CHAPTER 4: MIDNIGHT STRIKES

The day of the Mate Revelation Ball arrived with grey skies and my stomach in knots.

I woke up before dawn, my wolf restless inside me. All night she'd been pacing, eager, almost vibrating with anticipation. Like a caged animal that could smell freedom.

Today, she kept whispering. Today everything changes.

I wanted to believe her. But fear sat heavy in my chest like a stone.

The packhouse was already chaotic when I got to the kitchen. Servers rushed everywhere, colliding with each other. Chefs shouted orders that no one could hear over the noise. The head coordinator looked like she might have a breakdown any second.

"Aurora!" she screamed the second she saw me, her voice shrill with panic. "Where have you been? The ice sculptures are melting, the champagne isn't chilled, and half the serving staff called in sick!"

"I'm here now," I said quickly, already moving. "What do you need?"

For the next twelve hours, I didn't stop moving. Arranging flowers until my fingers were stained green. Setting tables until my back screamed. Polishing glasses until they sparkled and my hands were raw. My feet ached. My head pounded. But I kept going.

Around four in the afternoon, Esme pulled me aside and shoved a plate of food at me.

"Eat," she ordered. "You haven't had anything all day."

"I don't have time..."

"You'll pass out if you don't eat. Sit. Five minutes."

I wolfed down the sandwich while Esme watched me with worried eyes, like she was memorizing my face.

"How do you feel?" she asked quietly.

"Tired. Nervous." I paused, my hand going to my chest where my wolf paced. "My wolf won't stop talking to me."

Esme's face lit up. "She's strong today?"

"Very strong. Esme, what if... what if I really do shift tonight?" Hope and terror mixed in my voice.

"Then you shift. And you'll be magnificent." She squeezed my shoulder hard. "Don't be afraid, child. This is your destiny."

At six o'clock, I was sent to change into my servant dress. I washed up quickly in the staff bathroom, scrubbing away the day's sweat and dirt. I pulled on the simple black uniform. It fit perfectly. Plain but clean. Better than anything I'd ever worn.

I braided my long dark hair and stared at my reflection. My grey eyes looked different today. Brighter. Almost glowing silver in the harsh fluorescent light.

You're beautiful, my wolf said.

I wasn't. But I appreciated the lie.

By seven, guests started arriving. I stood in the main entrance with the other servers, holding a tray of champagne glasses that made my arms tremble.

Wolves in expensive suits and designer gowns swept through the doors. Alphas. Betas. Powerful pack members from across the region. The air hummed with energy and excitement and magic building.

Everyone was here to witness the magic of fated mates finding each other at midnight.

"Remember," the head server hissed at us. "Eyes down. Be invisible. Don't speak unless spoken to. Don't embarrass us."

We nodded in unison.

The next two hours blurred together. I circulated through the crowd, offering champagne, collecting empty glasses, staying out of the way. I caught glimpses of the ballroom. It looked like something from a fairy tale. Crystal chandeliers throwing rainbows across white marble. White roses everywhere, their scent thick and sweet. An orchestra on the stage playing soft classical music that made my chest ache.

Around nine, Alpha Damon arrived with Vivian on his arm.

My heart stuttered. Stopped. Started again too fast.

He wore a black tuxedo that fit him like it was made for his body. Which it probably was. His dark hair was perfectly styled. Those ice-blue eyes scanned the room with the confidence of someone who owned everything he saw. Everyone he saw.

And Vivian. She was stunning in a red gown that hugged every curve, that made her look like sin incarnate. Diamonds sparkled at her throat and ears, catching the light. She clung to Damon's arm like she owned him.

Maybe she did.

They made a perfect couple. Powerful. Beautiful. Untouchable. Everything I could never be.

I turned away before the ache in my chest got worse. Before anyone saw the longing on my face.

He's not hers, my wolf growled. He's ours.

"That's crazy," I whispered under my breath.

You'll see. At midnight, you'll see.

I tried to ignore her, but she was getting louder. Stronger. More insistent with every passing minute.

Around ten, something strange happened.

A man entered the ballroom and every conversation stopped. Just... stopped. Like someone had pressed pause on the entire room.

He was tall. Maybe six-five. But that wasn't what made everyone stare. It was the way he moved. The power that radiated from him like heat waves. Like gravity. He had silver-white hair that should have made him look old but didn't. And his eyes...

