Chapter five

Serenity POV 

The day of the Biennial Autumn Ball had finally arrived, as did the first day I could return to somewhat normal life since waking from my month-long coma. The only reason was that an anonymous video had arrived yesterday, identifying Erica as the culprit. However, her punishment was extremely lax since she was Luna Emily's little sister. Her punishment was to be confined entirely to her corridors for three months, which meant that she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything beyond the thousand square feet of her bedroom. Had anyone else been the culprit, they would have been flogged and dumped in the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon. Though I guess for Miss Popularity, it was nearly as bad as a death sentence, especially since her 17th birthday had been three months ago, and she would have been able to find her mate.

After finishing my strength training routine, I returned to my room in the pack house. Derrick and Jace had decided it was safer for me to be closer to them, which I didn't mind. Since my wolf had informed me that I needed to get stronger for her to appear, it also made training easier since there were multiple training areas within walking distance from the pack house. 

Upon entering my room, Greta and Sammy ran to my side, linking their arms with mine. 

"Where have you been? We've  been looking everywhere for you!" Greta shouted as they quickly ushered me into the bathroom. "Now get your shower and make sure you don't forget to put that lotion and deodorant on before coming out," she pointed at the sink to where there was some Olay Quench Body Shimmer Lotion and some shower clean deodorant sitting next to the facet. 

Sammy craned her head around Greta and added, "And don't forget to shave." With that, the door shut, and I could hear them frantically scrambling around to finish their preparations. 

As the hot water enveloped my aching body, I stood breathing in the steaming air. I wondered how long it would take to be strong enough to meet my wolf and what else I could do to shorten the time. While I pondered these things, a frantic pounding came on the door. That is when I realized that the once steaming water had gone cold, and Greta shouted, "What is taking you so long!?! I know it doesn't  take that long to shave and put lotion on!!" 

Crud, I forgot to shave!

After I finished shaving and putting on lotion and deodorant, I wrapped the towel around myself and sheepishly opened the bathroom door. "Sorry that it took me so long," I whispered, not wanting them to reprimand me.

When they turned to face me, shock consumed their expressions, "Did you shave your legs with a weed wacker!?!" Greta exclaimed as she stared at all the nicks and cuts littering my smooth legs. 

Sammy glanced back at my bed where dresses were laying out., "That rules out the short dresses that we brought." 

Greta grabbed my hand and led me towards my bed. "That is okay. I was leaning more towards this dress anyway," Greta said as she held up a dress that was a white halter neck, sleeveless maxi dress with a high waist, floor-length gown. A blue and purple sheer tulle covered the entire dress. Silver gems were scattered across the tulle, giving it an almost galaxy-like appearance.

After slipping into the beautifully elegant dress, Greta worked on my hair, and Sammy began to apply my make-up. I hadn’t realized it when I entered my room, but both Greta and Sammy were dressed beautifully. 

Greta was wearing a tea-length emerald green dress, which came to just below her knee. It had a v-neck with see-through lace applique, short sleeves, a belted waist, and a pleated skirt flowing freely from her waist. She had paired it with 3-inch black strappy heels and had her hair pulled back into a braided bun with baby's breath accents and a few random strands of curls framing her face. She wore a pearl necklace with matching earrings and light make-up that enhanced her beautiful green eyes. 

Sammy was wearing a pastel pink floor-length Grecian-style gown that was off the shoulder with patterns of metallic beads and sequins and finished with wispy godets, all of which emphasized her tiny model-like figure. She wore skin-colored stilettos that made her long legs look even longer. Her blond hair was pulled back into an elegant French twist with a silver and pink floral accent, and her shadowy eye makeup made her chocolate brown eyes look nearly black. 

Both girls looked lovely in their formal wear, and a soft smile spread across my face as they frantically worked around each other to make me presentable.

After what seemed like forever, and I had begun to nod off, a soft tap came on my shoulder. "What do you think?" Greta asked as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, guiding me toward the full-length mirror that was next to my walk-in closet. 

