Chapter 42

KATHERINE.

By the time I’d gathered myself and the courage to go back into the ballroom, Dean Bryman was giving a speech on school values and at least half of the people in the hall were seated. Poppy and her friends were seated at a table, giggling about something, but I paid no attention to them as I quickly made my way across the hall and went in search of the restrooms. Thankfully, they weren’t hard to find and I was the only one in it.

The restroom was as lavish as the ballroom. The walls were lined with white marble, with gold-plated accents, and the mirrors were oversized, offering a full-length view of oneself.

I placed my purse and Theo’s handkerchief on the marble counter and took a look in the mirror to see the extent of the damage done to the dress. Since the dress was a darker color, one wouldn’t know it was wine, and not water, that was the huge damp spot in front of it, and I hoped it would be able to be cleaned. I grabbed a fluffy towel from the large, ornately carved chest of drawers in one corner of the room and placed part of it under running water for a moment before I got to work on the dress.

Only a couple of seconds of me trying to get the wine out of the dress had passed when someone suddenly shoved the restroom door open, drawing my attention, and I looked up to see Lenore marching in, a displeased expression on her face. She paused when her gaze fell on me and when she noticed the spot in front of the dress, surprise washed over her face.

“What happened to you?” she asked as she closed the distance between us and I let out a harsh breath while she dropped her purse next to mine on the marble counter.

“Poppy.”

A scowl overtook her expression and she glanced at the towel in my hand. “That’s not going to fix it.”

Hearing someone say it out loud made me heave a sigh because I knew that – red wine wouldn’t come out with the help of a wet towel – but I’d tried because I didn’t want to leave and make Poppy think she’d won. I dropped the towel on the counter and glanced at the dress again. I couldn’t even tell if I’d been able to get a little out because all I could still see was a dark spot.

“I can’t go back looking like this,” I said and Lenore muttered something under her breath as she pulled her phone out of her purse. She began to text someone on it and I glanced at the dress again. “I’m sorry,” I added and she lifted her gaze from the phone for a moment, raising a brow at me. “Your dress is ruined.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the dress, Katherine.”

‘O-kay.’ I pressed my lips together and leaned against the counter as I watched her tap away on her phone. She was annoyed. That had been obvious when she walked into the restroom and it had only been amplified by hearing that Poppy was the reason the dress was stained. ‘Did something happen out there?’

“Okay. Someone’s bringing the other dress. They should be here soon,” she said, returning her phone to her purse, and it took me a moment to understand that what she meant by the other dress was the one I’d picked from Josie’s things. The coral dress.

‘I really am a charity case.’

“Okay. Thank you.”

Lenore grabbed her purse and began to walk in the opposite direction so I thought she was going back to the ballroom, but instead, she took a seat on one of the chaise lounges close to the door.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked and she shot me a confused look.

“Sitting?”

“I know. I mean– Don’t you have to meet with the Administration? The next generation leaders thing?” That was the point of this dinner.

“That’s not necessary. I’ve known them since I was ten.”

“Oh.” Of course, she has. “That must be nice,” I muttered and she only responded with a nod before I made my way over to her, sitting next to her. She wasn’t here to use the restroom and since she was annoyed when she came in, it was clear that she came here to cool off.

“Thank you,” I said and she glanced at me. “For the dress. It’s beautiful.”

She nodded, probably tired of me thanking her for the dress before her gaze dropped to the handkerchief in my hand. Just like the one Theo had given me in the woods, this one also had his initials and the fact that it had a unique pattern made me assume she knew it was her boyfriend’s.

“He’s nice.”

“Who?” she replied.

“Theo.”

“Ah…” A small smile crept onto her face. “Yes, he is. He’s a bit cold and sometimes rude to people at first, but when you get to know him, you find out that he’s really sweet.”

The corner of my mouth turned up at that and before I could ask how long they’d been together, a knock came on the door.

“That should be your dress.” Lenore got to her feet and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal a woman wearing casual clothes. She thanked the woman as she collected a bag from her and I also stood up while she shut the door before turning to face me. “Let’s get you out of that.”

****

With newfound confidence in a new dress, I stepped out of the restroom with Lenore. Some people were still walking around but most of the guests were sitting, and as I tried to figure out where I was going to sit, Lenore spoke.

“You’re sitting with me.”

“Oh, no,” I replied without hesitation because she was sitting with her family. “Josie and I–”

“Josie’s sitting with her family and most of them won’t let you sit with them. They also won’t let her leave to sit with anyone that isn’t…” she trailed off, in search of a better word to use, but I decided to call a spade a spade.

“Important?”

She raised a brow and tipped her head to the side. “...Yeah.”

“And your family would let me sit with them?”

“They aren’t vain.”

Still… sitting with the Alpha of Dark Moon would be nerve-racking. Also, her family was seated at the front because it seemed like packs were seated in order of importance so I’d have to walk past all these people to get to her family’s table. And what if she was wrong and they wouldn’t let me sit with them when I got there?

“Lenore–”

Commotion close by drew my attention and I glanced over to see that Poppy had thrown a drink at someone else, a girl from a pack smaller than ours. ‘What the hell?’ I thought before seeing that this time, she didn’t look smug, she looked horrified. It was then that I saw the drink she threw had also hit someone behind her victim and though I didn’t recognize the girl, the dress she was wearing told me she was important.

She didn’t even look angry as she stared at Poppy who was profusely apologizing so I thought she was going to forgive her, but all of a sudden, she slapped Poppy across the face.