No music or chatter drifted from the ballroom as the siblings walked down the grand staircase. They would be expected to greet the arriving guests at their father’s side so they were needed downstairs before the ball had even begun. Katherine followed Isobel and Charles down the stairs, her destination the servant dining area rather than the ballroom. As a servant and a werewolf, she wouldn’t be welcome at the ball, but Isobel rather envied the woman. Alexander and Katherine were planning to eat dinner together and then take an evening stroll, which sounded far more preferable than what Isobel would be doing— dancing with strange men and making conversation with condescending Lycans, all under the watchful eye of her father.
They had reached the foot of the stairs when the sound of raise
