Althea's POV
Magnolia was the last person to come back.
Ivy had returned around ten the next day, and Valeria was back within two. Magnolia, however, didn't come back to the tournament for another full four days.
Certainly longer than any of us were expecting.
I felt as if a weight had been taken off my shoulders, finally being able to talk to Orion without the fear of being overheard, by anyone. I was an idiot, I know that. I shouldn't be fooling around with myself, and honestly, should have just taken my placed months ago.
But I couldn't.
It was like something inside of me was physically stopping me from doing that. I knew, that even if it wasn't going to be my end as I had planned, My time here at the Placing Tournament could be kept the same.
I was struggling with the idea of letting go, I didn't regret or want to take back what I had said to Orion, I just wasn't coping completely. I have had three months, and that should have been enough time for me to comprehend everything. But it wasn't, not at all.
When Magnolia had finally returned, it was an intense reunion, and it certainly didn't take us long to get seated in Ivy's room - two on her bed, one on her desk chair and another leaning against the side of the bed on the floor.
We had given her a few updates on up before she dived into her own stories, telling us all about how Gabe had reacted, and the performance and just... well, everything.
"Mae is a Prima Ballerina," She explained, "And she's worked her whole life for it. It was so great to finally get to watch her dance."
"My little sister has always wanted to get into dance," Ivy pondered, "Grace, she's not old enough to even think about her tournament, but she's always expressed interest in it. We've never been able to afford to get her lessons, of course,"
"The only dance I can do is when it comes to fighting," Valeria added, propping her legs up on the desk, "I don't even think I would be able to pull on a tutu, let alone those shoes! They look like little torture devices,"
"They weren't so bad, I guess," Magnolia hummed, "Can't remember honestly, I was so young when I quit."
"I have an idea," I started slowly, everyone's attention being drawn to me, "Let's go to a club."
Valeria's eyes bulged out of her head, "What?"
I sat up straighter, "A club, You know, for dancing?"
"Yeah, I know what a club is, I just can't believe that you're the one suggesting it," She said in bewilderment, "Thought you would still be studying if I'm being honest Thee, not that it's a bad thing of course."
I rolled my eyes, "Look, I want to have some fun, get my mind off things. And what better way to do that then to spend a night with my girls?"
I could see a light ignite behind Ivy's eyes, "Are you serious?"
I nodded, leaning my arms on the bed, "Yeah, I actually am. No boys, just the four off us, going out and having fun. Besides, we can do the fun things without it being illegal now."
The edge of Valeria's mouth raised mischievously, the gears in her mind already turning, "And there certainly aren't any rules holding us back. If all are willing, I would say definitely. Of course, I'm never one to turn down a party,"
"We've got a couple of nightclubs in Pax, but I know the perfect one to go to. Definitely dedicated for the younger ones, so there won't be any murder or mafia bosses," She said jokingly.
Magnolia hadn't said anything yet, her eyes glazed over, not in mind link, just in thought.
"I think I have something in my cupboard that I can wear," She finally said, her voice soft but strong.
My heart spiked, "So we're doing this?"
Valeria punched the air, "Oh definitely."
"And no boys," Ivy reiterated, "We shouldn't even tell them, saying we're going late night shopping or something,"
I smiled wickedly, "Perfect. We'll have to make sure that no one recognises us, or else we won't even be able to get a drink before your mates show up,"
"And they certainly won't be dropping by to join in on the fun," Magnolia rolled her eyes. "I suppose we just need to dress out of what we already do, Val, maybe wear your hair down, something that isn't so iconically you."
"Speaking of clothes," I started, "Does anyone have something I could borrow? Just for the night, even if I was knowing the plans, I certainly wouldn't have the clothes for it either way."
Valeria looked at me, pausing momentarily as if running through her wardrobe in her mind. "I've got a dress, it'll be short and tight but you should be able to squeeze into it,"
My blood began to heat up, a feeling of excitement beginning to run through my veins, "Sounds perfect."
