Chapter 3 - A night to remember

I look at the beautiful ballroom from above; everyone looks so small and far away from here, which makes all my fear fade away. I notice all the ladies in gorgeous glittering dresses; each one is made by a famous fashion designer, as Lila informs me. We talk about all the new styles and fashion trends that we see with awe, for we have only seen such beauty in magazines. Nearly all of our clothes are handed down by the betas in our pack since both Lila and I are orphans.

You would think that it means that those clothes are branded because our pack really fancies luxury, but in truth, the clothes that are given to us are in such bad shape that calling them rags would be more appropriate. Even though they throw all the gowns after one another, that doesn’t mean they give them to us; they give them to the servants, and when the servants think they are no longer wearable, that is when they give them to us. Even the gowns we are wearing tonight are a little worn out, but compared to what we usually wear, this is an improvement.

I honestly feel like Cinderella in the fairy tale, sneaking out to the royal ball to find my prince, who will save me, and we will live happily ever after. Oh, I really hope I find my mate tonight.

I am not sure if Beta will accept me and Omega will like me for his mate, but no matter what, I will do my best to convince him to accept me. I hope my mate is a kind-hearted person, unlike most of the pack, or it would be even better if he was from another pack. That way, I can leave this hellish place for a better place.

I can almost see myself attending one of these balls in the future with my partner dressed in fine clothing and accessories. Dancing through the night with the one I am destined with, he will flirt with us, be protective of me in front of the other members of our pack, and if I am lucky, maybe one day we can get married and have a family. That way, I can also help Lila, and she will get to share my joy.

"Emilia, are you listening to me?" I hear a voice close to me, bringing me back to reality. “Sorry, What,” I ask, startled.

I was asking, Do you feel anything?” Lila asks me once more.

What do you mean? I ask in confusion.

I mean, do you feel any pull towards anyone here?” she explains.

“Oh that, no, nothing yet. Sorry, I didn’t hear you the first time. I was lost in thought.” I say it apologetically.

“Fantasizing about your prince charming, aren’t you a nitwit?" she teases me, causing me to blush slightly.

“Can you blame me? This is the best thing that has happened to me in a really long time.” I say thoughtfully “True, I can’t remember the last time you were this happy or hopeful. I pray that it lasts.” She says, gently squeezing my hand. I cannot see her face because of the mask, but I can tell from the look in her eyes that she is relieved and happy for me.

"That means a lot,” I reply happily.

"Ok, now let’s make a little more effort in trying to find your mate.” She suggests it out of the blue.

“What more could we do?” I am taken aback by this sudden show of enthusiasm.

“Let’s go down and try to interact with others.” She says, surprising me.

“But that is too dangerous if they notice us, and besides, I doubt Omegas from other packs are allowed to interact freely.” I protest, trying to stop her from doing something stupid.

"Oh, come on, if we stay up here, we will have a hard time finding him. Let's act like servants to other Betas who know you might feel something." She says reasonably, causing me to consider her idea.

“Are you sure? that seems scary." I am unsure what to do.

"Oh, come on, we have come this far; we might as well go all the way.” She insists, and I decide to agree.

"Ok, if you say so, but let’s be careful.” I remind her.

We go down and join a crowd of rowdy Betas surrounded by Omega servants. They are engaged in a drinking competition. We cheer them on with the rest of the crowd while talking to the Omega servants. The time is slowly passing as Lila and I talk to nearly all the servants and pass by the Betas, but so far I don’t feel anything. Lila asks me if I feel anything every time we leave a group to go to another, and I say no, though this doesn’t dull her spirit. If anything, she cheers me on, and we laugh. I can’t blame her for not feeling disappointed, as I feel so lost in this ball that the possibility of me not finding my mate barely lingers in the back of my mind.

"Hey, come over here!” I hear someone calling behind me. I turn around to see that it’s one of the betas from the neighbouring pack. I stare at him with wide eyes and walk fearfully towards him. "Yes, how may I be of service to you?" I ask in a small voice.

“I haven’t seen you before; are you from the Willows pack?”

"Yes, I am.” I reply, “Is there a problem?” I am still scared.

“Come dance with me."

“What?” I was taken aback.

"Well, you heard me. I think you’re pretty, and I want you to dance with me.”

I look back at Lila for help, but she waves me goodbye with a smile.

The beta takes me by the hand and wraps his arms around me to dance.

He is very quick and energetic, like a monkey on the loose, and the way he is spinning me in circles makes me dizzy, but it starts to make my fear go away, and I begin to enjoy myself.

I am filled with a new kind of thrill like I have never known before. I tried a few dance moves I had seen on TV and tried them, and to my delight, they worked out better than I expected. He spins me around energetically one more time. “Oh no," before I know it, my heel breaks, causing me to trip and fall on a table pulled with wine glasses on it.

The glasses fall with a giant crash all over me. Throughout the hall, everyone’s heads turn toward me to see what caused the crash, and even the orchestra stops playing. There is complete silence in the room, and then all at once, the whole ballroom bursts into laughter as I lie on the ground feeling thoroughly humiliated. I try to stand; my dress is completely soaked in wine, and the shredded glass causes cuts and bruises all over my arms and face. My mask is dangling loosely from one side, and I try to hide my face out of embarrassment as the Beta I was dancing with also laughs at me. I try to stand as nobody comes to help me, then out of nowhere The head Omega comes running in to see what caused the commotion and fix it.

“What is happening here?” he asks.

“We are being entertained.” She answers someone in the crowd, and everybody giggles.

The head Omega notices me, and his eyes become wide as he recognizes me, and his face lifts up with fury.

“What the hell do you think you are doing here, you trash?" He says it angrily in a low but deadly voice. “I, I’m...I was just..." I stammer in fear as he grabs my arm forcefully.

"Wear your mask and come with me; don’t let anyone else recognize you; you slowly scum," he spat at my face. He is right, no one can know I am an Omega if they do our pack will be disgraced in front of the guests, and what’s worse, if the Elders find out the head Omega will be in trouble, and I will be as good as dead. I grab my mask more firmly to my face, and tears begin to swell up in my eyes as he starts to drag me out of the ballroom.

"Hey, where are you taking her? She is from the Willows pack.” Inquired the Beta I was dancing with.

“No, she isn't,” he shouts angrily, then realizing who he is talking to, he changes his voice to a gentle one and says apologetically, “She is a servant here, sir, who sneaked out to join the party. Sorry to have caused you trouble. Please excuse us; I will deal with her.”

He drags me out of the ballroom as the orchestra starts playing music again. I walk stumbling occasionally due to my broken heel dreading the moment we will be out of earshot because then there will be no one to save me from the trouble I just landed myself in.

"God, help me, please! I am going to die."