"Princess Deraya..." Tya started but I cut her short. "Oh please. I'm no princess. I'm Deraya to you. We are all friends now, right? Call me whatever you want but please don't add princess. I'm no princess. " I busted out. I couldn't help it. I hated it when people called me 'princess' like I was someone high and mighty that they all needed to serve. I kept up the act in Red Crescent because it was 'tradition'. "Oh...Um. Deraya?" She said. "Sounds better. "I smiled. "Surely you must have met the Alpha before right? "

"Yea. You should have. I heard he's a sight to behold ." Kimberly said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "It was a long time ago it was the former Alpha I met not the current one." The current Alpha is the son of the Alpha I met years ago when my parents were still alive and Silver Moon made an alliance with the Red Cresent pack.

The tree lines began to think and I could spot a massive building. It was shaped like a dome and the walls were made of opaque glass. The setting sun gives it a more lustrous glow. "Oh. My. Moon goddess! "Kimberly exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like it!" Rachel said. "It must have cost a lot," Tya said. We spotted Patty from afar, waving to us frantically. "You guys made it." She said as we got to the gate. "I was afraid you wouldn't come." She laughed nervously. Afraid you didn't do your job. I wanted to say that I just kept quiet.

"Attendance is mandatory. "She added. She leads us into the compound. It was full of trees and beautiful flowers. A fancy water fountain stood out and upon closer inspection, I noticed it was made of glass also. I wonder how they maintain it.

"Midnight Paw pack," Tya whispered and we all whipped our heads to the right staring at them. The girls, about fifteen of them, were all dressed in dark clothes. They had that bossy aura as they walked that other packs gave way for them as they walked. They gave us intimidating stares as they passed by us like we were all in some kind of competition. They were the third-ranked pack and yet they acted all mighty. "Just ignore them," I whispered back to the girls. We all walked into the dome-shaped building and I gasped at what lay before my eyes.

There was a spiral staircase going from the door we stepped through, around the entire dome to the top where a platform lay. Each section of the staircase had segments assigned to a particular set of people I would assume. If I correctly, over a hundred mappers from around the world were present in the building. That shows how important mates are to wolves.

"Is this the pack house?" Vanessa asked Patty who was patiently waiting for us to take it all in. "No dearie," She said in her singing song voice. "This is just the official dining area. The pack house is where the mapping ball will be held." She said proudly.

She led us to a segment where there was a machine we had to step through. It was like a metal detector only that it didn't detect metals alone but also any containing silver, wolfsbane and any other suspicious objects. We even had to verify our fingerprints. So much protocol. Well, they wouldn't want to take any chances, being the most targetedpack they wouldn't want a small mistake to become their downfall.

Once we stepped out of the detector, we landed on the first segment of the staircase. Everything was looking breathtakingly beautiful from that height. "Here we are, girls." That was beaming Patty. "Your table. You will be dining with a Midnight Paw pack. "

"What?!" We all exclaimed and Kimberly rolled her eyes. Tya slapped her palm on her face and I gave a defeated sigh. It was going to be a long night. Patty left us after telling us to socialize and that she would be back in a jiffy. I knew she wouldn't come back the moment she said it and she never did.

Dinner was awkwardly quiet with the Midnight Paw girls staring daggers at us throughout. Kimberly, being the most cheerful person among us tried to lighten up the mood but it didn't sit well with them at all. I can't explain the relief I felt when the arrival of the Beta was announced and everyone's attention shifted towards the platform.

The Beta of Silver Moon pack stood straight and tall, an air of authority emanated from him. I remember his father from years ago. His father had blonde hair and blue eyes and so did he also.

The crowd immediately went silent as he cleared his throat and began to speak. "I welcome you all mappers to Silver Moon pack. It is not the official ball yet but organizing this dinner for you all has been a tradition we have adopted over the years. It helps us pass along the necessary information you need to know before the ball. You will be briefed later on the terms of the conduct of this pack and all other important things you think to know. In the meantime, want you all to enjoy the rest of your evening." He was about to leave the platform when a man I would think should be the Gamma of the pack whispered something into his ear. He nodded and faced us.

"This is a message from the Alpha." He said. At the mention of the Alpha, some girls blushed including one of the girls from Midnight Paw. She seemed like the most fragile one among them. The most menacing one of them gave her a hard stare and almost growled in her deep, gruff voice. "He is mine Amalise. " We all turned to stare."As if." Rachel said under her breath and Vanessa scoffed. I pity the men who would have these girls as mates. I already missed something the Beta said because everyone cracked up in laughter.

"The mapping ball will take place in three days as the majority of the mappers have arrived and more are expected tomorrow. Guides are to take their assigned mappers shopping for a dress or better still have it delivered to their rooms by tomorrow. No one is to leave the guest house assigned to them till the ball. There will be consequences for going against this order. As I said earlier, enjoy the rest of your evening. "

I watched as everyone continued whatever they were doing before the speech and I suddenly remembered I needed to charge my phone as I saw Kimberly with hers. I got out mine from my purse and stood up. "I need to find a place to charge my phone, "I told the girls. "I need to charge mine too," Vanessa said and so we both walked up to the control center and asked if we could plug in our phones. As we were at it, I felt someone approaching us and I turned around. Walking right towards us was the Beta. We both looked down expecting him to pass by us but he stopped a few metres from where we stood which caused me to stare in amazement.

"Hello, ladies." He greeted jovially. "He... hello," I said as my voice cracked a bit and I cleared my throat awkwardly. Surprisingly, Vanessa could compose herself quite well. "Hello, Beta." She acknowledged. He chuckled. "Drop the formalities. I'm Salvatore. Call me Salvatore. " I was shocked. I couldn't believe the Beta of Silver Moon pack was offering his name to us in person.

"You must be Deraya from Red Crescent pack. Am I right?" He asked and I nodded. I was even more surprised that he knew my name. "Ah," He started. "Your brother and I used to be good friends." Used to? I was about to ask him want he went when the Gamma walked up to us. "Salvatore the Alpha wants you to..." He didn't finish his sentence as his eyes turned sharply to Vanessa and she gasped as she stared back at him wide-eyed. "Mine!" He growled loudly as he went towards her.

**************

Please vote,comment and share.💞