Chapter 1 The Mate Ball

Ella’s POV

No dress could hide the truth. Beneath the mask, you were still the same wolfless, Ella. I told myself.

The three girls stood in a tight cluster near the entrance to the ball room, their expensive gowns shimmering under the lantern light like they had been dipped in liquid gold. 

Their masks were works of art, feathers, crystals, delicate filigree but mine was a simple scrap of black lace I had sewn myself the night before. 

And my grandmother’s old gown...This ball wasn’t worth bringing out my grandmother’s dress for, but my mother insisted.

“Someone dressed that tackily can get into a mate ball?” one of them asked. The others dissolved into giggles.

A hand shot out and blocked my path. 

It was the ringleader, she was tall, blonde and pretty.

Her friends closed in, circling me the way pack wolves circled wounded prey.

“Look at her,” the blonde said, eyes sweeping over me with open disgust, “do you think she got this at a garage sale? Or maybe she dug it out of a dumpster? What kind of female would have a dress like this? ”

Their laughter grew louder.

I met her gaze, my fingers tightening around the fabric of my grandmother’s dress.

“You don’t get to talk about her like that.” I said, my voice low.

Her smirk faltered.

“The female who owned this dress had more class in her little finger than all of you have in your entire body.” My eyes swept over them coldly. “So if you’re going to insult something, at least make sure you’re worth enough to judge it first.”

One of the girls flushed red, her face twisting with anger.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Her hand flashed toward my face.

I stepped aside without thinking. Years of early-morning training, running until my lungs burned, swinging wooden swords until my arms shook took over. 

She stumbled past me, overbalanced, and went down hard onto the gravel path. The other two girls instinctively reached out to catch her, only to lose their balance and tumble down with her.

Dirt splattered across their cheek, smearing their makeup.

I looked down at the three of them and raised an eyebrow, “Oops.” A faint smile tugged at my lips. “You girls look even worse than the ‘tacky’ dress you were laughing at earlier. Hopefully, you still have time to find something new before the ball.”

I left them there, ignoring the curses and insults thrown at my back.

I stopped beneath an enormous oak tree and closed my eyes. Tonight was supposed to be special.

Every unmated wolf in the pack is required to attend the masquerade. The Mate Ball is a grand event, so it takes place in four separate stages. 

I had no interest in mates. But my mother wanted me to get mated. She believed it would serve as protection. Because to her, nothing was better than a big, strong male protecting weak little me.

I loved my mother, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. I wasn’t going to step into that hall. I would stay there for a few more hours, then head home and tell her I hadn’t found my mate.

The Alpha Academy was where I was meant to be.  I had to protect myself and my mother. 

I slowly circled the flower bed, counting my steps to pass the time. But when I reached thirty-three, I noticed what sounded like footsteps behind me.

I quickened my pace. The footsteps behind me quickened too. Were they following me? Maybe those girls sent them after me.

I stopped dead and spun around with lightning speed, throwing a left hook straight at them.

Just as my fist was about to connect, a hand shot out. His fingers closed around my wrist like iron, stopping the blow inches from his jaw. The strength in that grip was effortless.

“I wasn’t planning to hurt you.” A low, rough voice came from above me.

A male wearing a golden peacock mask that covered the upper half of his face took a step closer to me through the shadows. Moonlight cast mysterious shadows across his chiseled features. Only then did I notice the feathers on his mask, shimmering beneath the moonlight. On his lapel, sat a small crest, a crescent moon intertwined with peacocks.

“Your scent,” he murmured.

I raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

“It’s… captivating.” His voice dropped lower. “Sweet and intriguing.”

Nonsense.

I tried to yank myself free, but his grip was impossibly strong. It was as solid and unmoving as a tree with its roots buried deep in the earth. I’d learned a little trick from the warriors—a move that used an opponent’s own momentum against them. With a quick tug, I can pull him off balance.

At least, that was what I intended to do.

But the moment my fingers closed around his wrist, he saw through my move.

"Little trick." A low chuckle rumbled from his chest. 

