Intentions fulfilled?

Micah knew that Ash would not want to stay long after this, he had already spoken to Kit about getting home. Surprisingly enough, the rest of the ball seemed to go according to plan. That was until he felt a pair of dark eyes on his back.

Ash was seated in one of the thrones on the stage, various guests had been coming to greet her all evening, Ash, though getting tired of all the attention Micah knew, performed her duties beautifully. There was a small group of fae girls surrounding her as Micah felt the gaze on his back. It wasnt entirely friendly, Micah didnt want to risk turning back to look for its owner.

Blaze stood in a darkened corner of the room. He didnt know how he could be feeling this, but the fluttering in his stomach was undeniable, nor was the urge to hurt the man with his hand on the shoulder of the girl sat at the front of the room. She was some long lost princess or other apparently. He shouldn’t be capable of feeling anything though, not after what he has done. His heart was surely dead by now.

Micah finally managed to convey that something was wrong to Kit, he had sent Mark to check people out and knew he was on the wrong side of the room. As much as he disliked it, he was going to have to trust the wizard, even if he did have the subtlety of rhino charging something annoying. Kit immediately turned to face the direction that Micah said the gaze was coming from.

Turning back to Micah with an all too obvious shake of the head, when the hell was this idiot going to be able to communicate on the mental plane without involving Ash? Micah growled in frustration, “of course you didn’t see them Harry Potter, you were so obvious even a child would know what you were doing” he hissed as quietly as he could. Kit flushed a deep red and bowed his head as Micah watched Mark make his way around the room.

Blaze pulled the shadows around him like a blanket as he moved around the room, he didnt like the way that mage turned to look in the corner. He needed to make a plan but for the first time in such a long time, he found that he couldnt concentrate, he couldnt think through the fog settling over his brain as he looked at this girl.

She smiled up at the man standing behind her, the one with his hand on her shoulder, that smile made his stomach clench, and his legs weak. If only she would keep smiling then everything in the world would be just fine he thought.

It was much later in the evening when Blaze finally left the safety of the shadows. Ash was oblivious to the dark, menacing figure making his way through the crowd towards her as if he was crossing an empty room, Micah however was far from oblivious. he let out a low growl that only Kit at his side could hear as he searched the crowd for Mark, his shoulders relaxing slightly when he caught sight of the other wolf following the male.

Ash yawned softly, quickly covering her face and reaching out for Micah, she didnt want to appear rude, but she had been sat here for hours now, surely people would start leaving soon?

Archibald was currently sitting on the stage with her, her grandparents had been taking turns all afternoon to sit at her side. He seemed to be giving Ash the silent treatment, no doubt a punishment for daring to speak up against her Grandmother, but the woman was well out of order.

Micah was her mate and Mark was her gaurd. She might be honoring their customs but that didnt mean that she had to shun the pack customs, even if that would make things easier for them.

Ash had survived much worse than the silent treatment before, and she had survived 15 years of her life without these stuck up, stuffy people, it wouldn’t be hard to cut them out if they couldn’t accept her as she was. She wasn’t about to let anybody change her now that she was finally allowed to find herself.

While Ash was wrapped up in her own thoughts, Mark had caught up with Blaze about 10 steps from the stage. Archibalds attention was drawn to the pair, Micah and Kit were watching intently as Mark attempted to steer the other male away from the stage, only to be thrown off as if he was nothing more than a fly.

Micah let out another growl, this one much louder than any of the others, his hand clamped tighter around Ash’s as he pulled her from the throne she was sat in. Kit and Archibald both turned to look at Ash and Micah.

Ash looked up at Micah, her eyes wide as she reached for his hand on her shoulder. Trying to soothe him with her touch before she turned to identify what was making him so tense. Her eyes settled immediately upon the man stalking through the crowd towards her, the man was dressed head to toe in black, his dark hair looked like it would fall to just below his shoulder blades when it was free of the restraining braid that held it back. Even his eyes were a dark, stormy grey.

He stood straight, somewhere between Mark and Micah in height. The only thing marking him out as not human was the slight point to top of his ears and the slightly blue-ish tinge to his skin. Before Ash could respond to Micah’s disquiet, the man was standing before her, dipping into a low bow as the women surrounding Ash seemed to melt away silently.

The man held out his hand for Ash’s hand, raising it to his lip’s. Micah snatched Ash’s hand back roughly with a vicious sounding growl, his eyes glaring daggers at the man kneeling before his mate, making Archibald hiss slightly. The stranger however merely laughed, a sound that seemed to bounce off all the walls in the room, drawing Ash’s attention away from her mate once more.

“My Princess, It is good to finally meet you” he said, his voice soft and caressing, charming and gentle. Making his dangerous exterior and aura seem like a joke.

Ash was struck dumb as she looked down on him, it was Micah who spoke “Drop the charm, fae, the Princess is mine.” it was more of a growl than anything, Ash thought it was entirely unnecessary, turning to tell Micah when the stranger Spoke again.

“Isn’t that for the Princess to decide, wolf? She should know she had options, not just slumming it with the pack.” Suddenly, it was as if Ash had been slapped back to her senses. the strangers voice was harsh now, his accent impossible to place but the sneer on his face making him seem very cold and angry.

Ash cleared her throat loudly “If the pair of you would stop this pissing contest, the Princess is right here and does not appreciate being spoken about as if she isn’t!” The stranger grinned at her cheekily, bowing once more as Micah leant forward to place a kiss on her forehead. His contrition seeping through their bond alongside the jealousy that forced him to act.

“Forgive me, my Princess, I was simply swept away in your beauty and forgot myself for a moment. Of course the choice is your’s, I am merely your humble servant”

The man looked as if he wanted to continue, but Ash held up her hand, turning to her grandfather at her side who had been watching the interaction with interest.

“Another one? is that what he is saying?” she asked cryptically, both Kit and Micah looked between Ash, Archibald and the stranger with confusion clear on their faces.

“Well that is one of the intentions of a presentation ball my dear. we do these things for a reason” Archibald replied.