She made him feel hot and cold at once, stronger and weaker, excited and terrified, all at the same time.

In the end, I had more than time enough to do my hair and make-up properly before the big evening. The gala, for most representatives the most important night of the entire week. The evening where contracts are laid out, jobs as research associates are offered, networks are expanded. According to Allison, the night would be just as big for me. I was to win over my mate tonight, show him that there is no harm in telling the world about us, as otherwise another man might come and sweep me of my feet.

Not that there was any chance of that happening, I was too much into Vir already, but he didn't need to know that, now did he? I grinned to myself while thinking about the plan. I was going to talk to other men, not necessarily flirt, but I would try and look irresistible for Vir on a distance, suggesting I was looking for attention elsewhere.

I made a selfie to show my hair and make-up to Allison before putting on my dress. We had chosen something bold, badass, but feminine all the same. The dark purple, sleeveless dress coloured nicely with my navy hair, even though most girls wouldn't have chosen the combination at all. It did kind of show, you know, my girls, but not so much one would consider it slutty. At least, that was what I hoped.

Still, to keep feeling like myself, I finished my look by putting on my black leather jacket. Allison would kill me if she knew, but with my bare shoulders I felt way too exposed. Taking my phone out of the pocket, I checked my e-mail one last time. Right after winning the intelligence competition in the Fortis pack, I got forwarded an e-mail with all the information about this week. It said where we would sleep, when we would meet the Alpha, which conferences we would attend, etcetera. There was also an elaborate section on the gala-evening.

First, around five to seven, we would have dinner with the representatives, the Alpha, Beta and the Alpha's direct family. Then directly after, we would all be taken away to another room, where there was a possibility we would get offered a contract and talk to our new employer, after which we would end the evening in what could be called a ball.

With dancing and such.

To be honest, I was planning on standing near the food the entire evening. Dancing was not really something I thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, of course, hopping and jumping around in a night club was fun, but that was mostly due to the alcohol and the fact that Allison was there with me. Here, however, I assumed it would be an actual ball, with ballroom dances as the waltz, foxtrot and whatnot.

I had been thinking and pacing for so long about the ball, that I was startled when I heard a knock on my door with the message if 'milady was ready for the gala yet'. Quickly, I stuffed my phone in the pocket of my leather jacket again, tugged on my dress to make it fit the right way, and put on my high heels, before opening the door.

I met with a handsome man I recognized vaguely as the Beta of Sapientiae. "Good afternoon, miss Devoe," he said with a smile. "I will be your escort for today, to guide you to the dining hall, conference room and lastly, the ballroom." He offered me his arm. "If I may," he said politely.

"You may," I answered happily. "To what do I owe the pleasure of being escorted by none other than the Beta of this pack?"

"Am I not allowed to get acquainted with the new Luna of my pack?" He asked with a wink. I blushed shyly as an answer. So he knew. "Vir told you." I said, not completely satisfied with that.

"He did. Something wrong with that?" The frown on his face made his face look confused. I decided I could trust him. If Vir trusted him enough to tell him about me, then he should be fine.

I shook my head. "Just not entirely happy that he can tell his friends and relatives about me, but I can't tell mine about him."

The Beta sighed. "He had to tell me in order to make his plan work. He is trying to make it seem as if we are closer than we actually are, so that your relationship with him will remain a secret for a while longer. All representatives are accompanied by someone high up in the hierarchy in this pack tonight, so it is the perfect opportunity to steer Vir's enemies in the wrong direction."

I nodded in understanding. "He could have told me that, though."

"He could have."

We walked along the hallways in silence and stood still when we entered the lift. "So," the Beta said, after the silence had become a tad bit awkward. "To get to know you better tonight, may I already reserve a dance with you later this evening?"

I chuckled. "If you actually introduce yourself and keep acting like a gentleman this entire evening, then you definitely may."

The Beta's eyes grew big like saucers. "How impolite of me, I forgot to introduce myself." He bowed down low, one hand on his back, the other one taking my hand in a delicate way. Pushing his lips on my hand teasingly, he told me his name. "My name is Daniel DeWitt, pleasure to meet you."

I laughed out loud at his antics. I would be able to get along with this guy. "Livia DeVoe, and the pleasure is all mine, milord."

At the dinner table, we sat on a large round table. All the representatives were present, obviously, as well as Vir, Daniel, Willow, and five other Sapientiae pack members I didn't know. I was seated with Daniel on my left, and on my right there was the representative of the Sensus pack. The woman of about 50 years of age was really sweet, constantly smiling and talking to the man on her right, who was supposedly the mayor of one of the smaller towns in the Sapientiae pack. Vir was seated across from me, and after some intense eye-contact during starters, he looked away and became engrossed in a conversation with the woman from Fidem. A bit pissed, I tried to ignore him too.

But damn that was difficult.

Why did he have to look so good in a tux?

***