The Masquerade

CHAPTER 1: Who Is That?!?

LANDON

"I'm not going!" I tell my parents for the thousandth time.

"Yes you are!" My mother tells me.

"There's so many things going on right now that the last thing we wanna do is throw this stupid ball so that I could be embarrassed yet again in not finding my mate. I mean, mom, I've given up already, why can't you accept it too?" I ask.

"Because you can't give up. Besides, I have a good feeling about this one." She says.

"You say that every year." I tell her.

"That's true." My dad says.

"Oh don't you both team up on me about this. I will put you both on the couch!" She threatens. Although that is more of a threat to my dad than me.

"Honey, maybe we should just let things be and let him find his mate one day relying purely on fate." My dad suggests to her.

"Well I am more certain that this will be the time because I had a dream about it." She says with such certainty.

"Okay then mom, tell me, what did she look like?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow calling her bluff although she does have the gift in seeing things before they happen in reality. 

"Pff. I'm not gonna tell you since you're giving me lip." She says as she looks off to the side.

My dad and I both just roll our eyes and I decide to make her a deal. I can't believe I'm about to entertain this idea.

"Fine. I'll make a deal with you. If I find my mate at the ball, then I guess I will owe you an apology. BUT if I don't, promise me that you will stop having these ridiculous balls. We all know that our family has done it for centuries because of our family finding mated not anyone else." I point out.

My dad and I both look at her smirking with amusement as we know she won't take the deal and just admit defeat. She then looks at me and my dad and glares at us before putting a smile on her face and holding out her hand for me to shake.

"Alright! Deal!" She says.

"Okay." I smile and shake her hand in return.

"Oh boy." My dad says. "This will be very interesting."

He's right, it will be as I know that this won't be any different than it has been and I'm willing to risk being humiliated as everyone watches me once again. Not find my mate.

My family has thrown this masquerade ball for the past hundred years. The reason they chose to do a masquerade was so that they wouldn't see what their mates looked lime, therefore giving them a chance to reject that other person. Many have before and that's when my family many many many years ago decided to use masks.

It's a good idea and that way you can get to know someone before revealing yourselves to each other but still, times have changed and to be honest I don't care about looks. It just gets annoying more and more.

Something I have also learned throughout the years was that some Alpha's go through their entire lives without having a Luna and their packs are just as strong and so I started to think that maybe I'm just like them. But of course, there's my mother who is a romance woman and believes everyone has a mate.

She used to say to let fate work its course and not to force anything but, looks like she has gotten impatient herself. Which baffles my dad and I.

I can't believe that I agreed to this but I guess in a way, it'll all work and she will see once and for all that I am right and will let me handle the whole finding my mate thing.

Now granted, I know she hasn't approved of the booty calls that I've brought in the house over the past several years but, what can I say, I've got needs.

Tonight was the ball and as I finish getting ready and am about to put on my mask over my eyes while looking in the mirror, I hear my phone go off and see a text message from my cousin, Elliot who finally has RSVP'd after he got my invitation a couple of weeks ago. Which he's lucky he's family because anyone who RSVP's at the last minute like this would not be able to come.

He says that he's on his way with his mate, Kavina, her best friend, Giselle and her mate, Rockwell. I've met them all before and they're all really cool.

Right as I started texting him back, they said that they're friend is coming along as well.

At first I thought of telling him 'no' but, what the hell, there's more than enough entertainment, drinks and food to go around.

"Fine." I text him back.

Then I put my phone in my pocket after putting it on vibrate, then finish tying my eye mask and take one look in the mirror and a deep breath.

"Here we go." I tell myself and then start making my way downstairs.

The moment I get downstairs I am of course greeted by a swarm of people all saying hi and thanking for their invites when it's my parents who do all the inviting. Then I have the type of girls who could care less in finding their mates and who don't care if whether or not who they sleep with has a mate neither. Just passing them to head towards my parents, they have slipped their numbers in my pockets already.

When I finally get done greeting others before my parents next, I start heading over towards the bar and order myself a drink.

While waiting, I start hearing people whisper and notice them looking towards the door. When I see what they're looking at and notice my cousin had just walked in with his friends, they are all dressed nice as always and then I notice a nervous looking curvy girl walking behind Giselle who stops and talks with her. I know I can't see what she really looks like but, I can tell already, she's beautiful.

Though there is something wrong with this picture. Something about her is different than the rest of the women here. So I start to make my way over towards her.

Next chapter will be posted soon! :)