The Red That Runs Like Rivers

Primped, Primed and Out of Time

The rest of the afternoon flew by. Alina could hardly eat her lunch, much less taste it. The awful thoughts inside her head also churned inside her stomach as Ashley dragged her from place to place. Before she knew it, the day was over, and she was in her suite washing the remnants of the makeup trial off her face. Ashley had insisted that she too would have her makeup professionally done on Saturday, so doing a trial run was imperative to ensuring Alina would look perfect for her "debut". Alina tried to insist that it wasn't worth the effort and that she could do her own makeup, but Ashley wasn't having it and silenced her protests with a harsh glare and a firm squeeze to the shoulder. Alina decided it was better just to let her have her way as her shoulder throbbed.

Alina groaned. She had failed to get out of going to the ball today. She had tried nitpicking and pushing Ashley's buttons but to no avail. Ashley had been surprisingly patient. So eventually she gave up, afraid she would push too far and Ashley would snap. Her now tender shoulder was the only result of her efforts. There was still time though. She would just try a different approach. Alpha Elric had the final say in the end, so convincing him would be the better route anyway. Especially if what Ashley said was true, and he was the insistent one in the first place. She thought about what to do as she put on her pajamas and snuggled into bed, but she was exhausted, so planning would have to wait until tomorrow. Her muscles relaxed and sleep began to take hold of her. There was still time, she assured herself, as she slipped into unconsciousness. She was still safe.

The next morning Alina went down to breakfast, but the dining hall was vacant. At lunch, the same, and dinner too. In fact, aside from her and a handful of staff, the estate seemed empty. Much emptier than normal. s**t. She thought. They must be having meetings at the pack house to prepare for the weekend.

The day following the ball, there would be a summit. It was a yearly event to pitch new laws and start amicable trade between packs on neutral ground. The ball was to loosen everyone up and introduce new and upcoming alphas, and then the summit was to get things done. It was known as the Council of the Alphas and was regulated by Lycan royalty. This year would be led by the crown prince himself, though other royals would also be present.

Having his hand in several trading pools, Alpha Elric was sure to be meticulously preparing. No doubt wanting to leave a good impression on the crown prince. Which meant today was probably being spent giving briefings to those who would be in attendance with him. The gamma, Dorian, would be staying behind to run things in their absence, while the Beta Joshua would be attending alongside his and Dorian's sons, Orion and Jason. This would be their first summit as future gamma and beta and would help introduce them to society. Despite the future alpha being undecided, it would be a good opportunity for them to mingle and make connections.

This meant Ashley was probably receiving a brush-up on her etiquette training from Luna Emily, as well as two ladies who would be the partners of the future gamma and beta. Likely two of Ashley's lackeys, as neither of the young men had met their mates yet.

Leaving Alina all alone with a growing list of questions that no one was around to answer. If she was going to be forced to attend, why wasn't she at the briefing as well? This led her to think that maybe this was just Alpha's way to placate one of his daughter's whims. Maybe he didn't actually intend to bring her along and would already have an excuse lined up for when they departed. She could only be so hopeful. For now, though, there was still time, she was still safe. But an unsettling feeling was swirling once again in the pit of her stomach.

She tried to keep herself calm, but it was a restless night. Her fears tormented her dreams with nightmares. Morning came too soon, as did the posse who crowded her room just as the sunlight was barely peeking through her blinds. Half a dozen maids were there grabbing her things and packing them neatly into suitcases. It looked like they were planning to send her away for a month and not just a weekend, she thought, as she watched her closet slowly emptying. Luna Emily and Ashley were just outside the door having a discussion she couldn't quite make out beyond the chaos going on inside. But whatever it was about, Ashley did not appear happy one bit. They both glanced her way briefly.

She was straining to try and hear them when one of the maids distracted Alina with a question about an accessory. And when she looked back, the Luna was gone and Ashley came prancing into the room, a massive smile adorning her face. Had Alina mistaken the look she wore before?

"Goooood mooooorning, sleepy head", she chided, "We gotta get going, or we are going to be late!" Alina furrowed her brow, "late for what?" Ashley rolled her eyes, "The spa, of course!" With that Alina found herself whisked away, Ashley barely allowing time for her to throw on a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, and her sneakers. Unsure of what was happening or why, Alina had no choice but to follow.

Tony drove them to The Ambrosia spa house, where they met with two of Ashley's friends, Elisa and Camila. Great, Alina thought, as if I wasn't under enough stress already. Two of Ashley's closest suck-ups, the girls often treated Alina as a thorn in their sides. They were constantly trying to pry between her and Ashley and Alina found herself the object of their wrath many times over the years. At least with Ashley here, at most, they would ignore her or make snide remarks. However, if they were also attending this weekend's festivities like she assumed, that meant there would be times they would likely be alone together. Alina couldn't imagine either girl was very pleased with this arrangement. Alina shuddered at the thought of what they might try to do to embarrass her this weekend, and what sort of punishment would be awaiting her if they were to succeed in her making a fool of herself in front of all those alphas. Much less if something were to happen in front of the royals. She prayed they had enough sense to leave her alone, but knowing them, it was unlikely.

Much to her relief, their spa experience was non-eventful. The girls were way too excited, chattering away about the ball and meeting the princes. Like their partners for the weekend, neither girl had met their mates. Therefore, the idea that one or both of them could meet them this weekend had them riding high. Of course, they schmoozed up to Ashley by constantly assuring her acceptance into royalty. Alina couldn't help but roll her eyes at them. But at least they were leaving her alone for now. Instead, she focused her attention on the masseuse, who was diligently working out all her knots, and for a moment she could almost forget her impending dread.

After a long, yet relaxing morning of massages, facials, and exfoliating, the girls climbed into a large passenger van. It was now 2:30 and the trio were discussing something about wedding dresses. Alina climbed into the back and settled into a seat next to the window, tuning them out as best she could. Her whole body felt like jello, and she was suddenly very sleepy. She let her heavy eyes blink close. The last thing she remembered thinking was that they must have been taking the long way back to the pack house to meet up with the others, but when she felt the car stop hours later she realized just how wrong she was.