“You look incredible,” Nikoli says, as he strolls into the room and looks down at me in my long, tight red dress. It's strange to wear a red dress when the night I got bitten, I wore red, and that night changed my whole life. I glance over at Nikoli, who is dressed in a full suit, his hair styled neatly to the side. He looks so handsome. We lost five wolves in the fight, but Nikoli said we were still lucky not to lose anymore. We had a funeral for them and grieved their loss, as did the mates they left behind.
“So do you. I was mad to let you out of bed this morning,” I say, knowing that the last two months since the fight, all we have done is stay in bed, spending every moment together, with Colton too.
“Wow, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Colton says, walking out the bathroom, dressed in a suit, with his hair perfectly in place.
“Is that a compliment?” I chuckle when he kisses me and leans back.
“Definitely,” he replies.
“We can go straight back to bed after the ball,” Nikoli tells us. I mentally sigh, but keep a smile on my face for him as I walk over.
“I wish it was over already then,” I say as I lean my head on his chest. The ball is an annual event for different shifter packs to meet up and make alliances. I’m interested in meeting all the other kinds of shifters tonight, and Nikoli is nervous because the royal family is coming too. We haven’t told them about the vampires living here, or the mating. It isn’t against the rules, but it’s still going to be an awkward conversation. The ball hasn’t been held at our pack for fifty years, and the pack has been running around trying to get everything perfect for tonight. Nikoli invited Colton and his entire coven to permanently live here after the fight. They are staying in the house for now, but they have taken some land just inside the pack lands, and started building a house.
“I’m going to check on Belle before joining you in a bit,” Colt says, sadness lacing his tone. Belle hasn’t woken up from the fight, and we don’t know what’s wrong with her. Tam has taken it personally that he can’t heal her. He spends all day, every day, trying to figure out how to wake her up. Colt and his family aren’t coping well with the fact Belle is ill. We all think there was something on the sword she was stabbed with; some kind of poison or magic.
“Okay, give her a kiss from me,” I tell Colt, and he nods before walking out. I really hope she wakes up. Despite not knowing the vampire very well, she still fought for my pack.
“I hope she recovers soon. I don’t want any more losses for the pack,” Nikoli says, and it’s his way of saying he is worried about Colt, not that he would admit it. I take his hand, letting him lead us out of his room. We walk down the stairs, which are even decorated, with roses around the bannisters. When we get to the bottom of the stairs, we take a left, straight into the ballroom, which is full of our pack and some other people. Nikoli told me earlier that we should stand by the door and greet people as they come in. I smile and wave at Gold as she walks in, dressed in a long gold dress that has a split all the way up to the top of her thigh.
“Looking hot, Harper,” she says, causing me to chuckle.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Nita says, walking in with Trevor and Light at her side. Light has a white dress on, with little crystals down the sides. She gives me a wave, with a cheeky small smile.
“It was never an invite. You are part of my pack, my family now. Your place is here,” I tell them and Nikoli nods at me, in agreement. Nita gives me a broad smile, as does Trevor and Light, before they walk into the ball. We greet five couples – all wolves, I think – and then three men walk into the room. They nod at Nikoli and me, and I notice straightaway how they all look similar. They must be triplets or something. They are huge, with brown hair and expensive suits.
“Welcome. It’s been a long time since we last spoke,” Nikoli says, and holds a hand out to the man in the middle. He has a massive muscular body and a cheeky smile.
“Ah, I remember. We got drunk and had an interesting night. But I see those days are behind you now. You have a lovely mate,” he says, and Nikoli laughs.
“Yes, this is Harper. Harper, these are the annoying triplets and the three alphas of the Bearlay pack.” Suddenly, it clicks.
“So, you’re bears?” I ask, and the one on the left laughs.
“Good guess,” he tells me, looking around the room.
“We heard about your troubles. We could have helped if you’d called on us,” the one on the left says, his tone serious.
“You know other packs aren’t allowed to get involved with mate disputes,” Nikoli answers.
“We should get out the way. The royal family was just behind us,” the guy on the right says.
“We should catch up soon, but you have an alliance with us,” the middle one says, and then they all walk into the room as Nikoli nods, stepping back and placing his hand on my back. Just inside the room, Gold walks past us, and all three bears watch her carefully, then look at each other. They quickly follow her over to a table, and she crosses her arms as they try to talk to her. It’s amusing, but I wonder what they want with Gold. They seemed to know who she was straightaway, and she does not look impressed.
“Don’t you both look amazing,” Snow says, walking in with Erik and Arisa next to her. Snow looks lovely in a tight white dress, while Erik is in a suit. Arisa is wearing a pretty pink dress and runs up to me.
“You look like Little Red Riding Hood,” Arisa tells me, as I kneel down to hear her.
“We do have a lot in common.” I wink at her, and she laughs.
“My mate,” a deep, loud male voice says from the doorway. Arisa stops laughing, and I look up to see a man standing next to an old posh-looking couple. He was the one who spoke, and it’s clear he is the prince, judging by the suit and crown he has on. The prince is staring at Snow, who steps close to Erik when he holds a hand out to her.
“I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken,” she says, and I let Arisa go as she runs over to her mum.
“No, I’m not,” the prince says, looking between Erik and Snow. Erik growls slightly, and Snow shakes her head, looking away. It's only then that I notice how silent the room is.
“You are,” Snow snaps back and picks Arisa up. I watch as she storms off into the crowd of people and towards the other doors in the room.
“She is your mate? The one you told me about?” the prince asks Erik, who watches him closely and then looks over at Snow.
“Yes, mine,” he says, and storms off after Snow and Arisa.
“What just happened?” I ask Nikoli quietly, just before the royal family walks over to us.
“Trouble, my little wolf,” he replies.