The Mating Ball

Ivy's POV

I have never seen so many people in my life.

I'm currently backstage in the ballroom, looking out into the massive array of people that have arrived for the mating ball. The room is aloud with commotion, laughs and conversations alike. The teams assigned to get me ready escorted me here before I even had a chance to see where anyone else was, including Nathaniel. He's nowhere to be seen yet in my field of view.

I'm fully dressed in my ballgown, as I decided against getting another dress after all since this one is literally perfection on me now that it was tailored. My coppery red hair has been curled and piled neatly atop my head with some loose strands to frame my face. From what I got a look of my makeup, it was black and smoky, bringing more emphasis to my bright green eyes. It's the most I've been dressed up, and it feels so awkward. Unfortunately, it's necessary for this type of event.

As I'm looking out in the crowd, things quiet down suddenly, as I see Nathaniel's mother Daciana come up onto the stage and is handed a microphone. She speaks out to the crowd then, her bright voice echoing across the room, amplified.

"I would like to welcome everyone here from the Red Moon, Crystal Moon, and Twilight Moon packs to the annual mating ball. We are happy to have you all here in the hopes of you finding your true mates and we wish you all the best tonight. Firstly, we will be starting with some entertainment before we get to any mate pairings. She will be performing a few times over the evening tonight, and some of you may already know her from her performances at our local hangout, Iron Wolf. Please welcome Ivy from the Red Moon pack!"

There's a good amount of applause and hollering that ensues after she introduces me, and then it's my cue.

Time to kill it!

Nathaniel's POV

My mind races and my jaw drops when I see Ivy emerge on stage. I didn't see her after we had separated to get ready for tonight but am I ever glad I didn't see her before now. I mean she's beautiful the way she is, but done up like this?

She's exquisite.

The gown hugs her frame perfectly, with her fiery hair alight from the stage lights, making Kiba growl in enjoyment in my head.

Mate looks delicious. I hear Kiba say, and I wholeheartedly agree with him.

"She looks so good!" I hear someone say beside me, and I turn to see Kane and Genevieve, both looking at Ivy and smiling. Genevieve is in a long blue sequined gown, and Kane is in an all-black tux ensemble quite like my own. Genevieve then turns her attention to me. "Nice to see you, Alpha." She says as she does a short bow of respect.

"Likewise, how have you both been?" I ask and they look between themselves, and I see Kane nods briefly at Genevieve and then speaks. "To be honest, it's been a little rough since you left, Alpha. Cole wasn't much a fan of Ivy coming here early with you, as you know so he took it out on some of the other pack members verbally over the past week. But other than that, it was just what our normal is."

I frown slightly. "I'm hoping to change your circumstances when I become King, I hope you know that." I say quietly, and they both nod. "It would be greatly appreciated Alpha, especially for Ivy." I expected there to be some backlash from me taking Ivy and not giving Cole much of a choice about it, but honestly, as much as I wanted to annoy him, I didn't want it to be at the expense of others.

I'll have to investigate Red Moon a little more when I've got the time. Get the pack history and try to understand why this immature Alpha thinks he can run a pack this way. I spot Cole not too far from where we are, watching Ivy like a hawk. Who does this guy think he is?

My attention is pulled back to Ivy on stage as she introduces herself and the band starts up for the first song.

Ivy's POV

I finish the last bit of the second song and bow as I hear applause from all those watching. The first part of my performance is over now, and I can take a break while they do some of the mating pairings and traditions. Some people have already sensed or even found their mates already once they arrived, and as I descend into the crowd, I see multiple couples of wolves affectionate together having conversations with other couples or singles still in the room. Light music begins to play in the background.

I'm happy for a lot of them, I am. I see a few faces I know from Red Moon with their new mates from some other pack here and I can't help but feel a pang of hurt and worry thinking that I may never find my mate because of these tortuous cuffs. I rub the cuffs on my wrists, feeling myself start to panic, and quickly head upstairs and out to one of the exterior balconies for some air.

As I step out, I inhale deeply, feeling my nerves start to settle with the chilled air and night sky.

"You okay?" I hear a familiar voice and turn around to face Tobias. I half smile and nod. "Yes, better now. I just needed some air."

"Alpha would like to see you; can I tell him to come out?" He asks and I nod.

"Of course. I'm good. I promise." He flashes me a smile and turns on his heels and walks to the door, opens it and Nathaniel walks past him and towards me. Tobias stands guard at the door, his back towards Nathaniel and I to give us privacy. I turn my attention to Nathaniel and all I can think is wow.

Will this man ever stop being this strikingly handsome?

All black tux ensemble, with his hair styled back and out of his face, blue eyes swirling with specks of gold? I can only imagine that may be his wolf peeking through.

