Once Upon A Pack (Royalverse #1)

Chapter 8

eight

“Um, wow.”

Gracie leans back, brows arched in surprise. Behind her, one of the manor’s only omega employees smiles broadly.

Tanya works in the stables as an apprentice for the royal horse trainer.

Yes.

The royal horse trainer .

I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it seems like my best friend might have a little crush. Usually, when she dates someone new, I hear all about it. But today, when Gracie yanked me down to the staff quarters and took me to Tanya’s room to get ready for the ball, I found out they’ve already been out twice.

If the giggly goo-goo eyes they exchange aren’t suspicious enough, their scents definitely are.

I’m a beta . I’m not even supposed to be able to pick up on these things. So you know they must be pretty attracted to one another.

In fact, their pheromones are sort of making me woozy.

Or maybe that’s just whatever insanity came over me the other day.

“What?” I fret, turning to Tanya’s narrow, full-length mirror. “Do I look ridiculous?”

It’s sort of a rhetorical question. Of course I look ridiculous. My face is all made up, even though it’s, apparently, going to be hidden under some sort of mask?

Gracie neglected to mention that until I got here. When I took my carefully rolled-up evening gown out of my bag and shook the wrinkles loose, she grimaced.

I thought she was reacting to the fact that the thing is clearly older than me—one of my mother’s handmade pieces. Something the queen probably wore when she was my age and then gave to Mama when she didn’t want it anymore.

I took care to change a few things, hoping to disguise it just in case Her Majesty actually notices, somehow. But the boxy cut and rosy hue are here to stay.

And they do not match the mask Gracie whips out.

Nothing ever could. The light-blue silk garment surely has no equal. From the thin silver filaments outlining its curves to the delicate pearls sewn into its icy lace overlay—it feels too beautiful to touch, let alone wear on my face.

“This is the only one I could find on short notice,” she tells me. “It was donated.”

Who in their right mind would get rid of something so lovely? There’s nothing wrong with it at all! It’s almost as perfect as the dress hanging on the closet door.

Actually, the two pieces match. I wonder if whoever didn’t want my borrowed mask also gave Tanya her dress. One of the wealthy omegas here to court the princes, maybe?

Though, I’m not sure why they would give their fancy hand-me-downs to our staff. Perhaps as an attempt to win over the princes with acts of generosity?

I swallow the lump that accompanies that thought, turning back to the mirror and lightly touching my sleek, blow-dried bangs. Tanya is a wizard with hair and makeup—I barely recognize my own blonde locks now that they’ve been styled to perfection.

“Here.” Tanya smiles, whipping the lovely dress I’ve been admiring off its hanger. “This one is for you.”

A very unladylike sound sticks in my throat as I wave my hands. “Um, no.”

Gracie rolls her big brown eyes. “Ivy, your dress is thirty years old, and moths have eaten the slip.”

A hot wash of embarrassment rolls through me. “Still. I can’t take Tanya’s dress!”

The omega shakes her head with a happy smile. “This one isn’t mine! The omega princess giving away dresses had a bunch. I grabbed a red one for myself, but I thought this blue would be pretty with your light hair! Plus, it goes with the mask.”

Honestly, what sort of woman travels with multiple masquerade outfit options…?

A princess, I suppose .

Plucking up the hem of my mother’s dress, I stare at the nibbled edges, worrying my lower lip. Gracie does have a point… Besides, it’s not as if anyone will be looking at me . Whichever wealthy, titled omega donated these clothes likely won’t care I’m wearing one of them if she has so many, she was literally handing them out.

I sigh, silently admitting defeat and shuffling into Tanya’s tiny attached bathroom. When I finally finish wrestling myself into the powder-blue fabric, I peer into the small mirror over her sink and guffaw.

“I look ridiculous,” I announce, stepping back into the small bedroom.

Telling silence greets me. Gracie glances at Tanya and back at me, eyes widening. “You don’t look ridiculous ,” she says. “You look?—”

Tanya snorts a laugh from her spot on the floor, where she waves her curling iron in my direction. “ Hot ,” she finishes. “Super hot, Ivy.”

