I stepped into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the water, putting in a bath bomb I found in one of the drawers underneath the sink. I stripped of my clothes and got in the tub, freezing while I let the water fill the tub and warm me little by little.
I had just dried off and gotten dressed in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, when a knock on my door interrupted my thoughts about tonight.
" Come in!"
I waited for whoever was knocking to step in. Just as I had started walking towards the door to open it, the door flew open and Amber came sprinting in, clapping her hands and jumping up and down in glee.
"TONIGHT'S THE BALL!"She yelled as she took my hands and wanted me to join in on the excitement. However the confused and unamused look on my face made her joyousness fade quickly... and I felt like i had killed Bambi or something by the way Amber was looking at me, with her large doe-like eyes and her lips pouting.
"I'm sorry, Amber, it's great that you're excited... I'm just not,"
I said in the hopes that she would stop looking at me like a sad puppy and just accept the way I felt about the situation. Apparently, that was too much to hope for.
" What do you mean you're not excited?! It's BALL! You have to be?" She said like it was going to change my mind. I let go of her hands and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge, facing Amber.
" I'm sorry, I'm just not that thrilled. Plus, I have this really uneasy feeling in my gut that's telling me something is wrong." I noticed Amber stiffen at my words but quickly relaxed and composed herself.
" I know this is probably something you're not that used to. After what happened at breakfast, I'm sure you're even more reluctant about coming. However, it will be fun, I promise. We will get ready together, I will lend you a dress and just for a night you can let go of all your worries and allow yourself to have fun. No strings attached," Amber said with a comforting smile on her face.
I must say, hearing Amber's speech did put my mind at ease. The way she described it, us getting dolled up together, did sound like fun.
" Alright let's do it, but I must warn you, I'm not used to formal gatherings like this but you did make this night sound a lot more fun than it did ten minutes ago. So, let's do it," after hearing my words, Amber started jumping and cheering again, telling me how much fun this was going to be.
We sat in my room talking for about an hour before she told me she had to go. She said that the hair and makeup personalwould be here at six, helping us get ready and the ball was at eight, then she left.
The time was only 12 when I looked at my phone so I decided to go downstairs and see what everyone else was doing.
I went into the big hall which was on the first floor to the left. It was a huge room with a pool table, bar, a big 82' flat screen on the wall with an xbox and other types of gaming consoles. The entire wall to the outside was floor to ceiling windows that you could open. These windows led to the backyard where there was a pool, a barbecue area, a jacuzzi and what seemed like a boxing ring of sorts.
There were around twenty people sitting in the big hall doing their own thing. I stood by the wall where I had walked in, not wanting to disturb anyone when someone called me
" Hey, new girl! Come on over," a guy with chestnut hair and baby blue eyes said. I smiled shyly and walked over to him and his group of friends who were sitting by the bar, talking.
" I'm Chase," he said and shook my hand
" This is Amanda, Clarie, Alfred, Cane and Sofia," he said while pointing to each person. They all smiled and nodded at me. Except for the girl I believed was Sofia. She scanned me from top to toe and had a sort of grin on her face.
" Hi, I'm Avery, I'm James's guest for a few days," I tried to sound as nice and confident as possible however my voice was trembling with discomfort.
" Yeah we all know that, James made that pretty clear the day you arrived," the guy named Cane said with a grin.
"How long are you staying for?" Sofia exclaimed with a hopeful voice
"Sofia, behave," Claire quickly jumped in noticing how her friend was being rude
Claire continued, eyeing her friend, "I'm sorry about her. Once you get to know her, she's really nice."
" It's okay, I'm only staying for a few days," I said with a smile on my face. I was only going to be here for a few days, soI didn't feel like being bitchy or snarky with someone who I was never going to meet again.
" Well are you coming to the ball?" Amanda asked me with a huge smile on her face. I could not help but smile back at her. It was one of those smiles that just makes your heart happy.
"Yes I am, I'm guessing you all are too?" I asked looking around at everybody
~James' POV~
"Where is Avery?" Somehow regardless of what I was doing or who I was talking to I had this constant need to know where she was at all times. It was bothersome.
" She's in the big hall talking to some of the pack members," Alex said with a grin on his face.
" You know that a lot of the pack members have the hots for her right? I mean, she's one hell of a woman so you can't blame them but are you sure you can handle it without you know.... Ripping someone's head off?" Alex continued with a mix of sarcasm and genuine concern in his eyes.
" I won't kill anyone brother, she is a business agreement and that's all. Plus all I have to do is put my hands on her and she will obey my every command," I responded with a smirk. It was true. If I wanted her to do something all I needed to do was touch her and she would. I wasn't sure why it was like that for us. It wasn't like that for others but this was different and not something I'd heard of before. Not that I would take advantage of the fact, however if I needed her to stay away from certain horny, unmated wolves, I would. One thing that wasn't completely true though, was the fact that I wouldn't kill for her. I probably would. There was a need within me telling me to claim her and protect her. I knew there was a possibility that she was my mate
'She is our mate, Jackass' my wolf interrupted. I just couldn't face the truth, because that would make me weak. Considering she's human now, she's more fragile and prone to death which would weaken me.
"Sure, continue lying to yourself and perhaps one day you'll start to believe it," Amber said, taking a bite of the apple she was eating
" Alpha!" Damon came running in in distress
" What's wrong?" I quickly stood, facing him
" We just got word that Carlos is coming to the ball tonight... with Natasha," he said with a glare and his voice hitched in worry.
Natasha was the witch that had stripped Avery of her powers, her true self. This was indeed a problem
"Mind link everyone in the pack and tell them to make sure that Avery's and Natasha's paths do not cross tonight. She may be a witch but she's also a bitch and if she could somehow stir the pot and make shit happen, she would."
Damon nodded and quickly left to do as he was told.
" Amber, make sure Avery is within eyesight all night, no matter what."
" Of course," she said with a bow of her head.
Things could either go perfectly fine, or shit was about to go down. I was putting my money on the latter.