"Hey there." He says as he stops a few steps away from me.

"Hey back." I say and he chuckles, running his hand through his hair. He looks somewhat nervous, but I think it looks good on him, he seems more boyish than Alpha right now.

"I wanted to say, you look absolutely stunning." I nod and try not to blush, but it's almost impossible.

"Thank you, you look pretty good yourself all done up in a tux." I tease and he steps closer. "I do clean up good for this kinda stuff, don't I?" He laughs.

You always look good no matter what.

"I wanted to ask you something, feel free to say no if you don't want to, I won't be offended." I look at him, feeling anticipation building for what he's about to ask. Negative thoughts immediately rush through my mind.

Is he going to tell us to leave?

Is he going to say that he doesn't want to be around me anymore?

I'm brought out of my worry when all that comes out of his mouth is, "Would you dance with me? Out here on the balcony?"

My heart skips a beat, and I smile. "I would love to, Alpha."

The smile that comes across his face makes me chuckle slightly as he steps closer, taking my right hand and pulling me closer to him. He places his right hand on my left hip, more towards my exposed back, and grasps my right hand lightly with his left hand. There's a bit of a height difference between us, but I fit ever so perfectly in his arms as he pulls me into him completely, and I rest my left hand lightly on his shoulder. I also rest my head on his chest, and then he starts to lead us in a dance.

We move effortlessly, dancing together to the soft music coming from inside. I'm hyper-aware of him and our closeness, feeling nervous but as if he senses my discomfort, Nathaniel begins to trace small circles on my hip on my exposed skin, calming me down.

"I'd never hurt you." He states plainly and I lift my head to look at him. "I know."

We continue to dance in silence, enjoying each other's company under the stars, until Tobias clears his throat, and we stop and back away from each other, immediately missing him being close to me.

"I think Ivy has to do the rest of her set now before the final announcements are made."

"Right." Nate says as he turns to face me again. "Thank you for the dance, Ivy."

"Thank you, Alpha. See you after my last song?" I ask and he nods. I step close and push up on my tip toes to kiss him on the cheek, but I also whisper in his ear.

"Please pay attention to the last song. It's for you." I turn then, walking past Nate and Tobias towards the door, and glance back to see Nate's surprised face. I chuckle and head back inside.

Nathaniel's POV

I stand on the balcony, completely blindsided.

Mate chose a song for us. We need to listen. Kiba happily says in my head.

I hear Tobias chuckle and I look at him as we walk back inside. Ivy's already back up on stage and I anxiously wait for the current song to end. When it does moments later, I look at catch Ivy's gaze as she goes into her final song, and she smiles at me before going into it. I watch her the entire time, enamoured with how she perfectly executes each note, and finally after a few minutes, she's singing the final lines of the song, and my heart is racing a million miles a minute.

"The love for danger is rushing through my veins

Offer me your world, your thirst for immortality

We are animals."

My god.

"You really think she doesn't feel a bond with you?" Tobias says as he stands next to me. I chuckle awkwardly, my emotions running high from hearing her sing that song, clearly understanding what she meant with it.

She has feeling for us, human. Mate feels for us. Kiba's voice rings in my head. I continue my conversation with Tobias.

"She's never said anything about it. But her actions seems like she does, doesn't it?" He nods.

"Maybe she does feel something for you through a bond, but she can't recognize it as one. Those cuffs could be the culprit for that, though."

"You could be very right with that." I look up to see Ivy go backstage, and I quickly follow behind as I see my mother replace her to make final announcements before the real party starts.

I glance around backstage as I see Ivy walk in front of me, and not seeing anyone, I quickly approach her. She turns and gasps as I pull her into me, my hands running down her soft, exposed back in her gown. She looks up at me and I lower my face to hers, our lips meeting for the first time since our limo kiss. She melts into me as I bring one hand up to cup behind her neck, holding her in place as we devour each other. We break away from each other, breathing heavily and she says exactly what I'm thinking.

"What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"

"I don't know, but I don't want it to end. Do you?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"No, I don't."

She goes and sits on the couch nearby and grabs her bottle of water from the side table as I sit down beside her. She opens the bottle and the scent I catch has me hitting the bottle from her hands. She gasps and looks at me, seeing my hand sizzle where some of the water has touched me. I growl lowly, scanning the room with Kiba partially in control. When I don't catch the scent or sound of anyone nearby, I relax slightly, but stay on alert.

"What the?" She says in disbelief as she grabs a cloth from the table and wipes my hand. "What was that for?" I place my other hand over hers.

"Someone put Wolfsbane in your water. Someone tried to poison you."