The Heir (on-hold)

22. The First Ball (South Wing)

Blood Moon Territory
Blood Forest
Present

The ride to our destination was quite longer than I had anticipated. I watched as we passed by hundreds of trees already. This was the main road and it was surrounded by trees and I was sure that the woods were just a couple of kilometers away from here. My ears picked up sounds coming from them. There were wolves circulating the forest. The forest looked kind of familiar but I brushed the thought away since I've been to multiple forests my entire life running away. The greens turned into darker ones and the sky began to change into blue and lilac as the sun began to set. Before I speak up, Atreus beat me to it. "We're in the middle of the Blood forest within Blood moon territory. We're deep into the woods guarded by the territory's border guards and trackers. With rulers such as the Lead Alpha and Lead Luna, the grounds are safely guarded especially now ever since the incident with - anyways I could just tell that the routes these border guards take are about 500 meters apart. The security is quite tight here nowadays."

I nodded in understanding. The realization of how important these wolves really got to me. And judging by how Atreus observed the patrols, his pack relied more on strategies so they were a warrior pack and a strong one at that.

My back straightened itself against the cushion of the car seat. Atreus was there by my side. We were both at the back seat while we had a driver right in front. I noticed how there were cars trailing behind us and didn't bother to overtake, I gathered that it might have been his pack members so Jax and Vaughn were probably there.

I was busy looking out of the window because I was trying hard not to alert him more of the evident blush on my cheeks. I was still flustered from the heated kiss we both shared. Plus, it gave me the peace I needed to gather my thoughts.

Today was the day. My birthday. Officially starts at 11:39 in the evening.

I never imagined it be anything else but seventeen is the sacred number and age of the wolves. It was the time you would your mate and I was afraid of confirming my thoughts with what I suspected. After all, he was after Lucy and I. I didn't want to bring anyone else into this.

I sighed.

I felt his hand intertwine with mine. I looked over and he wasn't looking at me. I suppose he sensed how nervous I was beginning to feel. He was busy looking outside the window but I could see a small smile of his forming at the edges of his lips.

Those lips.

I closed my eyes I took a deep breath. We were getting closer to the main grounds of Blood Moon territory. I could sense it. Call it a sixth sense of some sort but the closer we got, the more anxious I became. My wolf was becoming restless and I had no idea why. It was starting to make my head hurt so I pushed her into the corners of my mind.

I gripped Atreus' hand tightly and I heard him speak in a louder voice. I snapped out of it. "Aryn?"

I turned my head towards him and opened my brown eyes that stared into his. "Yes?" I said sheepishly and let go of his hand.

"We're here. Would you like us to be dropped off or parked somewhere else first?" He sensed my nerves. Who wouldn't with the grip I was giving him? This was my first ball after all.

My eyes left him and I took in the large walls of the Blood Moon territory's South Wing specifically for events such as this. Now that I am thinking about it, what is Eli's position in this pack? He's certainly the celebrity for it to be thrown every year just for him entirely. I can imagine how many people are invited. How many packs ARE invited to this?

"The main entrance would be fine. We should all get over firsts, right?" I gave him a reassuring smile.

The car stopped right before the edge of the red carpet that was draped along the stairs of the entrance of the south wing. There were numerous cars waiting in line as people were being dropped off. People were climbing up the stairs and flashes coming from cameras.