Chapter Thirty-Three – The Big Night
Callie decided that we were all going to get ready at the Cavanaugh mansion. She'd managed to get a hold of a few girls, including Talia, and brought them all over to her house. Needless to say, they were the equivalent of star struck.
"Can I, like, marry you?" Talia asked, admiring the house. "I'll marry you. I'll be lesbian forever. Just let me live here."
"You might be, but I'm not. I'm already taken. I don't think Jonah would like to share." Callie smiled back at her.
There were a few more girls: Cassandra and Claire. They were the girls who were always hovering around Talia. I'd never really gotten a chance to learn their names before. They were equally awestruck.
"I never knew there was a place like this around here.' Claire commented, appreciatively looking around. "It's weird. It's like this place just popped up out of nowhere."
"We've always been a little reclusive." Callie explained. "My dad doesn't really like getting social. We have our own little community here."
"Like a cult?" Cassandra asked, wide-eyed.
Callie wasn't amused. "No. A small community of our own. It's really selective."
"Okay, why don't we start getting ready?" I unzipped my dress. "Isn't it amazing? It's almost just exactly the color of Ian's eyes." I said, smiling at all of them.
"You know what's really weird, though?" Talia spoke up. "Sometimes, I feel like your boyfriend's eye color changes."
"It's just a little different in different lighting." I quickly explained. I hoped it wasn't too obvious that my boyfriend's eye color changes when he gets angry or horny.
Talia nodded, thankfully not delving too much into the topic. "You've been together for a couple weeks now, haven't you?"
"Almost a month." Callie piped up.
"It's almost our one month anniversary soon." I said, deciding not to mention how twisted our relationship was. It went by the moon cycle rather than the normal calendar.
Talia nodded, thoughtfully. "So, it's a big night, tonight."
"You could say so." I said, not sure as to where Talia was going with this. It was too close to the truth.
"Are you planning something big?"
"What do you mean?" I asked her. I was planning on becoming a werewolf, but I doubted that Talia was interested in knowing about that.
"Are you going to, you know, do it?" Talia stared at me, and I wondered when she was going to blink. Her eyes were side open and she looked genuinely curious. My eyes widened and I looked at Callie, hoping that she would interrupt and declare that she didn't want to hear about her brother's love life, as she'd done before, but the girl remained silent. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying my situation and was waiting for me to get myself out of it.
"Um, we've already done it." I said, opting to go with the truth. There was nothing more believable than the truth, right? Apparently, that wasn't the right answer because suddenly, I was surrounded by chaos.
"No way!" Talia exclaimed. "Don't tell me you've slept with Ian Cavanaugh. Half the school wants to sleep with him! How was it?"
"No, is he good? I bet he is." Claire piped up. Cassandra was just listening intently and Callie decided she's apparently had enough.
"We don't have time to get ready girls, so start getting dressed. And I so do NOT want to listen to you guys about how my brother is in bed, when the answer isn't going to get any of us in bed with him, too. Why worry about what you can't have? Ian loves Eira. She's a lucky girl." Callie got a hopeful look on her face. Well, it wasn't exactly hopeful, I mean it was, but it also held desire in it, like she wanted something she couldn't have.
"You're lucky, too." Talia said. "Jonah looks at you the exact same way."
Callie smiled at her. "He looks at me, but not the same way."
Talia seemed a little confused at her words, like she was unsure of what to say next. She stared at her hands for a moment before looking back up, clearly past Callie's words, but for some reason, they stuck on me. I knew Jonah and Callie's relationship was very recent but his affections for her were like a puppy dog love, from what I could tell. Callie had grown up seeing the way Dominic treated Joanna. She saw how Ian and I behaved around each other. She knew what this mate thing had the potential to do. Why wouldn't she want the same?
"Well, I'm going to make sure Thomas can't take his eyes off of me, tonight." Talia declared. "He has this crazy idea in his head that we're going to be crowned the couple of the night."
"Why is it crazy?" I asked her, genuinely curious.
Talia looked at me like I'd grown another head. "Because," She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You and Ian are going to win it."
"What?" I asked her, shocked. "We've barely even been in school ever since we started dating. How do they even know we're dating?"
"Everyone knows that Ian's had this crush on you since the first time he saw you. It was only a matter of time." Talia stated.
"How do I not know about this?"
Talia shrugged. "You were clueless. A lot of girls tried to get his attention off of you. They tried to take advantage of your cluelessness."
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you one of those girls?" I asked her, genuinely curious.
