Chapter VIII

When I awoke, the morning light shined in from the balcony doors. I blinked a few times to adjust them before sitting up in bed. A smile appeared on my lips, thinking of what happened last night during the Gala.

Last night.

It all felt like a wonderful fever dream. Atlas was extremely kind. We danced to the song on repeat for what felt like ages. By the end of our night, I was a yawning mess, and he insisted that I went to bed. Like a perfect gentleman, he led me to my suite and wished me a goodnight.

Celeste intruded my thoughts with a huff.

I rolled my eyes at her forwardness, getting out of the comfortable bed.

She was impossible, but I still love her.

When thinking of a suitable reply, a text alert hit my phone that was placed on the nightstand. The bell saved Celeste this time. Swiping the screen, once I picked it up, revealed a message from Josh.

Josh: Guess who still does not have a mate? You did one hell of a performance, though. What flight time do you have?

A frown etched my face after reading his message. I felt slightly guilty that I had found my mate before Josh had. He was only twenty-two, though. He still had plenty of time to discover her or him. You never know with Josh. There was still a bright side to this. I just needed to remind him of that.

Me: I am sorry to hear that, Bub. At least you work on getting a house of your own this year, so you will have a place for just the two of you when you meet them. Thank you. I was a nervous wreck. My flight time was at 3:30, but I might have to find a new one.

Josh: Yeah, you are right. Why would you need to find a new one? Mine leaves then too.

I stared at the screen for a few minutes, trying my best to figure a reply. Josh is my brother. I knew he would be happy for me, but I still did not want to rub any salt in his wounds. I needed to make this as lighthearted as possible. Just as I went to type on the screen, a string of texts came through.

Josh: You found your fucking mate!

Josh: EVERLY VANESSA FORD

Josh: Holy shit!

Josh: I am so preparing the embarrassing stories! You better find that man a ticket for the 3:30 flight or I'm rioting!

Josh: Who is he?

Well, that took care of that.

Me: Riot away. There is no way I am trapping myself and my mate with you on a plane for five hours. His name is Atlas Lycurgus, Alpha of the Phoenix Moon Pack.

Dots appeared, letting me know Josh was replying. After a few minutes of them coming and going, I got worried. With Josh being the next Beta in line, he traveled with my father to packs in the United States. Which meant he had probably met Atlas before.

"Please do not ruin this for me, Josh." I silently prayed to myself, feeling nerves twist in my stomach. Needing a distraction from the unknown text I was about to get, I plugged in my phone to its charger and walked to the bathroom.

After brushing my teeth, washing my face, and straightening my hair, I just needed to pick an outfit. I was sure Atlas would be on his way soon, as it was 9 a.m.

I called to her in a singing voice.

She asked, already knowing what I needed.

I thought for a moment, pulling my suitcase open. I did have a five-hour flight ahead of me, but I needed to go say goodbye to Queen Fallon and King Legacy.

She said, then went quiet for a second. She finally piped up as I was losing patience.

It was a very cute option, but the plane ride would be hell.

she reminded me.

I gasped and pushed myself closer to the mirror, looking under my eyes. Shit. She was right. Without even giving a thank you, I worked on my face. Forget diamonds, concealer and color corrector was a girl's best friend.

I was all dressed in about twenty minutes. Bored, I walked back to my phone to play an intense game of 8 ball with Josh when I remembered why I got ready in the first place. Inhaling, I swiped the screen to read the message that was waiting for me.

Josh: Just be careful, Ev. That dude's wolf has no boundaries when it comes to control.

What the fuck does that mean?

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾Please Vote and Comment☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