Chapter 2 - Sneaking to the Ball

Emilia is staring at Lila with bated breath, hoping against hope that her friend will agree to help her carry out this plan.

"Whoa, are you serious? You are not pulling my leg right now. Are you?” Lila asks me, and thunder strikes at my crazy request.

"No, Lila, I am dead serious,” I say I am trying to help her realize how serious I am. "Look, I know what I am saying is really reckless and stupid, but if there is a one in a million chance that I am mated to a beta, then I have to try."

“You do know that we both can get into big trouble if we are caught. The Head Elders himself gave the order that he wants no Omega in sight.” She reminds me, trying to reason with me. But I won’t give in.

“I know that, and that’s why I don’t expect you to come with me, but I just want you to help me get there tonight; I can do the rest myself,” I say desperately. She looks at me with a frown, trying to make up her mind. Then she says, “There is no way I am letting you go alone. And even if I do, you will get caught the moment you enter the room.” Still refusing to go.

"But we won’t be in trouble if we keep ourselves hidden. I don’t want to enjoy the party or waltz with anyone. I just want to watch them from afar. That way I can find out who my mate is, and they will never know I was there." I beg her with a note of eagerness in my voice.

I am dead set on going, and nothing she says will change my mind. She realizes this by looking at my face: “Wow, who are you and what did you do to my best friend? The Emilia I know would never be so bold about breaking the rules.” She says it disbelievingly.

“I know, but this is the only way I can turn around our miserable lives. So please, will you help me?" I plead one more time.

“There is no point in arguing with you, is there?” She asks and lets out a sigh at seeing me wave my head in denial. "Oi, I will help you sneak into tonight’s ceremony.”

"Thanks, you're the best,” I say, excitedly jumping up and squeezing her in a tight hug.

But she tries to break away and say sternly, “But you have to promise to be really careful.” Looking me in the eye.

“Ok, I promise,” I say sincerely, and she hugs me back.

We finish our chores and get back in our room to plan how we are going to sneak into the ball. The ceremony starts at nine tonight, and every high-ranking pack member, including guests from neighboring packs, will be there. The ceremony is held for the daughter of the head elder, Selena, and her mate, the alpha of a neighbouring pack.

So you can see why tonight is so important: the head elders want to make a great impression on the groom's pack since they are trying to better their relationship. There is no room for mistake tonight, and there is also no room for omegas, which in our pack are mostly seen as more of a disgrace compared to all the other packs. And here I am, the worst of the worst omega, trying to get into this ceremony unnoticed. If anything goes wrong, saying I am dead meat would be taking it lightly.

Lila and I sneaked two gowns from the laundry room that belong to two of our pack Betas, but they usually throw away most of their clothes after one wear, so they won’t remember it’s theirs even if they see us.

We pretend to go to bed early and wait for the rest of the Omegas to leave the main quarters and go out for watch duty. Once everyone has left, we sneak out of the room and reach the bathroom on the ground floor of the castle. We change our clothes there, and Lila does her best to style our hair and do make-up. For extra precaution, we both carry masks with us and though it is not a masquerade ball, some of the Omega servants of the other packs wear them at such events so that they do not steal the Beta's spotlight.

You look so pretty! Lila exclaimed after finishing my make-up. I turn around to look in the mirror. My dress is old, but its lilac-blue colour looks nice in contrast with my golden hair perfectly combed and styled, which brings out my fair complexion. My eyes, which before had dark circles underneath them, are now looking vibrant because of the makeup, but despite all this, the look on my face gives the impression that I am sick or going to cry. I try to smile, thinking that if I find my mate tonight, everything will be alright and my face will look a little better.

“Thank you for helping me. I really owe you my life.” I tell Lila, and I mean it.

“Don’t be dramatic; I know you would do the same for me.” She says.

“You look beautiful too; that color looks good on you,” I tell her as I take in her lime yellow gown.

"Thank you for finally noticing.”

“Sorry, I am just too nervous right now. Ok, now comes the hard part.” I remind her,

“Don’t you say? It already took all the courage I had to sneak out; sneaking in will be worse.” She complains in despair.

“You bet, let’s go now,” I say, and we slowly open the bathroom door to see if the coast is clear. We walk through towards the kitchen door, where the staff is busy preparing and serving the food. I walk up to the head butler, who is a thin man with a sharp look, and say it with as much confidence as I can muster. "Excuse us. Our leader has asked us to bring him the finest vine you have."

“Very well, I will be sending it to them in a short while," he says curtly.

“I think you don’t understand; he wants it immediately, he doesn’t like to wait, and he only likes to be served by us,” Lila says it with the air of an authoritative figure.

“If that is the case, then I guess I will have to give it to you.” He says brings a bottle with fancy glasses and takes us to the door leading to the hall.

The moment he closes the door behind us, we both look at each other with an expression of triumph on our faces, and Lila punches the air in silent excitement, nearly dropping the glass from her hand. This brings us back to our senses, and we both look around to observe our surroundings.

"Wow, this looks like we were in a fairy tale,” Lila exclaims at the beautiful scene in front of us.

We have never been to this part of the castle because Omegas aren’t allowed in most of the parts of the castle, which include all the fun and luxurious places, unless they are needed to clean that place, and during that time even the most beautiful places look grim because of the mess all the werewolves make. This is one of the main reasons why we have both never seen such places in their best form.

The room is lit with golden lights, while a huge crystal chandelier hangs in the centre. The room has huge glass windows on either side that show the view of the nearby lake and mountains. The moon is shining brightly in the sky, which is scattered with stars. The roof is painted with tapestries of angels, and the floor is made of polished Italian marble with a beautiful design on it. There is a huge staircase on the other end of the ballroom, leading to two smaller staircases on either side that take you to the upper floor. There is music being played by the orchestra in one corner while people dance in the middle of the room. We looked back at each other, and Lila said, “You know we need to hide, right?"

“I know, but let’s be honest, wouldn’t it feel great to step in and enjoy this ball?" I say, and she says it with a look of utter sadness on her face.

“I wish I was a beta.”

“So do I,” I reply, and we both sigh together.

"Come, let’s go up there; that way, we can keep an eye on everyone and won’t be noticed.” She suggests pointing at the balcony on the right side of the hall.

"Ok, let’s go," I say, and we walk up the stairs leading to the upper portion, through the hall and reach the curtained balcony. And as we do, a wave of calmness washes over my worries. I can't believe my eyes, we are here; we finally made it to the ball.