Kissed By The Moon

CHAPTER 14: Seeking

"But..."

"No buts Amari, let me help. What's her name?"

"Charlotte Odair," I say, liking the way her name sounds.

"Of the Grey Valley Odair's?" Brie confirms, to which I nod. "Okay, lets head out, if push comes to shove, do the announcement," she instructs before we head out.

I forgot how crowded the Ball was, and I forgot that I was the Guest of honour. The moment I step back into the ball, I'm being bombarded by people. I don't have a single second to look for Miss Odair, but I can smell her. That scent. It's everywhere yet she is nowhere to be found. Eres is getting stressed out and it's getting hard to keep her at bay as I try my best to not lose control here out of all places.

My mother must notice my frustrations because she pulls me away from some people I was trying to force myself to talk to.

"Amari, what's going on?"

"My mate," I say, not in the mood for concealment.

"What about them?" She asks, confused.

"She's here," I say, "We met and she ran away, I'm trying to find her," I report, looking over her shoulder in the hopes of spotting her somewhere in the crowd

"Oh honey that's great!" she pulls me into a tight hug, but then as suddenly as she embraced me, she lets go, "Wait, why did she run?"

"I don't know," I mumble out, a strange sadness creeping into me.

"It's okay honey, let me help you," is all she says before she walks away with her classic Luna Nash determination.

Next thing I know, the music is being stopped and the mic is turned on.

"Ladies and gentle, thank you so much for coming this event, and I will let you get back to your fun in just a minute, but my daughter, Amari Nash, has an announcement she'd like to make. Mari?" She petitions me to join her on stage and I hesitate only briefly before I decide that its what's best.

"Hi, sorry for the brief interruption, but I want to take this opportunity to announce that I have found my mate," there is a deafening silence heard throughout the hall, so I continue. "I have found my true mate, fated to me by the Moon Goddess, and I'd like to welcome her up here with me and invite her to have a dance. I'd also like to invite other mated wolves to join us as we celebrate the beauty of the bond. Please help me welcome my mate and the future Luna of the Silver Moon Pack – if she will have me – Miss Charlotte Odair of the Grey Valley Pack!"

There is a complete silence for a few seconds, then I see people look around and start to murmur. Charlotte Odair's name is on all their lips but she is nowhere in sight. I don't know how long I wait, maybe days, weeks, even years, but then a woman in green stumbles forward and is then led up the stage by someone I know to be Alpha Kane, who I guess is her brother.

She walks up to me trying to shy away for the curious eyes of the audience and I feel bad for dragging her up here in front of all these people. It's however, too late to back down, so I take her hand and give her my best smile, which she returns, to my relief. I lead her off the stage, onto the dancefloor and the Live band begins to play while we dance to a few chords before we are joined by other mated couples.

At first, the dance is awkward and feels obligatory, but then I pull her into me and decide to make the most of this moment. She could run again after this. She could even reject me. My heart breaks at the thought. So, this is the only moment I have to really be with her, and I'll be dammed if I let it go to waste. If I lose her tonight, it won't be because I didn't want her, it won't be because when she ran I didn't go after her. I would have done my best, as I always hoped to do.

As the song plays on, we both get more comfortable and our dancing becomes more synchronised. Like we were always meant to be right here, in each other's arms. Her scent engulfs me, and I feel those sparks everywhere she touches and butterflies every time I catch her looking at me. Surely she feels this too.

When the song ends, I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it, before everyone starts to clap. The band plays another song as I get ready to leave the dance floor but she pulls me back and smiles,

"I love this song," is all she says before she starts swaying to the rhythm and I, at first surprised by the action, easily get my bearings and place my hands around her waist and pull her in.

Miss Odair plays her part quite well, taking the lead as the song plays on and the lead singer softly sings her enchanting song. Odair sways her hips to the rhythm and then when the second chorus hits, she turns around with her back to me and start to give me a slow whine. She guides my hands down her body and interlocks our fingers briefly as she continues her slow dance, and I am under her spell.

We move together effortlessly, slaves to the rhythm. Charlotte then brings her hands above her head and slowly lowers herself without missing a single beat. The lower she gets, the higher up her body my hands slide until I find her wrists, and both gently and swiftly pull her ups and spin her around until we are face to face, breathless. Breathing in the air that the other is breathing out, yet still dancing.

Dancing like if we stopped the other would disappear. The next song plays, and then the next and we move as one with me spinning Charlotte occasionally, holding her tighter and closer each time I spun her back towards me until there was no gap between us. I don't want this night to end. This night that I dreaded, that I hated and endured, is now the best night I've lived so far. I've forgotten about everyone in the room. This beautiful woman in front of me has monopolised all my attention. The thought of letting a stranger in still scares me, but from the moment our eyes met, she hasn't felt like much of a stranger at all.