Chapter 3 RESILIENCE

AMELIA'S POV

Without saying a word, Megan took me to find a stylist. Took? Sorry, I meant she nearly dragged me all the way down there.

"Scratch the maids," she said. "We're going to need the royal stylist for your case. Nothing flashy. Simple colors to keep you hidden."

Once we arrived at a large white door, Megan swung it open and marched us in to find the royal stylist.

My eyes wandered around, settling on the bright pink desk in front of us. Whoever this stylist was, she really seemed to like pink.

"It's an emergency! An all clad in black with clumpy mascara emergency!" She called out, making me feel even more self-conscious about my outfit.

A red-haired girl walked out of nowhere, head to toe in pink, and gasped when her eyes landed on me. My eyes averted to the ground in embarrassment.

"We need to get you dressed!" She exclaimed, ushering me into a dressing room.

Even the dressing room was pink. Pink chandelier, pink tables, pink coat hanger. How much pink could this lady have?

"Okay, I have the perfect color. Red will bring out those brown eyes, a little gem on the neck-"

"No, no, no! Listen, Krystal, my friend here wants to be a Plain Jane. A simple color, nothing too flashy."

Megan interrupted the stylist, Krystal.

Krystal raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, as you please. Makeup?"

"Light. Preferably no lipstick. We want natural as natural can be," Megan responded.

I chuckled silently as Krystal's mouth dropped. She wasn't expecting that, huh?

"But this is the ball! We can't have her looking so-so-plain!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

Megan raised her eyebrows at Krystal, as if to say, you got it, sister. Krystal sighed and nodded.

"One pink gown coming right up." Krystal trudged out of the room.

I laughed at Krystal's antics. She was so disappointed. I felt bad, but I knew this was what I needed to go back home.

Something to keep me hidden until the event was over. I couldn't be seen, let alone talked to.

Krystal came rushing back in with a spark in her eyes.

"I found it! And don't you worry, it has some sparkle!"

Megan smacked her forehead in annoyance.

"Remember what I told you?" Megan questioned me.

I looked down at the ends of the pink gown shyly.

"Stay in the back. Don't look at anyone. Make it seem like you're invisible."

"And if anyone asks you who you are?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Amelia Dawn from the Greystone pack in Northern Alaska. An...uh...omega." I replied.

Megan grinned.

"This might just work."

I hoped so. My nerves were getting the best of me. I barely remembered the last part, which was the most important. And to top it off, I was so shaky.

Megan linked arms with me and grinned even wider, if that was possible.

"Let's go!" She whispered, pulling me towards the staircase.

I slowly ascended the staircase with Megan, careful not to trip over myself. I couldn't make a fool of myself this time. Images of me falling into the pool filled my mind, but I pushed them away.

As soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs, Megan gave me a thumbs up and disappeared into the crowd of people. I took a deep breath and retreated to the corner of the doorway. I can do this! Just act invisible. That was my specialty. Not that hard.

After what seemed like hours of just standing there, I grabbed a drink. I poured myself some punch and retreated to my corner. Everything was going well. No one approached me, just the occasional glance, and I was all alone.

Just peace by myself.

Suddenly, a drum began banging. I winced at how loud it was and pressed a hand against my ear.

When it finished, everyone turned to look at the top of the stairs. There stood a guy in a suit, looking down at all of us.

"Announcing! Alpha Christopher Lee James!" My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as his scanning eyes connected with mine. Thankfully, he continued to look at the rest of the crowd, and once he finished, he ascended the stairs.

Pure authority surrounded his aura. It was most likely because he was an Alpha, but he had something that made him different. It was arrogance, as if he were entitled to something better.

People started whispering, some narrowing their eyes. Right away I knew he wasn't good news. I knew he had a bad reputation from the way the people were reacting.

The crowd parted, and I realized that this man was coming my way. There was nowhere to go, so the crowd of people pushing me forced me out of my corner. I gulped as I found myself nearly a yard away from this man. How did I even end up in the front? Hopefully, no one approaches me. Especially not him.

The man seemed to read my thoughts, and his steel-blue eyes flickered in my direction. I cursed myself for not acting more quickly and getting to a safe place.

"You." His deep voice rang through the ballroom.

I looked around, but everyone was staring at me. There were no mistakes. His eyes were looking straight at me, full of anger. He was talking to me.

"Pour me a drink." He commanded, pointing to the table full of cups and drink bowls.

My mouth went dry. I looked straight past him and saw Megan, gesturing with her head at the drinks table. Do it, she was gesturing.

I swallowed hard, and I approached the punch. Grabbing a glass, I shakily scooped some of the red liquid and poured it slowly. I heard a huff.

"You're shaking so much you might as well have spilled it." He spat.

I tried to control my shaking as best as I could and scooped up some more punch.

Please, please let me do this right. Get me through this. I wished to be as far away from here as possible. I wanted to be at home with my cat, watching Netflix, and eating ice cream.

"Are you serious?!" he bellowed.

I didn't have time to even glance at the man when he grabbed the cup, yanking it away, and in the process spilling it all over himself. The ballroom watched in complete silence as he looked up at me in pure hatred.

He grabbed my hand, with the ladle in it, and pulled me with astonishing strength. His eyes grew a dark blue, almost black color.

"I'll teach you a lesson you'll never-" I closed my eyes in fear, waiting for him to go all ballistic on me. I waited a few moments, and slowly opened my eyes back up. Instead of getting ready to attack me, his expression was soft, with a hint of confusion.

Like day and night, the tenderness of his expression was gone and replaced by a frightening one. The darkness in his eyes reappeared.

"Mate." He growled.

I looked at him with wide eyes. Slowly, I peered at Megan, whose face was as pale as snow.

I was in deep trouble.