Chapter 45 Chapter 45
Pam's widened eyes traveled from Alpha Keegan to our linked fingers then to the coat I was wearing then down to my feet. Fury crossed her face as her gaze returned to Alpha Keegan. "Did you seriously misuse our secret entrance?"
"Misuse?" He glanced at me then shook his head. " Not at all."
"Do you realize how important it is to us? My mother- in-law only told you about the key with intense trust. She expected you to only use it when you're in need of serious security. How could you just take the risk of letting others know about it?"
"Pam... it was for security. We were... uh... we wanted to avoid dangerous tailings. Yes..." he glanced at me." I hope you feel safer now?" he asked with feigned concern and I nodded, flowing along with his lie. " That's good to know. It could've been a serious attack if we didn't use this passageway. I'm glad you're fine." He wrapped his arm over my shoulder. "Here's the key." He handed it over to Pam and tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ear. "You must be cold. Let's head back to the bedroom." He started walking away.
There were two doors to exit the empty room with nothing but empty shelves in it. The noise coming from one of the doors made it obvious that it either led to the kitchen or the living room but Alpha Keegan left through the second door that led to a passageway with nothing but a passage that led to some other place and a wooden staircase which we climbed. The staircase led to another door that led to a closet. When he closed the door, it looked like a wall and not something we had just walked in through. We walked out of the closet and were back in the bedroom we had stayed in overnight.
"Wow, that's a really cool exit."
He sat on the bed and chuckled. "She could've killed us if I didn't come up with a lie."
"She wouldn't have killed you but me. Didn't you see her glare at me?" I laughed at her expression.
He chortled. "We should head downstairs. You can freshen up first and wear one of the dresses Mason had placed in your bag. I'll check up on things downstairs and would be back soon so don't waste any time." He said, his voice was back to its normal Alpha tone again but it still possessed a hint of joy in it.
I nodded and he left the room.
I locked the door then got rid of the coat and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. After drying my body with a towel and slipping on my underwear, I wrapped the towel around me and returned to the bedroom to take out the dark red velvet dress that had been neatly folded in the bag and wore the dress over my body.
The red velvet dress was long sleeved with a plunging neckline that showed a bit of my cleavage; it hugged my small curves perfectly well and had a slit that ran up to the middle of my thighs.
I unlocked the door since I was fully clothed then made my way to the vanity mirror to make my wavy ash hair into two french braids. It took a while and was quite stressful but was worth it in the end.
While staring at myself in the mirror, Alpha Keegan walked in. He stopped in his tracks and his eyes ran a quick scan of me from head to toe with a waft of darkness running over his eyes.
He walked in and dropped another box in front of me. "Mason was supposed to give you this as well."
"Another shoe?" my eyes popped with bliss.
"Yes, something to match your dress."
"It's also new?"
"Uh... yes."
I picked it up and opened the box, revealing a pair of silver heels with stones that felt like the sun to my eyes. "They are so beautiful. Why am I receiving these?"
"I don't know..." he scratched the back of his neck. "
It's such an important party, everyone has to look good no matter their status."
"Thank you so much!" I pulled him into a tight hug." I really appreciate it." Remembering how much he hated hugs, I quickly pulled away from him. "I'm sorry. I'm just too excited to receive a gift." I grinned, excitement rushed to my tummy.
He didn't yell, he didn't even frown, he only walked away.
I sat on the bed and wore the heels, then stood in front of the full-body mirror to check myself out. I looked extremely stunning for the first time since the party at Night Shadow pack, I felt like fire, like a supermodel or a queen. My phone was dead; it'd have been amazing to take pictures of myself to send to Chloe. I glanced at Alpha Keegan who was focused on his phone. There was no way he could lend me his phone to take at least one picture. Scarlett! I had almost forgotten she was here. She had a phone, she could take a picture of me.
I opened the door and left the room. The music from downstairs was louder and made nervousness crawl up my tummy.
With a bold sigh, I headed downstairs. My legs immediately felt wobbly at the sight of so many people around. I thought the Andersons didn't want so many guests. There were like a million people here and everywhere was decorated with red roses and other dark-themed decorations. The dining table was filled with so many bottles of wine and other drinks with people hanging around it and chatting with one another.
As I walked, it felt like all eyes were on me and it made my heart beat faster due to my social anxiety.
