THIRD PERSON POV...

Preparing for the ball was a tedious task. Dress, accessories, and dealing with an overly excited grandmother. Aurelia felt almost envious of her grandmother's love for the king. Who knew her grandmother was so fond of the king? She appears to have served as his nanny before the king ascended to the throne.

And it did not just end there. By chance, her grandmother brought the king to their home, which they never did. They never brought a werewolf home to hide her abnormality, and her grandmother brought the Alpha king.

By some miracle, the king did not notice any difference in her scent. Perhaps her absence weakened her scent, and the king did not think the strange scent was noteworthy.

But now she has been invited to the ball. The most anticipated event of the year for the werewolves. It was held in honor of the Alpha King, who had successfully signed a peace treaty with the vampires. The vampire-were rivalry dates back to their earliest Ancestors. So, it was a big deal. And she had no choice but to attend.

Not to mention that she had to take the shot that neutralized her scent as well as her unusual strength and speed. She had the strength and speed to match an alpha. Perhaps even more

She sighed aloud and stopped thinking; after all, what was the point? Her grandmother was stubborn, and if she decided on something, it was better to go with the flow than to fight her. She had enough experience fighting to predict the outcome. It simply was not worth the drama.

Not to mention it out loud, but being who she was, it left little room for socializing other than with her PhD guide and Adam at the coffee shop, her uncle, who co-owned an event management company with her.

She took one last look in the mirror and admired herself.

Her dress was deep black, with dark blue and white sequins adorning the hem and tapering to her waist. It was as if the stars were embellished. Her diamond ear rings completed the look. Her natural makeup accentuated her eyes and lips.

That was quite the outfit.

She walked into the living room and noticed her grandmother sitting on the sofa. Another first. She was fully expecting her grandmother to be late. She usually takes her time getting ready, but it appears that today is the day for all routines to break.

"You are here; let us go," her grandmother said, grabbing her purse.

Internally, she prayed to the lunar goddess for help before following her grandmother out the door and locking it.

The regular inflow of taxis into the community was the best part of living near the palace. Weres, with their extraordinary physical traits, could easily run the length of the city without breaking sweat. However, weres, like humans, had to work to feed themselves. It helped keep up the facade.

Not everyone was required to work; those in higher positions, such as alphas, betas, and gammas, owned companies and served as CEOs, allowing them to hire others to manage their businesses. Even weres who work applied for positions in companies owned by other weres.

The Alpha King was a staunch supporter of technological advancement, which she wholeheartedly agreed with. So, the king established a portal through which young weres could apply for internships and jobs at were-owned businesses.

These companies provided them with flexible shifts so that they could earn while also keeping their beasts happy by being in touch with nature for a few hours each day. They offered a three-day work week with shifts ranging from the morning to midnight.

This, however, did not imply that they had no interaction with humans.
Humans dominated the workforce, even in women-owned companies. All they did was pretend to have offsite meetings.

She usually walks to the main road and takes a taxi, but tonight was a special occasion, so they decided to go by car.

Aurelia climbed into the driver's seat and waited for her grandmother to get into the passenger seat. Her grandma was no fragile being. She needed no help.However, yesterday's transformation must have caused concern, resulting in today's accident, which forced them to attend the most anticipated event of the year.

She drove through the familiar yet unfamiliar path.She had always seen these paths in the wilderness, close yet far away. As the car sped towards the community, she became increasingly concerned about how the ball would play out.

Because of the event, all cars were permitted inside the community, and she was not stopped at the entrance. As she approached the castle, her beast moved frantically in her mind. She was scratching and pawing at her brain. Attempting to gain control. Despite the suppression shot, she still managed to irritate her.

While thinking about all of this, she arrived at the location. One of the advantages of being a werewolf was the ability to complete all physical tasks with little effort. Improved senses reduced reaction time.

Perhaps the Were-owned companies should invest in the development of special cars and bikes designed specifically for them. Human cars were designed to have a reaction time of at least 2 seconds, whereas Weres had a reaction time of only a fraction of a second, even milliseconds for Alphas.

They found parking a bit further from the palace. Well, all of the nearby parking spots were reserved for VIPs and VVIPs. Getting down the car, she waited for her grandma to get down and made sure she had locked down the car properly.

'Let's go, grandma' she mind-linked her grandma.

'Ok, dear,' her grandma replied back through the mind link.

They then strode towards the palace. She had seen photos of it before, but as she approached, she realized it was even more magnificent. The pictures couldn't capture it's beauty.

She apparently had earlier visited the palace as a child, but she was too young to recall it clearly. All of those memories were muddled.

One thing was certain: It was going to be a long night. She adjusted her hair subtly, trying to ensure that there were no stray hairs; after all, it was a royal ball.

She strode towards the entrance, where extensive security checks were being conducted. She drew her grandmother close to her and nodded at her.

She was the one who was invited, and she would have to lead the way.

'You are the one who leads the way.'

Her grandmother responded with a subtle nod, her face shining brightly, but she, too, was intimidated by the palace's increased security, which she knew was unusual.

The first security guard stopped her grandmother and asked her to show her invitation. Her grandmother simply stood there, staring at the guard in shock. Her grandma had forgotten that she would need an invitation in her excitement to attend the ball.

Aurelia nudged her grandmother from behind and linked her.

'The invitation that the king gave you, grandma'

'The King simply told me to come; he did not give a physical invitation, just a verbal one', her grandmother responded via the link.

Aurelia was astounded by her grandmother. When her grandmother told her that she had received an invitation, she assumed that the king had also given her the invitation card. It was not until now that she realized it was just a verbal invitation.

'Grandma You must have told me earlier.'