I tightly closed my eyes, not wanting to see myself. 

"Come on, open your eyes," Greta said as she clung to my arm.

So I slowly opened my eyes one at a time to find a beautiful silver-haired woman staring back at me. Her long silverish-white hair had multiple tiny braids leading into one long, fishtail side braid. Blue and purple gems gave her silver hair an almost purple glow. Her natural make-up highlighted her pinkish-purple eyes, giving them a bluish hue, which complimented the dress beautifully. She had full pink, shimmering lips and soft pink cheeks, giving her an almost otherworldly glow. I raised my hand to reach out and touch the reflection of the beautiful young woman before me to find perfectly manicured nails. 

"Is that me," I whispered in disbelief.

Greta and Sammy each wrapped an arm around my shoulders with a giant grin resting on their faces. "See, I always told you that you are a beauty without measure, and now you can finally see it as well," Greta stated as she squeezed my shoulders. 

"Oh, and we can't forget the finishing touches," Sammy said as she ran over to my bed and grabbed a shoe box while Greta grabbed pairs of stud earrings, each a different color. Starting with the black pair, then the amethyst pair, then the sapphire pair, and the last pair, a diamond, was on the cartilage of each of my ears. Then Sammy opened the shoe box that contained a pair of beautiful, strappy, white butterfly stilettos. 

My eyes widened as I shook my head, "There is no way I will be able to walk in those!" I said as I ran my hand over the mesmerizing shoes.

"You'll be fine," Greta said as she pulled the shoes from the box and placed them on my feet.

***

I nervously took a deep breath as I stared up at the beautiful, large, wooden, hand-carved double doors leading into the Great Hall. Special events like the Biennial Autumn Ball were held in the Great Hall. Even though I had lived as a part of the Silver Moon Pack for many years, this was the first time I would be seeing it. 

My mother gently squeezed my shoulders and whispered, "You have nothing to worry about. You look beautiful, and I am sure you will find your mate." 

"Thanks, mom." I softly said as my dad offered me his arm with tears welling in his eyes and a slight smile on his face.

He grabbed my mother's hand and leaned in closer to her to ask her a question, "Darling, do you remember where those bullets that you made a while back that had an exploding core laced with wolvesbayne are?"

My eyes widened; I didn't know mom could make bullets, let alone one laced with exploding wolvesbayne!

Shock consumed me all the more when she answered, "Of course, dear. I knew that we might need them tonight, so I took the liberty of replacing them in your revolver and your shotgun. Oh, which reminds me," she quickly began to dig through her purse pulling out what I had assumed was pepper spray. "This is for you, my beautiful, sweet girl." She said as she handed it to me. "Don't worry, sweetie, this will work on most beings, even if they are werewolves." 

I raised my eyebrow in a question, and she quickly explained as the doors to the Great Hall opened. 

"After you were attacked, I realized that we weren't always going to be able to protect you. So I decided to make something that could help you escape even if you were against a much stronger werewolf than yourself. "

Confused, I looked at her, "How will it help with that?"

She smiled brightly, "I combined the pepper spray with wolvesbayne. This can blind normal werewolves for three to five days and stronger ones like betas and gammas for half a day to one full day. It can even blind Alphas and lycans for anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on how strong they are." My mother beamed with pride as she shoved the spray into my handbag, and my father nodded, patting her on the back.

"What would I even need this for?" I asked as we entered the Grand Hall.

"Just in case," she stated as she kissed my hand and turned towards Alpha Derrick. "Has The Alpha King and the Prince arrived yet?" 

"Alpha King Alexander has arrived and is sitting at the head table on the other end of the hall." He motioned toward the opposite side of the hall and continued, "And the Prince had a few things to take care of but will be arriving  a little later." 

As they continued chatting, I thoughtlessly looked around the Great Hall, in awe of its beauty.