The Werewolf's Pretend Fiancée

The Year Of Sophie

"This is Murusian silk, you i***t!" screeched the tall woman, drawing the curious eyes of the other guests to the wine spill on her dress and the server dripping with what had remained in the glass after the spill.

Sophie stood there shocked as the wine trickled down her hair and face, soaking into her once pristine uniform.

Of all the responses to accidentally bumping into the she-wolf, causing her to spill her drink, she had not expected the other woman to dump what was left in the glass over her head.

She glanced at the man standing across the ballroom, the reason she had bumped into the woman in the first place. Their eyes connected for a single second and then those brilliant greens quickly flitted away. She wasn't even worth his second-hand embarrassment.

Her cheeks burned with humiliation.

Fingers snapping by her ear startled her, and she turned to face the enraged woman, whose painted lips were curled in a sneer, baring her sharp fangs.

"Speak! Clean! Do something to show a speck of f*cking intelligence!

"This is why I prefer the help to be our kind," chimed her friend with a pitying shake of her head.

Sophie's hands clenched at her sides, and it took every shred of control she had not to glare, and give the she-wolf a reason to feel 'challenged'.

The law wouldn't bat an eye if she got ripped apart for confronting a werewolf and even if it did, the people who attended these parties had enough money and influence to make problems go away.

"I'll be right back with something to clean this up."

"Excuse you! I did not dismiss you!"

The tall woman called out, but Sophie was already moving and disappearing into the crowd that parted for her, not wanting to stain their furs and silk with her filth.

She burst into the large busy kitchen, and headed straight for the little nook at the back of the kitchen before anyone could see the tears gathering in her eyes.

Someone did see it, but it was thankfully the one person she needed at that moment, her best friend.

"What happened?" Demanded Ava as she joined her in the little area nook, her comforting hand resting on Sophie's back.

"He's here," Sophie whispered, angrily wiping her cheeks as the tears began to flow.

"Stephen?" Ava guessed, knowing if there was any man who could turn her usually chill friend into such a mess, it would be her ex-boyfriend.

Sophie nodded, shuddering as the sound of his name made the pain worse. "I saw him standing there, smiling without a care in the world and I… I lost my cool."

Ava remained silent, and it allowed all the bad voices in Sophie's head to speak.

"He was right," She said with a humorless laugh, staring straight ahead.

"No he wasn't," Ava refused out of principle, even though she didn't know what the one third of their former trio was right about.

But he was. Two months ago, he had suddenly decided to end their five-year relationship. Stephen had looked her in the eyes and, without a shred of hesitation, told her that it wasn't him, it was her.

She was holding him back from reaching his potential and he needed to cut her off, like a tumor he had said, to grow into the man he was supposed to be.

Sophie had sobbed, begged, cursed him and gone through the whole 'he'll never do better than me' act only to end up there.

The Davenport New Year's Eve Ball was an exclusive event that not just anyone could get into. Even serving at it was the opportunity of a lifetime because of the big names in attendance and she and Ava had only gotten the job because her aunt knew a guy.

Yet there Stephen was, rubbing elbows with the elite like he belonged there as women far more perfect than her fawned over his godlike beauty that she had once felt honored to be wanted by.

She was a tumor, and he was all the better for cutting her off.

"Did he say anything to you?" Ava asked, pulling Sophie out of her thoughts.

The taller of the two sighed, heavily, suddenly feeling a decade older. "He wouldn't even look me in the eye."

"Well, f*ck him."

Sophie's lips twitched with childish amusement. "That's a horrible way to get over an ex."

Ava burst into laughter, her special kind that sounded like a cackle and had her shaking, and Sophie found herself laughing too, her mood lifting.

"You know what I mean, you fiend." Ava teased as her laughter died down and tutted when her eyes fell on Sophie 's stained shirt.

"We've got to get you cleaned up before the countdown, or you might end up an alcoholic or something."

Sophie rolled her eyes, good-naturedly, used to Ava's obsession with superstition.

Sophie had never cared for the festivities surrounding New Year's, seeing it as just another day, but Ava was a different story.

