Alpha Killian novel Chapter 5

If I thought it took Hazel forever to get me ready, I hadn't seen anything yet. I sat back on my bed, careful not to ruin Hazel's masterpiece as she so skillfully called it. Hazel and I chatted back and forth about what her future mate would be like. I was a good sport and tried to be supportive of my best friend.

"He's definitely going to be taller than me, there's no doubt. Oh, I do hope he has blue eyes though! I love a blue-eyed boy." Hazel cooed from the bathroom and I gave a short breathy laugh.

"I'm sure he's going to be everything you're looking for, he's your mate after all." I shrugged, putting some carefully placed happiness in my voice as I sent a quick text to Brandon.

Me -6:02pm

You ready for the ball?

Brandon -6:03pm

Been ready. Mom wanted me ready three hours early, don't know what for though.

Me -6:04pm

Hazel attacked me with makeup and a curling iron, I think I have it worse. :P

Brandon -6:05pm

Don't be so sure it's beautiful. Want me to head over to your place?

Me -6:06pm

Nah don't bother, Hazel won't be ready for a while now. We'll just meet you at the ball by the entrance.

Brandon -6:08pm

Sounds good to me gorgeous, see you there!

I plopped my phone back on the bed and continued chatting with Hazel. She was explaining how she hoped her future mate was from a different pack so that she could finally move away. Of course, she would visit me and Brandon, but she had been tired of this pack for a long time. I couldn't help but agree with her on this front. This pack in particular seemed to want its women to be servants, constantly obeying their mate. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want a mate who sat quietly and always agreed with them. Wouldn't you want a mate who actually helped you? One who voiced their opinions?

Finally, Hazel emerged from the bathroom in her ballgown. I made a show of widening my eyes and dropping my jaw at the sight of her, even though I already knew she would look gorgeous. The baby pink dress she wore cascaded to the ground in a sea of pink silk. The low neckline highlighted her large bust while the lower portion of the dress hugged her small bottom. Her shoulder black shoulder length hair was skillfully curled and half of it was pinned back by a silver clip embedded with crystals. The subtle pink eyeshadow on her eyelids made her brown eyes stand out against her olive skin tone.

"You look amazing!" I beamed at her, determined to not ruin her night.

"Psh, I know, but thank you anyway!" She beamed back, giving me a quick wink.

Hazel glanced at her phone quickly and by the look of utter excitement, I knew it was about time to head to the ball. Stifling a groan, I stood up and collected my phone in the small hand purse Hazel had gotten me. I looked between the two of us and knew my mother would not approve of these dresses, but she likely wouldn't complain due to me being forced to attend either way.

Me and Hazel walked from my bedroom and down to the living room instantly noticing my mother and father gushing over how beautiful Sabrina had looked. I glanced over to the sofa against the wall and saw Derek and Amber snuggling. At the sight of me and Hazel, all heads in the room turned our way.

"Woah, you guys look beautiful!" Derek exclaimed, giving me a huge smile. Even Amber looked supportive and lacked any jealousy. I was sure I could hear Derek whisper to Amber, "But no one looks more beautiful than you".

"That's the dress you chose?" My mother sighed, her eyes glued on my slight cleavage and the fact that my shoulders and entire neck were exposed. I noticed my father hadn't said anything, but he usually doesn't need to, mother seems to cover all of the bases.

"Yup, figured if I'm being forced to go, I should wear what I want." I shrugged indifferently, turning my head to my younger sister.

Sabrina's curly blonde hair was pulled into an up-do and dotted with small pearls. Her long, cream colored dress covered most of her body, but actually seemed to flatter her slim figure.

"You look beautiful brina." I gave my younger sister a small smile, using the nickname I had made up for her years ago, when we had been close. I watched as some emotion flashed over her eyes, but she gave me a small smile in return.

"I don't think your parents would approve of that dress Hazel." My mother scolded my best friend, looking at her cleavage in disdain.

"Why don't you leave it to them to tell me then." Hazel quipped sweetly, her eyes shining slyly. I watched as my mother shot Hazel a quick glare and sighed at the two of us.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's get going then." My mother sighed again and began to lead Sabrina out of the house, my father followed quickly behind her.

"Best of luck to the two of you." Derek smiled our way, his arms wrapped around Amber as if she were a part of him. He quickly looked into her eyes and it was as if they were having their own private conversation. You could feel the energy in the room and it was as if the only person keeping him alive was Amber. The feeling made me uncomfortable, having that kind of trust in someone. I could see in their eyes that they couldn't live without each other, if something happened to one, the other wouldn't survive very long. Letting someone have that kind of control over you terrified me.

"Sure." I pouted, linking my arm in Hazel's we rushed out the door.

We hopped into our large sedan and pulled away from the house. With each minute, the knot in my stomach continued to grow. Describing it as a knot was no longer accurate, it felt like a thick sticky substance that coated me from head to toe in unease. I couldn't shake it no matter how hard I tried, no matter what lies I told myself about tonight.

I could tell we were getting close when the typical street lamps on our road stopped and these white, flower covered lanterns appeared.

"Is the ball outside this time?" I asked curiously. The previous years the Moon Ball had been held inside, then again; the ball had never been held at my pack's territory before.

"Oh, you'll see, the girls spent weeks setting all of this up. It's absolutely beautiful." My mother nodded her head in approval but kept her gaze on the road.

While Hazel and Sabrina chattered excitedly about what their future mate would look like, I pressed my head against the cool window of the sedan and tried to steady my breathing. The coolness of the window felt good against my heated skin. The last thing Hazel would want is for me to walk into the ball tomato faced.

We pulled into an enormous dirt lot and managed to find a space wedging the sedan in between two other vehicles. I looked around confused, there wasn't a ball in sight. I used my sensitive hearing and I could in fact hear music playing, people chattering, glasses clinking.

We all hopped out of the sedan, and Hazel was quick to make sure I lifted my dress as I walked to make sure no dirt would dare ruin her masterpiece. We walked across the giant lot and up to the forest that stretched on ahead. Somewhere along the tree line I spotted two more flower covered lanterns, leading further into the forest. Walking down the path, following the lanterns, we came to an even bigger clearing. This clearing had to be three times the size of the dirt lot. The first thing I noticed was that there happened to be solid flooring where everyone stood, the second thing I noticed was the huge canopy tent that hung over the entire clearing. I couldn't help but look up in awe at the white flowers that cascaded down the canopy and sometimes were intertwined with vines. Rustic white lanterns were scattered throughout the area, even though there were large lights attached to the tops of the tents.

"Woah." Was all that came from Hazel's lips as she looked on in awe. I could see my mother flash a smug smile, as she had a strong hand in designing the layout for the ball.