Chapter 1 Cathy

Chapter 1 Cathy

"Cathy, get out of my way!" Linda said rudely, shoving me without waiting for me to move out of her way. "The guests are about to arrive, and the least we want to do is ruin our father’s party, right?" she inquired.

Linda was my half-sister, my father’s ‘firstborn’ since she was his daughter with his Luna. On the other hand, I was his daughter with a mere Omega who surrogated her womb to the Alpha. But after a few years, his Luna became pregnant, and since Linda was born, I was sent to oblivion. The only reason I was still with my father was that I carried his blood in my veins, but his Luna, whose name I wanted so badly to forget, constantly reminded me that I was worthless, that I was just a commoner with a little luck.

I loved my father, even though he was unable to look me in the eye when he spoke to me. I longed for him to someday tell me he loved me or at least speak to me for something other than giving me orders.

"Excuse me, I’m just finishing setting up the salon," I replied.

"You’ve done your job. Now go!"

I nodded and walked toward the exit.

The salon was so large and spacious that it could fit the three packs that reigned in this territory, the chairs and banquet, the guest artists, the workers, and even the housekeeper had a place, but not me.

"Hurry up!" she insisted in her arrogant voice.

I turned to look at her and, for one last time, admired the ballroom of the Jasmine Hotel, one of my father’s many businesses and the one chosen to celebrate his 130th birthday.

The floor was white marble, polished to the point that you could see your reflection in it; the banquet table was overflowing with exotic foods of all kinds, and there was a 6.5 feet ice sculpture in the center of the room in the shape of a gray wolf, a dais at the far end.

"Tell dad I’ll be outside if he needs me!" I said in a low voice, knowing it would be in vain because I would never be allowed into the party.

I left through the small exit at the end of the hall, the one used by the employees, and that went through a lonely corridor that divided the kitchen from the security area.

"Hey, Cat, come here!" Morgan, my best friend, whispered to me from the entrance to the security and monitoring area.

I walked toward her and entered the small monitoring room, with a crescent-shaped desk and, in front of it, a bunch of screens showing the view from all the security cameras.

"You won’t get in trouble because I’m here?" I asked her.

"Not if you don’t tell anyone," she said, winking at me. "Do you want to join me?" she asked, pointing to an empty chair next to hers. "From here, we can watch the party and make fun of the guests. Don’t you think it’s funny?"

A chuckle escaped my lips, and after thinking about it for a few seconds, I nodded, and she held the chair for me to sit down.

"I hate this place!" I said, clenching my fists.

"Hey, don’t be rude!!! At least pretend to enjoy my company!" she said to make me laugh.

Morgan was a redhead with curly hair, paper-pale skin, and a face covered in chestnut-colored freckles that made her look angelic, and with eyes as blue as the sky. She was good at everything but telling jokes.

"I wasn’t talking about you, and you know it!" I complained. "It’s unfair to leave me out of the party. He’s not only my Alpha but my father as well."

"I know, it’s unfair." She walked over to the larger screen and pointed her finger at Linda, who was sneaking a cherry on the cake. "If I were you, I’d beat the shit out of that girl for everything she’s done to you."

I felt my stomach churn from the bitter memories that flashed through my mind.

"It’s not worth it, besides she’s the perfect girl. If I did anything to her, I’d end up locked in a dungeon for life," I replied with disdain.

"I would help you escape. After all, my father is the head of security, and I have some knowledge of escaping,"

I sighed and stared at the screens, watching the guests talking among themselves, how they all went to shake my father’s hand, the others dancing and tasting the food, and Linda surrounded by all her admirers who treated her as if she were the offspring of the Moon Goddess herself.

"I’m fed up!" I said, getting up from my chair. "I want to enjoy the party I worked so hard to organize for my father!"

"Of course you do! And luckily, I brought my dress, even though I knew I wouldn’t have time to go to the party," she said, walking towards the door.

She closed it, and behind it, hung on a rack, was a gold dress and black low sneakers.

"Are you sure?" I asked her, "It looks kind of small."

"The fabric fits the body. You’ll look spectacular!" she answered me.

I looked at it doubtfully but decided to put it on. It was either that or go with the rags I was wearing to the most important party for the pack.

Since there wasn’t even a small mirror, I had to put the dress on and let Morgan help me with the details.

"Almost ready," she said, fixing the unruly lock of hair that refused to come out of my face.

"You better make me look pretty and not like a buffoon this time," I said.

She nodded and pointed to the door, grimacing. "Go now, and I don’t want you to regret it."

I looked at myself in the dim light reflecting off the screens, and the dress fit me perfectly, highlighting my curves, and my butt looked fabulous. It wasn’t the kind of dress for such a formal party, but it was elegant enough to mix in with the rest of the guests without attracting too much attention.

My plan was simple, find Alston, lay low with him the whole party, and enjoy ourselves in our own way.

