The Predator's Gala

Aria's pov

I was barely awake when the door to my suite was thrown open. I expected a tray of food or worse, one of the brothers.

 Instead, I got a woman with eyes like flint and hands that felt like ice. 

She didn't speak much, she just gestured to a dress, a gown of deep, blood-red velvet that looked like a wound against the white fabric.

​"Wear it," she commanded. "The Alphas are waiting."

​"You're breathing too fast," the maid murmured, her voice like dry leaves.

​I didn't answer because I couldn't. The red velvet gown was a masterpiece of cruelty.

 It was heavy, the weight of it pulling at my shoulders, while the corset was laced so tight it felt like Noah’s iron grip made permanent. 

​The neckline was the worst part. It plunged low, specifically designed to frame the golden crescent on my chest. 

​I looked in the mirror and I couldn't recognize myself. I didn't see Aria from the forest. I saw a creature of blood and shadow.

​"They are waiting, little wolf," a voice rumbled from the doorway.

​I didn't have to turn to know it was Cassian. He was leaning against the frame, dressed in a black suit that made him look like a sleek, midnight predator. His amber eyes tracked the rise and fall of my chest, lingering on the exposed mark, then went slightly below it.

He walked towards me with call strides, signalling the maid to leave.

​He offered his arm, but it wasn't a choice. 

​"Let's go, Aria. Our guests are hungry for a glimpse of the girl who survived the ash."

*

*

*

​By the time I was ushered down the grand marble staircase, my ankle was screaming. But the sight waiting for me at the bottom made the pain vanish.

​The grand hall of the Vaelor Estate was no longer empty. It was filled with wolves. Men and women in expensive suits and shimmering gowns, their scents clashing in a suffocating wave of power and aggression. 

​And at the center of it all stood Noah.

​He was the perfect picture of authority in a suit identical to his brothers.

 Cassian's, however, had his tie loosened, a glass of amber liquid on one hand and the other on mine.

He looked like he was watching a comedy, and I was the punchline.

​"Aria," Noah’s voice cut through the chatter of the room. The crowd parted like a red sea. 

"Come here."

​I felt every eye on me. The whispers were like snakes in the grass. The Marked One.

​As I reached them, Noah placed a hand on the small of my back. It was a gesture of protection, but my heart told me otherwise. 

​"Tonight, you the neighbors," Cassian whispered, leaning in as I stood between them. 

"Try not to look so much like a rabbit, little wolf."

​"Why am I here?" I hissed, my hand instinctively going to the collar of my gown to hide the mark. 

​"It’s a celebration of strength, Aria," Noah answered, his voice smooth as silk but hard as the marble beneath us. "The Blackthorne Gala". Our allies have traveled far to witness the stability of the Blackthorne territory. Don’t embarrass us."

​"Stability?" I whispered, looking at the dozens of predators circling us. 

"You mean you brought me here to show off your new toy."

​Cassian’s fingers tightened on my hand, his thumb stroking my knuckles in a way that felt like a warning.

 "In this world, Aria, if you don't show your teeth, someone else will try to pull them out."

​We moved toward the center of the hall, where a group of older men stood. They were dressed in heavy furs and gold chains, the Alphas of the Northern Alliance, one of Blackthorne’s most powerful allies.

​I expected them to sneer. I expected them to look at me with the same cold amusement as the twins.

​Instead, as we approached, the air in the room seemed to shift.

​One by one, the Northern Alphas stopped talking. Their gazes fell not on Noah’s face, nor on Cassian’s smirk, but directly on the golden crescent glowing against my skin.

​A heavy silence fell over the hall.

​Then, the oldest Alpha, a man with a scar running through his beard, did something that made my heart stop. He didn't shake Noah’s hand. He didn't acknowledge the twins at all.

​He dropped his head and bowed. Deeply.

​Behind him, the others followed suit. It wasn't just a casual nod of respect; it was a gesture reserved only for royalty.

​I felt Noah’s hand stiffen against my back. His possessive grip turned into a clamp of iron. Beside me, Cassian’s playful expression vanished, replaced by a dark, simmering jealousy. 

I could tell that they were as surprised as I was. They hadn't expected this. They wanted to show off a prize, but the allies were already treating me differently.

​"Lord Varick," Noah’s voice was a low, dangerous growl. 

"I didn't realize you were so eager to pay your respects to the Blackthorne house."

​The tension in the room was so thick I could taste it. I felt like a spark in a room full of gasoline. The twins moved closer to me, their bodies forming a wall, effectively hiding me from the eyes of the other Alphas. 

​"See what you've done?" Cassian muttered in my ear, his breath hot and jagged.

 "You haven't even been here three days and you're already causing a mutiny."

​"I didn't do anything!" I snapped.

​

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors at the far end of the ballroom groaned open. A cold wind swept through the hall, extinguishing the candles near the entrance.

​"The Alliance is incomplete," a voice boomed from the shadows.

​A man I didn't recognize stepped forward, but it wasn't him that made the blood freeze in my veins.

​It was the woman walking beside him.

​She was draped in white silk and gold, her hair was beautifully braided with pearls. She looked healthy, radiant, and powerful. She looked nothing like the girl I had shared a hut with for eighteen years.

​"Maeve?" My voice was a broken whisper.