Talia grinned. "No I was not one of those girls. Don't be ridiculous. I was the leader of that little entourage." I blinked, half surprised that Talia even knew a word that big and half surprised that she'd confessed it to me so easily. Talia seemed to pick up on my apprehension. "Don't worry. He's all yours. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. I've set my eyes on Ryan Gosling."
"Isn't he a little too old for you?" Callie asked.
"And married or something?" Claire added.
"He's single." Talia confirmed. "But not for long. I'm going to Hollywood and show him that I'm the one who deserves to be by his side."
I stayed silent. Honestly, as Talia's reluctant friend, I should have been more concerned about Ryan Gosling getting a restraining order for Talia, but the selfish part of me, a big part, was happy that she'd backed off from my mate, even if it was for a petty celebrity crush.
"Does Thomas know about Ryan Gosling?" Cassandra asked, raising an eyebrow. Talia turned to her.
"Don't you dare tell Thomas anything, Cass. I dare you to try. I need someone by my side until I get my hands on Ryan Gosling. Then, you can have Thomas." Talia smirked. "Do you like him?"
Cassandra waved off that accusation. "Please." She said, rolling her eyes with an extra flare I didn't know she possessed. I supposed Cassandra knew Talia better than Callie and I did. She was probably used to the girl's antics. "I don't want your rebound. Besides, if you haven't noticed, I have a perfectly good-looking date tonight. My hands are full."
"It's not fair that Callie and Eira get the hottest guys in the school. You could at least share." Claire teased. "Ian is major hot."
"He's mine." I announced, glaring at Claire, who raised her hands in surrender.
"Back off, Claire." Callie teased. "Eira is incredibly possessive about Ian. If you tick her off, she's going to wild on you. Don't tick her off. Remember that time she had that fight in the halls over Ian? Talia, you banged the lockers so hard, the whole school heard."
"She learned her lesson, though, didn't you, Talia? After that fight, you decided that you wanted to be friends." I pointed out. "And, um, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to push you. Hard." I added, knowing that if the situation ever came up again, I would probably react the same way.
Talia seemed to read me as well as I read myself. "You don't mean that." She declared. "I was there, and I'm positive that if you had any less self-control, you would have trampled me until my own parents couldn't recognize me."
I smiled at her. "That was a pretty intense day, wasn't it?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The look on Ian's face when he saw me was priceless, not that I'd ever doubted Callie's ability to make me look good. The girl had a natural ability to look good.
Ian looked pretty drool-worthy, too, and I made special care to make sure Talia stayed out of his way. Because all of the girls were getting ready at the Cavanaugh Mansion, which was also called the Pack House, which I learned a few days ago, we'd agreed to let all of the boys pick us up from here, apart from Cole.
He'd gone to his date's house to pick her up.
I was feeling pretty good. I couldn't ignore the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I suppose that tended to happen when you were about to become a whole new species you'd only read about in books and seen in movies made by paranormal Hollywood directors.
Ian marched across the room, his eyes never leaving me for even a second. I felt someone elbow me, but I was too entranced to pay attention. Ian looked...glorious.
He was dressed in a black and white tuxedo that seemed like it was made for Ian to wear. His eyes ran over my body, and I felt proud of my choice of dress. This dress was made for me the same way I was made for him and he was made for me. It felt odd to feel this kind of strong dedication to someone you barely knew, but I had so much faith in it, I was sure it would never fail me. I was sure that Ian would never fail me.
This was destiny, after all. Before I met Ian, I didn't know what destiny was. Was it the future? Something meant to happen? Fate? Was it something that destroyed you? Was it the same force that created you? These were philosophical question that someone like me never looked into. But right now, looking at Ian standing in front of me, if someone were to ask me what destiny was, I would have an answer. He was destiny. He was what was meant to happen. He didn't destroy me. He didn't create me. He gave me another me. It was like his presence gave me another birth. I was a new me.
His eyes met mine and he gave me a crooked smile. It wasn't a smirk. It was genuine, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't internally swooning. How did I ever get so lucky?
I was a girl who lived with her mother her whole life. I didn't even know I had a half-brother until a little while ago. I didn't know who my father was. I didn't know I was half werewolf. I felt like fate had just thrown everything at me all at once. I learned that my mother had lied to me all my life. I learned that the man who was my father didn't even know I existed. I didn't know he was a werewolf. I had so many problems going for me when I'd spoken to Ian for the first time.
