Her Dilemma, Her Choice

Chapter 4

April POV

“I can’t find the originator of the smell. Keep your guard up Beth.” I mind-linked.

“Okay, I will. Now get back to the party.” Came the reply.

“So bossy!” I smiled and went back to my table.

The woman seated beside me was wearing a very green dress. She began talking about last year’s gala and some thing that she purchased at the silent auction. She hoped to get another this year. I tuned her out and concentrated on keeping an eye on Beth and my nose on the rogue. As the silent auction was about to open, I told Beth I’d clear the hallway and the bathroom again, since she wanted to powder her nose.

What a silly expression. I mean I get where it came from. A few centuries ago, when it was the height of fashion for humans to look pale. The whiter you were, the more fashionable you were considered, so women would excuse themselves to ‘powder their nose’ in case any of the white came off. It always seemed silly to me for a Lycan to say it though. We never had that fashion, even within the royal house.

The stink of the Rogue dirty, BO stench became very strong in front of the restrooms. I went on high alert. I opened the cherry door to the women’s restroom. The white and rose quartz tiles looked recently cleaned. Five stall doors stood slightly ajar. I did a quick glance under the doors anyway. When I didn’t see anything, I gave Beth the ‘all clear’. I washed my hands in one of the pristine sinks and turned to wait outside the door for Beth.

I start out of the bathroom when I feel a prick in my neck right before the room goes dark.

Beth POV



I was thoroughly enjoying myself. The meal was decadent. I had the prime rib, cooked rare with pecan crusted asparagus and a dark chocolate, raspberry souffle. For years, I had wanted to attend this event, but held off because of the many connections in the publishing field I had in this area. I thought I might run into someone that knew me years ago and they might become suspicious of my lack of aging. This year, I threw caution to the wind. After all, it’s my last year here. Next year is my 50th birthday and the king expects me to come back home and my father expects me to accept the king’s proposal to become his chosen. My father made that clear over the years, but especially in the last decade, he’s doubled his efforts to get me to accept, pushing us together every time I’m home. The last time I was home was about a year ago. It’s the longest I’ve gone without returning and there’s a reason for that. I needed a break from my father’s “match-making.” King Maxwell could put a stop to it, but I think he’s enjoying, or the very least amused, by my father’s antics. I know my father just wants to make sure I’m taken care of and happy. Especially because he was so happy with my mom. . I smiled as I recalled my last visit, almost a year ago. My father was so obvious, even King Maxwell was amused.

On my last afternoon, my father called me into his office. “Hey Beth, I know you are headed to grab tea with some girlfriends, but I wanted to catch you and let you know we’re attending a formal dinner tonight with the king and a couple visiting Alphas. Dress is business attire and we need to be in the guest drawing room at 5 pm.”

“Okay Dad.” I replied, as I walked into the sunshine and headed to my favorite coffee shop. The girls and I caught up on the latest gossip. There was some disturbance with a band of werewolves and one of the top officials of the pack had gone rogue. The rogue had been seen in the Lycan territory a few times recently, and even in a few of our favorite spots in our town. That’s what the dinner with the alpha was about tonight. Then we moved to happier topics. Cindy’s older sister had her pup, an adorable little girl. Some townsman was upset at another, etc, etc. We chatted as we finished our tea and scones. I left later than I’d have liked to have enough time to get properly ready, but it was really good to see my friends, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal to just rush the getting ready.

I ran into my rooms, throwing my purse on the bed and ripped open the closet doors. I pulled out my white pantsuit and a pair of gold heels to go with it and jumped in the shower. I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup when my father knocked on the door. I took one last look in the mirror. The deep V neckline was borderline too low for business attire, but it looked damn good. The heels accentuated my posture and my butt and the jewelry was tasteful and elegant and my dark hair tumbled down my back in sharp contrast to the outfit. It was perfect, boardroom ready attire.

We walked into the drawing room at 5 pm sharp. Only the king was there.

“Hello Beth.” King Maxwell said. “I’m so glad you decided to join us."

I gave my father a dirty look. He had led me to believe I was supposed to attend this dinner.