Nicolas POV
“Did you get to see her?” I inquired while Ronan approached me to assist in welcoming the final
guests. He was dressed in a navy-blue penguin suit, a white dress shirt, a black bow tie, and a plain
golden mask to go with it.
“Not yet,” Ronan replied as he shook a wolf’s hand, wearing a black mask.
“I wonder what is keeping her,” I asked, feeling frustrated. “Do you think she will miss this? We are
about to start.”
“She’ll be here,” Ronan stated with confidence. “Luna Zara gave me her word that she would attend
the ball.”
A heavy breath escaped my lips while a sharp electric spike rippled through my chest and down my
body. My hands instinctively reached for my chest. The excruciating pain in my heart was becoming
more and more frequent. I wasn’t sure what was causing it.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked, concerned.
I nodded my head and swallowed hard. I forced myself to focus. My sad emotions lay heavy on my
heart, and the dark thoughts were slowly claiming my body and mind.
The last few hours weren’t easy. I have searched every corner of the pack looking for her. I couldn’t
even find a single whiff of her scent. It drove me mindless. My temper erupted uncontrollably, and I
was snapping at everyone around me. I was slowly becoming the same bitter, hard, and ruthless
wolf I was once before.
To add to my misery was Zara’s absence from the carnival’s opening earlier today. It marked a
pivotal moment in my life. It almost drove me insane. If Ronan hadn’t intervened, I would have
destroyed everything in my path.
Where the hell did Zara disappear to? Was she okay? Was she in trouble? Does she not love me
anymore? What did I do to deserve this?
Another breath escaped my lips as I shook a familiar wolf’s hand. He was one of the final guests to
arrive, and he seemed not to notice my sadness hidden under my mask.
“Son,” my father’s voice chimed behind me, sending a tingling sensation down my spine and raising
the hair on my back. Ray’s snarl filled my mind, yearning to tear apart my father.
I knew what my father was about to say, but I was not ready to hear and accept it.
“It is time,” he continued. “The guests are eagerly waiting for the fundraiser to begin. I am surprised
how many wolves came to support us.”
“They only came because you are auctioning your son!” Ray snapped.
I knew he was right. Delaying the proceedings will only make things worse.
I closed my eyes, dropped my shoulders in defeat, and swallowed hard. There was no way out of
this.
Ronan grabbed my shoulder, and I shifted my gaze toward him.
“She will be here,” Ronan said. There was a promise in those words, yet I nodded half-heartedly.
My gaze unwillingly moved and swept over the fleet of vehicles in the parking lot, hoping to get a
glimpse of her before we started.
“She is not there,” my father snapped, and my gaze unwillingly shifted to him. “You are wasting
valuable time on her! She didn’t keep her promise!” He impatiently went on. “Now get your Alpha
ass inside and on stage, and fulfill your Alpha duties by starting the proceedings. You surely do not
want to dishonor your mother’s name!”
I snarled, my fury overwhelming my vision. How dare he bring up my mother!
My hands quickly changed into claws. I was ready to have him meet our creator.
Ronan must have seen it coming. He quickly stepped in between us before I could get my claws
around my father’s throat.
“Don’t!” Ronan hissed to stop me. “You are better than that! Control your emotions!”
“Let me have him!” I roared darkly, trying to shove Ronan aside to get hold of my father. My razor-
sharp claws whipped through the air, narrowly missing my father by inches.
“You don’t need to do this!” Ronan yelled at me and pushed me against the wall. “He is not worth
it!”
My father hissed angrily hearing Ronan’s words, and Ronan’s furious gaze snapped toward him.
“What the fuck are you still standing here for?” Ronan barked. “Leave now!”
Surprise flashed through my father’s eyes. He has never had Ronan yell at him before.
However, my father remained motionless, maintaining his position as if he were a fool.
“If I were you, old man,” I sneered through gritted teeth. “I would follow my Beta’s advice before I
find a way to escape his hold…”
I pinned my father’s gaze, and something like fear flashed through his eyes, and he visibly shivered.
“Go now!” Ronan lashed out, his face pained. “I can’t hold him for much longer. He will kill you! And I
will not stop and stand in his way again.”
My father nodded and quickly disappeared inside the hall.
Ronan abruptly let go of me and stepped aside.
“You should have let me kill him,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I should have,” he casually replied. “However, that would have left me with a decent amount
of paperwork to complete…”
“And you are not in the mood to do that tonight?” I stated with a sneer.
“Nope,” he casually replied and dug a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He quietly lit one and
inhaled deeply.
“So much better,” he moaned.
“You started smoking again?” I stated while raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I did,” he replied. His tone told me that I should not try and stop him. “With all the drama that
is going on, I need to have something to calm my nerves before I murder someone. Do you want
one?” He asked, handing me the packet.
I rolled my eyes in response and gestured to Ronan that I didn’t want any.
“Suit yourself,” he huffed and carried on puffing his cigarette. “And don’t ask me to quit… just…
yet….”
I nodded.
I knew what Ronan was hinting at. He used to smoke when he was younger. He believed that the
puffing on the cigarettes was keeping his anger at bay, but after a while I had to order him to quit.
His smoking was becoming problematic. Everywhere he went, he left a decent amount of cigarette
butts lying around.
Ronan’s persistent puffing was putting us all in danger, and I couldn’t bear the risk any longer. In the
end, Ronan released his anger during training, and he became a calmer person.
“I wouldn’t dare tell you to stop just now,” I said. “With my luck….”
“I’ll break your neck….” Ronan cut me off.
I chuckled in response. “You could sure try!”
“Maybe one day I will challenge you,” Ronan teased; he killed his cigarette and flicked it to the side.
“However, now is not the time. We have an auction to run….”
****