Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 18: Short Skirt, Long Jacket

An hour later, I had taken a hot shower to prepare for the night ahead. I had decided I would be strategic in how to catch Jason's attention. He would be looking for me in the crowd at the reception already. I wasn't going to make it easy for him once he picked me out of the lineup, but I didn't want to give the impression I was trying to attract his eyes.

He had played games with me. But he wasn't the only one who could play...

I chose a cocktail dress and a complimenting duster jacket. If there was one fashion combination I loved most, it was a short skirt and long jacket. The dress was lavender in color and made of soft suede. It was sleeveless and tight in the bodice with a bell-shaped skirt and laced up my back. The hem was a little short for formal proceedings, but Jason had complimented my legs more than once, and I wanted to torture him without words. For a final touch, I added the black suede duster and heeled boots.

Finishing the last stubborn curl, I flipped off the curling iron and touched up my makeup. I had about an hour-and-a-half to make sure everything was prepared before the guests arrived. Slipping into my clothes, I wondered how many people he would bring with him.

Once finished, I locked my door and slipped the key on its white-gold chain around my neck, dropping it down the front of my dress. If I needed to lock myself up to keep from anyone seeing me lose control, then I wanted to be the only one with the key.

I bounced down the steps in my boots, the heels clacking on the wood. I found Malcolm, the head of my mother's security, in the main hall. He was looking over the guest floor plans thoughtfully, glancing up to watch coven members rearrange furniture and seating for a royal reception. Normally, things were left the way they were for guests, but Jason was a monarch like my aunt and uncle. That warranted extra attention.

"Serenity, you look gorgeous as always," Malcolm greeted, smiling up at me. "Your mother tells me you're willing to lend a hand tonight."

I nodded, watching two of the younger fledges try to rearrange the seating area, bickering over the amount of chairs. "Yes, just trying to play 'hostess with the mostess,'" I joked, shrugging. I looked over the floor plan in his hand. "Where are we sticking Hellmutt and his buddies?"

Malcolm began to laugh, tapping the three suites beneath my family's rooms. "I'm thinking these three will be fine for this short of a visit. Unless you think we should put... What's his proper title again?"

"Master Alpha Jason Hellmuth," I answered from memory. "He's technically considered a pack master in the place of his parents, but he's not second-in-command. That's the master beta's job." I looked up from where the redheaded man had moved his finger to point to the large vacant suite at the end of our hallway, seeing he looked confused. "What?"

Malcolm shook his head, amused. "Nothin'. Alright, should we put Master Alpha Jason on the second floor with his guards that I have bunked up, or should we be a little kinder and place him in the Regent's Room?"

I scoffed. "No. Leave it empty. I don't think I want him on our floor with all of us. Better to keep him with his group," I answered him. "Besides, he doesn't deserve that room. It's too grand."

"You're only saying that because you've been itching to move into that suite for years," the older man chuckled. "We'll stick them down here, put him in the middle so he doesn't have to feel threatened being separated from his security team."

I nodded, picking up the dining hall floor plan to lay it next to the second floor's sheet. I grabbed the purple pen from the container in front of us—my mother always used it when she marked her approvals for event planning—and scribbled SKM on the three rooms with the suite numbers circled for the cleaning staff to update. I wrote JH in the center one, nodding to confirm that Security would watch the room with upmost care. I moved my attention over to the dining hall. "What do you propose for the formal dinners? I'm certain Mum isn't going to want us to have an open forum-style like normal. Maybe do buffet or family-style like we do for most guests?"