Moon God Mates 2

Chapter 7

Ellie's POV:

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Gloria asks as she pats concealer under my eyes after complaining about how dark my bags under them are.

“For the hundredth time, I’m fine.”

A few minutes pass while she applies makeup to my face. “Alright, just one more thing. Here.” She hands me my red lipstick, and I smile at her.

“Thanks.” I take it and turn to look at myself in my vanity mirror.

I look… beautiful. Gloria has applied a smokey neutral eye with a small wing and mascara. My cheekbones even have some shine to them; she calls it "highlight." The bags from crying and my nonexistent sleep life are hardly visible anymore.

I feel Gloria fidgeting behind me. "So, how's Ravi?" I haven't really had a chance to catch up with her since he literally swept her off her feet.

“Oh my god, he’s perfect! He’s funny, he’s endearing, he’s super sexy!” She slumps on the bed, and I can see the love that shines in her eyes when a knock on the door makes her jump. Her reaction tells me who it is.

Ravi peeks his head in the door, his black tux accentuating his pretty caramel-chocolate skin tone. His bow tie is a lilac color that matches Gloria's short lilac dress. They look picture-perfect together. “Hey Ellie, mind if I steal my mate?”

“Take her, she was annoying me anyway.” I wink at him as Gloria gasps before running out of the room hand in hand with Ravi.

“Who was that?” Mila pops her head out of the bathroom.

“It was Ravi. You have been in there forever. Are you almost ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” The bathroom door opens wide, and I get a big whiff of my rose perfume. “Wooow,” I swat at my nose, “what the hell Mila, are you trying to drown in perfume?”

“I'm sorry, Ellie. I will replace it.”

I roll my eyes at her, “I don’t need you to replace it.” Mila has been acting weird ever since we got to the packhouse, and I am pretty sure I know why. “Mila, tell me why you needed the potion. Why do you need to mask your scent? Have you found your mate?” I ask just to confirm my suspicions.

Mila kneels down to slip on her heels. She wears a long forest green dress that makes her green eyes sparkle even brighter. Her long blond waves fall gently down her middle back. She is always the prettiest girl in the room; I don’t understand what she is afraid of. Her mate would definitely jump with excitement upon seeing her.

“Ellie, it’s complicated. I really would appreciate your help, but if you can’t help me, I understand.” The worry in her eyes is foreign to her.

“No. I can help.” I pull out the cookies I took from Nemas earlier, and just the sight of them makes me mad. I shake the feeling off. I haven’t had a chance to process everything, I haven’t had a moment to think about what my life could mean now.

“On one condition…” I wiggle the bag in front of her. “Just tell me, is this really what you want to do? Do you really want to hide from your very own mate?” I don’t understand her thinking. I just found out it was possible for me to have a mate. I know right now I am still processing everything, so maybe I am more scared than anything. But when I see him, when I find my mate, I know the excitement will fill me. I’ll be nervous as hell but excited.

She sighs, and the heartbreak in her eyes tells me her answer. She kneels beside my chair and takes my hands in hers. “Ellie, from the moment I first met you, you were like a baby sister to me.” The tears in her eyes threaten to fall. “This is why I can confide in you. It’s not what I want. But I don’t have the luxury of doing what I want. My life is… complicated.” She looks down, and this is the first time I have ever seen Mila like this. She is always so calm and collected; at this moment, she is conflicted, she is scared.

“I get that. I’m sorry for questioning you.” I hand her the bag, “Eat one every few weeks, they will mask your scent until I find an easier solution.” They were enough to mask my scent, I know they will work for Mila.

“Thank you!” She lets out a sigh of relief, immediately eats one, then pulls me in for a hug before pulling my hair loose. “Now let me curl your hair.”

As Mila curls my hair, Iris comes in to finish getting ready with us. I am surprised the Alpha puppy doesn't follow her in here. He follows her everywhere.

When Mila is done with my hair, short curls bounce on my shoulders. Iris brushes them out a little and says they are beach girl waves now. I don't care what they are called, they look great. I usually let my hair fall straight at my shoulders or in a ponytail to avoid attention. But I like this look.

After I slip on my tan pumps, I look over to Mila and Iris, laughing in conversation. I only wish I had as much confidence as they do. "You look beautiful, Ellie," Iris says as she turns me towards the full length mirror that hangs on the back of my door. I am shocked at my reflection.

