Chapter Four – Our Birthday Ball
*Rihanna’s POV*
It was the D-day—the day I’d finally meet him, my mate. The day I could show off my silver wolf, keep everyone away, and emit intimidating auras. They’d all shudder in fear as I fulfilled the prophecy.
Long ago, there was a random prophecy that a silver wolf would bless the werewolf land. One stronger than any Alpha King could control. He or she wasn’t to be feared, as they weren’t born to cause havoc, but to integrate the lands and fight off any werewolves' enemies. It was said to be the blessing of the Moon Goddess to her people, but the twisted werewolves assumed it was a curse to control them, hence ostracizing and killing silver wolves. Many silver wolves were slaughtered or sent away from their packs.
The Moon Goddess continued blessing her people with silver wolves until she stopped, and that was when an Alpha King rose up to stop the belief. His mate had been a silver wolf, and he didn’t want her dead. With the help of other Alphas, he silenced the so-called curse, and with his mate, conquered all the enemies of the wolves’ land. For integrating the lands, he became Alpha King. That Alpha King was the grandfather of our current Alpha King, Wayne.
Fortunately, silver wolves can’t be inherited; they are only bestowed by the Moon Goddess. The werewolves were blessed again with a silver wolf—and that was me. But I had shifted while arguing with Raymond and had been too scared to shift again. When I finally did, no one cared anymore, and soon I was forgotten.
I snapped back to reality when Raymond danced into my room, flinging his black shiny hair tied in a ponytail around. I rolled my eyes.
“You’re gonna be a man today, and you settle for a ponytail?” Even I wouldn’t do that. I brushed it off; it was his problem anyway.
I swirled around in my red ball gown, admiring it. The maids at our mansion only just realized I existed and helped me into a gown I’d never seen before. It was annoying yet touching when my dad showed me his mother’s wedding gown. My mom didn’t care how I looked and hadn’t bought anything for me. I had no savings either. I felt bad wearing my granny’s dress, but it was pretty, and I felt content. I also wore pure diamonds on my hand and neck. I felt more powerful and confident than I ever had. When Dad said Grandma only wore those once after her wedding, I shrugged; it was still almost new.
“Let's go!” Raymond yelped and ran out. I flinched. Had he been watching me the whole time as I made dramatic poses and facial expressions? Compared to me, he wore a new suede red suit that screamed expensive. His hair was in a ponytail with a gold hairpin at the side. Yes, he did like using hairpins. His hair was almost longer than mine.
I tried to make a catwalk out, like our Luna Queen used to do, but I looked like I had pins on my thighs. I loosened and bounced out, still in grace. There was something about my wolf, Lana, today. I thought she was calm and nervous about finding our mate, but she just seemed quiet.
I looked around for Raymond as I left for the big yard; some guards spared me a glance, and I raised my head high. I saw my twin going towards the ballroom, so I trotted immediately behind him, excited and trying to avoid being late.
"We are legal, baby!” I said to Lana. I felt no energy, and it dampened my excitement. Was she feeling something negative happening today?
“My wolf is angry with me?” I sniffed. I heard her chuckle, so I smiled. She always found it funny when I called her a wolf, like she wasn’t!
“And my human is turning eighteen today, not really me. I’ve been with the Moon Goddess for long already,” she sassed back.
“Whatever. Today is your eighteenth year on earth. Loosen up. I think today will be magical,” I swirled around.
“Whatever too,” she went back to her quiet state and fled to the back of my head. I ignored her since she wasn’t worried about anything exactly.
I was out of the house and heading to the open field where ballroom celebrations were held. No one was around or looked like they were there. Raymond was standing outside.
“No one is there?” It was almost a whisper.
He suddenly smiled and placed a hand on my lips. In twin mind link, he told me that they were hiding. My heart beat increased, and I felt excited. They planned a surprise birthday for me and Raymond? I knew it was done more for Raymond than for me, but I couldn’t contain my excitement. I tried to act oblivious and walked into the hall. Raymond followed me, trying to hide his smirk.
“No one here. They forgot. We dressed up for nothing.” He sighed dramatically. I giggled.
