31. Luna
Luna
T hese next two weeks are the longest two weeks of my entire life. I never thought I’d count down the days until I had to be paraded in front of a bunch of alphas, but I am.
Because the upcoming ball and my debut into the Northside’s upper society is when I’ll get a chance to see the pack again.
I’ve been doing as much as I possibly can to keep busy.
Thanks to the cooking classes I’ve been taking, I finally have two kinds of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that I’m confident I can cook without a recipe.
I’ve been taking beauty classes too. Apparently, the latest makeup trends are an important enough skill for omegas that they have a class on them.
I nearly burned myself with a curling iron the first time I used it, and I forgot heat protectant on the first half of my hair, but I’ve gotten a lot better since.
There’s probably something to be said about the kinds of classes the Omega Center offers being classes that help omegas be good omegas for the alphas they’re going to be with, but I’m just grateful for the distractions .
Plus, I am an omega. I want to be able to be a good one for my pack.
The kind of good omega they want is far better than what Alpha Niall taught me a good omega was.
My pack just wants me to be happy, and I think in order for me to be happy, I have to be useful. And the things I’m learning in these classes, as specific as they are, are the things that’ll help me be useful in the world they live in.
“So, do you need any help getting ready?” Susan, the director’s assistant, asks me, her smile warm.
She’s been the one to check up on me a couple of times a week. She’s a sweet older omega with only one bonded mate since she grew up in a time before packs were a thing. She has a few children who are all grown up now, and she works here to pass the time.
I was surprised, considering that working for the director seems like a lot of work just to pass the time, but I never really said anything. She seems happy enough.
“No, I think I’ll be okay,” I answer. She’s left three dresses for me to choose from for tonight’s ball.
“Are you sure? I can call in a stylist and a makeup artist if you’d like, you only debut once.” She leans in, almost conspiratorially. “It could be nice to blow that pack you’re interested in away, you know?”
I pause. “Do—do you think that’s a good idea?”
“It certainly won’t hurt, darling. They’re beta women, if it matters to you.”
I want to look my best for the guys. There’s a part of me, the omega part, I assume, that wants to blow them away. I want them to look at me and, well, long for me. I want them to look at me the same way I look at them.
They’ve seen me in such vulnerable positions, dirty, and practically skin and bones. I don’t want that to be all they imagine when they think about me .
“O—okay, maybe just the makeup artist. I think I can get dressed myself.”
“Alright, I’ll call her over right away.” Susan pulls out her phone and types out a quick message while I take a chance to start unzipping the garment bags the dresses were brought in.
There are three dresses, one sleek black one, one gold and shimmery that I can already see is shedding glitter inside the bag, and a dark blue gown with a beaded bodice that looks like the night sky.
I’m immediately drawn to the third one. It’s stunning.
I’m not interested in leaving a trail of glitter behind me and the first, sleek black dress looks like it has a plunging neckline I don’t think I’m comfortable wearing.
“I thought you’d like that one,” Susan says, coming up beside me as I drift my fingers along the intricate beading of the third dress.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“It certainly is. The designer hand-sewed all the appliques and beading. The dress is a work of art, if you ask me.”
“What?” My hand jerks back from it as if it were made of lava. “There’s—there’s no way I can wear this. It’s—it’s far too much.”
“For your debut? Not at all, darling. You’re honestly doing the designer a favor by choosing their dress. With the number of people interested in you and your debut, they’ll certainly get a lot of attention.”
I swallow hard, remembering what this dress is for. How many eyes are going to be on me. How many people I’m going to have to talk to.
“How—how is tonight going to go again?”
“Since this is your debut ball, you’ll be the star of the show.
There will be other eligible omegas there.
A few alpha packs will show up that haven’t been approved to try and court the other omegas there, but for the majority of the night, you’ll be interacting with the packs that’ve been pre-approved. ”
“And—and how many packs is that?”
“Ten.”
My head spins at the thought. Ten packs. Ten alpha packs. There may be a couple betas thrown in here or there, but for the most part, I’m going to be choking on dozens of alpha scents for the entire evening.
