Her secret mate

Long family dinner

I forgot how much I hated these things when I had to attend them alone.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate them even when Darcy is with me. But he makes them somewhat bearable with his calming presence alone.

I was standing in the corner of the room with a glass of disgusting champagne and tried to blend into the walls so no one would try to talk to me.

The only good thing about tonight was the beautiful dress Alisha chose for me.

That girl had great eye for clothes.

Her own light green dress with a light tulle skirt looked amazing on her as he politely chatted with some official from my father's pack. It looks like she is a natural at these things. Sure, as the night went on I could see that there was a slight lightness in her cheeks as she started to get exhausted, but the moment it became a bit more noticeable, Colin appeared next to her with a glass of water as he led her to the sofa where my mother sat talking to one of her friends. She accepted Alisha next to her as if she was her long-lost daughter.

A slimmer of jealousy filled my stomach, but I chose to ignore it.

It would be quite funny how differently she acted towards me, if it was not so sad.

Never in my life had I seen her look at me as she looked at Alisha. A big part of me wanted to hate Alisha for that. With everything in me, I wanted to hate that girl and blame her for the coldness I got from my mother, but the girl was not to blame for the way my parents felt towards me.

With a deep sigh, I downed the rest of my champagne and wandered back to the waitresses to get some more, hoping that maybe the buzz from the alcohol would make this a bit more bearable, but my plan was interrupted by my father's disapproving gaze.

From across the room and without a word from his mouth, I could tell that he disliked my attempt to sooth my sorrows with alcohol. The rebellious part of me wanted to drink more just because he disapproved of that. But I knew better.

The buzz was not worth the anger it would bring from my father, so I just placed my empty glass on the tray of a passing waitress. If drinking was not allowed, then I would need another way to decompress a bit... so maybe I could slip away without anyone noticing it.

If Darcy was here, he would wrap his protective arms around me and, for a moment, at least I could forget all this mess that I was in. He would make me forget about the assassin that was probably tracking me down now... make me forget about the f****d u relationship I had with my parents and my pack... make me forget how much I did not fit in here... how much I did not fit to be a Luna...

That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth as I slipped out onto one of the balconies that were connected to the ballroom at my father's mansion. Feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous, I gripped the metal railing in front of me, while trying to get myself under control.

My knuckles were white from how hard I was gripping the metal railing as waves of nausea started to settle, when I felt the hairs at the back of my neck starting to rise...

Shit... someone was watching me and they were close...

I tried to take deep breaths and slowly opened my eyes to look around, but before I could see anything, the doors behind me opened, and I jumped, almost falling over the balcony railing.

A rough, strong hand gripped my upper arm, stranding me.

"East there."

Colin's low voice pierced through the quiet night as my head shot back in his direction.

"What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, if you forget, that I am literally employed to do the very opposite."

"Then why the hell did you sneak up on me like that? I almost had a heart attack.'

He released a deep sight and just shook his head in disbelief.

"I called out your name a few time, but I heard no answer. I even knocked before coming out here, but you still managed to miss it."

Embarrassed at my own reaction, I just shook my head.

"Sorry... I was lost in thought and probably missed it."

A moment later I felt a genteel hand on my chin as he forced me to meet his eyes.

"Princess, what are you doing here? You know that it is really dangerous for you to be out in the open like that. I thought that I made myself clear on that?"

Feeling even more embarrassed, I turned my gaze away once again and stared at the floor. "

"Sorry... you are right... but I had to get away for a moment."

He said nothing for a few moments and I could already imagine how furious he was with me, for making his job so difficult. Right now, I could not even lift my eyes to meet his.

"I get it, parties can be a bit overwhelming, but next time tell me where you are going, so I don't have to franticly search for you and so that I can protect you when you are out in public."

The calmness and understanding in his voice almost made me tear up, but I managed to push those tears down, not bothering to face them right now, there was so much change already and

"Sorry, I will do my best."

I whispered and could barely recognize it.

"Yeas... can we go now, or will you need another moment alone?"

"Nah, I'm good for now, but I do need another moment, so I could catch a chat beep alght was so destructed that I could bearlt recognized it.