Good Girl, Bad Alpha

The Big Event

*MEANWHILE*

*Jasmines point of view*

When we arrive at the event I find myself holding my breath. I am very nervous but I do not want to show my emotions. I must stay professional and collected. This is it. My first chance to prove that I am worthy and ready to begin my duties as the next Luna Supreme. My heart is racing. We pull up to private underground parking. Once the car is parked I look at my mother who has a big smile on her face. "You look beautiful. Today will be a wonderful day for you, I can feel it!" she says and squeezes my hand tightly in hers. I nod. This will be great. I am excited. I should just focus on having a good time. This event is very simple, all I have to do is show up and network with other leaders. It is not that complicated. When the door of the car opens, the fresh air reminds me to take a deep breath. A broad tall man dressed in a black suit with matching black glasses reaches his hand towards me to help me out of the vehicle. I take his hand and offer him a small smile as a thank you. I step out of the car and fix my dress up. My mother follows me and the door to the car is closed behind us. I look around and find that five security men have been allocated to transfer us from the car park to the location of the event. I think my father is a little too cautious when it comes to security. I understand that his daughters are precious to him but he needs to tone it down a bit. If anything, he is attracting more attention to me. "Good afternoon ma'am, it is a pleasure to welcome you to the Mount Sommer Hotel. We have a lovely ball set up for our guests today and we really hope you enjoy your time here," greets a man dressed in a blue suit. I smile at him. "The pleasure is all mine, thank you for such a warm welcome," I answer him, earning a smile from my mother. "When you are ready, I will take you through a quick tour of the premises. We have set up a suite for you in case you require time away from the event, we have also set up easy escape routes available to you at all times for your comfort and security," he informs me. I am quite impressed by his hospitality. The introvert part of me is very thankful for an escape route. Sometimes being surrounded by people for long can get tiring so having a suite to rest in sounds dreamy. This is already lining up to be an excellent day.

We follow the man to the hotel suite, making a note of all the escape routes that he points out on the way. I do not have to worry too much about those as I am made aware that my security team has been fully briefed on the topic. "In addition to the security which will escort you throughout the event, we have also placed a full team of security within the event room. Some of the best-trained warriors in the land are present today. You do not have to worry about your security at all," the hotel manager informs me. I smile at him and thank him again. I am relieved to know that I am in safe hands. When we reach the hotel suite, one of my security guards drops my bags down. The benefit of arriving ready is that I do not have to spend too much time in the suite, waiting for the event to begin. We leave almost immediately, only allowing a short amount of time for my mother and me to fix our hair and makeup which may have gotten out of place during our journey to the event. The same security escorts us through the hotel and towards the massive ballroom. As we stand behind the closed doors my heart begins to race at a usually level. My palms feel sweaty and I feel butterflies in my belly. I know that I should be nervous before my first event but what I did not expect is for my body to react like this. I inhale deeply, trying to calm my nerves. But instead of calming me, the scent my wolf picks up in the inhale drives me insane. A smell which reminds me of a mixture of cedarwood and smoke but somehow makes my mouth water. I feel the hairs on my arms raise. Something feels off. I look over at my mother who is standing a few steps behind me. She winks at me making me giggle. There are four men standing before me and two behind me. As the hotel manager prepares to open the door, I inhale once again, making my wolf go crazy. I can hear all the excitement coming from the room but I am no longer focused on that, I am more concerned about where that heavenly scent is coming from.