Was something wrong with my face? Didn't I look as good as I thought? Why were they staring at me? Different thoughts ran in my head beyond my control. I started considering turning around to head back upstairs and lock myself up in the room.
"Jane!" Scarlett called and though I was startled to hear her voice over the loud music, I felt really glad to see a familiar face again.
I glanced at her with a grin. "Hey Beta."
"Don't call me that here." She warned, glancing around. "There are many werewolves here today, but there are also humans. We can't risk exposing ourselves." She whispered.
"Okay, noted. I'm sorry," I sheepishly apologized.
"By the way, where have you been? I haven't seen you all day long." She asked with her eyes drawn in askance.
"I was in the bedroom till-"
"And how on earth do you look so expensive?" She glanced at me from head to toe with a smile. "Who gave up these clothes? They're still very good."
"They weren't used clothes. Alpha Keegan bought them for me..." I trailed off when her smile slipped off.
"Oh, I didn't know the rules were changing." She forced a smile. "It's great. You can hang out with a few other people. There are girls my age, your age, just have fun." Her voice was a bit cold as she turned around to take her leave, leaving me all alone again. I didn't even have the chance to ask her to take a photo of me.
I remained in the same spot, glancing around to see if there was anything I could do. People were still gazing at me, especially men, and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable again.
I glanced up the stairs, waiting for Alpha Keegan to show up. At this point, he was the only person that could be a good company to me. Yes, I can't believe I just thought that.
"Hey girl," a female voice called.
I glanced in the direction of the voice as three ladies stopped beside me. One of them was really tall with kinky hair, the second girl was redheaded with chocolate eyes and the other was blonde with light brown eyes and was about my height.
I glanced behind me to see if they were talking to someone else.
"It's you silly." The dark-skinned lady replied with a chuckle. "I'm Ava. She's Daisy," she gesticulated to the blonde then to the redhead, "and she's Mae." "Oh, hi." I waved at them with a nervous chuckle. "I'm Jane."
"Jane, that's such a sweet name." Mae replied, her voice was unexpectedly very deep.
"Thank you." I replied, still wondering why they were talking to me. I mean, was there a mistake somewhere?
"We're also here for the celebration and we noticed you were standing alone. You can join us to have a drink." Daisy offered with a sweet smile.
"Join you?" I glanced up the stairs and there was still no sign of Alpha Keegan. It was a party, one of the only times I had to socialize; I could at least take a break from my bondage at least once. "Sure, why not?" "Great! Should we head to the section at the porch, somewhere else outside, or by the dining table?" Mae asked no one in particular.
"The porch seemed great when I walked in earlier."
Ava shrugged.
"The dining should be fine." I didn't want to go outside for any reason.
"I agree with Jane. It's cold outside." Daisy added with a fake shudder and I chuckled at that.
I followed them to the dining area. There were so many people hanging around but Ava was able to find a way to create a spot from the party's extra white chairs, she formed a circle with four of the chairs with a stool in front of us while Daisy grabbed two bottles of wine and Mae grabbed the glasses.
We all had our seats around the stool as Mae and Ava laughed over something one of them had just said or seen.
"You look really amazing. When I spotted you from across the room, I felt like my eyes almost burned from your beauty." Daisy said.
"Stop teasing me." I felt a blush rush to my cheeks.
"I'm being damn serious. You're so gorgeous." She replied with a more serious tone while Mae poured a glass of wine for me.
"Do you live around?" Ava asked. "I've never seen you in town."
"Me neither." Mae added and poured out of the remnant of the wine into the remaining three wine glasses.
"I don't live in town." I didn't even know what town it was.
"Oh, that's why." Daisy nodded. "We attend a university not quite far from here. It's a small town, so we know literally almost everyone living around here. I expected you to be one of those weird introverts that do nothing but stay in bed and read weird novels all day and that's why we haven't seen you in town." She took a sip of her wine.
I smiled at her and shook my head. "I don't live here.
I'm only here as a friend of Scarlett."
"Cool." Mae nodded, also taking a sip of her wine. "Are you also friends with Scarlett?" I asked. "Not really. I'm here because Mrs. Anderson lives in this town and also because she's friends with Mae's and Ava's Mom."
"Do you perhaps know Keegan Gray?" Ava asked. "Yes, I'm from his pa- his town." I smiled.
