CHAPTER 5- THE BALL- (part 1)
Kendra was seriously starting to regret inviting Artemis over to spend some time with them.
It wasn’t any fault of the redhead really, it was just… she and the Alpha were hitting it off very well,
Perhaps a little too well.
Kendra knew that was supposed to be good news, because it meant that there was a chance at redemption for both Killian and the entire pack, but why did it hurt so badly then?
Killian barely spent time with her anymore.
They didn’t spar as often as they used to…
They didn’t talk much, only making time to talk if it was related to pack business and affairs,
Heck even Artemis barely spent time with her as well.
It was quite sad really, for aside her duties as Beta of the Silver Crest Pack, she didn’t have much of a social life.
“Why don’t you go out and try to have fun, my dear?” Her nanny, Rhea had asked her. “You should have known that the Alpha wasn’t going to remain by your side forever. Tell you what,” The older she-wolf had whispered conspiratorially. “Why don’t you go for the annual Supernatural Ball then?”
Kendra had shot the woman a disgusted look that had had her bursting out in laughter.
No matter how desperate she was for companionship, the Annual Supernatural ball was the last place she was going to go.
Not even if hell fucking froze over.
“Come on, child… at this point, anything is better than sitting in your chambers moping. I know you miss the Alpha’s company. Go out there, make new friends, have fun… hopefully find yourself a handsome wolf and—”
“Now, you just made the whole prospect less appealing, Rhea.” She had interrupted the older wolf, “I’m not going, so just drop it.”
And that had been the end of their conversation.
She was currently seated in the gardens, watching the moonlight cast a pitiful gaze on her, as if to mock her loneliness.
She watched from open windows, she-wolves scurrying about… making last minute preparations for the ball. She watched them yell at servants and talk and laugh among themselves in excitement as their shadows danced in the warm glow of candlelight.
So lost in thought was she that the sound of someone collapsing into the bench beside her greatly alarmed her, but she quickly recovered, concern abruptly replacing the look of fear in her eyes at the sight of her friend looking so distressed.
“Artemis! What’s wrong?”
The redhead burst into tears, throwing her arms around her friend and sobbing to her heart’s content.
When she was all spent, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me everything about Killian, Kendra? It’s even more serious than I thought.”
Kendra’s heart sank.
“Does that mean you’re leaving?” she asked in trepidation. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to find anyone who would make as much progress with Killian as her friend had if she left.
“Leaving? No, I’m not leaving.” Artemis assured the dark she-wolf. “I’m determined now more than ever to help Killian break the curse, he’s just an innocent soul caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.” The redhead reached for her friend’s hands, her eyes turning dreamy, “Fuck, when he kissed me, Kendra… I felt it all the way in my toes. It was so magical, even with his cursed face. I can’t really explain it… b-but I just knew there and then that we were meant to be.”
Wow, okay Kendra had heard enough.
She didn’t think she could handle anything more, she needed to get out of here, and fast.
“Well… sorry, Artemis, but I just remembered I’ve got somewhere to be,” The beta stood up, squeezing her friend’s hand slightly, a wry smile making its way onto her face. “I’m truly happy for you and for Killian as well, have a lovely evening.” With those words, she gathered her black, everyday gown about her and dashed off, leaving a very bewildered Artemis stuck in the garden.
When Kendra barged into her bedchambers, Rhea was folding some clothes into her dresser.
The older wolf took one look at her ward and knew right there and then that something was seriously wrong.
“Is everything okay, child?”
Kendra was absentminded for a moment before she finally came to. “U-uh… yeah. Everything’s fine.”
Rhea wasn’t buying it for a little bit, but she didn’t say anything. She had suspicions that her ward’s countenance had something to do with the Alpha, but the young wolf was in too much denial to be confronted about it.
“Uhm… Rhea?”
“Yes, child?”
“Could you… could you uhm- help me dress me up? I think I might be going to the ball after all.”
The older wolf grinned inwardly,
Well things just turned interesting!
*****
Killian hated balls with a passion.
It was one of the norms that had somehow managed to inculcate itself in werewolf culture as well, and that fact annoyed the Alpha so greatly.
No pack worth its salt did without them…
Wolves… male and female alike looked forward to them with glee.
