The two females gladly decorated Cassandra’s other hand and then her feet.
"Nissa! Let it dry and then we will wash it off. I think you will get a very bright colour due to the lighter tone of your skin," Ara commented gleefully while changing the candles in candelabras with fresh ones.
She was a young, mateless girl; the black line on her chin revealed her status. Excited to help their new Luna get ready had given her extra energy. Her richly bronzed skin glowed as if it had been well-oiled. Cassandra remembered her from her first feast and her numerous visits to her room. She was the one Faris was openly flirting with.
"Thank you, Ara. I am excited to see the colour" Cassandra sat with her hands and legs stretched out, letting it dry.
Palia brought breakfast for Cassandra and fed her with her hands so that her wet henna wouldn’t get spoiled.
Once it had dried they brought a clay washbasin and helped her scrub off the upper layer of henna.
Revealing the rich reddish-orange shade of the dye below. It stood so starkly opposite in shade to her pearly skin. Her helpers were mesmerised by it.
"It suits you so much. Alpha’s design is more elaborate and has coloured well. It means he adores you." They inspected the design and commented on the low giggling sounds.
Cassandra glowed differently today; he had painted her in his colours, and they had blossomed so brightly on her.
They then combed and styled her soft gold hair. Firstly Cassandra’s hair were braided and then stylishly wrapped on her head. Held with hair accessories and gaudy ribbons.
Kohl was used against her eyelids to create a perfect almond-shaped look. Crushed saffron was used to tint her cheeks red. It was a luxury of Dusartine, their pack grew a substantial amount of saffron and harvested it to be supplied to other regions.
The ’Red-Gold’ of Dusartine was what made the pack thrive and be one of the richest packs in the South.
Finally, both girls helped Cassandra adorn the special gown that Siroos had gotten prepared for his mate. Lacy white gloves adorned her delicate hands but they were airy so she wouldn’t feel hot in this heat.
"Muth’hil (spectacular)," both of them cried out with broadened eyes revealing their expressions of contentment.
Cassandra stared down at her dress, picked it up from its helm on both sides and took a slow twirl. It flared all around her like gold dust creating a spell-binding spectacle.
She could sense as if the air was infused with magic. The girl with violet eyes had never felt more beautiful before. She seemed to have stepped out of a fairytale heading to a dream wedding.
They were still admiring her dress when a knock was heard on the wooden door. Ara went to open it and soon walked back inside with Kela.
The snake-shifter woman even glided like a graceful snake; there was something about the way she slithered inside that had Cassandra on the edge.
She remembered how Kela had taunted her on her arrival and was also summoned when she was bitten by a snake. The way she always gazed at Siroos was also not appreciated by her.
Kela’s snake-like eyes slithered up and down Cassandra’s body. Unlike Palia and Ara, the joy was missing in her gaze like the warmth on a snowy day. Her lips twitched in displeasure, a hint of malice could be detected on her face.
"Elder Walan wants both of you to help with preparations. I will stay here for the time being," she told them in a bored fashion, not taking her gaze off Cassandra.
"But, Luna Haylia sent us to prep Nissa," Ara spoke up, not seeming pleased with Kela’s announcement.
"Do you want for the Alpha to hear you disobeyed me?" She threatened, placing her hand on her hip and Ara lost some of the colour on her cheeks.
"No need for threats, we will tell Elder Walan and be back soon," Palia answered, narrowing her eyes at Kela.
"Go ahead, I am almost ready anyways." Cassandra awarded them permission. She could understand Kela had something to say to her and she wished to hear it.
Ara and Palia bowed and left the room, softly closing the door behind them. Kela watched them go with a snicker and turned to face the woman dressed in gold.
She took a step forward, her naked feet didn’t fully touch the ground as the bells hanging around her extremely short garb bounced and rang.
Her beauty was alluring and equally disturbing at the same time.
"Aren’t you a sight?" She mockingly said, tilting her head at Cassandra and batting her eyes. Her feet took another step as she stretched a wide circle around Cassandra, who irritatedly asked.
"What do you want?"
"Just to thoroughly look at the woman he has replaced me with," she quipped, letting out a dry chuckle.
Her words directly hit Cassandra’s heart, she wasn’t a fool to not understand whom she was referring to. Whipping around she faced the cunning woman who had circled towards her back.
"Whatever is that supposed to mean?" Cassandra demanded, rage descending in her violet eyes, turning them into simmering purple concoctions of a heated-up cauldron.
"Ahh! Seems like he didn’t tell you. Don’t worry, I will reveal the whole truth. Alpha Siroos is mine. I am his chosen lover, his mistress and I will become his breeder after he completes the ceremony with you."
The bitter taste of jealousy burnt the insides of Cassandra; she wasn’t sure how it had wormed inside her heart, but hearing these words snapped something inside her.
Her eyes glowed with this rage towards the woman watching her in distaste and announcing to her that her mate was her lover.
Cassandra had this thought before that Siroos might have women before her. The way he touched her proved it wasn’t the first time he was holding a female’s body. But she hadn’t thought for Kela to so blatantly declare that, especially on the day of their bonding ceremony.
"You seem drunk, drunk on the power you don’t even hold. I know women like you who bite more than they can chew and then choke on it. Alpha Siroos is my mate now and you can be seriously punished for uttering such nonsense about him," Cassandra retorted, trying to keep the rage at bay but failing miserably.