"That's cool, then we'd most likely meet each other again." Mae smirked. "Definitely!" Ava chuckled.
"Why? Who's this Keegan? Are you seeing a man without letting me know?" Daisy asked with her eyes drawn in askance at them.
"Ew, no. It just turns out she lives in our hometown." Mae grinned.
I only noticed the mark on Ava's neck, it looked like a tattoo but was clearly from her mate. My stupid wolfless self that couldn't pick a scent didn't notice that they were also werewolves and Daisy was probably not, judging from how confused she looked.
There was silence between us as they sipped the wine in their glasses.
Just because I didn't want to feel left out, I took a sip of my wine. The liquid melted on my taste buds and I swear it was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. " Wow, great wine." I commented.
"Yes, it's the best wine here. Many people travel here from around the state, country, and probably around the world just to buy it and sell it for a fortune in other states and countries." Daisy added with a proud smile.
"It's really nice." I took longer sips. When my glass was empty, I poured myself another glass, unable to let the magical taste leave my mouth just yet.
"Tell me more about yourself, I'm just that random college student who does nothing but party with these two weirdos and try to balance my college life, so I always love learning more about new people." Daisy asked with a smile, earning a roll of eyes and a frustrated sigh from the other two.
"Do you seriously need to ask every new person you meet about who they are?" Ava rolled her eyes again.
"What? I need to start preparing towards my graduate program. I want to venture into something related to humans and their unique personalities. Don't blame me for my excellent career choice." She chuckled and turned to me. "Of course, you can decide to not answer me if you don't want to."
"There's nothing interesting about my life. I'm just that weird slave who does everything for other people."
"Slave? Under Keegan? You look way too great to be a slave in a place like that, or has things changed?" Mae's chocolate eyes were filled with puzzlement.
"Definitely not. I paid a visit to my brother recently and everything seemed even worse." Ava also had the same confusion in her eyes, confirming that they were members of Dark Stone pack as well.
I didn't know how to respond to them so I only took a gulp of the wine and poured another glass for myself.
"You both talk about your home town but never tell me anything." Daisy frowned at them.
"Will you ever stop pestering us about it? We've told you multiple times but you always want more information." Mae playfully rolled her eyes again.
"How am I supposed to believe that it's located close to a damn forest when there's no mayor or a recognized government official in the town?"
I watched them as they continued with their little squabble with Mae trying to respond to her without revealing anything about the Dark Stone pack while Ava kept quiet most of the time, also sipping her wine and laughing at them at short intervals.
After gulping the remnant in my glass, the taste still felt too good to let go of and I wanted to pour myself another glass when the party at Night Shadow pack kicked into my memory. "Uh... it's non-alcoholic, right?" I lifted my gaze to them, interrupting their bickering.
"You'll be fine, don't worry." Ava waved a hand over her face and fired another glass for me. "By the way"
"So it's alcoholic?" my eyes widened as panic set up in me. "I've had more than two glasses. Oh my gosh." I slapped my furrowed forehead.
"You won't get drunk, chill." Mae chuckled.
I tried to calm myself down and my bladder felt like it became full all of a sudden. "I'll head to the restroom. I'll be back." I said with a nervous smile and rose to my feet. It felt like my head had been hit with a large block as a strange type of dizziness hit me.
I lost my balance a bit and almost fell but quickly held the handle of the chair for support.
"Are you okay?" They asked, sounding concerned.
I nodded with a smile again and found my way to the bathroom while bumping into everyone in my way and almost falling down twice.
When I got into the bathroom, I stood in front of one of the basins to wash my face but the dizziness I experienced felt stronger than what an ordinary face rinse could get rid of. My head was throbbing faster than ever and it felt like I was slowly drifting away from my common senses.
"How could I have been so stupid to drink so much?" never stop being stupid." I said to my reflection. Why I scolded myself but ended up chuckling. "You can did I just say that? It felt like something else was taking control of my ability to function properly.
Someone sped past behind me and I heard the door open and close. I glanced at the door then the basin and a note that wasn't there before now was on it, or was it there and I didn't notice? Who cares? I picked the paper up and though the words looked really blurry in my view, I could still read,
'We're coming sooner than you think. Be very expectant.'
"What the heck?" I didn't know why I laughed again and threw the note into the trash. It suddenly felt like the words had left my brain immediately I threw the paper away.