I walked towards the staff entrance, opened the door a little, and made sure no one was looking. Luckily, the front door opened, and everyone’s attention was focused on the guest. By everyone’s reaction, especially Linda’s, who was on the other side of the room right next to my father, I could tell this person must be important, surely an Alpha or an Elder from one of the other packs.

Discreetly, I walked around the room cautiously until I reached the farthest corner from my father and his beloved Luna. I tried to find Alston in the crowd among so many people, but it was impossible, so I just stood there listening to the people murmuring about the mysterious guest.

Out of curiosity, I made my way through the people from the other packs who didn’t know me and wouldn’t alert security by my presence.

"Congratulations Alpha of Sith. I am Eric, Alpha successor of the Pack of the Night," said the guest, who turned out to be a handsome young man. Dark brown hair, broad shoulders, deep-set eyes dark as the night itself, and his jaw strong and defining. "I brought you this present to reaffirm our peace treaty, and I apologize for my father being a bit ill and unable to attend himself."

The son of the Alpha stepped aside, and two members of his pack placed in front of my father a huge box. My father nodded and motioned to his bodyguards to take it away.

"Young Eric, I almost didn’t recognize you. You’re quite a man now!" my father began to say to the young man as all the onlookers kept their gazes on the encounter. "Tell your father I appreciate the gesture and that our pact will be stronger than ever."

I didn’t know why, but I felt the pressure of the atmosphere, a suffocating pressure. The Alpha’s son’s presence caused something in me. Something that was new to me. I lost myself in his perfectly marked muscles in his tailored black suit, unlike the rest of the guests. When I took a closer look, I noticed that what he was wearing was actually a battle suit, tight to his body which highlighted all his attributes.

"It’s a pity he’s already found his mate, isn’t it?" Linda’s voice made my skin crawl. "Besides, you’re not on his level."

I turned around, fearing the worst, that Linda would be accompanied by some guards and I would be dragged out of the room, but instead, my half-sister was standing in front of me with her perfect smile and her mother-of-pearl colored outfit that made her look like the next-in-line Luna she was.

"I was just leaving; I was just looking for Alston," I said to persuade her and tried to move forward, but she stood in my way.

"You’re leaving so fast?" she asked me. "You look very pretty. It would be a real shame if you missed the party. Our father is so focused on showing off he won’t notice your presence. Why don’t we try for once to be the sisters we are and put differences aside?"

I didn’t believe what I was hearing, but in her voice, I felt she was being honest. There wasn’t a hint of malice.

"I don’t want you to get in trouble, just tell me where Alston is, and I’ll go."

"I haven’t seen him, but we can look for him together," she said as she handed me a glass of wine. She put the glass in my hands without giving me time to think about it.

"Thank you, that’s nice of you," I said sincerely.

She took me by the hand and led me around the room, and although we were seen by several members of the pack, none of them reacted badly when they saw that she was going with me.

"Wait, I’m feeling a little dizzy," I commented, stopping.

"Maybe the wine was too strong," she replied as she examined me with her eyes. "You’d better lie down, lest you pass out here, and we both get in trouble."

I nodded.

"Take me to Morgan. She’s in the monitoring room," I asked.

I tried to focus on her face, but it was impossible, everything started to spin, and even the background music and the hustle and bustle of the people started to sound distant,

"I don’t think it’s a good idea, besides we are closer to the main entrance," she told me. "Come with me."

She took the wine glass from me and placed it on the tray of a waiter who was passing by us, held my hand, and led me to the exit.

"Now, what do we do?" I asked her, feeling worse.

"I can’t disappear from the party because everyone will start to sense that something is going on, and we might get caught," she started to say. "But since you’re my sister, I can make an exception."

She motioned to Max. Her bodyguard was guarding the entrance to the hotel. I distinguished him by his scent because the smell was the only sense I still had intact.

The luxurious hotel with rustic decoration, forest green walls with gold accents, gray granite floor handmade furniture made of the best quality maple wood, and crystal chandeliers so high and forgotten had some cobwebs hanging from them. All of these looked like out-of-focus images.

"Do you have what I ordered you?" she asked him.

"Yes, future Luna," he replied and handed her a key.

"Here you go," she said as she placed the key in my hand. "I should be getting back now, but Max will take you to the elevator and send you to the suite," she said. "Use it to rest, and as soon as I can, I’ll come to see you."

She turned and walked hurriedly to the lounge and didn’t give me time to thank her.

"This way,” Max led the way, and when he had already entered the elevator, he pressed the button for me and looked at me curiously as the elevator closed its doors.

It didn’t take long for the doors to open on a floor I had never been to. The suite was usually used to accommodate special guests, but since Linda was the favorite, she could do as she pleased and stay in whatever suite she wished.

I staggered to the door, which luckily was unlocked because, in my current state, I wouldn’t have been able to fit the key in the lock.

I pushed the door with the weight of my body, and as I entered, I felt my heart stop, as if I was short of breath. My eyes could not believe it, and even though I doubted if it was real or the effect of the wine, this was something that, even in my wildest dream, I could not have imagined.