18.

It felt awful and creepy to ask her to smile more. It was close to what he considered flirting, and that was something which came very close to confusing feelings. And he swore he would not give in to those.

The next day I was a bit in doubt whether or not I should go to Vir's office. I mean, he did kind of leave me there on my own, after what one could possibly see as an argument. Well, not necessarily an argument, but it was definitely certain that Vir was irritated and wanted to get rid of me in that moment.

I knew that socially, he wasn't the most accomplished, but at least he should have seen that his stern and cold words would hurt me. I suspected he was deliberately ignoring it, and just wanted me gone then and there, without saying goodbye. Sure, maybe he only wanted me gone then and there, and not forever, but it still stung.

Rubbing my the ache in my heart away, I decided to just leave him be for the day. I had more than enough to do for this evening anyway. Allison and I had spent weeks planning this day. Even though she was more the type of person to like galas, and posh evenings for the elite, I was the one to go to it. But I had promised her I would make her proud. So after eating breakfast in my room, I started combing my hair while video-chatting with my best friend.

"Hey girl!" She screeched out loud as soon as she picked up. Cringing away from the noise, I grinned widely, taking a good look at her. "Hey Ally! How are you?" She was still in her pyjamas, her platina blond hair in a messy bun on top of her head.

"I'm goooooodd," she answered, holding up a chocolate bar with cookie dough in it. "Military school starts in a two weeks, so I'm enjoying my freedom as much as possible." At once her eyes widened. "Wait. As your mate is a part of the Sapientiae pack, you don't actually have to go to military school!"

I smirked, and moved on to styling my hair into a Dutch braid. I was originally planning on keeping it simple, but when I talked to Allison before going here, she went mad and showed me the proper way. I was to start above my ears, make a small Dutch braid on each side of my head, and then combine the two braids together at the back of my head, and curl everything else. It took her two days to have me execute it properly.
"Nope, I'm going to stay here, no military school for me, thank the gods."
Allison sighed, pouting a bit, before sitting up straight. "Before you ruin your hair, hold your hands still and tell me a bit more about your mate."
"What do you mean hold my hands still? I'm braiding just the way you wanted!"
"No you're doing it wrong Livia, so just stop. Now tell me, did you kiss yet?"

Quietly ignoring the last part, I dropped my hands into my lap. "Happy now?" I asked. "What the hell am I doing wrong?"

Allison giggled. "You have to curl it before braiding, silly, otherwise some strands of hair will remain straight. And don't you dare think you can get away with not answering my questions. Tell me more about your mate." Her angry face was laughable, really, but I complied with her request anyway.

I sighed softly. "No," I said.

"What do you mean no? I'm your best friend! You are supposed to tell me everything!" She huffed, clearly upset.

I sighed again, louder this time. "Al-Ally," I tried to interrupt her. "Allison." No response, she just kept huffing and complaining about me not being a good friend because I wouldn't gossip with her. "I meant no we didn't kiss, silly."
She fell quiet immediately. "Wait, what do you mean you didn't kiss yet? Most mates are diving into the bed with each other naked five minutes after they meet. Why the hell haven't you kissed after almost a week?"

I shrugged. "I didn't kid you when I told you he was shy a few days ago. Even when my arm is lightly brushing his, he can't concentrate, he flushes brightly red and he starts stuttering. It's very endearing, but a bit annoying too, seeing how he can't be close to me while remaining a normal person." I kept quiet about the fact that he has no problem in doing things with me when he has calculated my every move beforehand. "Although I did tell him about how I won the competition, and he was fine with it, so at least there is that."

She nodded and shrugged her shoulders, after which she took another obnoxiously big bite from her chocolate bar. "Well that's good I guess," she mumbled, her mouth full. "Can you tell me anything else about him, or does he still not want anyone knowing you two are mated?"

My face fell.

"I assume it's the second option, then."
I nodded gloomily as an answer, my head hanging low, my fingers fumbling with each other in my lap.

However, Allison being Allison, managed to cheer me up with just a few sentences. "Well, honey, you will be fine! With the dress that we picked out, he won't be able to keep his eyes from you this entire night. Just show off your body tonight, and he will not leave your side for a minute after the gala. Trust me." She winked. "Oh, keep your make-up light. Just accentuate your eyes and lips a little, nothing else. And don't use any perfume. Your own scent will drive your mate crazy."

I smiled thankfully. "If this works, I'm forever in your debt, Allison."

She laughed out loud. "Oh Livia, you have been my best friend for years now. You should know that you are already in my debt forever. Now, shoo, and finish your hair and make-up. Text me the result! I have to go now, my mum wants me to train for military school."

"Have fun running," I teased.

"Oh you just shut up and go get your man. Bye!"

"Bye," I said softly, but she had already hung up. Now all I had to do, was find the damn curling iron to do my hair.