Even from across the room, I could see they were gold. Actual molten gold.

He wore a dark suit, expensive but understated. No pack insignia. No markers of which territory he belonged to. Nothing to identify him.

"Who is that?" someone whispered near me.

"I've never seen him before."

"Look at his eyes. What kind of wolf has gold eyes?"

The mysterious stranger's gaze swept the ballroom slowly. Searching. Hunting. Looking for something.

Or someone.

When his eyes passed over me, I felt a jolt. Like electricity. Like lightning striking my chest. Like recognition.

But that was impossible. I'd never seen him before in my life.

He moved through the crowd, and people stepped aside automatically. Even the Alphas gave him space, their wolves recognizing something in him that demanded respect.

I watched him disappear into the crowd, my heart racing for reasons I didn't understand.

The second one, my wolf said quietly.

"What?"

Our second mate. He's here.

My hands started shaking so badly I almost dropped my tray. The champagne glasses clinked together dangerously.

No. That couldn't be real. Two mates wasn't possible. It had never happened. Not in all of wolf history.

"Aurora." A cold voice cut through my panic.

I turned. Uncle Marcus stood there, his dark eyes narrowed, studying me too closely.

"You look flushed. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Marcus."

"Good. Because in two hours, you'll be twenty-two. And we need to have a conversation about your future with this pack." Something dangerous flickered in his expression. Something that made my skin crawl. "Come find me after midnight. We have much to discuss."

He walked away before I could respond, leaving dread settling in my stomach like poison.

That didn't sound good. That sounded like a threat.

The next hour crawled by. The ballroom filled to capacity. The orchestra played. Couples danced. Laughter and conversation filled the air with music and hope.

At eleven-thirty, the MC stepped onto the stage and tapped the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are thirty minutes from midnight! All unmated wolves of age, please make your way to the ballroom floor!"

Excited squeals filled the room. Young wolves rushed to the dance floor, their faces bright with hope and anticipation and nervous energy.

I stood against the wall with the other servers, watching. Always watching. Never participating.

Vivian dragged Damon toward the floor even though neither of them needed to be there. She was twenty-six. He was twenty-eight. They'd both aged out years ago.

But she wanted to be in the center of attention anyway. She always did.

"Five minutes!" the MC called at eleven fifty-five.

The room buzzed with energy. Everyone could feel it. The Moon Goddess's magic building. Getting ready to reveal sacred bonds. Power crackling in the air like static electricity.

My chest started burning. Hot. Painful. Strange.

It's time, my wolf said. Get ready. Everything is about to change.

"I'm just a server," I whispered. "Nothing's going to happen."

You're so much more than that. And in five minutes, the whole world will know.

At eleven fifty-nine, the lights dimmed. A hush fell over the ballroom. Even the orchestra stopped playing.

The only sound was the giant clock on the wall.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

My heart pounded in rhythm with each second.

Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Midnight.

The clock chimed.

And my entire world exploded.

Heat flooded through my body like liquid fire. My wolf surged forward with a roar of triumph that shook my bones. And suddenly, I could see it. Golden threads of light connecting me to...

No.

Not one connection.

Two.

One thread shot across the ballroom straight to Alpha Damon. His head snapped toward me, eyes wide with shock and something that looked like horror.

MATE, my wolf screamed in joy.

The second thread led to the mysterious silver-haired stranger. He turned, those gold eyes locking onto mine with intensity that stole my breath.

MATE, she screamed again.

The champagne tray crashed from my hands.

Glass shattered across the marble floor. The sound like gunshots in the sudden silence.

Three hundred people turned to stare at me.

And I stood there, frozen, as two impossible bonds wrapped around my heart and squeezed.

Alpha Damon's face went from shock to horror to something cold and terrible and final.

Vivian's scream pierced the silence. "No! Not the Omega! This can't be happening!"

The silver-haired stranger started moving toward me, his expression intense and focused and hungry.

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be happening.

Then Damon's voice cut through the chaos, cold as ice and sharp as a blade.

"Everyone, calm down."

The room went silent. Alpha command in every word.

He walked toward me slowly. Every step felt like a death march. Like watching my execution approach.

When he reached me, he looked down at me with those beautiful ice-blue eyes. And I saw nothing in them but disgust.

Pure, absolute disgust.

"Well," he said softly, so only I could hear. "This is unfortunate."

My heart shattered before he even said the words.