Harlow
I pulled the strings to Ivory's corset slightly, trying to be gentle and not tug too much of the string.
"Harlow," She sighed "Are we going to be here all night or are you going to tighten my corset?"
"I just don't want to hurt you!" I defended, pulling the strings a little more.
She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow "Are you trying to make me late?" She accused with narrowed eyes.
"Of course not I just don't want to hurt the-" I mouthed the words 'baby' which made her chuckle as I'd been treating her pregnancy as if it were a huge world breaking secret. Whenever the subject came up I'd either whisper it or make hand gestures in relation to it.
"Love, the only time I even remotely show is after I've had a big lunch" She chuckled "By pulling the strings you're hurting nothing but my ability to breathe."
"You're not convincing me to pull any tighter."
"Tighten the fucking strings, Harley," She replied. I rolled my eyes at her attitude but finished tying up her corset, I then smoothened the back of her gown and gave her a once over.
"Why do you need such a gown for a child's birthday party?" I asked, confused as to why she needed a floor-length princess cut dress for a boy who was turning seven.
"The party is less for Alejandro and more for his family" Ivory explained "Malakai feels they need to be sated in some sort of way after the death of... and he feels as if a large party where they are free to drink themselves stupid is the perfect way to say 'I'm sorry for your loss'."
By Ivory's tone, I could tell she did not approve of this but she had to attend due to the fact her mate was the new Beta and them together as the new Beta couple would have to show the wolves that they were capable of filling the shoes of the previous couple.
And they were some big shoes to fill.
Leo acted as if it were nothing but I could see the exhaustion on his face at breakfast. Ivory would tell me about how he left early in the morning only to return late at night when she'd already fallen asleep.
Him not being there was the only reason why she'd been able to keep her secret for so long.
"Why so late at night, Ale's bedtime is in four hours," I said glancing at the clock. At this rate, he'd only be able to get a slice of cake before he let sleep take him over. One thing about Alejandro was that when he was tired he'd sleep, no matter where he was.
"As I said, his birthday party has nothing to do with him" Ivory shook her head "In fact, I think the only thing he chose about this day was the flavour of his cake."
"I think that's the only thing he cares about" I laughed, Ivory joining me.
She glanced at the clock before groaning again. "Leo's going to kill me for being this late" She rushed to grab her clutch and spray some more hairspray on her head "Are you sure you don't want to come? I have a dress in my closet that's a bit small and it'd look go-
"Ivory" I stopped her with a pointed look "I can't face those people, at least not now."
She nodded in understanding "I know...but the offer still holds if you change your mind" I watched as she rushed to the door and twitched with slight jealousy as she moved fast easily on heels.
One day Harls, one day.
Before she left she poked her head back slightly out of the door frame to look at me. "Stay out of trouble okay?" I waved her off.
"Okay, mom."
Two hours later I am sneaking into the ballroom through one of the glass doors.
Can you blame me?
I was alone in my room, in an empty wing whilst I heard music and laughter from downstairs. I couldn't let them have all the fun. But now that I was here I suspected it would've been smarter to stay in the comfort of my bedsheets and force myself to sleep.
Fuck I'm a coward.
Besides the fact that I was sneaking into the party instead of coming through the entrance, I was also wearing the face of another. Literally. I'd taken up Ivory's offer and took a gown from her closet but whilst I was shimmering myself into the fabric I realised I would not be able to my face at the ball.
Keyword there is my face.
So here I was sauntering into the party with pin-straight blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. Pathetic I know.
But it served as a means to blend into the crowd without drawing the attention from those I actually knew. My dress was not over the top which helped to my advantage as I slide between people. Not stopping to talk to anyone.
My first destination was the drinks and refreshments table where I proceeded to stare at the food and not try it. It was clear whoever had made the food, had made it for show and not consumption as they were all carved into an intricate design.
That and they were all meat.
Which I guess made sense as a plant-based diet was not common in this world. Which made me reach out for a glass of wine instead. Alcohol on the base was very rare as I didn't like the idea of the vulnerability that came with being intoxicated. But I knew if I didn't take something tonight I'd be too stiff to enjoy myself.
So I threw the dark liquid back and hoped for the best, big mistake. It tasted like shit. I gagged and made a face. That tasted like shit, I thought as I swallowed the urge to spit out my own saliva.
Never again.
"Not much of a drinker are you?"
I jumped, startled and the unknown voice and looked back. To my surprise it was a man who stood behind me with a friendly smile, I gave him one back. "Is it that obvious?" I asked embarrassed.
He nodded and took a step beside me, grabbing some of his own. He took a sip and also made a grimace of disgust and coughed. "Not the" He cleared his throat "Not the tastiest of wine I guess."
I nodded in agreement "Yeah I should've gone for the water."
"I'm Santiago," He introduced.
"Bella" I lied through clenched teeth.
He tilted his head and looked at me "Are you on the mother's side or fathers?"
My brows came together in confusion until I realised he was talking about Ale, who I had still yet to see. This made me sad as it clicked that these people were using his birthday as a way to grieve about his parent's murder.
I grimaced and shook my head "No, I'm more of a," I thought for a second "Childhood friend."
"Oh great great," He spoke off as he began to look around, "I'm Matteo's brother."
I was no longer enjoying the conversation.
"You know neither of them really like most of the people here," He stated bitterly.
I doubt they would've found my company entertaining either.
"They were very judgemental about their relationship considering Julia was not of our kind"
My heart sank "Oh...she was human?"
"No, she was a vampire."
My blood froze over but I pretended I knew what he was talking about "Oh! Really" I smiled, playing along.
"They told almost no one about it" He continued "But it was not a secret for long, red eyes are not the most natural of features."
I stood there whilst he talked, still trying to wrap my head around what I'd just heard. There weren't just werewolves? Just how many creatures came out from the takeover?
"Anyways, would you like to dance?" He asked extending a hand. I took it, a bit shocked by his sudden change in conversation topic. The smile on his face was as if he wasn't just talking about the wife of his dead brother.
He led me to the dance floor and became twirling me around whilst I tried desperately to match his steps. I soon got bored with the dance as he continued to talk my ear off with topics I didn't bother to listen to.
My thoughts eventually went back to what he'd said.
Vampires?
Since when?
"Mind if I borrow your partner."
I snapped out of my train of thought to see, Malakai. "Of course your majesty" Santiago bowed and quickly let go of me, leaving very quickly without even saying goodbye. Malakai was quick to pull me into his arms.
"Who's face does that belong to Bella?"