He couldn’t stop them just because of his own selfish needs?
So he avoided them as much as he could.
But today he had chosen to be here.
He was happy.
Well, as happy as someone who now had to fall in love without Aphrodite’s help could be, that is.
Artemis hadn’t called him names, or fainted in fear when she had seen him in his cursed form.
For the first time after the curse had been renewed, his lips had finally touched a woman’s.
Granted, it wasn’t the woman he wanted—wasn’t the woman with creamy dark skin and a lovely flow of kinky dark curls who haunted his dreams at night…
But at least, it was a start.
He wanted to do something nice for Artemis… something to show his—his gratitude, hence the reason why he was at the ball.
A quick guess had told him that she was the type who seemed to like those things, and from the delighted look on her masked face, he knew his hunch had been correct.
Kendra fortunately hated them just as much as he did, if not worse.
This year’s Supernatural Ball had a Masquerade Theme, which Killian was actually quite grateful for as it allowed him to avoid the blatant stares and hushed whispers of the ton as they discussed his condition.
He was used to them by now though, and today was all about Artemis, so he wasn’t going to let anything ruin that.
As he danced with his companion—and they did do a lot of dancing— his mind couldn’t help but stray towards his beta.
He felt guilty for avoiding her, but it was for both their own good. He had a wolf who knew where this was gradually heading towards… who was aware that eventually marriage would be on the table.
And she was okay with that.
But Kendra wasn’t, and yet he just couldn’t stop fucking thinking about her.
Killian didn’t understand the feeling he got whenever he was around his Beta. He wanted to hold her close and never let her go, but knowing the she-wolf, she was probably going to either bark his head off, or leave him…
And he didn’t think he could handle that.
For the Alpha, it was better to have her in his life as a friend than not to have her in his life at all, and so he had kind of resigned himself to their fate.
“You’re so quiet, Killian. Is everything okay?” Artemis asked in concern, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah… yeah I am. Sorry, just a little lost in thoughts.” He apologized.
Artemis sighed deeply and leaned against him, allowing herself to be swayed to the left and to the right, following the rhythm of the beat.
For the beautiful redhead, they were the only people in the room.
Her feelings for the Alpha were growing by the day, even though at the moment they were quite undefined.
Oh, but Artemis was sure she could break through the stone walls that held his heart captive…
She was absolutely positive that she could make the Alpha fall in love with her.
CHAPTER SIX- THE BALL (Part 2)Killian saw her first.No amount of camouflage or mask could hide Kendra from him. He knew her both inside and out,Well not exactly inside, but you get my drift.She looked so ravishing, dressed in a strapless burgundy ball gown, her face concealed by a black, elegant lace like mask. For the first time in a really really long time, her curly hair had been styled in an intricate chignon.Only her mum used to plead with her to wear it like that.Killian was mesmerized,What was she doing here?The Beta didn’t do balls.He basically had to blackmail her sometimes to tag along with him, and even then, she never took the time to look this… lovely.The feeling he felt was so foreign that he stumbled in his dance routine a bit, the action causing Artemis to look up at him in concern. “Hey, it’s everything all right?&rdqu
CHAPTER SEVEN- THE KISSA growl escaped Killian’s lips as he closed in on the couple obliviously dancing to the sound of the lively music.“Kendra!”Well, he’ll be damned.Of all the wolves present at the gathering that his Beta could have danced with, she had to go and pick the one that he hated most,Tyrone Riverdale.Alpha of the Riverdale Pack, who took great delight in causing mischief and encouraging excessive violence among his wolves.His Beta had the decency to look like a cat that had been caught trying to swallow the family mouse, with her wide eyes and lace-masked face.Good. He’ll deal with her later.“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Killian Silvercrest.” Tyrone boomed, his voice taunting as he held on to a frozen Kendra. “You know, I was wondering when you were going to show up, since you somehow always manage to keep your Beta o