Then the door opens and I am left dizzy. The mixture of movement, shouting and the overpowering smell of cedarwood is making it difficult for me to process what is happening to me. I am caught off guard as the security men begin to walk into the ballroom, I stumble in behind them. There is a lot of motion as people are trying to reach me to either get a glimpse of me or to say hello. I put on a weak smile and greet everyone who steps toward me. I must say, my security is doing a very good job at intimidating people around me as they all stay a few feet away from me. The scent which felt overpowering earlier is now getting stronger but the weak feeling in my body makes it difficult for me to process where this smell is coming from. So instead I focus on the task at hand, smile and wave. Suddenly everyone's attention is shifted from me to something in the crowd. I look around, feeling confused. It is impossible to see over my security guards who tower over me, but I can barely make out the shape of a tall man standing before them. No words are exchanged between the five men but without hesitation, my security guards step aside, revealing the stranger standing before me. I look directly at this man and feel all the air being knocked out of my lungs. It feels like the time around me has stopped. Nothing is important to me right now. All I can focus on is this handsome man standing only a few feet away from me. His eyes are dark and fixated on me. I can tell that he is deep in thought but I cannot make out what he is feeling. Is he feeling the same as me? Why is he looking at me with such an intense gaze? I want to say something but I do not trust my voice. Instead, I simply admire his beauty. His dark hair is combed back, revealing his strong facial features. His scruffy beard makes him look daring and somewhat dangerous. I want to know more about this man. I need to know more. I can feel my wolf begging to be released. She is moaning to get closer to him. "Our mate, our mate," she mutters, making the muscles in my body freeze. But before anything can be said or done, the mysterious man simply nods his head at me once, and walks away, disappearing into the public. Leaving my wolf and I disappointed. I look over to my mother who seems just as confused as I am. The silence in the room is beginning to stress me out now. Thankfully someone makes the first move. "Jasmine, what an honour to finally make your acquaintance," says the man who also appears to be on edge. "My name is Frank, I am the Alpha of the Blackrock Pack. Your father and I have been friends for a very long time now," he introduces himself. "Lovely to meet you, Frank. Are you having a good time at the event so far?" I ask him. This seems to please his ego. "Why yes, I am. But it is only about to get better. I hear they have dancing and great food lined up. We were all just awaiting your arrival," he states. As the words leave his mouth, music begins to play and people begin to go back to their regular conversations.

My mother swiftly moves me from one area of the ballroom to another, introducing me to multiple people at once. I try my best to remember everyone's names but I am very distracted. My mate is here. I have met my mate. This information is not processed correctly in my mind. Why did he walk away? Does this mean he rejected me? I do not understand. This is not how I thought meeting my mate would go. Maybe I should tell my mother. But this is a bad moment, I am surrounded by so many important people. What if they find out my mate has potentially rejected me. They will laugh. They will think I am not good enough. So many thoughts race through my mind as I look around, trying to spot my mate. It takes me a very long time to do so until I finally spot him in the crowd. He is standing at the top of the room, away from everyone else. Only now do I get a chance to examine him further. He is wearing a security suit. He is one of my guards. His eyes are scanning the area, it appears that he is taking the job very seriously. Our eyes meet for a moment, making me blush instantly. He just caught me staring at him. I want to look away but I can't. We hold that gaze for a few moments before he finally looks away. I look in the direction his eyes turn and find a group of three young men approaching me. I put the smile back on my face as they reach me. All three men bow their heads respectfully. "Jasmine, these are three future Alphas," my mother introduces me. "Thomas belongs to the Silver Moon pack, Harold from the Booterstown Pack and Nicholas from the Manner Pack," she introduces. As each one gets introduced, they take turns shaking my hand politely. "An honour to finally meet you," says Nichola, the most attractive one of the three. I can't help but blush. I do not get much male attention outside of my pack. My father prefers to shield me from men my age as he considers their intentions to be bad. "The pleasure is all mine," I state and bow my head.

"I came here to ask if you would care to dance with me," suggests Nicholas, making me feel giddy. "That sounds like so much fun," I accept the offer and take his hand. Nicholas leads me to the dance floor where people step aside to let us pass through. When I catch a glimpse of my mother she is happily chatting away to Frank from the Blackrock pack. She seems to be pleased to see me interacting with people my age. On the dance floor, Nicholas wraps one arm around my side, placing the palm of his hand gently against my lower back. I place one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. We sway to the steady tempo of the music, weaving in and out of the crowd among other wolves who are cheerfully dancing also. As I dance I continue to keep an eye out for my mate who has since moved positions. It is difficult to keep track of this man's location which is surprising given his size. He seems to be the type to stand out from the crowd. The tempo of the songs soon slows down, giving Nicholas the perfect excuse to draw me closer to his body. The dance floor is also becoming crowded, making it harder for us to move around. A few people bump into me, making my chest crash against Nicholas. "Are you okay Jasmine?" he asks as the third person bumps into me by accident. He places both of his arms around my body to form a protective barrier between the crowd and me. I smile. "Yes, everything is perfect," I assure him. We continue to sway on the spot as we no longer have room to move around. But I am quite content in Nicholas's protective arms. It feels nice to be held like this. As I grow tired I rest my head on his shoulder. It feels like this dance has been going on forever. I am about to ask him if he wants to take a break but instead, our dance is disturbed by a pair of strong hands being placed firmly on Nicholas's shoulder. I lift my head up in surprise.

