Chương 5: A Royal Ball (Ch.5)
The bright rays of light reflecting off the gigantic chandelier caused Neveah's sensitive eyes to squint slightly as she stepped into the grand ball room.
It was another day, another ball, such was the life of the Royal Werewolf Family.
This time Alpha King Lothaire hosted the annual banquet of the Alphas under the Eclipse domain in a bid to solidify the alliances and as always, the Royal Family was expected to put on a show of unity and this was precisely why Neveah was here.
As the only daughter of Alpha King Lothaire, Neveah was the wolf princess, renowned across the supernatural realm for her unrivalled beauty, elegant bearing and wisdom.
It was not the first time Alphas from far and wide had come together, all eager to catch a glimpse of Neveah and those power hungry bunch hoping perhaps they would be her mate and acquire the backing of the Ethereal Fang Pack.
Neveah found it rather pathetic, if only the world knew that the beautiful and graceful Princess Neveah was worth less than trash in her own pack, hated by all.
Neveah kept her head held high like she had been taught to as she walked through the ballroom, slowly crossing the distance from the door to the table where the Royal family of the Eclipse domain were seated.
All eyes were fixed on Neveah as she walked, her back straight and her hands resting daintily at her sides as she took slow and graceful steps as though she were walking on clouds.
Neveah's floor length silver ball gown swished as she walked, catching the light from the chandelier and reflecting it on all the gems embedded on her dress.
Neveah's waist length golden tresses was packed up in a complicated updo and Neveah could still feel the pain from where her Governess had pulled her hair too harshly countless times, most of which were clearly intentional.
As Neveah walked, she could hear the quiet murmuring and the gasps of awe as the Alphas and Lunas, as well as other high ranking members of the various packs in the Eclipse domain stared on at her.
Neveah could see the proud smile on her father's face as he took in her appearance, it was only in moments like this when she grabbed all the attention in the room, leaving everyone in a dream like haze,
It was only in moments like this that Neveah had ever seen her father smile at her.
The Eclipse Alpha King, Lothaire Raul was a difficult man, with a ruthless and unfeeling personality, Neveah had grown up under his harsh scrutiny,
Always on the other end of his disappointed gaze, that was when he even cared to show her any emotion at all, more often than not, all Neveah got was a blank or bored gaze, as though she was not even worth looking at.
Neveah's gaze strayed slightly to meet that of the Alpha Queen, Neveah's lips twitched slightly as she barely restrained herself from breaking into laughter at the forced smile on her step mother's lips.
Neveah wondered if her step mother knew that she looked rather constipated with that crooked fake smile and face green with envy.
Neveah admitted her step mother's reaction was the only pleasure she derived from moments like this when she was dolled up to be paraded before men of power like some sort of artifact.
Neveah did not bother taking a glance at her step brother, to her, he was a face she rarely ever saw due to the busy life of a future Alpha King,
A fact which Neveah was grateful for because whenever they met, Neveah almost always ended up dangling from the air in a choke hold as he squeezed the life out of her, claws digging into her tender neck simply because she had spoken out of turn to his precious mother.
In times like that, Neveah was grateful for the timely arrival of her father who would merely remind his son in a calm tone that Neveah was still valuable to them.
Neveah arrived before her father and lowered her head in a small bow and then turned to her step mother and repeated the same action.
"Greetings father, Greetings mother." Neveah greeted in a soft tone.
"You are here, good. Come, there are people I would like you to meet." Alpha King Lothaire said in his domineering voice as he rose to his feet and offer Neveah his elbow.
Neveah heaved an inaudible sigh, she had not even gotten a moment to seat before her father could begin the parade.
Neveah placed a hand on her father's elbow and struggled to maintain her balance as he pulled her along with him while he took powerful strides across the hall.
"He's Alpha Dane, we've been having a rough patch for a time now, see if you can smoothen things out." Alpha King Lothaire told Neveah in the lost wolven tongue.
Since Neveah did not have a wolf, she was not connected to the pack mind link and so her father had figured out the only way they could communicate privately in situations like this where there were wolves with advanced hearing, was for Neveah to learn the ancient wolven tongue that was considered lost.
Neveah rolled her eyes, she had heard her father had attempted to acquire one of Alpha Dane's territory which had put the ages long friendship through a rough patch.
Although Neveah also heard her father had backed up eventually but Alpha Dane was still untrusting.
Neveah felt all would be settled if her father could just bring down his heaven reaching pride even just a little and apologize, everything would be sorted out.
