Chapter SIX

Diana let out a satisfactory smile as she looked down at the ballroom from the balcony above. Everything looked glamorous, from the embellishments to the lighting and the music the orchestras were playing was excellent. The guests, who were exclusively the young maidens of the Pack kept massing in and they all looked very elegant.

One thing for sure was that her brother was going to have an arduous time selecting a bride from them, because all the girls were so good looking.

She didn't even know her brother's kind of woman. That was a theme they never discussed. She had never even seen him conversing with a woman before.

He was unquestionably in deep shit.

"I can bet my life that smile has got something to do with me" She heard a familiar voice speak from behind and when she turned over to look, she was stunned by her brother's appearance.

For the first time in forever, he had on a tuxedo and a pair of black shoes. His thick black hair was gelled backwards as usual and his perfectly chiseled facial attributes were highly notable.

Diana had picked out the tuxedo for him and she didn't even think he was gonna wear it. He seemed to be obsessed with his usual daily dressing code which happened to be a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and overall. The fact that he wore what she had picked for him greatly warmed her heart.

"You look rather fashionable brother, you sure are going to ransack the hearts of all the girls in here"

"Too bad I can only choose one"

"Too bad, indeed" she declared with a light chuckle. "I'm gonna go down. Stay hidden for a while, we cannot afford to have the girls slobbering and shrieking already" She said with a cheeky grimace as she made her way down the stairs into the ballroom. Once she got down, the orchestras stopped playing music and the hall fell in mortal silence.

All the other maidens stopped whatever discussions they were having and bowed down their heads to their princess as a sign of respect and she nodded and motioned them to ride on with whatever it was they were doing.

The ceremony was to commence in about an hour's time and that was more than enough time for her to prowl around and try to study the girls.

No matter what, she wouldn't want her brother to marry a repulsive or brainless lady.

She walked across the ballroom with her head and shoulders held up high as she welcomed and discussed with a few maidens. They all seemed very nice and she could honestly not wait to see which of them steals her brother's heart at first sight.

After a whole lot of minutes of chatting and laughing and receiving compliments as to how adorable she looked in her dress, she finally gave into her lungs dire need for fresh oxygen, so she proceeded to make her wait out of the ballroom to the yard outside.

The guards saluted her as she stepped out and she conceded with a subtle bow.

Just then, a black limousine pulled up and she eyed in fascination as a man stepped out from the front seat and opened the long door in the back seat. A lady soon stepped out of the car and from what Diana saw, she could tell that she was from a very wealthy background. The lady fidgeted for a while with her gown whose design was a bit exaggerated and when she finally got a hold of it, she stood up straight tall with her head held high up and smiled.

Diana's eyes averted from the elegant young lady to another young girl who just got out of the other side of the car. She was carrying a whole lot of things in her hand and she didn't look as elegant as the former lady.

She looked simple, yet gorgeous and her natural beauty was enthralling.

Seeing all that, Diana made a wild guess that the simple girl was a servant to the sophisticated girl.

"Don't you ever do anything right?" She heard the sophisticated girl suddenly scream at the other girl and before she knew it, a smack followed.

Diana was horrified and she immediately flew to the scene and quickly helped the poor girl back to get feet.

"What was that for?" She interrogated and the girl gave her such contemptuous glare that raised all the nerves in her body.

"Why don't you mind your business? I'm trying to reprimand my slave her, now step away!

"Slave?" Diana asked in horror and Louisa nodded proudly.

"You heard well. Now, if you don't mind, I have a party to attend. Excuse me." She stated rudely as she walked past Diana, aggressively hitting her left shoulder.

"Hello Princess Diana" The simple girl greeted with a slight bow and Diana smiled as she stepped closer to her.

"What's your name?"

"Bella Tarnvir" The girl responded politely.

"And is that your mistress?"

"Yes, Princess" She replied with her head still bowed down and Diana shook her head and let out a heavy sigh of exasperation.

She had no idea there was anything such thing as a slave in the pack.

"You can go inside, Bella. We will talk more later"

"Thank you, Princess"

"Call me Diana"

"Oh… I really can't…"

"It's an order" Diana cut her off and she carefully raised up her head and cast an uncomfortable look. "I mean it" Diana insisted and the girl nodded and she hurried off into the ballroom, after her mistress.

After the party, Diana planned on having a serious dialogue with her brother about what she had just witnessed.

A slave in their pack, that was an abominable thing!

Hours passed and the maidens were still not bored of waiting for their Alpha to show up. The orchestras were doing a great job playing different songs that kept the day going and the girls seemed to be having a great time telling each other about how expensive their clothes and jewelry were.

Bella, who was not in their class, sat in her own corner, disregarded and that did not trouble her at all. She prefered to stay in the corner and growrse herself in her emotions than interact with girls who took delight in ridiculing her in every way possible.

Suddenly, the orchestras stopped playing music and the entire hall fell in dead silence. She looked up to see what was going on and her heart missed a beat when she saw Alpha Achilles descending the mighty staircase in all his glory and honor.

The tuxedo he had on further accentuated his dominant aura and she gulped dryly when his eyes fell on her.

He halted for a while and she could see a diminutive smile form at the side of his lips.

He was too good-looking.

He was too hot.

She didn't even have the temerity to maintain eye contact with him, so she quietly bowed down her head and did the thing she always did when she was nervous;

She fiddled with her fingers.

The girl he was going to choose was definitely going to be the most lucky girl in the entire world.

"Good evening ladies" His vibrant voice echoed throughout the ballroom and Bella once more, snapped her head up and this time around, she was relieved that he wasn't looking at her.

The entire hall chorused a greeting and the hall went dead silent again.

"To say that I'm delighted to have you all in my Castle, would be an understatement. I am truly honored. Each and everyone of you I here looks ravishing and I am indeed proud to be Alpha of such extraordinary beauties"

A moment of silence.

"By now, you all must know why you are here. In a few minutes time, I will choose my bride to be, my future Luna from amongst you. Fifteen years ago, an unfortunate fate befell us. We lost the ability to detect our mates. Literally, one of you in here is definitely my true mate, but I can't know you because of the curse placed on us all. So, my dear mate, tonight, I might choose you and I might not choose you as my bride to be. If I do, then that will be a good course, but if I don't, I'm sorry and I want you to know that I'm always thinking of you." He explained and his eyes landed on Bella once more.

He quickly thwarted his gaze from hers and cleared his throat.

"Now is the time. If I take up your hand and kiss the back of your palm, just know you are the chosen one" He said as he took the last step of the staircase. The girls exchanged optimistic peeks as he made his way towards them.

Without a second thought, Achilles strode over to a young girl who was properly dolled up. She was a blonde girl with pummeling facial features and she looked bold and fearless.

He stopped before her and took up her left hand in hers. As he stared deep into her eyes, he brought the back of her palm up to his lips and planted a kiss on it.

The girl's face burned red and Achilles could see in her eyes that she was trying her best to suppress the scream that was already raging in her larynx.

"May I know what my future Luna is called?"

"Louisa, Louisa Donovan" The girl dished out in excitement and Achilles beamed.

"Tell your father I will be gracing his household tomorrow morning so we can talk about the wedding plans. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Ma Lady" With that, he carefully dropped her hand and took the stairs back upstairs.

He had no understanding of what he had just done.