The Fall Ball
Chapter 66

Lilly and Aspen finished their meal was done. They both stood up and cleaned each other up. Once the b***d was cleaned from their fur, they started the walk back to the castle. Aspen stops by the trees and grabs the clothes that he sat down before going in for his kill.

They walk side by side on the trail.

“That was so much fun. Thank you for letting us have our time together.” Lilly says to me.

“It was strange to be in the back of my own mind. But I enjoyed watching the two of you interact with one another.” I say to her.

I can hear Ash and Aspen talking to one another. But I decide to focus and lock my gift away. We are coming back up to the castle and there will be lots of people around and I don’t want to be overwhelmed.

I am so glad that Raymond worked with me on this today. Even with my gift locked up, I can still link with Ash or Aspen, so no need to have access to the gift right now.

As we walk out of the woods on the trail, people bow down to us. I can hear them whispering about the white wolf. I forgot that my color is rare.

I look over to Aspen.

“You are beautiful, they just haven’t seen a wolf with your color before. And your beautiful eyes cause them t have some questions.” He says to me, while licking Lilly’s face to comfort her as well.

“Its just strange to have all these people watching me. Just a few weeks ago I was a nobody, that nobody paid any attention to.” I say to him.

As we walk up to the castle, I look around to see who I can ask to go get me some clothes, as Lilly had destroyed the ones that I had on.

“Rose, the castle is built for wolves. You don’t need to shift. You can go through the castle in wolf form.” Ash tell me.

“Are you sure? I haven’t seen any wolves in the castle since I arrived. I don’t want to be the only one that does it.” I tell him.

“Ya you are fine. We just haven’t had many shifting that live in the castle while you have been here. They have all been busy helping prepare things for today,” Ash says.

“Oh, okay then.” I tell him.

As we get to the doors, the guards bow to us and open the doors. We walk in and everyone stops and watches us.

They bow down to us and went back to what they were doing before we walked in.

“Welcome back, where have you two been?” My mom asks us, walking into the room.

“We went for a hunt so that Aspen and Lilly could spend some time with one another.” I tell her through the link.

Lilly walks up to her and mom reaches out and pets her head.

“My dear Lilly, you are so beautiful,” mom tells her, while leaning down and kissing her head.

“Its time for the games to start. You two need to get changed and ready. Your father is waiting for us all at the stage, he is about to send out a mass link to everyone to have them gather for a brief meeting.” The Queen says while walking in and standing next to my mother.

I can see that Ash is talking to her through a link. She smiles and nods at him.

“Yes, your clothes are ready for you in your room. Rose, your clothes are their as well.” She says while looking at me.

“Lilly, can I touch you? I have never seen a fur coat like this and its amazing.” The Queen says to her.

“Yes, my Queen, you may.” Lilly says to her.

The Queen’s eyes flash a little darker as her wolf comes forward, “Please do not call us your Queen. You are so much more worthy then we are.” She says.

“We may be worthy of being Queen, but you have earned the title through respect and trust. I can only hope to be half the queen that you are.” Lilly says to her.

The Queen leans forward and hugs Lilly around the neck.

“Thank you,” She says while pulling back. Her eyes back to normal.

“Run along, you two. Go get ready. We will see you at the stage.” My mom says with a smile.

Aspen turns and heads for the stairs. Lilly follows him up. We get to the door of Ash’s room. I watch as Aspen shifts back into Ash.. So that Ash can open the door.

Lilly steps inside.

“Are you ready?” She asks me.

“So now I get a say?” I ask her with a chuckle. She rolls her eyes.

“Yes,you have a say at all times. I was just excited to meet Aspen.” She tells me.

I watch Ash grab his clothes and head into the bathroom. I close my eyes and focus on my human form. Within seconds, I am in human form again. I smile.

I pick up my clothes and get dressed. I notice that it is a long sleeve blouse and a pair of jeans. Paired with a pair of boots.

“Hey Ash, I never asked before but what are the games?” I yell to him.

He opens the door and smiles at me.

“The games are activities to determine who the next palace guards should be. The games test their speed and accuracy. As well as their determination.” He tells me while sitting on the bed to put his shoes on.

Well, that is kind of cool. I figured the guards were just positions passed down to their children like any position within a pack.

“So anyone can become a palace guard?” I ask him.

“Yep, as long as they do well in the games. And if they fail something this year, they can try again next year.” He tells me.

“What kind of games do they do?” I ask him.

“The first game is a mud run. They have a 15-mile trail they have to run. It is full of mud holes, fallen trees and other obstacles.” He says to me.

“The second game is archery. Only they use arrows and knives. This helps to see how accurate they are.” He says while watching me.

“And the final game is a hunt. They will have to find someone who we have hidden in the woods. The person hidden will leave trails leading all over the place on the way to the final spot. Then we send in other wolves to help hide their tracks and confuse the contestants. ” He says, standing up and walking towards me.

“Well, who will be the one hidden in the woods for them to find?” I ask him.

He k****s my head and wraps his arms around me.

“The king chooses one of the high-ranking females. This is because her scent will be stronger than any other person in the pack.” He tells me.

“So your mom?” I ask looking up at him.

“Not this year.” He tells me.

“Then who?” I ask.

“You…” He says.