Sixteen—
"Some things never change, huh?" Mel muttered, watching me swallow myself in her blankets on her bed. Well I should say her and Jackson's bed.
"It's not the same," I muttered.
I couldn't find my comfort. The bed was too big and not fluffy enough. It wasn't Mel's bed, therefore I could not find my peace.
I watched her put makeup on feeling a sense of déjà vu.
"You know, Kai's going to be upset if you're not ready by the time he gets back," Mel warned, getting up to slip on her long deep violet ball gown. I groaned at the sight of it.
"I don't wanna go!" I moaned.
Definitely déjà vu.
"Seriously Drew? You never change."
Pyka pushed open the door and strolled in. He was sporting a custom made three piece charcoal gray tuxedo. Despite his rounded belly, he pulled it off quite well.
"Up! Up! Up!" he said to me, pulling the blankets off.
"No! Go away!" I protested.
"No way, pal. I was informed that you had a tendency to mope whenever you had to dress up. Not anymore. Not around me you won't. Now get up and let's get you dressed." He kept tugging at me. I looked at Melrose helplessly.
"Save me!" I mouthed.
She smirked and waved.
I cried in protest, slowly being dragged away by a tiny pregnant Omega.
Cal and Sherry were waiting in my room, dressed impeccably in tuxedos. Cal's was a traditional black tux but he looked absolutely debonair. His hair was styled with a perfect swoop of a wave on his forehead. It was as if he just walked off a photoshoot. Sherry was quite attractive as well in his silver tuxedo. His blood red curls spilled over his shoulders and the color of his outfit brought out the shine in his eyes. They were a sight to behold.
I glanced at Cal a little warily though. He apologized for his episode before but I still was uneasy.
"Clothes off!" Pyka snapped.
I sighed, tugging my clothes off. They forced me into my tuxedo and fussed over my hair. When I was up to their standards, they stood back to admire their work.
"I hate you all," I muttered darkly.
Pyka grinned, "Love you too, babe! Now let's go go go! The kids and I are starving!"
I rolled my eyes at that. He literally just ate three sandwiches and a full bag of grapes smothered in mustard. The weirdo.
"Yeah yeah," I muttered, following them down the hall where the Alphas were waiting for us. They looked amazing. Brynn was sporting a teal dress that hugged her curvy figure perfectly. Nick was handsome in a navy tuxedo and his short hair styled smartly. Talon rocked the bowtie and a traditional black tuxedo.
Now Kai...
Kai was beautiful.
He was wearing a white three piece suit. His vest and tie was a deep green that matched his eyes perfectly. His hair was slicked back and he was freshly shaven. I gulped, wondering how this incredible being could possibly be mine.
"You look beautiful," he murmured, planting a kiss to my temple. I was so flabbergasted, I couldn't even reply, just nod dumbly.
We made our way out of the hideout and disbursed as not to draw suspicion. When Kai and I made it to the Community Hall where the Banquet was being held, we were immediately overwhelmed by the sight. There were people everywhere. From humans to Wolves. Even a few pups were running around.
The ceilings were high and arched with beautiful white marble. The Community Hall was a place that told the story of our species. It was etched into the walls, the ceilings, the floors. Everything was History. And it sparkled under the chandeliers, lights bouncing off the pillars in the vast ballroom. It was beautiful, especially so full of entertainment and happy people. But...
It was slightly overwhelming.
Kai escorted me inside.
Immediately I found my parents. They were standing by a table laughing with Mel and Kai's parents. I approached them, giving my mother a huge hug.
"Drew! My baby! I haven't seen you in so long. I can't believe you moved out already, living with your beloved!"
So that's the story we were telling people?
I didn't answer her, but grinned. My father pulled me in for a hug of his own. I was completely enveloped in his large frame.
"It's good to see you. I hope he's been treating you well."
I nodded my head.
"Should I be expecting pups any time soon?" Mom gushed.
I winced.
"Still working on it," I mumbled awkwardly. Thank goodness she didn't notice, or she was just too excited to even care.
"Where is this husband of yours?" She squealed, looking around my shoulder.
I was about to open my mouth to explain when an arm encircled my waist.
"Kai Hemming, reporting for duty," he saluted with a teasing smile. I let my mother fawn all over him and my father threaten him to make sure he was treating me right.
In the corner of my eye I saw Stonem and Robin off to the side. They were in heated conversation. I shivered at the sight of the silver haired man.
"I'm going to go look for Mel and Jackson," I told my family and mate. Kai looked at me as if debating on coming with me. "I'll be fine."
He nodded and continued his conversation with my parents.
I ventured off, weaving through people, looking for my best friend. A human woman slammed into my side, causing me to stumble into a large man. I looked up at him, ready to apologize until I saw those dark eyes. I stiffened, taking a step back.
He just stared at me, no expression on his face. I've never seen him before but there was something off about him. In the same way as Stonem or those creatures that came to my house. He stared at me for a moment longer, nose twitching and a small flash of confusion. I didn't give him a chance to speak before I was slipping past people to get away.
I got a bad feeling.
A really bad feeling.
I tried to go back to Kai but he was no longer with my parents.
Damn it!
Where did he go?
I glanced around and spotted Nick leaning against a wall looking very uncomfortable with the party setting. I may not like him, but I could trust him.