“Are you alright?” Susan rests a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I say, taking a deep breath. I can do this. It’ll be a long night, especially if I’m expected to spend time with each of the packs, but everything will be okay.
There will be security at the event. Nothing will happen to me.
And I get to see the guys.
My fingers drift down the chiffon skirts of the dress in front of me. The guys get to see me. I get to prove to them that I’m worthy of being their omega.
“Thank you for your help, Susan. I’m going to start getting ready now.”
The next two hours fly by, and before I know it, I’m staring at myself in the mirror as the makeup artist puts the final touches of highlighter on my collarbones.
The dress fits perfectly. The lace sleeves have crystals that flow beautifully down into the bodice.
They shimmer in the light as I move. The square neckline calls attention to my collar bones, which the makeup artist, a tall beta woman says are to die for.
My hair is expertly curled and shines in the light because of the products in it.
“Give us a little spin,” Susan says, her smile warm.
I do as she says, the skirts flowing around my legs in a way that makes me look and feel like a princess.
“How do you feel?” She asks me.
“I—I feel good. Pretty.” I barely recognize the girl I see in the mirror staring back at me. My cheeks are pink from the blush and more full than they’ve been my entire life, now that I’m actually eating healthy food .
The omega center may suck in certain ways, like how they’re forcing me to meet a bunch of alpha packs, but they definitely do have a lot of services I never could’ve dreamed about.
I have meal kits delivered right to my door full of all the food I need to start gaining weight and recover from the lack of food I had back with my parents.
My eyes look so bright, especially with the dark and shimmery eye shadow expertly placed on my eyelids.
“You should feel pretty, girl. You’re absolutely stunning. You’re going to blow all those alphas away,” The makeup artist says, packing up the last of her stuff.
There’s a knock at the door and Susan goes to open it. I turn, swallowing hard when I see it’s the director at the door.
He gives me a nod of approval. “You clean up nicely.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Since you don’t have an escort, I’ll be the one debuting you. We’ll make your grand entrance and I’ll walk you over to your table.”
“Oh,” I say, fisting my hands in front of me. For some reason, having an alpha, any alpha, see me like this makes me feel awkward.
The only alphas I want to see me like this are my pack.
“Do you know how tonight is going to go?” The Director asks, purposely softening his voice because he probably noticed how I’m feeling.
“I know there are ten packs.”
“Each pack will get twenty minutes with you where they can give you gifts and speak with you.”
“Will—will they touch me?”
“There will be no touching unless you initiate it, though they may ask.”
“O—okay.” I take a deep breath. “After I meet everyone, what happens next?”
“After that, you get to choose who you spend the rest of the evening with. At that point, the ball will be in full swing. You could consider dancing or something along those lines.”
That’s the first thing that brings a smile to my face. I just have to get through nine other interviews and then I’ll get to spend time with my guys.
“Are you ready?” The director asks me.
“Yes.”
The moment the doors to the ballroom open, I can instantly feel all of the eyes on me.
The director stops us at the top of the staircase. Likely so all the alpha packs in this room can get a good look at me, considering I seem to be the star of the evening. I take this as my own opportunity to soak in my surroundings.
I haven’t been to this part of the Omega Center before. The main part of the Omega Center looks expensive from the outside, but the modern and sterile sort of expensive.
This ballroom on the other hand? It screams excess.
There are different kinds of shiny marble on the floor, making up dancing patterns and paths within the room.
There are vaulted ceilings and huge crystal chandeliers.
Expensive flower arrangements line the walls, and a handful of musicians sit in the corner by the dance floor, playing some classical music.
My eyes scan the room and I catch sight of a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. Madden is easy to spot because of my vantage point above the crowd and his near giant-worthy height.
The smile that breaks out across my face sends murmurs through the crowd of alphas below me, but I don’t really care.
Madden looks incredibly handsome tonight with his hair slicked back. The full suit he’s wearing fits him like perfection.
I look beside Madden and see my other guys all looking just as amazing.
“You alright?” The director asks me quietly as he extends his arm to me .
“Yes,” I whisper in response, taking his arm so I don’t slip and fall down the steps in the heels I’m wearing.