'Shh, the King invited us.'

Her grandma cut her off. Just great, she thought.

"Ma'am, the invite," the guard insisted.

"The King personally invited me this morning, but I do not have an invitation with me. "The King really insisted that I attend the event," she told the guard.

"Ma'am, this is a high-security event; nobody is allowed inside without an invitation. You have to come with us for questioning."

Just then, the guard's eyes slightly went out of focus. Maybe he was mind-linking.

Oh, oh, Aurelia thought.

This was not ideal.

Just then, a senior security guard arrived with a blonde-haired man. The man smelled of beta blood, but it was so strong that it could almost be mistaken for alpha. They were a bit away from us, and with all the humans in attendance, they walked at a slow pace.

Every were had a unique scent and higher the rank of the were, the scent would be much stronger. This is not taking into account the the power rolling off a were. All living beings sense threat. Some call it sixth sense, while others call it intuition in humans.

How does a deer feel the presence of a tiger when it's being hunted? Other than it's obvious senses. It's a gut feeling, only it is more enhanced in weres. An all-new sense in a way. A sense that warns them of the level of threat another were or any other supernatural creature poses. It helped in fights or rather, avoiding fights.

Something must have been communicated through mind link because the security guard standing infront of them just nodded at his senior and gave them a nervous laugh.

"You should have explained that you are a VVIP. If you had approached the VVIP entrance, you would not have been asked for an invitation; just your name would have sufficed," he accused, looking at my grandmother.

"Oh! I did not realize we were VVIP," her grandmother responded.

'I told you we had been invited by the king.'

Aurelia simply rolled her eyes. The blonde man had arrived where they stood. He turned towards her grandmother.

"You must be Mrs. Angelica Connor or Nana, as Aiden mentioned."

"Yes, dear, and who are you, if I may ask?" Her grandmother inquired.

" Grandma!!!!" Aurelia pleaded, embarrassed by her unrelenting nature. They were at a ball with several high-ranking humans, vampires, and faes present. Some may view it as an insult to their authority.

The blonde simply laughed and said, "I see why Aiden spoke highly of you; I am Adrian Cummins, the king's best friend, and this lovely lady beside you is..."

"This is my dearest granddaughter, Aurelia," her grandmother responded.

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Aurelia," he said.

Aurelia replied, "Like wise."

He returned his attention to her grandmother and extended his hand to her.

"Shall we, Nana?"

My grandmother giggled like a schoolgirl, clamped her arm in his, and strode forward.

Great. Aurelia realized she needed to follow them.

"Now, Aiden and I have been best friends for 17 years, but there must be some embarrassing stories about him that I can use to blackmail him," Adrian asked her grandmother.

And her grandmother went into a rant, telling Adrian embarrassing stories, like the king refusing to eat chicken because he loved chickens when he was a toddler or the king jumping off his bed with paper wings taped to the back of his t-shirt, believing he could fly.

Aurelia was relieved that the embarrassing stories were the king's, not her own. Even the senior guard who was trailing them was smiling as he listened to her grandmother recount the king's youthful antics.

As they approached the palace's interior, Aurelia realized why it belonged to the royal family. Each corner was meticulously designed. She knew little about architecture, but being the silent partner in an event management company with her paternal uncle gave her a keen sense of aesthetics. And the entrance hall where she stood was simply spectacular.

They took several turns to get to the ballroom, which Aurelia would have completely forgotten if she had not been a werewolf. All the while, the toddler king's antics were being narrated in a captivating manner, and Adrian could be seen smirking, most likely thinking of ways to tease his best friend.

Aurelia almost felt a twinge of jealousy. Her social circle included her grandmother, her PhD Adam mentor from the coffee shop, and her paternal uncle, who contacted her once a month at most to keep her up to date on her investments. She would like to have friends like that to banter, tease, laugh and fight, then make up.

Her disappointment must have been obvious, as her grandmother linked her.

'Are you okay, sweetheart?'

'Yes, I was a little overwhelmed by the grandeur.'

'Why? didn't you come to the palace several times during your summer vacation?' her grandma reminded

'Yes, I was a toddler and had no idea what a palace was. Regardless, I was too young to remember.'

'Do not worry, my child; everything will work out.'

She felt her grandmother send out waves of love via her mind link and smiled in gratitude.

They had arrived at the ballroom door, and Aurelia's smile broadened slightly. She was a weresap who was given the opportunity to attend the ball, which was a big deal in their eyes, and she had to play that role.

Adrian led them to a table in front of the ballroom dance floor with place cards on top. She noticed a place card with 'Angelica Johnson's granddaughter' printed on it. According to the name on the table, another lady, Abigail Winslow, had already sat down. Adrian greeted her and began talking through the mind link while assisting her grandmother to take a seat.

Aurelia cast a sharp glance at her grandmother, who smiled sheepishly. She had no choice but to roll her eyes in response, while her beast was offended that the place card did not include her name.

Her beast was irritated, and while she understood the importance of acting like a weresap, she was offended that a weresap would be treated this way.

Adrian must have observed the exchange because his next words were

"Oh, please do not be offended; the king only said Angelica Connor and her granddaughter, so this was done."

"No problem," Aurelia said, smiling at Adrian.

Then she felt Abigail's eyes on her and her beast pushing against Aurelia.

Aurelia bowed her head, pulled her beast back in submission, and introduced herself.

"This is Aurelia Connor, ma'am."

"Oh, please do not bow; I am not royalty and was just curious," the lady said, smiling at her.

Aurelia smiled in response.

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Word Count: 2274 

What do you think about Abigail and Adrian.

And what do you think of our lead, Aurelia?

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Lots of love,

Your Humble Author