Now, when I thought back to it, it always had been there. Ever since the first time I'd seen him, his presence had always controlled me. I knew whenever he as around me, but it was always subconscious. The mate bond was always strong. We were just two idiots who were always trying to overpower it. Who does that? Ian was trying to stay away because he felt like he didn't deserve me, and what happened on that last full moon just confirmed his fears. I stayed away because, well, what I felt around him scared me. Whenever he looked at me, I felt like he could see more than I wanted him to.
But we were past all of that now.
Between the last full moon and the one tonight, everything had changed. My whole world seemed to change for the better. I'd gotten so much from life. I was a girl who was always alone. The only person I thought I had was my mother. Now, I had a new family.
I had a mother who was crazy, but was someone I could count on. I had a father who scared me, but accepted me as a part of his family. I never had a father figure in my life, but I knew that I could count on Dominic to fill that role for me. I had two brothers. One, who I trusted and one who I barely knew. I knew Reese was someone I could count on. We were friends. I knew my relationship with Cole was different. I felt like we were always a part of two different worlds, but once I became a wolf, I hoped that would change. I had a sister who was crazy, and had somehow become my best friend. But most importantly, I had a mate who loved me. One who would stand by my side and care for me.
Seeing him in front of me, though, I knew that all of that was true, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world.
"You look gorgeous." Ian complimented me, staring into my eyes. I stared back, but only for the sole reason that I could find the energy I needed to look away.
I cleared my throat. "You look good, too." I said. That was an understatement. He looked like the sexiest guy in the whole world, but I couldn't say that out loud, not without embarrassing myself for the rest of my life.
"Just good?" He smirked, like he knew exactly what was on my mind. I nodded.
"You look good. The tux really suits you." I told him. My eyes landed on a box in his hands. "Is that for me?" I asked.
"Of course." He grinned as he took my hand and helped me put on the corsage on my wrist. His touch sent tingles through my body and my heart was racing. My mind was stuck on what might happen tonight. What kind of wolf would I look like? How much pain would I have to go through? Then, some more troublesome thoughts. What if something got messed up? What if the shift didn't happen? What if I was stuck as some hybrid that couldn't ever become a wolf?
"It's going to be all right." Ian whispered into my ear. It was almost as if he'd read my mind. He knew what was bothering me.
"I hope so." I said. He didn't respond. He just squeezed my hand in an action that comforted me more that words ever could.
"Oh my god!" Someone exclaimed, and I knew Joanna was in the room. "You guys look so beautiful!" She squealed, her eyes widening in excitement and joy. "My babies are all grown up!" She was so hyper; I worried that she might burst into at tears any time.
"Mom." Ian sounded like he was begging Joanna to calm down. He was embarrassed. It was actually kind of cute. Unfortunately for him, speaking out just attracted her attention towards him and she took the chance.
"Oh my." She said. "Look at you. Eira, your dress is gorgeous. You look so lovely. And Ian, you look so adorable. When you were little, you used to hate dressing up. Come close." She ordered. "I want to capture this moment on camera."
After about twenty minutes of 'capturing this moment,' Joanna finally released all of us. "I wish Cole was here right now." She mused. "I could have gotten some pictures of him with his date."
"Maybe he'll come by later." Ian proposed.
"Maybe." Joanna agreed.
I took the chance to look around. I'd been so focused on seeing Ian that I hadn't really bothered to pay attention to the other guys. Talia was standing with Thomas in the corner of the hall, smiling up at him and I wondered if there might be something more serious between the couple.
Callie was chatting away with Jonah. Seeing them, I wondered why Callie seemed to be putting so much effort into that relationship. I knew that she might not ever find her mate, but it still bothered me a little. I shoved the thought out of my mind, though, because I knew that Jonah was a good guy and he was the kind of guy who would treat Callie right, even if she never found her mate.
Cassandra and Claire were standing with their dates. Cassandra's date was someone I didn't recognize but the way they acted, I was sure they were a couple, and this wasn't just a casual one-time date.
Claire was who surprised me. I didn't recognize her date, but I could tell that he was definitely a werewolf. Did Ian ask him to ask Claire to the dance?
Soon enough, we all managed to get out of Joanna's clutches and were making our way out of the house. I froze and my jaw dropped at the sight in front of me. "No way." I gasped.
Ian's arm came around me and I looked up at him with wide eyes. He was smiling at me. "Do you like it?"
"Like it?" I repeated. "Ian, I can't believe it. How did you get a limo all the way up here? Where did it come from?"
