase just in case and it turned out to be a smart move. I should pull it off. Anyhow, I wasn’t here to impress anyone. I just didn’t want to look poor or stand out in the crowd.

I entered the building that I had got to know by every corner. It still feels like I live here. Most of the time, that is how I felt about all my projects, but there is something special about this one. This house feels warm to me. I smile at the thought. I slowly passed by the hall observing the people that have gathered here today. I see a girl that looks my way. She sniffs the air and then scrunches her noise. The disgust in her eyes and on her face was clearly visible. Excuse me? I was surprised. Is my perfume so disgusting to her? Is it too much? I thought I chose one of the most neutral ones I have and just put a few sprays on me. I have a crazy urge to smell myself. I feel petrified if I have sweated on the way here and now I stink. But I keep on moving and I see more eyes on me. It feels like the crowd knows each other, so they know that I am a stranger here. Oh well. Not the first time.

James

I smell her the moment she enters my house. I don’t see her, but her intoxicating smell floods me. Alpha had an emergency task for me on Wednesday, so I didn’t see her again then. I have missed her this week so much, it has felt like pure torture. I thought waiting for my mate was bad, but now not having her by my side all the time was extremely painful.

As her smell grew in intensity, I scanned the crowd and I noticed her blond head quickly. She was slowly moving through the weres while observing them. I didn't want anyone to make a move on her as fresh meat in our pack so went straight to her. I loved her choice of dress. She had natural grace while carrying herself and this dress made her look even more stunning. She looked like an angel floating through the crowd. Well, of course, if angels wore red. And that red lipstick that accented her full lips made my d*ck twitch. No. I can’t go that path so early in the evening. I was at an important event for my mom and I had to stay cool-headed. I was beside my mate again in a few long strides.

- Laila! You came!

I smiled brightly at her. I had an unbearable urge to hug her, but I glued my hands to my sides not to do something stupid. She looked at me with a tight smile. Oh no… My excited mood and heart sank.

- Yes, of course. I promised Mrs. Montgomery, I would be here.

She said with a nod.

- Great! I’m happy to see you!

I kept my joyful façade up. Besides, I was happy to see her.

- Would you like something to drink?

I asked her.

- Umm, sure. Where is the bar?

- I will bring you what you want.

I offered as I wanted her to relax and depend on me. Was it a weird wish? She did seem very independent. Besides, I wanted to learn as much as possible about her, like what was her favorite drink.

- Oh, no need to bother! You have a full house of guests to attend to. Just point me in the right direction.

She brushed me off. Yup, very independent indeed. And it is the second time that it feels like she doesn’t like to be a burden. I wonder where that is stemming from.

-  No. You are the most important guess here.

I flashed her my pearly smile. She squinted her left eye at me. I didn’t want to see her frown, so I rushed her.

- Follow me. The bar is this way.

I guided her through the crowd. I was delighted to walk next to her. Such a small thing but brought me so much joy. My mate was next to me, so I and my wolf relaxed for the first time this week.

- What would you like to drink? A champagne? Wine? Something stronger?

She looked at me with an amused smile. Whaa…?

- No. An orange juice please.

Okay, did she drive tonight? Could be. I ordered her drink and handed it to her. She took it with a nod.

- Thank you.

She said with a tight smile. Why is she so…tight around me? Was this her character? She started to walk in the opposite direction. Where is she going without me? I followed her. I was so distracted by her that I didn’t order a drink for myself. Oh well. That’s not important right now. She is. Besides, if I have my hands free, I might have an opportunity to touch her. I smiled at this thought.

She went closer to one of the walls and faced the crowd. I stood next to her. She looked at me and furrowed her eyebrows briefly. Then she looked around again. Okay. Now what do I say to her? Think! During this week I was daydreaming about her all the time. I had so many questions in my mind I wanted to ask her. But now my mind went blank. Her tight smile and furrowed eyebrows clicked off something in me.

- How are you?

I asked. Maybe small talk would help us to move on smoother. A small smile twitched at the corner of her lips.

- I’m okay.

She kept her answer short. She didn’t keep the conversation rolling. Didn’t she want to talk to me? My heart sank some more. But I had to keep on talking with her. I couldn’t give up easily.

- Have you…Have you settled in your new place already?

Yes, I remembered one of my questions. I was concerned about her living conditions. I hope she lives in a good neighborhood. I should check it out soon. I just need to find out where she lives.

- More or less, yes, I have.

She said with a nod, but kept a neutral face expression. Should I ask her address now? No, maybe later.

- Is the neighbourhood good?

I had to know that.

- I..hope so. I haven’t experienced any bad encounters this far.

She replied with a shrug. Okay, good to know that piece of information.

- Have you explored around?

I tried to keep the conversation rolling. This was tough. Never have I ever had to talk with a woman so much. Usually it was a few smiles, a drink and a bed that connected me with any girl.

- Not much yet, but I know the basics I need.

She replied shortly without giving many details.

- Do you need help with something to settle better?

I tried again. She started to shake her head with furrowed eyebrows and lips while she was still thinking.

- No. Thank you. I’m good.

This was hard. I felt like I was pulling information out of her. She was very reluctant to give me anything.

- Do you…Have you…

I started to ask something, but my mind was blank again. She looked at me with slight amusement playing on her lips and in her bright blue eyes.

- James, you don’t have to small talk with me. You have many guests to attend to. I’m good on my own.

She said, keeping a polite but formal tone in her voice. I started to hate this tone though I loved the sound of her voice. Was I getting bipolar?

- No. I know everyone here, but you. Besides, you are the most important guest here.

She squinted her eyes at me while her face said: “Are you shitting me?”. Yes, I swear to you. It was written there. Somehow, I could read her displeasure easily. I hope it was the mate bond that helped me at least with that. 

- For me.

I added with a bright smile. She glared at me in return. F*ck. Well, she should know how important she is to me. She turned to observe the crowd while sipping her drink. Was she ignoring me now? I just compliment her! Since when do girls do something like this? I was used to girls happily giggling from whatever sh*t came out of my mouth, eagerly grabbing any word I said to them. But my own mate looked like she didn’t want anything to do with me. Maybe not even me standing next to her. By now my unhappy heart has reached the bottom of my stomach. My wolf was upset too. But he blamed me. He thought I was being an idiot. Oh, thank you for the help! Guess what, the way our mate is looking and talking to us, I feel stupid as well. He suggested I should bring her to our room, mate, and mark her so she cannot go anywhere. Oh, well, I would like to see how “ well” that would go, my dear smart Wolf. Anyhow, I wanted to know so many things about my dear mate.

- Can I ask you something more personal?

She looked at me again with a questioning eye and a small smile twitched at the corner of her lips.

- Even if I said “no”, would that stop you?

Ha! I chuckled. My mate could see through me.

- No, it wouldn’t.

I flashed her a pearly smile.

- I thought so!

She said with pointed eyebrows and looked back at the crowd. I was getting nowhere.

- How old are you?

She looked back into my eyes with a small smile playing on her closed lips. Even like that, she was such a beautiful sight!

-  I'm 28. You?

She asked back. Yes. A small victory. She started to participate in this conversation.

- I’m 30.

She nodded and looked around the room again. She clearly is not interested in talking with me. And I am still not able to come up with many topics. Moon Goddess, please help me!

- Not very chatty, I see...

I mumbled.

- No. I’m very chatty and easy going.

She said with an amused smile and her gaze went around the room again. She didn’t explain herself more. What does that mean? Was she this reserved just with me? Isn’t she at least interested in me? Where is that mate bond Moon Goddess? Doesn’t she feel it at all? I’m getting desperate here.