Fate Mate

Chapter 20

"Phew, Charles! You look hot." 

Dylan stood at the bottom of the stairs, eyes widened in disbelief. I could have sworn I saw a bit of drool escape the corner of his smirking lips as I descended from the top floor of the pack house. For once, I agreed with him. I looked devastating-- No, I looked Black Lupis. 

After convincing Dylan to take me to the Broken Valley Pack. I'd been lucky enough to find a  floor-length black gown in Sophia's closet. The dress was nothing special. Long, silken pleats of obsidian skirt brushed against the wooden planks, cinching at the waist. The dress hung off of my shoulders with simple black strings, and the iridescent spun silk of the bodice shimmered when it caught the light. A circular diamond rested just below my collarbone. 

I also managed to navigate the dangers of Sophia's bathroom, an abyss of old clothes and makeup strewn across the counters and floor, in order to find charcoal black mascara and eye-color. In the end, I settled upon simply curling my chestnut hair into a simple half-updo. I wished that Sophia had been there to help me apply the makeup, but she had gone to the Broken Valley Pack as her brother's date. Go figure. 

"Close your mouth, Dylan. You'll catch flies," I teased, reaching the bottom step and patting his cheek. 

The Delta, my date for the evening,  wore a maroon jacket atop a simple white dress shirt with matching maroon pants. He looked handsome, albeit, a bit like a wannabe contestant on the Bachelorette. 

"Brat," he muttered under his breath for the second time today. 

It had been difficult to convince Dylan to accompany me to the Broken Valley Pack. But when I told him of my gut feeling that Nolan needed our help, he eventually cracked. My words weren't a lie. I did have a gut feeling, an intuition that screamed at me to go to my mate. Maybe it was only jealousy... But what if it was something else? 

And so, despite the risk of looking like a bat-shit-crazy rejected mate, Dylan and I decided to crash the party. 

Ever the gentleman, Dylan offered me his arm, and we exited the house without a look back. While waiting on me to finish getting ready, he had pulled his silver BMW, our chariot for the evening, to the front of the pack house. I scooted into Dylan's car, careful not to rip my borrowed gown. 

"You're sure you want to do this?" Dylan questioned, a hand resting on the keys in the ignition. 

I nodded, even though my heart thudded like a broken metronome in my chest. "I'm sure. Nolan needs to realize that he can't just lock me away... I can take care of myself." 

Dylan didn't need more reassurance. He turned the keys and the engine roared to life. The Broken Valley Pack resided in the heart of a mountain range at the edge of our region's territory. Lucky for us, the drive would only take three hours, and, if Dylan drove fast, we would arrive to the gala only an hour late. 

"Arrival in t-minus ten minutes, Charles," Dylan announced from the driver's seat, and I straightened up from where I'd been slouched on the passenger side. Makeup grease now tarnished the window where my head had been resting against the glass. I'd have to clean that up later...  

I typically possessed an uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime, but especially in car rides. Not to mention, I'd barely slept the night before.  And yet, the unfamiliar fear churning in the pit of my stomach kept me from resting my eyes. Fortunately, Dylan was good company. 

"Okay, let's go over the plan," I gingerly ironed out any wrinkles on my gown with my hands. 

"The plan?" Dylan cocked a brow.