Nicholas lets go of me and looks around to see who is touching him so aggressively. I look up to find my mate standing behind him with a stern look on his face. I am surprised to see him there, he came out of nowhere. Nicholas and my mate exchange a look for a few seconds. No words are exchanged. The expression on Nicholas's face seems to grow more and more disappointed as the seconds go by. Until finally he turns to me and excuses himself. Nicholas disappears into the crowd, leaving me standing there. He doesn't even give an excuse for his actions. He simply floats away. I look up at my mate with a confused look on my face. "What was that?" I ask him. Is dancing with someone a security breach now? My mate started at me without opening his mouth. "Do you talk?" I ask him and cross my arms. My patience is starting to run out. This man has not said a word to me all day so far and clearly, there is a connection between us. "You're my ma-" I begin but he quickly cuts me off. "I know," he states. Looking around to make sure that nobody has heard me. "Are you embarrassed?" I ask him in disbelief. He takes a deep breath and then runs his hand through his hair. "No," he answers after a moment. "Then why won't you speak to me?" I ask him. Again, he takes a few seconds to come up with his response. "Things are a lot more complicated than you think," he explains. "Then help me understand. Is it because you are a security guard? That is not a concern for me," I assure him. My mate smirks. "Listen, princess, I am not intimidated by you or your rank," he assures me. I am beyond confused now.

"What do you want from me?" I ask him. He shrugs. "Do not dance with other men when you are around me," he orders. Something about his deep voice makes my legs weak. "You can't tell me what to do," I point out. I also see no harm in dancing with other people. It is not dangerous at all. "I will not repeat myself," he states, taking me by surprise. "Trust me, you do not want to disobey me," he adds. I look at him in disbelief. Who does he think he is. I turn on my heel to walk away but he grabs my wrist firmly. The connection of his skin with mine sends hot sparks rushing through my arm. I close my eyes, enjoying the tingling in my body. He has an effect on me that I have never felt before. When I look back at him I can tell he feels it too. He stares at the ground before my feet as if he is deep in thought. Why does this man think so much? "What is bothering you?" I ask him. This makes his gaze look up from the floor to meet my eyes. "If only you would understand," he states before letting go of my hand. "Then help me understand," I plea. My mate is someone I was destined to be with and this is not off to a great start. "You will one day, but now is not the time or place to talk," he explains. I sigh. I now understand why he simply walked away from me earlier. This conversation is going nowhere, I am wasting my precious event time talking to a wall. "Goodbye," I say and walk away, with a mission to find my mother to tell her all about what just happened. "Jasmine, wait," he calls out. I look back once again. When he says my name my heart skips a beat. "You cannot tell anybody about us," he states. Here we go again, in the space of ten minutes this man has told me what I can and cannot do multiple times now. "Why not?" I ask. He looks me in the eyes, my stomach fills with butterflies again. "I need you to promise you will not tell anybody about this. You just need to trust me," he explains. I nod. But I do not give him much more of my time. This time I walk away, making sure to not give him an opportunity to stop me again. This interaction with my soul mate has been more than disappointing. I am left with so many questions and concerns. What happened to those fairytale stories of how magical it is to meet the person you are destined to be with? Couldn't be me. I speed walk back towards my mother and inform her that I need to take a break. She gives me the keys to my suite and I begin walking out of the ballroom. I can feel his eyes on me but I do not care. He did not tell me I cannot leave.