I normally wouldn’t believe them—but the fact that Gracie felt uncomfy saying what she thought in front of the girl she likes makes it feel too real. I turn to the bedroom’s larger mirror, trying to see what they do.

I guess I look all right? My eyes feel funny with these lashes stuck on them. And the blush seems a bit much. But Tanya really did a lovely job styling my hair in a half-up style.

Big bows are in, they assured me, so that’s what I have. A silver satin bow to match the trim on the blue-and-silver mask.

Now that I know they planned to foist this beautiful dress on me all along, the rest of their choices makes more sense. The smoky gray eyeshadow, the crystal-clear heels that look like they’re made of glass.

My fingers skim along the thin, silky fabric of the light-blue gown, tracing the slit sliced up the left thigh.

The material is shimmery. Cut to hug someone’s upper body, with thin, pearl-lined straps and a bit of silver-blue lace peeking along the cups.

And it isn’t mine .

“I told you,” Gracie huffs, adjusting her own fake eyelashes. “No one will care about the dress.”

I open my mouth to protest, but as I pull the skirt out to examine it, Tanya wrinkles her nose. She mumbles something under her breath about the fabric “reeking like the princes,” which I take to mean the previous omega owner didn’t want to keep it because she had already worn it for the guys.

It still feels wrong to be in someone else’s dress. Hopefully, with any luck at all, no one will notice me. Especially not them .

Especially not Asher .

He was so mad today when I got underfoot. And watching him do everything he could to avoid glancing at me bruised my heart in a way nothing else ever has.

I have to blink the burn out of my eyes to keep from ruining Tanya’s careful work. With a hard swallow, I lower myself onto the small twin-sized bed behind me and slip my borrowed shoes on.

Gracie’s new girlfriend pauses, her lips pursing as she stares at my chest. “Okay, don’t hate me, but… I think the outfit might look better without that necklace.”

Startled, I look down and remember— oh, right —I have my locket on. The one piece of jewelry I own is basically part of me, at this point. I haven’t taken it off more than a handful of times over the last eight years, and the thought of removing it now makes me wince.

Then again, I don’t want anyone to recognize it…

Well. I don’t want one person in particular to recognize it.

With a nod, I unclasp the silver heart strung over my sternum. Some insane part of me balks at the idea of simply leaving it in Tanya’s room, so instead, I silently slip it into my strapless bra, where I can keep it close and know it’s safe.

I’m sure the dizziness that rolls over me while I tug the cups of the gown higher is only my imagination. Again. And I’m sure the nauseous roll in my middle is just me feeling sorry for myself…

I’ll be fine.

It’s all in my head. I have an overactive imagination and a low pain tolerance .

Whoever this dress’s previous owner was, she smelled divine. Something fresh and sweet and bitter and tart all at once. I surreptitiously sniff the lace lining the bust before shaking my head.

I am losing it.

And I can’t afford to lose it.

Quite literally.

I need this job. My family needs this job.

But before I can open my mouth and talk my way out of this insanity, Gracie glowers. “I see that look on your face Ivy Addison; and the answer is no. We are going to this party, and we’re going to have fun! The champagne alone is three-hundred-dollars per bottle. It would be a crime not to enjoy ourselves.”

Tanya pats my arm reassuringly. “I’m sure no one will even recognize us, Ivy. With the masks and everyone so focused on the princes? Besides, compared to what the royal women will have on, we’ll seem boring.”

Oddly, that comforts me. She has a point, anyway. Back when my mother made Her Majesty’s dresses, it boggled my mind how intricate and luxurious they were. The hand-stitching and exotic feathers and real gemstones—I’ll look downright dull beside all that .

Sighing, I pick up my mask. As Gracie ties the piece around my face, expertly hiding the strings under my half-up hair, a little thrill trills up my spine.

I may be nervous… but it is exciting, knowing no one will recognize me. And I do love dancing…

It’s just a party .

Nothing’s going to happen .