The only reason they were even working the ball instead of being asleep in her warm bed was because Ava believed being surrounded by success as they crossed over would trigger theirs in the coming year.

And Sophie was always down for Ava's frequently changing superstitions and beliefs, so she had agreed.

"I could try washing up in the bathroom sink but I don't think it'll do much."

Ava smiled mischievously. "I know where you can get cleaned up but we'll be in a sh*t load of trouble if we get caught."

"Lead the way."

***

Wherever Sophie had expected Ava to take her had nothing on the bedroom she found herself in.

It was large and tastefully decorated in a modern style that was way different from the overall classy oldness of the Manor.

Resting on a raised pavilion in the far corner was a large canopy bed where a black suitcase sat, open

Her eyes flitted over to the nightstand where a half full bottle of something dark and a glass seated next to it. She had the terrible idea that whoever had been drinking it would walk in at any moment and catch them snooping around their room with that open suitcase.

The pebble bouncing around in her belly grew into the size of a boulder.

"Ava, I don't think we should be.... What the hell are you doing?!" Sophie squeaked, her eyes widening as she watched Ava riffle through the suitcase like she owned the damned thing.

"Searching for some clothes for you," Ava responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Though I doubt we'll find anything useful in here," she giggled as she held up a pair of gray men's briefs, the expensive kind that had its owner's initials embroidered on it, 'N.C.B' in swirling font.

"What if he smells you on them?" She asked as she joined Ava by the bed, worried but too curious about the contents of the suitcase to care.

Ava's smile grew cheeky, but her witty response was forgotten as she checked the time on her watch.

"Eighteen minutes till midnight." Ava tutted. "Go clean yourself up while I snoop around the other rooms for clothes you can actually wear."

"What? No!" Sophie caught her arm before she could exit. "Stealing from a werewolf is the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. What if you get caught?"

Ava turned to give her a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine! Everyone's down in the ballroom and I'll be back in a few. Ten minutes tops."

Ava's eyes were aglow with excitement and Sophie knew when she got like this trying to reason with her only made her more reckless.

Defeated, she sighed and let go of Ava's arm. "Be quick and please don't get distracted trying on clothes."

"No promises," she responded in a sing-song voice and was soon out the door, leaving Sophie alone in the large room.

Her skin grew tight and itchy as the wine dried so she decided to deal with that first.

The bathroom was large and almost completely white. A range of products were laid out, all men's products but no less appealing to Sophie .

The minutes went by fast as she massaged her skin with the cocoa scented body wash, until she was smelling like one of the men bragging about their new yacht down in the ballroom.

Finally she slipped out of the shower and into the too large fluffy robe, and then made her way out into the bedroom.

Sophie 's feet led her over to the balcony. She opened the glass doors and a cold gust of wind blew in, causing her to shiver as it cooled the water droplets on her skin.

The stars in the sky were dulled by the lights of the party below but Sophie still tried to make out each dim light.

The giant screen placed in the middle of the garden read 11:59, a minute to midnight and the party goers began trickling out in pairs,for the countdown.

She found herself suddenly getting nervous.

Years after year life had been the same dull series of waking up and going to bed, her tomorrows seeming to get more bleak and depressing than her yesterday's.

For all the betrayal and hurt she felt towards Stephen, Sophie also envied him. He must have done something right to get where he was, smarter than her who decided to carry on the family legacy by going into debt for an art degree.

And now, he was going into the new year with the confidence that more successes were to come, being served by a silly little girl who wanted to 'follow her dreams'.

"What a joke," she muttered with a tired sigh, watching the clock countdown from forty-five seconds to thirty.

"THIRTY!"

The overly energetic and impatient crowd began counting down too early and she straightened from her lean for the final moment, like a prisoner waiting to be led to the guillotine.

"TWENTY-NINE!"

"New year, same pathetic Sophie..."

She froze when a warm hand suddenly wrapped around her throat, long fingers flexing and tracing sharp claws against her racing pulse, as a large figure trapped her from behind.

His breath tickled her ear as he leaned in to whisper. "You have five seconds to explain yourself before I rip out your windpipe”