CH 10 - Persefone
1686 Words
PERSEFONE POV
The ballroom looked like Penny had thrown up glitter, flowers, and—goddess help me—way too many people all over the place.
Which, honestly?
She probably had.
Well. With the help of our parents for the people part.
Golden lights hung from the ceiling beams, reflecting against crystal glasses and polished marble while people danced beneath them like this was some royal event instead of a pack birthday party dangerously close to turning into a hormonal supernatural disaster.
Music echoed through the room.
Champagne flowed freely.
And my sister was thriving.
Absolutely thriving.
“You’re smiling,” Penny accused while spinning me dramatically across the dance floor.
“I’m being held hostage.”
“That still counts.”
She looked stunning tonight.
Radiant.
Happy.
The pale silver gown she wore moved around her like moonlight itself, every soft shimmer catching against her curls while half the unmated Alphas in the room stared at her like they’d already written wedding vows in their heads.
Honestly? Fair.
Penny looked like the kind of girl people started wars over.
Meanwhile, I was one champagne flute away from throwing my impossibly high heels out the window and hiding under the buffet table.
At this point I was seriously starting to think I might be crowd-intolerant. Or people-intolerant. Maybe just Alpha-intolerant specifically. Which honestly felt like a perfectly reasonable medical condition.
My own dress still felt suspiciously illegal.
Dark red silk clung to my body in ways that should’ve required government approval, the slit brushing against my thigh every time Penny forced me into another spin while the open back left entirely too much skin exposed to public opinion.
I hated it.
Mostly.
Maybe.
Okay maybe not entirely.
Goddess. I was turning into a whole bitchy princess tonight.
“Relax,” Penny laughed breathlessly. “You look gorgeous.”
“I look like bait.”
“That too.”
Wonderful.
The newly appointed Alpha from the Silvermoon Pack stepped in smoothly before I could escape, offering me another dance with a charming smile polished enough to belong in politics.
“Happy birthday, Persefone.”
“Thanks.”
He twirled me easily across the floor while talking about alliances, future Academy placements, and how everyone was excited to see “which bonds the Goddess would bless tonight.”
Cheesy.
All of it.
Still, I smiled politely where necessary and stepped on only one foot, which honestly counted as personal growth.
Another Alpha replaced him.
Then another.
Then Richard appeared like a damn romance novel protagonist with champagne in one hand and that stupid charming smile fully activated.
“Oh thank goddess,” I muttered when he swept me into his arms. “A normal person.”
His laugh vibrated warmly against my ear.
“Bad evening?”
“Too many Alphas.”
“Fair.”
One hand settled carefully against the open skin of my back while he guided me across the dance floor.
Comfortable.
Easy.
Safe.
This was what I should want.
Not icy blue eyes.
Not growls.
Not rogue brothers that made my nervous system short-circuit every five minutes and were probably running three different shady businesses.
Richard spun me once, making laughter slip out of me before I could stop it.
“There she is,” he grinned. “Thought the scary Alpha thing had permanently taken over.”
“Oh it has.”
“Good. I’d be concerned otherwise.”
Another laugh escaped me.
The night actually started feeling… lighter after that.
Less awkward.
Less overwhelming.
Maybe Penny was right.
Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe I would really end up mated to Richard.
Nothing would change drastically and I could continue my little dark-webs investigations without anyone stopping me.
Aside from Daddy.
Yep. He would still be a problem.
Across the ballroom, Penny was dancing with the same Alpha again.
Tall, dark and handsome. Her type basically.
Hopelessly gone for her already if his expression meant anything.
And Penny looked at him like sunlight itself had personally walked into the room.
My chest squeezed unexpectedly at the sight.
Please let that be real.
Please let my sister get her happy ending.
Because nobody deserved one more than Penny.
“You okay?” Richard asked softly.
I blinked.
“Yeah.”
Mostly.
Probably.
The massive grandfather clock near the staircase caught my attention.
11:43 PM.
Too close.
Way too close to midnight.
Suddenly the ballroom felt smaller.
Too warm.
Too crowded with unmated wolves and Alpha energy pressing against my skin from every direction.
“Yep" I quipped "just I need air,”.
Richard’s hand tightened briefly against mine before letting go.
“You want me to come with you?”
“No,” I answered too fast.
His brows lifted slightly.
Oops.
“I mean— I’ll be fine.”
His smile softened.
“Alright.”
I escaped before guilt could settle properly.
Cold night air hit my skin the second I stepped onto the balcony.
Finally.
Breathing immediately became easier.
Inside, the party continued in full force.
Music.
Laughter.
Dancing.
Penny still spinning around the ballroom with her mystery Alpha like she belonged there beside him.