"What do you want me to do?" Neveah asked back,
"I'm not going to apologize, butter him up... whatever it is you do that gets people to warm up to you, just soften him up somehow, I can't have one of my strongest Alphas at odds with me in times like this... and this is not a request, you know I do not make requests." Alpha King Lothaire said in a tight tone.
Neveah bit her lip slightly to reign in her rage as she nodded.
"As father wishes." Neveah replied quietly,
They came to a stop before a middle aged man with a kind face and Neveah watched her father exchange a firm handshake with him.
"Neveah, this is Alpha Dane of the Eclipse Hunt Pack...Dane, this is my daughter Neveah." Alpha King Lothaire introduced.
Neveah bowed her head in greeting, whilst Alpha Dane nodded, a warm smile on his face as he sized Neveah up, nodding in approval.
"A precious child truly, young one, I hear you were born an Omega...poor child, the creator is fair and blessed you with the gift of healing, in the end, it all balances out." Alpha Dane said with a smile, patting Neveah's shoulder.
Neveah did not react for a second till she felt her father's grip on her arm tighten almost painfully which shook her to action.
"My father has told me so much about you Alpha Dane, that you're like family... I see it now, if it's okay with you, I would like to call you uncle." Neveah said, her lips stretched into a shy smile.
Alpha Dane broke into hearty laughter nodding in approval.
"Certainly, Certainly." Alpha Dane said in a warm tone.
"Uncle Dane, forgive my intrusion...I have heard you suffer from knee pains from an old battle wound inflicted by silver,"
"I have barely begun my healer training but I have learnt a few tricks, if you don't mind... could I take a look at it sometime?" Neveah asked hopefully.
Alpha Dane's eyes softened even more than it had the moment he saw her, nodding.
"Actually, I would like if you could take a look at my mate too," Alpha Dane said as he beckoned on his mate who was somewhere across the room engaging in light conversation with some other Lunas.
"This is Colleen, my mate." Alpha Dane introduced.
"Luna Colleen, a pleasure to meet you." Neveah said with a bow.
"Hello there child, you call my Dane uncle and me Luna? We're being a little too unfair here aren't we?" Luna Colleen said with a pout before she pulled Neveah into a hug.
"Love, I was asking if Neveah would do me a favor and take a look at you later, you know... she's a healer." Alpha Dane relayed to his mate.
"Would you?" Luna Colleen asked with a smile.
"I don't need to, congratulations, I can see Aunt Colleen is expecting." Neveah said in a quiet tone.
Alpha Dane and Luna Colleen exchanged shocked looks.
"You can tell? Without even examining me?" Luna Colleen asked, Neveah nodded.
"We were hoping for a pretty she wolf, just like you, but our healer says she can't tell, the heartbeat of the pup is irregular and she could barely even pick up the signs of pregnancy...to be honest, we are truly scared." Luna Colleen replied in a low tone.
"May I?" Neveah asked, gesturing towards Luna Colleen's still flat stomach, Luna Colleen nodded.
Neveah detached her hand from her father's elbow and stepped forward, resting a hand against Luna Colleen's stomach.
Neveah's eyes fluttered closed and she remained in that position for a moment before her eyes fluttered open, a worried expression on her face.
"What, what's wrong?" Alpha Dane asked, Neveah shook her head slightly.
"I will have to take a closer look in a more quiet environment to tell exactly, however although the pulse is weak, there is no immediate danger." Neveah assured, watching as the couple heaved a sigh of relief.
"Is it a girl? Can you tell?" Alpha Dane asked excitedly, Neveah nodded slowly, laughing quietly at Alpha Dane's excitement.
"Girls Uncle Dane, there are two of them." Neveah revealed quietly.
Alpha Dane gasped while Luna Colleen squealed excitedly.
"Tell me they will be fine, can you promise me that?" Luna Colleen asked in a pleading tone, Neveah nodded slowly.
"If you will permit me, I will do everything I can to ensure a safe delivery of your pups." Neveah assured.
"Thank you, thank you so much." Luna Colleen said, pulling Neveah into a tight hug.
"It's my pleasure Aunt Colleen, my father says family always look out for each other." Neveah said.
"She's amazing." Luna Colleen whispered as she pulled Alpha King Lothaire into a fond hug before passing her husband a stern glare.
Alpha Dane replicated his mate's actions and the two Alpha's exchanged man hug to the cheers of everyone at the ball.
"Pardon us, we must see to the other guests." Alpha King Lothaire said.
"I will see you tomorrow?" Luna Colleen asked in a hopeful tone.
"Of course, I will find you." Neveah promised before her father pulled her away to attend to the other guests.
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