He didn’t let go as one arm locked around my waist, while his other hand pinned my wrist in place. I twisted, trying to break free. The movement threw me off balance again and I stumbled into him, chest to chest, and felt every hard line of his body.

The moment I looked up and met his eyes, it felt as though Alice had just stumbled into Wonderland.

What did he mean?

His dark eyes burned behind the mask. I couldn’t tell what was deeper tonight—the starry sky or his eyes.

I felt his fingers slowly skim up my forearm until they reached the sensitive skin of my inner wrist. He pressed his thumb against my pulse and shivers raced down my spine that I forgot how to breathe.

He leaned in and the tip of his nose brushed the side of my neck as he inhaled deeply. A low, rough sound rumbled in his chest. 

“Your heart’s racing. Who are you?” he whispered against my skin.

He lowered his head. Our eyes locked.

Everything inside me shifted at once.

MATE.

The word slammed into me with the force of a physical blow, leaving me frozen, unable to move or run. 

His warm breath traced slowly from the side of my neck to my cheek, until it brushed against the tip of my nose. My heart was pounding like the White Rabbit was racing around inside my chest.

“If you want me to stop,” he said, voice rough and hot, making me all wet, “push me away.”

That was all the warning I got before his mouth claimed mine.

It was my very first kiss...

My lips parted. I shouldn’t have made it seem like an invitation. He deepened the kiss, tilting my head with one hand.

He tasted like priceless wine, something that made my knees weak. A soft sound escaped my throat.

He growled in answer, low, primal and nipped my lower lip hard enough to sting. 

Heat flooded me. My fingers tightened in his jacket as if it were the only thing keeping me upright.

“MINE,” he rasped against my skin.

The word vibrated through me. Before I could react,  a loud bell shattered the night—the signal for the end of the ball and that was when my eyes flew open and reality crashed back in.

I shoved at his chest with all my strength. He let me go this time, but the loss of his heat felt like a physical ache. My face burned. My lips still tingled. I could still feel the imprint of his mouth on mine.

“I need to go,” I gasped.

“Where are you going?”

“Home!” 

He caught my wrist, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to stop me, "You can’t leave, you are my mate.”

Panic grabbed my heart. This can’t be happening. 

“Let me go!”  

“Tell me your—”

I didn’t let him finish. I brought his hand up to my mouth and bit down hard. He immediately let go, his expression tightening as he forced himself to step back.

“Get back here!” 

I ran as fast as my legs could carry. What the hell!

This couldn’t be what you want, Ella. A mate, love… that isn’t what you want. Right now, your only goal is to get into the Alpha Academy.

I kept telling myself that, as if it were the only way I could resist the power of the mate bond.

I didn’t stop until I reached my house. 

I pushed the door open, still shaking.

“Mom! I’m home!” I tossed my mask off, throwing it somewhere. “Mom! I met my mat—”

My words died in my throat.

Three men stood in our living room. They all turned to me as I walked in, and my mom stood beside them.

“Your daughter?” Former Alpha Matthias asked. My mom nodded.

I bowed to him, hesitating, “Good evening.”

Then mom came to my side and pulled me over, “This is Ella, my daughter. Ella, this is Matthias. We’re getting married.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you—wait, what?!” My mom’s words finally sank in.

Matthias smiled proudly. “These are my sons, Alpha Kane and Elijah. Come say hello to your stepsister.”

The taller one walked toward me, his shadow almost swallowing me whole. He simply nodded at me. An Alpha wouldn’t bow to anyone.

Something shiny on his lapel caught my attention. 

That was his family crest—the same crest of a peacock and a crescent moon. 

In the garden. 

His peacock mask. 

His lips on mine.

The bite mark I had left on his hand.

My blood ran cold. Even without my mask, I felt like I was giving everything away. I pressed my lips together like a thief, hoping he wouldn’t notice the marks on them.

"Ella?" Mom urged me to say hello.

"Alpha Kane." I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him.

My mate.

The male who had kissed me.

The male now standing before me.

He was my soon-to-be stepbrother. 

Moon goddess.