The Fall Ball
Chapter 45

(Rose)

I rush into the room with Opal following me. I change out of the dress, being sure to place it back on the hanger and hang it up in the closet. This way, it is put away and safe, and nothing can happen to it.

Opal is smiling at me. I look at her, I can’t keep the smile off of my face. “He did such a good job picking that out. Do you know where he is right now? I wanna go and thank him.” I tell her as we walk back out of the room and into the living area.

“Yes I do. He is still in the meeting with the Alphas. But he said he would be done in time for lunch with you. So he will join us all in the dining room.” She says as she goes to leave the room.

“Where are you going?” Craig asks her. She blushes at him, “Back to the kitchen to help prepare lunch and the other things for the festivities this evening.” She tells him. “Oh, okay. Well, have a good rest of your day.” He says with a smile. She nods and walks out the door.

I look at Craig and he has a goofy smile on his face as he watches Opal leave. I look at Alex and he is just shaking his head at Craig. Before I can even look at Raymond, he speaks up.

“You like her, don’t you?” He asks with a smile. Craig’s smile drops from his face, “No, I don’t,” He tells Raymond. Who just smiles and shrugs. He looks at me, “So Rose, we have found your dress. We have about an hour and a half before we need to go to lunch. What would you like to do?” He asks me.

“I don’t know. I have no idea what there is to do. I know that everyone is busy prepping for the festivities tonight and tomorrow. I know that there are a lot of people that will be arriving today.” I say to them.

“Well, would you like to walk around the palace grounds? We are not able to leave the grounds today, but we can still explore the area some.” Alex suggests to me. I nod, “Ya, that sounds like a good idea.”

I grab my shoes while the guys get themselves together.

As we go to walk out the door, I looked at Raymond. “Yes Rose? Something on your mind?” He asks me with a knowing smile. “How is it possible for you to be out and about in the daylight?” He shakes his head at me, “ That, my dear, is a story for another time.”

I shrug at him. “Would your companions like to join us?” I ask him.

He shakes his head no at me. “They are not a fan of this many people and so many smells. They have spoken to the king and they are working on building your training grounds, so that it is all ready for you to get to work. After all the fun, anyways.” He tells us.

I just nod at him and we walk out the door.

We go down the stairs and head to the front door. As we get to it, I can feel that something is off. I stop in my tracks and look around the area. I can see Luna Liz, Luna Queen Mary, and my mom all talking together in one of the living rooms. My mom looks up at me and smiles. I wave at her and smile back.

Nothing looks out of place and everything seems fine. So I try to shake off the strange feeling. I start walking towards the door again. But before I get to the door, I hear yelling coming from the other side.

We all stop and wait to see who is coming in the door and what all the commotion is about. The guys all take a stance in front of me, they are acting like a shield. I roll my eyes at them and their protective instincts.

“What do you mean he is in a meeting? Shouldn’t he be down here to greet his guests that are here to celebrate his birthday?” I hear the voice I wish I could forget about.

I roll my eyes and prepare myself mentally for what is about to come.

“I’m sorry, miss, but you can not just barge in here and demand to see the Prince. He is in a meeting and does not greet every guest. He will be present for the festivities. I suggest trying to talk to him then.” The palace guard says to her.

She comes in the door and stops in her tracks. I roll my eyes at her dramatics. Leave it to Ashlee to show up and think that she can have her way.

“You why are you here?” She asks Craig. He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles. “Me? I’m here guarding my future….” I slap his arm and stop him. I don’t need her to know anything yet.

“He is here with me. After our incident, Alpha Jake placed him as my guard at the request of my parents.” I say to her as I step around the three of them.

“Why are you even here? Don’t they have a better place or someone like you to stay in?” Ashlee says to me.

I shake my head at her, while Alex suppresses a growl and Raymond hisses at her.

She looks at the two of them. “Wow, how did you manage to get all these guys to be so protective of you?” She asks me. I smile, “That is need to know information, and you don’t need to know.” I tell her with a shrug.

The guys are all looking at me, trying to figure out what is going on here. Though Craig already knows, as he is part of my pack. So I decide to introduce everyone.

“So the vampire is Raymond, and the palace guard here is Alex, and you already know Craig. And guys, this is Ashlee,” I say.

Alex growls and looks at me. “The Ashlee that attacked you?” I nod at him. I see his eyes glaze over and I already know he is linking Ash.

I start to feel the pressure in my head that is telling me someone is trying to link with me. So I open the link.

“Do I need to leave the meeting and handle this?” Ash asks me. I sigh, “No I got this. You focus on the meeting and I will see you at lunch.” I tell him. “Okay, but please keep being a royal out of the conversation. I don’t want everyone to know yet.” Ash says to me before cutting the link.

Alex is watching me. His eyes glaze over and he growls lowly. “Is he okay? He seems a little moody.” Ashlee asks while watching Alex. “He is fine,” I say with a smile on my face.

“So why are you here in the palace?” I ask Ashlee. “Oh, the family that I am supposed to stay with has such a small house and I figured there would be an empty room here in the palace. So I could just stay here instead.” She says as she shrugs her shoulders, like it is no big deal.

“Oh, well, I’m afraid that all of the rooms are spoken for. The visiting Alphas and their ranked members are staying in the palace. The king set up housing arrangements for everyone. So we need to stick to the arrangements for everything to work out.” I say to her with a smile.

She growls. “Well, where are you staying?” She asks me. I smirk, “Me? I’m staying in one of the suites with Craig and Alex.” I say to her.

“Well, that’s not fair you are not a ranked member. You don’t even have your wolf,” She yells at me. That gets the attention of the palace workers, as well as my mother and Luna’s.

They stand up and start walking towards us. I hear Luna Liz tell Luna Mary who this is. And she does not look happy as she walks up to us.

“Rose. Who is this? And why is she yelling like this?” Luna Mary asks me. So I explain to her that Ashlee wants to stay in the palace and not in the place she was assigned.

“Oh, well, I am sorry that the place you are staying in is so unfit for you. I think I have the perfect spot for you. Please follow me.” Luna Mary says as she walks away from us.

We all look around at each other, confused as to what is going on.

We go up the stairs and stop in front of the doors to my suite. I look at Luna Mary; I am so confused as to why we are here. She wouldn’t put us in the same room, knowing the history.

We walk into the room and Ashlee’s eyes light up. She looks so happy. “This is perfect.” She squeals.

“I’m glad you approve. Since you like it so much, you and the other 15 unmated females from your pack can all stay in here.” Luna Mary says with a smile.

“Oh, before I forget. Rose and Craig, I have had your stuff moved into Ash’s suite. I have already linked him and he is okay with it.” Luna Mary says with a smile and walked out of the room.