I ran over to him.
He looked at me in surprise.
"Nick, where's Kai?" I asked with the utmost urgency.
"He stepped out for a moment, why?" he replied looking a little concerned about my panic.
Why would he leave? Especially without saying anything to me? I thought he was scared I was in danger. He was so adamant about sticking to my side. Something big must have happened for him to leave me here without his protection.
"Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it!" I told Nick.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where'd you get that idea?"
"They're here! I saw one of them!"
Nick's eyes sharpened. He was serious all of a sudden.
"Who? Who did you see?"
"A Beta," I whispered.
Nick gaped at me in shock, "How do you—"
"We don't have time! We have to get everyone out of here!"
"Drew, calm down. Let's go find the others first, okay?"
I wanted to protest, but he was probably right. I only saw one and there were plenty of Alphas here so we were fine, right?
But Robin said they were going after Omegas and there were a bunch of them here tonight. Everyone knew that the Human-Wolf Banquet was the perfect place to find a mate, so Omegas came from all over to attend this party.
The bad feeling increased tenfold.
"Nick—"
A loud bang shook the room. There were a few gasps of surprise.
"Shit, Pyka!" Nick panicked. He started weaving through people and I couldn't keep up. I gave up on following him and tried to find my parents.
I was amongst the crowd when a huge explosion blew out half of the Hall. People started screaming and pushing, trying to escape. I was getting shoved left and right. It was hard to pick a direction to go in. I almost let the crowd take me until I saw what they were running from.
Betas.
They were everywhere. All of them attacking unsuspecting Omegas with the same syringes I saw before.
Oh my Goddess.
Where is Kai?
Where is Kai?
I fought past the fleeing crowds and saw some of the Alphas fighting the Betas but they were terribly outnumbered. Most of the Omegas were struck because they couldn't fight back. Only some were trained in the art of combat like Melrose and myself. They were chosen only if they were physically capable of it. But there were few that actually were.
I spotted Melrose and Jackson fighting some of the Betas off. I was about to go run to them until I felt a hand grab my wrist and wrench me backward. I flew across and hit one of the pillars. My back cracked against the marble.
A Beta glared at me. It was the same one I bumped into before.
"You don't have a scent," he murmured. "Must be a huge price on your pretty little head."
That's the second time I've heard that.
I didn't ask questions as I attacked. I went for his legs since he was so much bigger than me. He fell to the floor but was quick, swinging his leg around and catching me in the cheek. He climbed on top of me and slammed his fist into my face. Pain exploded in my nose and I felt blood start to gush out of it.
That was definitely broken.
Head butting him, I threw him off of me and hopped up to my feet. He was still on the ground and I was able to kick him again in the face. Instead of knocking him out, I only made him angry. He grabbed my ankle as I was going for another kick and yanked me down. My head cracked against the marble floors and black spots danced in my vision. I blinked them back, only to see the Beta hovering over me with a syringe in his hand.
Fuck, there's no way out of this one.
Just as he was about to stick me with the needle, he was thrown off of me. I raised my head just in time to see Kai snap his neck. His eyes were a brilliant red. His white suit was splattered with blood and torn in several places.
"Kai," I whimpered.
His eyes reverted back to green and expression softened. He was about to say something but four more Betas came at us.
Kai tore through them with vengeance. He was a magnificent sight to behold. Seeing him fight was an honor. He was amazing and ruthless, biting and ripping through them without an ounce of remorse. It was like watching an Angel.
I wanted to gawk at him some more but behind him I saw my father fighting with three of the Betas. My mother was wrestling with one as he tried to stick her with a syringe. I acted immediately. Charging at him and knocking him over before he could finish the deed.
The Beta smiled at me.
"So you wanna play, little Omega?"
I glared at him, not looking away when I shouted to my mother. "Run. Find somewhere safe."
"But—"
"Go!"
I heard her run away and breathed a sigh of relief. My dad would be fine. He'd catch up to her soon. I focused my attention ahead.
My body was still beaten pretty badly so I wasn't sure how long I could face him but I knew that Kai would be there to save me when my strength left me. He always did.
I growled at the Beta who answered with his own growl.
"You don't have a scent. You must be the one they're trying so desperately to hide. One of the top ranks," his lips curled into a malicious grin.
I stared at him questioningly. Not sure what he was talking about.
He didn't elaborate, instead he lunged. I narrowly missed his attack, responding with a weak one of my own. He batted my fist away before backhanding me so hard I flew back. I slammed into the ground painfully, dislocating my left arm.
I kicked out his legs and with my good arm, punched him in in the gut. He doubled over and I took that second to locate Kai. He was surrounded by seven Betas but his attention kept darting over to me. He was trying desperately to get to me. I turned to my father who had four more Betas on him. He was tired and it clear he wasn't going to last much longer. Especially with the new wave of Betas that just entered the place.
My attention wasn't on my opponent which was a huge mistake. He grabbed my leg and dragged me over to him. I tried to knee in his crotch, but he caught it and kneed me in my own. I cried out.
He took my head and slammed it into the ground. The edges of my vision was fading, alerting me that I was going to black out soon.
"Kai," I whispered as the Beta shoved the syringe in my neck. He picked me up and dragged me away. The last thing I heard was Kai screaming my name before everything went black.
"DREW!"
END OF PART ONE
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