Maybe she did.
A small smile tugged at my mouth.
“Running away from your own birthday party?”
I turned.
Ermes stepped onto the balcony holding two champagne glasses and the kind of smile that always made something inside me settle.
Safe.
He felt safe.
Always had.
“I’m overwhelmed,” I admitted.
“That’s because you inherited your father's brain and your mother's emotional stability.”
“Cruel.”
“Accurate.”
He handed me one of the glasses.
“To your future.”
I stared down at the champagne suspiciously.
“It’s fifteen minutes before midnight. I’d rather keep my brain functioning.”
Ermes laughed softly.
“One sip won’t kill you.”
Debatable.
Still, I clinked my glass lightly against his.
“To hopefully not murdering anyone tonight.”
“A beautiful goal.”
I only took a tiny sip.
Mostly symbolic.
Ermes watched me over the rim of his glass with obvious amusement before casually dropping the sentence that nearly made me choke.
“The hybrids bloomed.”
My head snapped toward him instantly.
“What?”
“About twenty minutes ago.” His smile widened. “Thought maybe the Goddess sent you a birthday present.”
Oh my god.
Oh my GOD.
“You’re serious?”
“I wouldn’t joke about roses with you. You’d kill me.”
Valid.
I shoved the champagne flute into his hands so fast some spilled onto his shoes.
“Sorrynotsorry.”
Ermes barked out a laugh while I practically bolted off the balcony.
“Persefone— shoes!”
Too late.
I was already climbing down the side stairs with my heels dangling from one hand and the skirt of my dress gathered in the other.
The greenhouse lights glowed softly in the distance.
My heart pounded harder with every step.
Excitement.
Real excitement.
The second I pushed open the greenhouse door, warmth wrapped around me alongside the scent of earth, flowers, humidity, and home.
And there they were.
Blooming.
My breath caught instantly.
The hybrid roses spread across the back wall in deep crimson waves, petals so dark they almost looked black beneath the moonlight filtering through the glass ceiling.
Beautiful.
Unnatural.
Perfect.
The dragon blood resin had changed them completely.
The petals looked sharper somehow.
Broken at the edges.
Wild.
Alive.
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
Euphoria exploded through me so suddenly I almost laughed.
“It worked.”
It actually f*****g worked.
I crouched beside them immediately, brushing trembling fingers lightly across one bloom while Eden purred somewhere deep in my mind for the first time all day.
“I’m covering the entire front yard with you,” I informed the roses seriously.
Mom wouldn’t mind.
Probably.
Future problems anyway.
I leaned closer, inhaling their scent with a stupid smile still stretched across my face.
That’s why I didn’t realize how quiet everything had become.
Didn’t notice the exact second Eden went tense.
Didn’t notice the shift in the air.
‘Perse?’
Penny’s voice suddenly burst through the mindlink. ‘Where the f**k are you?! It's almost midnight!’
I straightened immediately ready to go back to the damn party as per request.
And froze.
Red eyes stared at me from the far end of the greenhouse.
My entire body locked up. Was this happening again? Here?
Eden surged forward instantly, claws out, teeth bared—
—but she was off... heavy... tired...
My limbs suddenly felt slow and weak.
The wolf stepped fully into the moonlight.
Black fur.
Massive body.
Fuck f**k f**k.
Red eyes glowing unnaturally against the dark.
No scent.
No f*****g scent.
Terror hit me hard enough to finally force movement back into my body.
Outside, sirens suddenly exploded across the territory.
Rogues.
No s**t!
The black wolf lunged forward through the roses.
I ran.
Pure instinct.
Fight-or-flight finally ripped control away from logic and considering Eden felt weak and strange and not fully there—
flight won.
I bolted out of the greenhouse barefoot, dress tangling around my legs while adrenaline flooded my veins hard enough to make my vision blur.
Branches snapped behind me.
Paws hit dirt.
Closer.
Closer.
Too close—
Three silver wolves exploded out of the forest like bullets.
Huge.
Fast.
Violent.
The black wolf barely had time to react before two silver bodies slammed into it with enough force to shake the ground.
Snarls ripped through the night.
Teeth.
Blood.
Chaos.
The third silver wolf came straight toward me.
I stumbled backward instinctively.
But he shifted midair.
Bones cracked.
Skin stretched.
And suddenly Aiden Tartarus landed in front of me completely naked and absolutely terrifying.
His icy blue eyes locked onto mine instantly.
Ferocious.
Possessive.
Wild.
Before I could even scream, he grabbed me around the waist and tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed absolutely nothing.
“What the f**k—”
“You have to come with me, mate,” he growled.
And he took off .
- Writer