CHAPTER 8- The Ultimate SacrificeKillian didn’t even make it out of the building when he shifted into his wolf form, the action causing his clothes to tear into mere rags, into shreds.He dashed off, heading into the forests, a shortcut that would take him straight to the pack borders.Back at the grand hall, Kendra was cursing the Alpha,In her head, of course.She had barely managed to bark the words Wait, we need to plan first, when the infuriating beast had burst out of the grand hall, heading for the borders.Kendra knew how important the pack was to the Alpha… he was as possessive of it as a mother wolf was of her cubs, but he didn’t know how many of the curers were out there, and granted… he was a very powerful wolf, but a few Silver weapons too many, and he would be just like a normal human being— completely mortal and at the mercy of the evil humans.Now a l
CHAPTER 9- THIS WAS GOING TO HAVE TO DO “Any changes, Maymunah?” Kendra asked for the umpteenth time as she observed the comatose Alpha. “Still nothing, child.” The Oracle confirmed. “Honestly speaking, it’s a miracle he’s still alive, Kendra. No wolf should be breathing after having that much silver in their system.” If it was a miracle, why wasn’t the brute fucking awakening then? Kendra didn’t ask the Oracle this though. She already knew what the answer was going to be. Only the Gods knew why. At this point, and with everything that had been going on, Kendra wasn’t even sure she believed in them anymore, but for the sake of her best friend, she prayed to all of them… Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena… she prayed to whoever cared to listen to save her friend who was simply put, nothing but a pure heart. It had already been three days. Three days since their clash
CHAPTER 10- Wet Killian was trying to work out, but he couldn’t concentrate. What in the fuck had he gotten himself into? He couldn’t really explain it, but it was like now that he had gotten a taste of Kendra… gotten a taste of her lips, of her skin, he just couldn’t seem to stop himself and his thoughts. He wanted more! But that did not even make any sense. He had never felt that way with anyone, not even Artemis whose company he was growing to appreciate more and more each day, the feelings just… confused him. Was he feeling this way because inwardly, she was the one he wanted to be with? Or was it because he was afraid that she would find her love in the arms of another man from another pack and leave him all alone? At this point, he didn’t know anymore… and he didn’t care. All he knew was that he was a very stubborn man, and that he was goi
Chapter 11- Tyrone RiverdaleKendra Sullivan was in the pack gardens, tending to a patch of vibrant, red roses.It was one of the little things she loved to do when she wasn’t playing Beta, or taking her wolf for a run, or sparring, or drawing…Yeah, the she-wolf was quite talented.It was early morn, that time of day where the sun was out, but not too hot or shiny.It really was a beautiful day to be out.Kendra felt at peace in that moment, it was a much welcome respite after being so tense for days.She had spent the whole week avoiding Killian, because after his recovery, it became apparent that the very air they both breathed was charged with some indescribable force.The Alpha wanted to talk about the kiss, but she surprisingly didn’t, because she had a hunch as to what he was going to say.And she wasn’t sure it was going to be something that would make her heart flutter with
Chapter 12- Sheer will For the whole period of the council meeting, Killian did not say a single word to Kendra. Everything he wanted to say that required him addressing her, he threw to their gamma, Miguel, instead. He had seen how much that had unnerved her, but he literally didn’t care. It wasn’t like she had cared about his feelings when she had turned up late to the meeting with his worst enemy anyway. By the time the meeting had ended, Killian was a complete thinking mess. Was Tyrone courting his Beta? It seemed like the only logical explanation… the only reason why they were suddenly spending so much time together. But if that were so, why hadn’t Kendra told him about it? Of course she knows you’re going to blow your fucking fuse, you arrogant brute! His conscience mocked darkly, but he brushed the thoughts aside. He didn’t care. Kendra could do wha
Chapter 13- SpentAnd then she was spent.Kendra’s eyes fluttered close and she sunk into the bathtub to shield her body from her friend’s watchful gaze, horror seeping into her veins as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened and the implications it was going to have on their lives and their relationship.The female-Beta took a deep breath and stepped out of the tub, pretending not to care that the Alpha could see her… all of her. It was the only thing she could think of to grasp onto the remaining thin ropes that were holding their relationship together.She brushed past him nonchalantly and reached for her robe to cover her nakedness, and then turned to him when she was fully dressed. “What are you doing here?”Killian just didn’t understand.How was she so cool and unconcerned about what had just happened? He was literally struggling to come to terms with it&