His Breath of Fire

Chapter Five

    Again I found myself staring at my image in the full-length mirror in my room.  My body was clad with a floor length, maroon dress.  The straps were thin, hanging delicately from my thin shoulders, and the top was form-fitting, hugging my frame before it hit my hips, flowing straight down from there before it hit the ground.  There was a slit in the dress, reaching all the way to about mid-thigh, giving me room and making it easier to walk in.  I paired the dress with a pair of silver heels, a simple necklace, and pearl earrings to hang from my ears.

    My long, silver hair was curled, reaching just above my hips, and I twisted two strands on each side and tied them together behind my head.  I pulled two strands on either side to frame my face, with light makeup to accentuate my delicate features, but I matched my lipstick to the dress to make it pop.  Overall, I feel confident in my look.

    My mother decided on a sky blue dress, similarly fitting to mine, but it has delicate jewels decorating her hips and chest area.  I went with a darker color, because our pale skin and hair doesn’t compliment lighter colors, but somehow my mother makes it look good.

    “Bren, sweetie, it’s time to go,” my mother called, knocking on my door before entering my room.  “Oh, honey, you look amazing,” she cooed, walking over and enveloping me in a hug.

    “Thanks, Mom,” I smiled, looking her over.  “You look amazing too.”

    “Come on, Paul is waiting downstairs,” she gently grabbed my hand, leading me down the stairs.  Immediately, Paul’s eyes were drawn to my mother and I smiled seeing the love already there.  My mother deserves a good man.

    “Kaida, you look breathtaking,” Paul gushes, causing my mother to blush.  “You look beautiful too, Bren.”

    “Thank you,” I smile, “You clean up well.”

    Paul laughs before running a hand down the front of his suit.  “Thank you.”

    After another minute, we exited the house and got into my mother’s car.  Paul drove, saying he didn’t want my mother to ruin her dress, earning another blush from her and we made our way to the pack house where the party was being held.  It was about a ten minute drive, and I couldn’t help but wonder if my mother chose this house because of its location in relation to the pack house.  I never did get the story of how they met.

    We pulled up, and Paul held both of our doors open.  He led us to one of the side buildings, promising to give us a tour of the grounds soon.  He told us that the building we’re entering is one they use specifically for big gatherings like parties and pack meetings.  Entering the building we see the room is beautifully decorated, with streamers hung from the ceiling and tables were carefully spaced apart to give privacy if needed to conversations.  There was an area designated for dancing but I doubt I’ll spend any time there.

    “Bren!” a voice calls, and I see Sarah running up to me.

    “Sarah?” I ask, still needing to play the part of a confused human.  “You’re a wolf too?”

    “Yes!  Same as Annabelle, Anastasia, and Drake!” She answers, pointing to the other three hesitantly walking up to us.  “We’re sorry for not telling you sooner, but we had too.”

    “Is it forbidden to talk about it or something?”

    “It’s forbidden to tell any human if they’re not your mate.  That way, there's no chance of a human trying to kill us,” Annabelle answers, giving me a small smile.

    “I mean, I guess that makes sense,” I mumble, shaking my head at them.  “I just wish I didn’t have to find out this way.”

    “Yeah, but now you know and we don’t have to keep it a secret from you anymore!  And you can ask us any questions you want, no judgement,” Sarah claps her hands excitedly, and I can’t help but smile at her energy.

    “Sit with us?” Drake asks, motioning to the table their belongings are at.  I looked at my mother and she nodded at me, smiling before turning her attention back to Paul.  With her blessing the group leads me to their table, sitting me down and talking excitedly about all the things they couldn’t tell me before.

    “Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice booms over the crowd and we all fall silent as we turn to the person speaking.  The man standing on the stage was massive, but I’ve come to know that werewolf men are just large in general.  “Our Alpha Junior has returned home from his travels.  Without further ado, I present to you our future Alpha, Easton!”

    The group claps and I hesitantly join in.  Easton walks onto the stage smiling and waving to the pack.  How long has it been since he’s been here if they threw a party for him?  It has to have been a while.  Blaidd jumps in my head, and Blaise blows fire in excitement.  Mate, they chant, and I close my eyes.  I was right.

    Easton held out his arm and a beautiful girl with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes walked over to him.  She easily went into his embrace and they smiled at each other.  My heart broke at the sight of them together and the bond that ties us together tugged painfully.  Mate? My shifter forms questioned, confusion and hurt in their tones.  My chest twitched again and I looked away from the scene to avoid more pain. 

    However Easton felt the pain through the bond and he glanced away from the blonde bimbo to look out at the crowd.  His nose twitched meaning he was getting a sense of my scent which caused me to panic.  I don’t want to be someone’s replacement, so I closed my eyes to hide the fact that I was going to hide my scent from the crowd.  Since we’re in a large group with lots of overwhelming stimulants, my scent could go unnoticed and he wouldn’t know.  I just needed to make sure I don’t let him touch me.  He looked around again, nose twitching, before shrugging his shoulders because he lost my scent.  I know he’ll spend the rest of the night trying to find it again but I’m only planning on staying here more than another hour.

    My head started to pound from the strain of using that spell, but I knew it was a necessary evil.  The spell would only last an hour and by that point I’ll be back at my house, licking my wounds.

    “As well as the return of our Alpha Junior,” the man continued, smiling at Easton and the girl before turning towards Paul and my mother.  “Our beloved Beta has found his second-chance mate, Kaida!  Please welcome her and her lovely daughter Bren to the pack.”  Paul and my mother stood up, a slight blush on her cheeks from the attention, and Paul motioned for me to stand as well.  Swallowing the embarrassment I stood up, cringing inwardly at the many eyes looking at me, and I shot them a smile and a wave.  I avoided eye contact with Easton, choosing to ignore my mate at the moment to avoid crying in front of everyone.

    I sat down after a moment, hating the attention, and started talking with everyone.  Time flew by, I ate some food, talked with other students from the school who are werewolves and got to know Paul’s son, Lucas, a little more.  He was a perfect copy of his father with his dark brown hair, tall, muscular physique, but the only difference was his eyes were green, said to be given to him by his mother. Needless to say it was awkward, but we agreed to just be friends and not try and pretend that we’re siblings.

    About thirty minutes later, the headache morphed from a dull ache to a splitting headache, causing me to wince every now and then from the pain.  I stood up and made my way over to my mother.  “Mom, I need to go home,” I said, putting a hand to my head.

    “Are you okay, sweetheart?” She asked, and her nose twitched as she realized I didn’t have a scent.  “What’s going on?”

    I tapped my ear so she knew to open her mindlink.  Funny thing about dragons, we have mindlinks like werewolves, but it’s more like we can read other dragon’s minds at all times.  My mother and I choose to close the link to maintain some privacy, and we tap our ears to let the other know to open it up again so we can talk without others hearing. I hid my scent so that Easton wouldn’t know I’m his mate, I say in our link but say out loud, “I’m not feeling well.”

    “Is it your head?” My mother asks out loud, but says, Because of the girl on stage with him?

    “Yeah,” I say to answer both questions.

    “Here, take my car keys,” she says, handing them over.

    “Will you not need them?” I ask, grabbing them from her hand.

    “Paul and I are staying here,” she says, blushing.  “The walls are soundproof.”

    I cringe at the thought of my mother having s*x, but shook my head to clear it.  I just need to get out of here.

    “Leaving already?”