Chapter 4: The Mating Ceremony 4

At long last, it was time for the roll call of everyone who had found their mate that night. Alice stood by William, her hands in his, awaiting their names to be called. The entire ballroom was quiet as names were called in pairs, continuously… until the last name, which was saved for last, as designed.

“And our final and most unexpected pair of the night,” the announcer said, and took another look at the card he had in his hand to be sure he read the names. “Alpha William Sinclair of the Twilight Pack and Natasha, of the House of Thorne.”

At that moment, William let go of Alice and walked to where Natasha stood, already waiting for him. William and Natasha walked hand in hand. Natasha's face grew a blushing red. Every eye turned to them as they walked elegantly to the front of the ceremony.

The entire ball was thrown into utter confusion, as everyone was expecting the power mate to be William and Alice, daughter of the Grand Alpha, not the Reject of society, a wolf-less half-breed.

As for Alice, she was frozen in shock. Her brain found it impossible to comprehend what was going on before her very eyes, but could you blame her? She was just as much in the dark as everyone else.

Thoughts such as "his fate is the absolute worst" and "how lucky is she? She doesn’t deserve such a fate…" Murmurs swept across the ballroom; everyone had something to say.

William could feel how nervous Natasha was right now. The entire occurrence was overwhelming enough for her without the green eyes that were on her. “Stare into my eyes,” he said, drawing her closer. “Drown out the noise; it’s just me and you, okay?” She nodded. Natasha looked into his eyes, and a calm sensation washed over her.

“I, Sir William, Alpha of the Twilight Pack, accept Natasha of the House of Thorne as my mate,” William said.

“I, Natasha of the House of Thorne, accept Sir William, Alpha of the Twilight Pack as my mate,” Natasha repeated.

“Then it is settled. You shall have a year of honeymoon courtship after which you will decide if you want to be one, and for her to be your Luna,” the announcer said. Honeymoon courtship is the time spent together by newly found mates to get to know each other before they are announced as a bonded/married couple or for a mate annulment.

With that concluded, all that was left was the ball dance. “Shall we?” William said, stretching forth his hand with a bow.

"Sure," she agreed with a gracious smile. Taking William's outstretched hand, they twirled into an elegant waltz. Their movements were captivating as they effortlessly glided across the floor, matching each other's steps with grace. Everyone couldn't help but watch in awe, captivated by their natural charm and magnetic presence. Some even began to see them as the perfect couple, true mates. Some, but not Alice, who stood in the corner of the ballroom, hiding in shame and boiling rage.

Alice walked up, interrupting their dance. “Alice, I…” William tried to speak but was cut off.

“My father sends for you,” she said, with her head bowed. Alice couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Her rage was for one person and one person alone, the one who stole what was hers.

William straightened up immediately. “The Grand Alpha… he is here?” William said.

“Yes, and he wants to see you,” she replied with her head still bowed.

“Okay, where is he?” William replied, visibly nervous.

Alice pointed him toward the direction of the balcony. “I will be back,” he said to Natasha.

“Okay,” she replied.

William left, leaving Natasha and Alice together. There was an eerie silent tension between them.

“Alice, I…”

“How dare you steal what was rightfully mine! Do you have any idea what you have done?” Alice fired at her. Her face raised, and her eyes burned in anger.

“Alice, I’m sorry, but…”

“You are sorry? Oh, let me guess, but you don’t see how any of this is your fault,” Alice said.

Natasha was mute. That was indeed what she was about to say.

“I don’t care if you are mated to him or not, William is mine, and I will burn to the ground anyone who stands in my way,” Alice said and stormed off.

Natasha stood frozen and confused. She knew this plan of theirs was going to be difficult, but she never thought of it as life-threatening. But if Alice were to make good on her threat, wouldn’t it be best to call it quits? But no, for some reason, Alice’s words lit up a long-quenched fire in her.

“Game on, bitch,” she whispered to herself.