Day of the Ball - The Airport - 2
Aubrianne Ivanov
Aubrianne stood by the door staring at her father's receding back as he disappeared through the front door of her wing and wondered what he was thinking and that he looked in real good spirits today.
Of course, Aubrianne hoped for many things in her mate, and the top of her list was that he did not have a great love, but as for him, being from a weak community or a poor community was the least of her worries.
She honestly did not care about those things. She wanted to be loved, wanted, and cherished.
When she was snatched out of her reverie by a squealing Jada, who dashed out of her room when she observed Aubrianne's dad leave.
Jada had just returned home from her night out, as Ivan had some things to take care of before the ball, so no staying in bed late for her this morning.
Meanwhile, Alpha Zayne Steele
On his way to the Ball in Transcendent Lotharios...
Alpha Zayne and Delta Rafael boarded their flight and made it to Transcendant Lotharios in one piece. They grabbed their travel bags and exited the plane.
Then they walked some distance on the tarmac before heading towards the exiting terminal building.
Zayne had used his hand as a visor as he squinted at the sun. Nice weather, he mused while he observed his surroundings. This place was indeed something.
Even while standing in line, he also took in his surroundings with a few people ahead of him, waiting patiently to walk through the scanner.
It was like an exquisite museum of some sort. This airport had Alpha Zayne feeling like he was about to board a spaceship and be sent to another world, if that was such a thing.
The airport was buzzing with people coming in. Alpha Zayne surmised they were all here for the same event.
And the area for departure was almost devoid of people, save for the old couple and the security team for that section.
Knowing precisely who he was dealing with, of course, Alpha Thornton would invite the world, yet Alpha Zayne has yet to receive an actual invite. Guess he still does not make the cut in Alpha Thornton's eyes.
Alpha Zayne was in the middle line. There are six more lines like his on either side of him. Suddenly, the alarm blared.
Alpha Zayne immediately looked towards the noise to his right and saw a small security team come out to remove the person that went through when the alarms were set off.
'Wow, they are strict, not even a conversation?' Alpha Zayne mused, and his eyes searched for Rafael and found him already looking at him.
Rafael and Alpha Zayne had agreed to go in separate lines and away from each other to ensure that if one went down, the other still had a shot. Rafael was ahead of Zayne.
People could get turned around. They would put them on a flight and send them back. They were that strict about getting in.
Suddenly, Alpha Zayne thought he should have brought a third man. Nevertheless, 'stay cool and calm, let's see if we make it through, remember calm and cool.'
Alpha Zayne mind-linked Rafael when, out of nowhere again, the alarm to his left blared, and this time, however, there was a conversation. And the gentleman went on his way.
Rafael and Zayne eyed each other again discreetly, and Zayne nodded for him to proceed in his line while Zayne mused, 'ok, maybe that guy was different.'
'It could be a lesser offense, and a warning would suffice. Was the man able to talk his way out? Who knows? But at least he made it through.' Zayne was growing more concerned by the second, but he stayed calm.
He continued to scan the vast airport full of people, taking a closer look at this scanner. Alpha Zayne subtly moved slightly out of line, inspecting it closely with his wolf vision and hearing.
Getting an up-close view and hearing every single note that came out, every click, or the scanning tone, he listened closely, and for some reason, now he had an uneasy feeling.
That feeling crept up and strangled his neck.
Alpha Zayne stepped up in the line as the line kept moving forward, glancing around, desperately looking for a possible escape from this situation.
As he kept his breathing calm, he remained cool and collected.
But no such luck today. The only exit was leading out those vast doors in front of Zayne, behind those damn scanners. And going back now was not an option as passengers had no exits that way.
The security would surely stop and question them as they were supposed to be heading out.
Goddess, suddenly, it was his turn. He looked at Rafael and realized Rafael was next after him. It seemed his line suddenly moved up quickly.
Zayne took a deep breath, travel bag in hand, and walked through the scanner.
The alarm blared out noisily. Zayne felt like it was the loudest it had ever blared before, worse than the first two times the alarm rang out, but maybe that was because he was this close to it.
Nevertheless, it rattled him. Then his heart sunk into his stomach as he saw the chance of meeting with Thornton flash before his eyes as it slipped away.
He cursed under his breath as, this time, a large team approaching from everywhere came to take him away. He also looked back in time to see and hear Rafael's alarm going off.
That f*cker that f*cking f*cktard, they were caught by Alpha Thornton's facial recognition security scanner, alarms blare, and security came at them from everywhere.
Everything was happening so fast; in one minute, he was walking through the scanner, tasting the victory and the freedom. Coming out on the other side without problems, then WHAM.
Alarms blared, and he was being hauled and taken somewhere and detained.
Instructions came in pretty quickly to detain them, and they were placed in a secure room, hands behind their backs, handcuffed, as they awaited transport.
"When will we know the verdict?" Alpha Zayne spoke for the first time. Not wanting to cause a scene to have more guards to kill if he had to fight his way out.
After a moment, one guard spoke before he left the room and shut the door, "When they come to get you."
A handcuffed Zayne sighed.
Their options were either returning to their country or Alpha Thornton's dungeon. Zayne couldn't afford the former because this was his opportunity to get to Alpha Thornton.
They had to find a way to escape.
Aubrianne Ivanov
The living area of Aubrianne's wing has been transformed into a large dressing room, which extends into her bedroom.
It was now after lunch, and all the girls, Jada, Daniela, and Kirrah, were there to keep Aubrianne company. Jenna said she would be busy with her hair today and had more errands to complete.
Jada had arrived first, bombarding her after her father left, then Kirrah had finally emerged from the room with Shawn; thankfully, her father had soundproof walls in this manor.
Though she thought it was more for his benefit than anyone else. Can't risk being overheard
And Shawn had left them to meet Aubrianne's father after being summoned by him.
Daniela graced them with her presence closer to lunch, she had sauntered in, bags packed, which Timothy held, and Daniela held her dresses in her hand, taking them down from her shoulders.
Aubrianne greeted and welcomed them, and she observed that Timothy was a bit distant today. However, she did not think much of it. This was her day, and maybe he felt nostalgic too.
Nevertheless, the girls wanted to whisk Aubrianne away to check out the action and watch them transform the manor's grand ballroom and the great room and get to spy on some guests.
However, Aubrianne wanted to stay in and relax. She preferred the quiet for as long as she could because she knew once she hit those grand winding staircases tonight, there would be no quiet for hours.
So, in the end, the girls did just that. Aubrianne had ordered a savory breakfast buffet for them to eat and enjoy, as she had not eaten yet for the day and needed to put something in her stomach before tonight's dinner and ball.
With all the girls lying around and chattering, time quickly flew, and it was time to start prepping. Aubrianne would start with her hair, shower, then get her makeup done.
By the time that's done, it would be time for her to get into her first gown for the night.
