Inez wanted to get going. With her hair like the wildest mane known out in public, she would need at least three hours to tame it alone, plus the makeup and getting-ready part. If she was being honest, she wasn’t even looking forward to it. The amount of Sleek A Gel that Inez had to use to tame this mess of tangled wire was no joke. But Nyx didn’t seem to be listening; she ushered Inez to follow her, leaving her with no choice but to follow her towards the main lodge.
However, instead of taking her straight inside the lodge, Nyx turned around and led Inez to the back of the lodge. Inez had never been here before; she never had any reason to. Behind the main lodge stood an impressive building. Unlike the other lodges, this had much more refined taste, which was enough to prove that this building was often used for holding parties.
When the submissive lycans saw them approaching, they immediately turned around and rushed to open the doors.
Having never stepped inside this building, Inez looked around carefully. There was a gigantic chandelier hanging by the pure white ceiling, with multiple lights that changed colours according to the mood and the setting. A small dj stand had been arranged in the corner and the sparrow shifters were rummaging through the boxes trying to set everything in place.
As for the submissive lycans, they were working their way through the decorative items that were scattered on the floor, doing their best to prettify up the place for the birthday party in the evening.
Of course, Inez could still see the traces of gloom hovering in the room. Like the Lycans were not willing but had no choice. And maybe they didn’t; submissive wolves didn’t have much choice, as they were at the bottom of the pyramid and the power play of a pack. Though Inez was certain that Killian would never do something like suppressing the submissive shifters, the stigma still existed and couldn’t be changed so easily.
"I told my mother that we shouldn’t hold a party, you know, considering the condition of the pack and the witches running rampant, but you know how my mother is. She told Kill that holding our lives back would only make the witches much more smug." A sigh as she turned to look at Inez and continued speaking, "Honestly, I, too, asked my mother to think things through. But she is quite stubborn at times."
The glint in her eyes, however, told a different story. Inez was certain that the woman was just as excited as her mother. Because she could soak up all the attention, which she found to be her grind.
"I see." Not wanting to get involved with Nyx, Inez simply nodded. She was going to be late anyway. Since that was the case, she might as well look around.
Nyx brought her to a few more corners, which were getting decorated with a large champagne tower being set in the middle. Just then, a man walked over; from the scent, Inez could sense that this man was a dominant shifter, just not as dominant as Nyx, because he smelled weak. But when Nyx saw him, she raised the corners of her mouth and smiled at him.
"Good evening, Nyx. I am here just as you asked me to," said the blonde man with a smile. His eyes never left Nyx, but the second his gaze flickered to Inez, he couldn’t help but suck in a breath, as the woman was truly beautiful.
"It is good to see you, Carlos," said Nyx, even though the smile on her face was colder than before when she noticed the appreciation in the eyes of the man for Inez. "I hope that you did not have any trouble finding this place. I was afraid that you would not be able to get here on time with the council making things difficult for you."
She then paused and turned to look at Inez. With a smile, she introduced Carlos to Inez. "Lyla, this is Carlos. He works in the council; though his position is not high, he is responsible for many important matters of the council. He is the warden of the council’s prison." She then turned to look at Carlos and added, "And this is Lyla. She is the new member of our pack."
Thrilled to be introduced to such a beautiful woman, Carlos stretched out his hand in front of Inez and said to her, "Nice to meet you, Miss Lyla. I wonder whether a beautiful she-lycan like you is free this evening?"
Wow, what a straightshooter, thought Inez. She was about to turn the man down but before she could, Nyx beat her to it; she raised her head and waved it. "Oh no, Lyla is a latent."
The second the words left her lips, the smile died down in the eyes of the man and replacing it was none other than the one look that Inez was more than familiar with. Contempt.
Oh, would you look at that? Like she was dying to go on a date with the man in front of her.
Carlos dropped his hand and turned to look at Nyx. This time, he was paying all his attention to the woman next to her, and it only proved Inez’s theory of Nyx being an attention seeker. She had nothing against attention seekers, as long as they didn’t use her as their pawn.
"I hope you brought the gift that I have asked you for," said Nyx as her eyes peered at the man in front of her, her lashes batting at the right moment.
"Of course," said Carlos. He winked at Nyx, back to his flirty self, as he said to her, "I couldn’t ruin this for you when you have especially called me in for a favour. Don’t worry; I have made sure that your mother will be pleased to see it."
Pleased to see? Just what did the man bring in for someone like Morrineth to become pleased?