"I ordered it from a limo service in Spokane." Ian told me, brushing it off like it was nothing. I heard a squeal from behind me and realized the others had also seen the glorious vehicle.
"Have I told you I love you yet?" I grinned at him.
He grinned back. "I think we missed that part."
"I love you." I told him, anyways, giving him a hug.
We all got into the limo; Ian and I were the first ones inside. I was grinning. This was an overall amazing experience. I'd never been inside of a limo before, and I was sure that getting a limo was something that even my mom might not have been able to pull off. The thought brought a twinge of pain to my heart. I missed my mom a lot, even though I wasn't talking to her. I'd more or less moved in with Ian and whatever I heard about her came from Reese.
The entire ride consisted of couples huddling with one another. Even I crawled into Ian's arms, enjoying the comfort he brought me.
The limo came to another stop and the door opened and the last two passengers got inside. Cole was dressed in a tuxedo and beside him was a girl I recognized from my math class. I smiled at them. The girl returned the smile while Cole opted to overlook it. I tried to not let it get to me but it hurt me for more reasons than one.
"Hi everyone." He said. "This is Tina." He introduced his date who just smiled and waved at everyone. Ian's arm tightened around me.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, looking concerned. I could tell that he knew something had bothered me but I didn't want to tell him that I was upset because his brother didn't smile back at me. Even I knew how petty it sounded. The thing was that I was having a hard time getting the pack to accept me and I knew that it was a miracle that they were all acting so...civil around me. It might have been that they were respecting me because I was Ian's mate and not because they actually liked me. Cole had been one of the people who maintained a safe distance from me right from the start and that bothered me a lot more than it should have.
"Just a little nervous." I told him, with a smile. And it was the truth. I was nervous for what might happen tonight. I would finally become a werewolf. And now that the moment was so close, I was actually questioning why I'd been so reluctant about it in the first place. Maybe it was because I wanted it more now, than I did before.
"You have nothing to be nervous about." Ian assured me. "Nothing is going to happen. I'm going to be with you all night, tonight. Whatever happens, I'm going to be here for you. You're strong. You can handle it. I know you can."
His words assured me more than about the shifting. I felt like he subconsciously knew what I was really worried about and he was trying to assure me about that, too.
For some reason, becoming a werewolf and actually going through the change didn't make me as nervous as being accepted by Ian's pack did. It was a big pack. How was I supposed to get everyone in the pack to like me? When I started high school here, I barely got one person to like me, and they'd vanished on me.
"What are you thinking about now?" Ian asked, teasing. I just smiled at him.
"Nothing."
When we finally arrived at the school, I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. They really turned this place around. The dance was being held in the gym. The lights were all dimmed and the decorations were splattered across the ceiling. They'd even managed to get rid of the usual gym odor and the whole room held an evergreen scent. They'd tried to stay true to the masquerade theme and the color theme was orange and silver. As unappealing as it sounded, the room looked beautiful and I had to give credit to the student council for doing such a good job.
All the chaperones were huddled to a corner of the room and were gazing around the room, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity.
I turned to face Ian and he was wearing a bronze mask that covered half of his face. I grinned at him before reaching into my bag and pulling out my own mask. I slipped it on, careful that it didn't mess any of my hair up. "There." I whispered. "Now, you're not Ian anymore and I'm not Eira."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Ian said. "Because I'm never letting Eira go." His hand clasped mine and I grinned at our intertwined hands.
"I feel really nervous today." I confessed, hesitantly looking up at him. I twisted my hand in his grip, letting his hand continue to grip mine. "I feel like something's not right."
"You're just nervous. It's normal. I was nervous before my first shift, too, but this is meant to happen. The moon goddess has chosen it to happen." I peered up at him at his mention of a moon goddess. I'd never heard him say it before and it sounded a little odd, so I decided to question him about it.
"Moon goddess?" I asked.
Ian nodded, seeming to notice his slip. "The moon goddess is who protects us wolves. She goes by many names in many different cultures. The Greek people call her Artemis. The Romans call her Diana. She is sometimes called Selene. In fact, the Alpha's mate is named Luna in respect to her." He elaborated. "We bow in respect to her before a new Alpha is initiated, too."
"I didn't know that." I said, realizing that there was a lot about pack life I didn't know yet. That just made me feel more like I didn't belong.
"You have a lot to learn, my Luna." Ian said, making me grin at him. "Would you like to dance?" He asked, motioning towards the crowd. Thankfully, they were playing a slow song so I knew no one was going anything too uncomfortable like grinding.
