Chapter 5 The Second Ball

Ella’s POV

“Ella,” Alpha Kane’s voice came through the door along with a knock,  “Are you done?” 

“Not yet.” I lied.

Ten minutes later.

I heard him clear his throat on the other side, and when he spoke again his voice had dropped even lower. “Hurry up. We are already late.”

Come on. Why was he still here?

“Go without me,” I said, forcing the words out. “I will find my own way.”

“That is not happening.” His tone left no room for argument. “Dad asked me to bring you to the Mate Ball tonight. You have five minutes to get dressed and come out.”

I rolled my eyes. Talking to him was like talking to a brick wall.

“Look, just go. What if your mate arrives early but leaves because you’re late?”

I heard him pacing back and forth, then speaking again, his voice quieter this time but no less firm.

“Fifteen minutes, Ella. I expect to see you at the ball, and do not make me come back up here.”

YESSSS!!!

“And if you’re late, this would affect your Evaluation performance in pack affairs.” 

I clenched my fists. 

“Just go. I know.” I took a deep breath. Some sacrifices had to be made.

Footsteps finally moved away down the hallway.

I watched through the window as his deep red Porsche disappeared down the driveway in a cloud of dust. Only then did I grab my phone to call Kelly.

Kelly arrived minutes later in her white pickup.

We wasted no time at all. In the back of the truck I stripped out of the white gown Matthias had chosen and pulled on the bold red velvet dress she had brought. It clung to every curve like it had been made for me.

The mask was different too, deep crimson with thin black stripes that covered half my face.

“You look amazing,” Kelly whistled. 

I forced out a dry laugh. “Matthias got this dress for me.”

She laughed. “Is he giving you out in marriage?” 

I joined the laughter too. It felt good to laugh with her, after everything that’s happened to both of us. 

The Mooncrest Grand Hall glittered under crystal lights. Perfumes and expensive champagnes filled the air, with couples already moving across the polished floor in slow, intimate circles. We passed the scent suppressant screening.

Kelly squeezed my hand once, then slipped away toward the snack tables, leaving me alone in the crowd.

Okay, relax. You just need to stay here until the ball is over, Ella. For your wolf… Just like last time…

A deep voice spoke behind me before I had taken ten steps.

"I prayed I would see you again."

My entire body went rigid.

No. No, this couldn't be happening. I tried my very best to hide my identity since they had made everyone go through the scent suppressant screening at the entrance. It was mandatory. No one was allowed inside with suppressants still on their skin. And he had found me anyway.

I turned slowly, staring at Alpha Kane who stood in black, a simple dark mask covering the upper half of his face with no family crest. His eyes moved over the red dress first, lingering on the way the fabric hugged my waist, then rose to meet my masked face.

For a long moment, he just looked at me.

"I've been looking for you," he said quietly. "Since the garden."

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my chest. He was going to figure it out. There was nothing between him and my scent now. Nothing except this mask.

"That wasn't real," I said, forcing my voice to stay level. "Just a moment."

His head tilted slightly, and I watched as his nostrils flared. Once. Twice. 

"It was real," he said, and there was no doubt in his voice. "You're real."

He extended his hand toward the dance floor. “Let’s dance”

I should have refused. I should have turned and walked away. But I was frozen, and he was waiting, and refusing would draw attention. So I placed my fingers in his.

The moment our skin touched, heat shot up my arm. The bond flared between us and my knees nearly buckled. I felt his grip tighten for just a heartbeat, and I knew he felt it too.

He led me to the dance floor without another word.

The music was slow, intimate. Couples moved in elegant circles around us, lost in their own worlds. Alpha Kane's hand settled on the small of my back, warm through the thin velvet of my dress. He guided me through the first turn effortlessly, and I had to focus on breathing.

He was watching me. I could feel his gaze moving over my face, studying what he could see through the mask.

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice rough near my ear.

"I came for the music," I answered carefully. "Nothing more."

"That's not an answer."

He spun me under his arm, then pulled me back so our bodies aligned from chest to thigh. I felt the hard line of him against me and my breath seized. His thumb brushed the bare skin just above the edge of my dress, slow and gentle, and I had to remind myself to stay calm. To not react too much. To not give anything away. The thought felt like a bowstring pulled taut, stretched to its limit. I knew that if I relaxed for even a second, the string would snap, and the truth of who I was—his stepsister—would shoot into the open like an arrow, impossible to take back.

His fingers came up, trailing along the edge of my mask. "I need to see your face," he said, his voice low and rough. "

"Don't," I whispered, barely able to catch my breath. 

He paused, his dark eyes boring into mine through the thin barrier of silk and lace. "Why?" he asked quietly. "Why don't you want me to see you?"

Because once you do, everything changes. Because you'll know that your mate is your stepsister. Because I can never have you, and you'll hate me for lying.

His fingers curled around the edge of my mask.

"Please," I breathed.

He tilted my chin up with his other hand, his thumb stroking across my jawline. The touch was both gentle and possessive, and the contradiction of it made my chest ache. This powerful Alpha, this male who commanded respect without even trying.

"I'm going to see you," he said. The certainty of an Alpha who had made his decision. "You're mine. And I need to know every part of you."

His fingers began to lift the edge of the mask.

Time seemed to stop.

One pull and the red-dressed stranger would vanish. The wolfless stepsister would stand in her place. The female he had kissed under moonlight would become the girl he had ordered out of his room while another female's marks still covered his skin.

As the tip of his finger caught the edge of the mask, my heart slammed so hard I was certain he could hear it. 

Do something, Ella. Hurry. Stop him.

But I couldn't move. An invisible pull held me there, as if the mate bond itself had wrapped around me like an unbreakable rope.

He is your mate.

Accept him.

It echoed through my mind like a spell, drowning out every instinct telling me to run. I could only stand there, caught between the fear screaming inside me and the bond that kept whispering that he was mine.

His fingers crept closer with every beat of my heart.

"Let me see you," he whispered.