But no one popped up. We stood there for almost minutes. I was beginning to believe they actually forgot. I heard Lana whimper in sadness. My hearing wasn’t at its best, so I asked Raymond if he heard anything inside again. He answered in the negative. My shoulders slumped.
“So, they did forget?” It wasn’t really a question. It was obvious they did. Everyone’s eighteenth birthday was a joy, except ours, because of me.
“Let’s get out of here!” Raymond dragged me through the door. I felt my eyes wet. Couldn’t they have celebrated us, for Raymond at least? Lana was growing angry. What did we actually do to be hated?!
Then I let out a shriek as an exploding sound snapped at my ears, and my blood ran cold.
“Surprise!!!” It was the whole pack outside the ballroom. Mom and Dad had a ‘Happy Birthday’ card. Our pack members had ‘Happy Birthday Beta’. Well, since Raymond was officially their only Beta, I guess they were just celebrating him. Still, I was shocked to my bones to know they came. They were all dressed in red and white, which were our official birthday colors.
I raised my legs to find Duchess Vivian, but sadly she wasn’t around. I was really looking forward to a gem bracelet. We all went into the ballroom again, and everywhere was lit brightly, decorated with red, white, and gold. The smell of perfumes was almost choking for me, but the sound of music was calming. All eyes were on Raymond and me as they sang our birthday songs. I felt loved for a while, though it dampened when it was dance time, and no one asked me for a dance—not like I could dance.
“You look pretty, Rih. I can’t take my eyes off!” Jude, the pack playboy, grinned at me. I rolled my eyes but bowed. I moved away before he asked for a dance. He always bullied me as a kid; when I grew, he stopped but sometimes threw sarcastic remarks at me. I didn’t know if this was one of them.
I was looking forward to someone seeing me, complimenting me—Prince Chris. But the Alpha King’s family wasn’t here yet; their huge seats were empty. I was almost tempted to sit at Princess Vanessa’s seat—these heels were killing me. I tried to smile at whoever smiled at me, ignoring the fact they only wished Raymond. Dad hugged me and said I looked pretty. It seemed I really did. Me brushing my dark curly hair out, straightening it, and adding eyeliner to pop my blue eyes was worth it.
Then my eyes landed on it. A humongous cake stood majestically on the center table. It had both our names. I was glad. I didn’t really like cake after my experience with Princess Vanessa’s. Also, I rarely came to eat at others’ birthdays, but this one, I’d enjoy it.
“Where's the Alpha King? And Prince Chris? Please call them. Where are they?” Mom inquired from my dad, with her usual impatient tone. My dad was too busy straightening out Raymond’s suit, which was rumpled by hugs from the pack members. I came closer to my mom.
“I’ll go call them. Where can I find them?” I muttered. It would be wrong for a birthday celebrant to leave her party, but I knew no one minded.
Mom gave me a disdained look and shrugged, “I don’t know. Just find them.”
I didn’t let that dampen my spirit and hopped to find them—Prince Chris exactly. I didn’t need the Alpha King to celebrate me; he didn’t like me anyway. I heard some yells at the Alpha King’s mansion when I came closer. Peeking, I saw Sasha and Princess Vanessa quarreling about an issue. They seemed dressed for my ball party. They weren’t needed.
I stared at their dresses, red silk sleeveless dresses. Sasha's had one sleeve. She stomped out and ran into the forest after Princess Vanessa slapped her. Princess Vanessa looked guilty but went back to her house.
A smile came to my lips. I liked when besties fell out. I crawled closer to the house.
A sweet smell hit my nose, and I shuddered. What's our Luna Queen cooking now? I nodded at the guards as I crawled into their courtyard. A naughty guard whistled at me, but I kept walking. I never minded them; they were just appreciating my beauty!
The sweet smell became intense; it was of vanilla, and surely not from the Luna Queen's kitchen. Lana began coming to the surface, attracted by it. I heard footsteps behind me.
“Hey Rih, happy birth…” He stopped. It was Prince Chris. It was good he found me. I didn’t want to knock on the door.
Lana began jumping and screaming inside me, attempting to shift. The sweet smell hit me strongly and I turned to Chris's confused face. Could he smell it too?
"Mate, Mate!” My wolf yelped.