"Yes, I would." I said, in response to his question.
Ian and I headed over to the dance floor, followed by several other couples. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he found a comfortable spot for his hands on my waist and we just moved along with the music.
"When is this...shift thing going to happen?" I asked Ian.
"Around midnight." He responded. I breathed in relief. It was barely eight so I knew I still had time to enjoy my last few moments as human.
The song changed to a more upbeat rhythm and Ian offered to get me punch. We stepped off of the dance floor and made our way to a table in the corner of the room. Callie and Jonah were already there. Callie was smiling at Jonah while he stared at her like she was a goddess. It was a beautiful sight and it reminded me of Ian and me just a little bit.
"You guys look great." Callie commented when we approached her.
"Thank you." I gave her a genuine smile, letting her know that I really did appreciate the compliment. Beside me, Ian was glaring at Jonah, who was trying his best not to look intimidated by him. It was evident that Ian had not gotten over that incident a little while back yet, and did not approve of his sister's choice of date.
Just then, Cole came up to us with his date. He was smiling, barely and his date looked overly anxious for some reason. She was in my math class, but I'd never really spoken to her before. I decided to take a stand and make an introduction.
"Hi." I said, gently. "I'm Eira." I introduced myself. Tina stared at my outstretched hand before slowly, and almost painfully slipping her hand into mine.
"Kristina." She said, instantly pulling her hand away. I watched her in shock. She was treating me like I was repelling her. I couldn't understand why the girl was so overly nervous around us.
"Do you want punch, Tina?" Cole asked, already reaching out for a cup. He took the scoop and filled up the cup, before holding it out for her to take.
"Thank you." Tina said, holding her hand out. I couldn't help but notice that it was shaking. Then, almost like it was inevitable, the cup slipped from Tina's fingers and landed on the floor with a SPLAT!
"Oh god!" I squealed, stepping away as quick as possible, but the damage was done. There was a large red fruit punch stain on the bottom of my dress.
"Oh my god!" Tina exclaimed, staring down at the stain with wide eyes. "I'm...I...Sorry!" She screamed before running towards the gym exit, leaving several curious eyes following her path. I looked down at my dress.
"This is going to need to be dry-cleaned." I frowned. Ian wrapped his arm around my waist in a comforting manner.
"You really know how to pick then, don't you bro?" Ian asked Cole with a hint of a smile on his face. I slapped his arm.
"How could you laugh?" I scolded him.
"Here," Callie came over to me. "Maybe we can get some of it to wash off in the bathroom. Wash it off with warm water." She suggested. I just nodded, trying not to cry in misery for the short life and brutal demise of my beautiful dress.
"Yeah." I couldn't really form any other words.
Callie and I hurried over to the side door to the gym, briefly pausing to inform Mr. Heimlich where we were going. Jed just gave us a brief nod before allowing us to exit.
"He's a part of our pack, too." Callie said, as soon as we stepped outside. That piece of information answered several questions. The alley was empty when we stepped outside and I shivered at the cold air. Cold wasn't exactly new for Fallon but in a thin dress, the weather took cold to a whole new level.
The whole area was dark, only illuminated by a handful of lights, strategically posted to provide the most light in the dark setting. The dance was already fairly on its way so there wasn't anyone really hovering around the bathrooms. Specifically, it was empty.
"Cole's date was weird." Callie commented, holding the door open for me.
"She seemed really nervous. It was like Cole blackmailed her into going to the dance with him." I said, remembering how nervous she was.
"Now, I know Cole is a little on the nervous side, but he's my brother. I know him better than anyone. There was no way he'd have to blackmail Tina into coming with him to the dance. He could have any girl in the school." The inside of the bathroom was eerily quiet. Callie and I made our way to the sink. She helped me lift the dress into the porcelain sink and started the water.
"I believe you. And she was kind of pretty." I said, trying to justify Cole's actions. "Just a little nervous and clumsy." I said, focusing on cleaning my dress. Some of the red went down the drain but there was still a significant amount of color on the dress. Next time, I was going to buy a red one.
The bathroom door opened, again, and I assumed that it was someone else from the dance, not bothering to pay much attention. Callie and I were both focused on the stain. Suddenly, Callie shrieked as a hand came over my mouth. My eyes widened as I tried to identify the dark figure behind me while simultaneously trying to struggle out of his hold, but was unsuccessful. The figure was definitely male and definitely too strong for me.
The last thing I remembered before passing out was my mask falling off of my head.