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The moment that the sun began to dip over the horizon, our closets were thrown open in a flurry of clothes. The shower was rotated between the four of us, getting dressed in our own respective rooms before returning to Ivy's to do our hair and makeup.
I had never done anything like this, and even if I had wanted to, I had never had the friends to do it with.
But I was excited.
I had pulled my blonde hair into a high ponytail, letting it rest on the top edge of my head. I tied it in with a blonde hair tie, ensuring that not a hair was out of place. I had been simple with makeup, not wanting to have too much on my face. Just some winged eyeliner and a swipe of blush over my cheeks. Nothing too obvious, but it tied the look together.
The dress Valeria had given me was a velvet green, slightly on the pale, pastel side. It had thin, spaghetti straps and finished mid-thigh. Like she had said, it was tight, but I could still breathe. I'd just thrown on a pair of my nicest flats as my shoes.
Valeria had pulled her hair into a braided bun on her head, wearing a dress in the same style as mine, but in a deep, burgundy red. Her's also had sequins lining the bottom and the bodice. Magnolia was wearing a pair of long black pants that flared out at her ankles, a sleeveless, cropped shirt accompanying it. Her hair, of course, was left untouched. Ivy had braided her hair into two, thick plaits. She was wearing a white cropped top and a black leather skirt.
Needless to say, we looked amazing.
When we had gone down to dinner two hours prior, we had said nothing and had put on a complete act.
No one would be interrupting us tonight.
It was about 9:30 before we left.
A lot of people were still out visiting family in other packs, so we decided to just take the risk in leaving how we were dressed. We walked through the empty corridor silently, stifling our giggles as we entered the elevator. We didn't stop until we got to the bottom floor, wasting no time in rushing out of the building and heading straight to one of the footpaths leading us into Pax's centre.
Ivy was leading the way, the specific club we were going to was just on the rim of the area, right near a range of shopping centres. It was deadly quiet, just one word would have echoed all the way to the packhouse.
"We're nearly there," Ivy whispered, "Just keep quiet."
We walked up to a building, walking in between an alley. I was starting to be able to hear the quiet hum of music in the building and the slow thump of the beat under our feet. Ivy stopped at a door, lifting her fist and banging it against the door,
It opened up, revealing a bodyguard.
Ivy put on a million-dollar smile, "Hiya Cal, you got room for four more?"
He gave us a once over before sighing, swinging the door open wider, "Not really Ms Rose, but I can't say no to you,"
"Thank you!" She wheezed excitedly,
Ivy placed a quick kiss to his cheek before heading in, the rest of us following behind her.
"Who's that guy?" Valeria whispered under her breath once we had gotten into the building.
"That's Cal. My parents used to get their silver from here, and they would bring my brother and I along - I'm not too sure why. Anyway, Cal looked after when that happened, basically grabbing onto my brother and I as we walked in to make sure that we weren't seeing things we shouldn't. Anyway, the club got new owners and basically put a stop to any silver activity." She explained, shrugging it off as if it was normal.
My heart clenched, suddenly feeling awkward.
Ivy waved it off, "Don't worry about it, once the twins were born they just left us at home. Now let's have some fun!"
And so we did.
It was a night of dancing and drinking. Wolves didn't have the metabolism to get drunk, so all the alcohol had been altered eons ago to make it stronger, and essentially, a lot more sufficient at doing its job.
I had never drunk before, so I followed the other's leads, pouring shot glasses of clear liquid down my throat, embracing the burn. My hand was never empty on the dance floor, filled with a different liquid every song: amber, brown, red, white.
My head had been spinning for what felt like hours now, almost everything causing a fit of giggles to erupt from my mouth. At least I knew I wasn't alone, the others looking just as hammered as I was.
I could feel the sweat on my skin, my heart pumping, the strain of my ponytail. But I couldn't bring myself to care.
The song changed, and I noticed the lack of drink in my cup, so I staggered up to the front bar, slapping down my final note,
"Something strong please," I asked, slumping my body down onto the wooden bench.
