The Alpha's princess mate

17-birthday extravaganza

-Naysha-

She had been avoiding him for the past two days, avoiding to join the rest of the family for breakfast and spending most time in her room, lying to everyone, even Anya, about having to deal with some royal matters back home. And luckily for her, her lie had been well-perceived by all of them.

The saddness and emptiness she was feeling were more intense than ever before in her life. She could barely control her emotions, staring outside of her window for hours, nothing but a cell of herself. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, at times she felt like she couldn't even breath, as if there was some kind of poisonous flower blooming in her chest, sucking all life out of her.

But enough was enough. She couldn't keep staying there, in his palace, surrounded by his smell and all these mental images of him. The only reasonable thing left to do, was to pick up her stuff and leave this place. She should go back home, back to her dull life and responsibilities. There was no reason for her to stay there, she was only hurting herself. It was ridiculous.

But, as she was getting ready to book her flight, Anya had stormed into her room, with her typical joyfull little screams.

"Are you done with your boring royal duties already?" she had asked with a pouty face, throwing herself on her bed.

"Yes, but..I think I need to go back home.." she had began to say, getting ready to give her friend the speech she had prepared, but Anya had cut her off abruptly.

"Forget about it! Tommorow is my birthday! We're having a huge party. You're gonna love it!" Her voice was extra squicky in excitement. There was a massive smile on her face. Naysha didn't dare to let her down like that. Plus, she was already too heartbroken and tired to attempt to convince Anya to let her leave this place in peace.

She was in no mood for Anya's birthday extravaganza, but she had forced herself to make an effort. And she had to admit that she had done a pretty good job, as she stared at her reflection on the big mirror in front of her. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to spot the sorrow in her eyes after all the time she spent doing her hair and makeup.

She just wished that Seth wouldn't show up. Of course, such a thing would be impossible, given how much he loved his sister. Plus, the whole family and their friends would be attending. It would be rude from his side to miss such an important event. She sighed and fixed her hair for what seemed to be the millionth time. She was more than nervous to see him, but he would never know. Afterall, she had been trained for moments like this. All she had to do was make sure to stay as far away from him as possible and she should be fine.

"You got this" she whispered at her reflexion and took a big breath before putting on her black stileto heels and exiting the room.

After Anya's demand, the party would take place in one of the biggest ballrooms in the palace, that were reserved purposely for times like this. She had only seen the room while it was decorated, always under Anya's surveilance. It was already breathtaking as it was, but she could only imagine how good it would be now. Of course Anya would have prefered a party by the pool, where she could show of her beautiful tan in a tiny bikini, but after the insident with the wolves it was considered dangerous to have so many people gathered outside so late at night.

She slowly climbed down the big staircase, still focusing on her breath. Anya was waiting for her at the bottom of it with a massive smile on her face, glowing like the happiest person on earth in her tiny party dress that was drenched in glitter and crystals. She was trully breath-taking, just like her brother. She quickly pussed the image of Seth out of her mind as she rushed towards her friend.

"Oh my goddess, look at you! I'm covered in rhinestones and yet you're stealing the show!" Anya exclaimed bouncing lively in her high heels. She knew she was just being polite, as she had purposely chosen a quite simple black dress in order to avoid attracting any attention on her. Especially from a special someone.

She gave her a smile. "I couldn't possibly do that, you look absolutely stunning!"

Anya giggled and bowed theatrically at her words. "Thank you so much! I spent hours trying to find the perfect dress!" She grabbed her by her elbow and started walking towards the ballroom, "You're really gonna love what my decorators did with the place!" She just couldn't content her joy.

Naysha nodded. At least her friend was having a great time and that was enough.

The massive double door to the ballroom was opeb wide and lots of people were walking through, while many more others were already gathered inside. Lucas was standing by the entrance, probably waiting for them, as he was Anya's bodyguard. He gave them a polite smile once they got closer.

"Good evening princesses. Happy birthday, princess Anya, I wish you the best." he said in the most polite manner.

Anya gave him one of her biggest smiles. "Thank you, Lucas! Congratulations on your big promosion! We've all always liked you better for the Gamma position" she replied.

She had heard about the sudden death of Anya and Seth's creepy cousin and, honestly, she was pleased. She couldn't stop thinking about how scared his wife had seemed that time they had met.

"Uh-oh.." Anya whispered once they stepped inside the ballroom that was indeed stunning. She had a surprised expression on her face and seemed a bit nervous all of a sudden.

"What is it?" Naysha gave her a puzzled look. Was something wrong with the decorations? Or some kind of uninvited guest?

Anya, however, seemed lost in her thoughts as she was scanning the room with a mysterious look on her face while sniffing the air around her intensely. Was she looking for someone?

"I..I'm sorry, but I..I need to go.." she mumbled under her breath and vanished in the crowd.