Maybe it’s the day.

Maybe it's because I want to think today, my 18th birthday, will change me.

Maybe it's because now, after all these years, I know someone is out there waiting to find me.

Or maybe it is because I never wear things this revealing.

Whatever.

My boobs are fuller, my hips wider, and my smile even happier. I feel good. I feel like today will finally be a good day. My day.

☾☾☾

It is a short ride to the hospital. Cole and Ravi drive Gloria and me, and Mila insists on riding with Iris. The ball is being held in the medical building right next door so there is no disruption to the normal hospital routines. Once we pull up, I feel a bit anxious. There is a red carpet descending down the stairs, leading the path to the front doors. People stand outside with cameras flashing. Mason's SUV pulls up right before ours; I can hear people shouting his name. As soon as the doors open, I feel super anxious. Not sure why I agreed to come to this, it is all very ravishing. Cole grabs my hand, and I link it with his, thanking the Moon God he is here beside me so I don’t faint with all these flashing lights. I don’t like attention; I don’t like all eyes on me.

Thankfully, Cole feeds on my energy and zips us through the crowds and into the building, ignoring all the shouts for his attention. Mainly from women.

When we open the doors, the room is already buzzing with people on the dance floor, while a band plays soft music. There are white and silver fabrics hanging around the room with white roses on the tables. It is very subtle yet very elegant at the same time. I am instantly upset that I have never attended the yearly ball before tonight. I spend a lot of time at the hospital helping out but never attend any of the extracurricular activities. It just isn’t my thing. I suddenly feel super grateful for the dress Iris got me. I don’t own a dress this nice, and how bad would I stick out in my high-top jeans? As if my hair isn’t already enough.

Cole lets go of my hand while I take in the scenery; it doesn’t even look like a medical building anymore. I think this is how prom would have looked, but I never went to that either. Cole comes back with two glasses of champagne. Offering me one, I look at him questioningly. Is he really going to let me drink this? He and Mason usually complain when I try to drink a glass of wine at the house. Just because I can’t handle liquor like a normal werewolf doesn’t mean they have to be dramatic. I was fine when Gloria and I got wine drunk that one time in the dorm.

I take the glass before he can change his mind. “Relax El, you’re an adult now, right?” He winks at me.

“That she is.” A deep familiar voice catches my attention, and I turn to meet my old teacher, Dr. Perez. He stands tall in his black tux and matching black bow tie. His pastel blue hair is brushed back perfectly. Every time I fill in at the hospital or come to help out, I work under him. He is like my mentor here, and he also practices witchcraft. His mother and mine were from the same coven before she ran off with my dad. For witches, mating with a werewolf is illegal; it is like going against your own kind. So I am seen as an abomination to the witch community. But Dr. Perez never treated me differently.

“Dr. Perez, it’s so nice to see you.” I give him a friendly hug. "The feeling is mutual, El, and please, no formalities. I told you, call me Mateo. Would you like to dance?" Before I can even answer him, Cole stands between us. "Nope, she's good. She was just about to dance with me, right, sis?" I roll my eyes but right when I am about to agree, I am cut off by Mila. "No, you were actually about to dance with me." She directs this right at Cole, and he looks at Mila with intrigued eyes. Something is off with the way he looks at her, but he doesn't say anything as he strides closer to her, and they disappear onto the dance floor.

"So, uhh, how about that dance?" Mateo rubs the back of his neck, standing beside me. I laugh at the awkwardness on his face. "Sure."

It had to be a slow song.

I feel awkward as Mateo's hands rest on my hips. I know he always has a thing for me, but I have never had a boyfriend before, so I don't really know how to handle his crush. He never crosses the line with me, some flirting here and there, but this is the first time we've ever been this close. And it just makes me feel weird.

Probably feeling how tense I am, he says, "I feel like it's been forever since I saw you last."

"It's only been a few months."

"You've really grown up in the last few months." Mateo looks at me over, and it makes me want to recoil in on myself. Don't get me wrong; he is a really good-looking guy, and his Hispanic accent sends girls to their knees, but not me. Especially now that I know I have a mate out there waiting for me. But for some reason, my palms are sweaty, my body is on edge, and I am getting the chills. But it isn't even that cold here.

I hear a low growl behind me before that familiar silky deep voice says, "It's my turn for a dance."