My Christmas Wolf

chapter 12 - the ball

"Well, here goes nothing! Entering a room filled with tons of people.... Most of whom are here just to mingle and meet the king, prince and Luna Queen. Nope... Not nervous at all. Definitely wouldn't rather be out doing my job as the beta..." Desiree muttered to herself nervously as she walked towards the ball room. The sounds of music, laughter and talking could be heard quiet a ways down the almost empty hallway.

A few people that were lounging in the halls gave her amused glances at she walked past them, muttering quietly to herself.

Before entering the room, she squared her shoulders and took a deep, fortifying breath. Her hand slide down the soft skirt, getting rid of the non existent wrinkles.

She walked in to the chaos that is also known as a ball. She took a moment to take in the atmosphere. The decorations were perfect. She made a note to herself to compliment the hard working pack members. Maybe give them a pay raise. Either way, the room was stunning.

Everyone was dressed to the nines. Of course they were, it wasn't often 2 kings came to a ball so far away from their personal territories.

She shook her head and entered the ballroom fully, figuring she'd at least go make sure everything was set up properly and that the snack table was being constantly supplied.

She walked along the wall towards the snacks and beverages.

One of the women turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, looking at her from top to bottom, then turned to her companion,"who said that the matronly staff could come to this? She looks like she spends too much time in the kitchens eating the pack dry... She definitely shouldn't be here! I heard the king's are here tonight..."

Her friend chuckled,"Wow, she is definitely too old to be seeking a mate. Maybe she's just here to make sure the actual guests are being taken care of."

Desiree knew the girl was just being mean, but a part of her also took it to heart she looked around and noticed most of the girls were covered in diamonds, sparkles, short dresses... And she knew her long trained and sleeved dress, while elegant, probably did look matronly to most of these young wolves.

More of the wolves attending turned to stare at her, a few started laughing outright at her.

All of a sudden she felt horribly plain in the midst of all this finery. And very out of place. This was not her scene. Offices and meeting rooms was her specialty. The battle field and command centers. Not this madness.

She edged towards the doorway again. Carefully planning her exit.

There had to be another way to find herself a mate. This was not her style of speed match making.

She took a deep breath, grabbed her following skirt in one hand and booked it for the exit.

Outside.

That's where she needed to be.

The cool, fresh mountain air was a relief to her panicked lungs.

She squatted down, her hands braced against her thighs and get head hunched over dragging on lungfulls of the fresh cool air. Slowly her heart slowed to normal rate.

"Oh my goodness. How am I going to do this?"

She stood up and paced, not caring that the gown was getting ruined by the snow. She heard nobody follow her, so she spoke out loud to Sterling.

"Okay Sterling, what should we do? I can't handle that atmosphere."

Yeah, I agree. We're made for the woods and wilds. Not ball rooms and galas.

"Yes, but I have a duty to my pack. I have got to. They've been so generous allowing us the time to travel but dad can't do this anymore..."

Well, we can go inside, change and escape, woman up and get back in there and pretend like hundreds of people didn't just see our meltdown, or kidnap the closest unmarked male and make a run for it.

"Um... Had anyone told you that you make some interesting choices?"

No darling, since the only one who hears me as of now is you...

A soft yet masculine voice answered,"Well... I guess I have made some interesting choices in the past... But most people that know me would probably say I'm boring... "

Desiree gasped and turned quickly towards the voice. She had been so stuck in her conversation with her wolf she hadn't even sensed the person following her.

Her eyes trailed up from his immaculate shoes, up his long and muscular legs barely hidden in his black tuxedo pants. As her gaze drifted higher she noticed perfectly shaped lips surrounded by a soft, well trimmed goatee.

The lips were tilted in amusement at her slow journey to meet his eyes... Which happened to be a stunning green and blue mixture that looked very happy, with soft smile lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. His hair was a lovely shade of brown and was styled perfectly.

She felt Sterling come forward curiously, intrigued by the beautiful man. The man had no scent of aura. She felt the confusion settle on her face.

She cleared her throat and pasted a smile on her face, offering her hand,"Beta Desiree from Cascadia Pack. Who might you be? I don't remember helping you check in?"

He looked down at her hand and his smile turned a bit smug,"Cameron. We just arrived an hour ago." He took her hand in his.

Tingles raced up her arm from the contact. Her eyes widened in shock, and his smug look turned into a gentle smile of acknowledgement. He nodded waiting for her to say it.

"Y... You're my mate... But why can't I smell you or see your power aura." She shook her head. It didn't make sense.

He chuckled, the sound making her insides melt a little, he rubbed the back of his neck,"um, yeah... I was trained how to hide those things and I didn't want all the attention I knew I was going to get, but your Alpha insisted I come along since he was coming back here and we wanted to discuss rogue security measures. To be fair, you've already implemented everything I was going to suggest..."

Desirees face twisted slightly in confusion.

He cleared his throat and let his protections drop.

Her eyes widened and her hand went to her throat. A gasp escaped her lips.