“Just a little woozy.”


    “Not to worry.” Anthony gently helped me up, then moved toward the stairs with me leaning on him. “I just baked some cookies. You’ll feel better if you eat.”


    Indeed, after gobbling up two cookies, I was feeling a lot better; well enough to drive home, at least. Anthony gave me a little bag of them to take with me, and I munched on them as I drove.


    By the time I made it home, I only had an hour before the event was set to begin just barely enough time to shower and get dressed. Despite my lingering wooziness, I managed to shower and get ready quickly, although I was still touching up my hair and makeup when I heard that the first guests had arrived.


    “I’ll be a littlete, I think,” I told Hunter, who stood in the bathroom doorway. “Tell Alexander not to wait for me. I’ll be down shortly.”


    Hunter nodded and left me, and I finished getting ready. Once I’d put on thest touch of lip gloss, I took a step back to admire myself in the mirror. The dress I had chosen was a simple but pretty navy blue number with a fitted bodice and a slightly red skirt. Paired with low pumps and with my hair pulled back into a sleek, elegant bun, I think I looked the part of a Luna again.


    As an afterthought, I added a pair of ck elbow–length gloves to hide the growing bruise where Anthony had drawn my blood earlier.


    Finally, I was ready. I headed downstairs, the sound of the guests‘ voices and the gentle strains of a violin growing louder as I approached the banquet hall. Before entering, I paused, taking a deep breath to settle my


    nerves.


    It had been some time since I had entered an event with so many eyes on me. A long time since I had been… a Luna. I supposed it was time to say goodbye to the brief anonymity I’d enjoyed as an Omega, for better or worse; but if this would help my mother and the people of Stormhollow, then it certainly had to be for the better.


    When I stepped into the banquet hall, I was both overjoyed to see the room bustling with guests already and unsurprised when quite a few heads turned my way. Some people gasped when they saw me, others whispered behind their hands and champagne sses, but I didn’t really mind them.


    I was too busy gawking in awe at the perfect decorations, the servers moving around with trays of decadent hors d’ouevres and drinks, and Anya’s collection gleaming in brightly lit ss cases at the other end of the room- already surrounded by a crowd of men and women oohing and ahhing at the beautiful artistry of the pieces.


    Smiling politely at the guests as I passed, I began making my way through the crowd in search of Alexander.


    Finally, I spotted him standing by the musicians. He looked handsome as ever in a perfectly tailored suit, his red hairbed back neatly and his green eyes sparkling under the flickering chandeliers.


    All of my worries were set at ease when he saw meing and smiled, gesturing for me toe over. Even without the mate bond, nothing could take away that feeling of excitement and relief when I saw the face of the man I loved, especially when he looked like that.


    He wasn’t alone, though; he was speaking to someone. A woman, I realized as I moved closer, and an incredibly beautiful one, at that. Modelesque, tall and slender and curvaceous in all the right ces, with a perfect blonde


    blowout. Even from where I stood, surrounded by women and men wearing expensive scents, fcould smell her perfume–like roses on a rainy day.


    She was familiar to me, somehow. I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I had seen her before, but something about her made my heart stutter ufortably in my chest.


    admin


    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.