The bartender gave me a strange look before snatching up the note and grabbing a cup, walking off to the shelves of liquor. He came back, pushing the cup onto my direction,
"You take it easy alright," He warned before walking off to serve another customer.
"Thank you!" I slurred, calling out to him before going back into the crowd right back to where the others were.
Minutes bled into hours, and I had no idea how long we had been here, all I knew is that I wasn't even close to being ready to leave.
"Oh no," I heard Valeria whisper,
"What's wrong darling?" I giggled, "Too much drink?"
"Nuh-uh," She shook her head, "I just made eye contact with a Vindex Pack member, his eyes are glazed over, what if he's mind linking Colton or someone?"
Ivy let out a pig-like snort and waved her hand in dismissal, "Don't talk crazy talk Val, I'll bet that he isn't."
She shrugged, "Ok then,"
We continued dancing, still pouring the liquid in my cup down my mouth. I could hear the faint sounds of shouting and growls. I just ignored it, letting my mind focus in on the music.
That's when I saw them
Wolves pounced into the room, their fur dirty and splintered,m their eyes a harsh red.
Rogues,
I screamed, starting to move as everyone noticed.
Some took to long or were standing to close to the door. The wolves launched into them, latching on and tearing. All I could hear was the snarls of the wolves and the cries of pain from their victims.
Some were left on the floor with a bleeding arm or leg.
Some were left dead with gashes in their neck.
I began to run, grabbing onto the girl's arms and running in the opposite direction. I looked through the crowds to see wolves emerging from that side too.
We were stuck in the middle, surrounded by at least 200 other people.
My mind was foggy, not a single thought being able to be comprehended.
I took a risk, rushing toward the bar and climbing over to try and escape. The club was in a frenzy, people running and screaming. Some had shifted to fight off the rogues, and some were slamming themselves into the walls in order to create a means for escape. I dropped to the floor, feeling sticky liquids and shards of glass under my palms and knees. I had noticed a door that the bartenders had been walking in and out of, so I crawled over to it and pushed on it, letting it open up and potentially offer a means for escape. I crawled through, going to the side so I could close it after the others got in.
Once Ivy had come through, I closed it as quickly and quietly as possible, sitting against the door ad leaning all my weight against it.
So we weren't in a corridor or anything helpful, just a plain boxed room his walls were lined with shelves holding copious amounts of booze.
"I think our best bet is to stay here until it's all over, and just hope we don't get found," I muttered, "Valeria, do you think you could mind link someone?"
She shook her head, "My head is way to foggy... I think I drank too much..."
I sighed, "So I guess we're playing the waiting game."
We sat in complete silence, still hearing the screams, shouts, growls and snarls from the other side. Every time I heard louder and clearer footsteps, my heart rose into my throat, choking me until I heard it pass.
I reached up and grabbed one of the bottles on the shelf, popping off the lid and letting it slowly pour down my throat. I knew that getting sober was the better thing for this situation, but I didn't want to, at least the alcohol would soothe the sick feeling in my stomach. Both Ivy and Valeria grabbed a bottle too, Lia, however, did not, already passing out on the floor, a line of drool running down her cheek and onto the floor.
I leaned my head against the door, the slow ache starting to return. I placed the half-empty down quietly on the floor and began pulling out my hair tie, letting my sweaty ass of hair fall behind me. I took another swig of the drink.
I heard louder shouts, and then silence. Complete silence.
I pressed my ear against the door, trying to hear something, anything.
"It's gone quiet," I muttered, the others seeming to notice the same thing.
"Don't do anything," Valeria warned, "They might be trying to lure out any hiders,"
I closed my mouth shut, still keeping my ear on the door. Then I heard it, footsteps, they were in the building everywhere, it was all I could hear.
Maybe the rogues had shifted back to their human form, that was my best bet. Again, my heart rose, the very blood in my veins seems to curdle.
The footsteps were getting louder, though they were slow and steady. I leaned down harder on the door. The door started to rattle, my entire body experiencing a sensation of fear like no other.
The doorknob was being pulled down,
Someone was trying to get in.