The Hidden Wolf Princess (#3 of the Hyle pack)

the party

I groaned, as we finally were able to enter the room after what seemed like a lifetime. When I had thought that there were a lot of wolves standing outside, I had been so wrong. The inside of this place was packed, making it almost impossible to move, let alone dance or get a drink in this place.

Sigh...

But sure enough, Addie took my hand as she started to move us deeper into the thick crowd, her eyes scanning the room for Goddess only knows what. And as soon as she stopped, to straighten her back and to flip her hair, I knew exactly what she was searching for. Males… Unmated males… And good for her, there seemed to be plenty of those around here tonight.

Sigh…

Within five minutes, Addie had worked her way into getting a handful of unmated males standing around her, a free drink in her hand and a laugh that could light up the entire room, because clearly, this girl was loving all the attention she was getting right now. She leaned towards me, pressing her lips close to my ear to make sure I would be able to hear her throughout the blasting music.

“Please Ivy, at least try to have some fun!” I rolled my eyes at her as she leaned back to grin wide at me.

“Tell me again, why in the world do I need to dress up and come to this damn party with you?” I groaned again, thinking of ways I could get the hell out of this room. I felt awkward as hell just standing there.

“Because you are my best friend. It’s what best friends do, be each other’s support system, have each other’s backs…. You know? Don’t you want a hottie to have some good time with tonight? I mean, just look around, there is plenty of choices to choose from. This is looking like a freaking buffet of hotness right here.” Addie giggled as she turned back to look at the men that were basically throwing themselves in front of her right now, just to get a glimpse of her attention.

“To be honest, I’d rather be back at the condo right now, watching a movie and just be by myself.” I replied, looking at the men standing around us and hoping no one would try to come to me to start a conversation, just to get in my pants.

“To be at your first party, you are acting very strange, Ivy,” Addie stated as she shook her head.

“You should be getting wasted, dance with some hot guys.” I groaned again, just thinking about it.

“I hate dancing.” I sighed, making Addie look at me with big eyes in disbelief.

“Why on earth would you hate dancing with a hot wolf? Are you gay?” I rolled my eyes, taking a big sip of my drink, hoping the alcohol would make me go deaf.

“No, I am not gay, and I don’t know… I just don’t like dancing. It’s too intimate… And sweaty.” I answered Addie, a frown forming on my forehead as I saw one of the men staring at me, a bit too intense for my liking. He was looking as if he wanted to eat me alive.

Sigh…

“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right back.” I yelled at Addie, who sighed heavily as she nodded at me. And I could almost hear her thoughts yelling ‘what the hell is wrong with you’ at me. So, I just turned around and walked away as fast as I could. I honestly didn’t know why I was feeling this way, I just felt so out of place right now. I felt like a stranger inside my new world, a world that I had craved so badly to have in the first place. I had never been to a real party, I had never danced with a male wolf, let alone have a decent conversation with one who wasn’t family. So my social skills were almost non-existent. Maybe this step tonight was a bit too much for me at once to take? Maybe I should have gone to a small birthday party with just a handful of people, or something like that first, before I had thrown myself into a freaking crowded nightclub. I watched other she-wolves in awe, as they really looked like they were having a good time. Making myself wonder if I maybe really was a freak.

I finally found the restrooms, only to see that the line seemed to be going on forever.

What the hell? Does everyone have to pee at the same time?

This can take hours!

I sighed deeply as I looked around, hoping for an escape or a way out of here. My eyes scanned the room, and I saw that Addie had her arms around one of the men that had been surrounding her just a few minutes ago. By the looks of it, he was her lucky pick for the night. Since his lips were running all over her neck and Addie seemed to enjoy herself to the fullest.

I pressed my eyes shut, as once again, the male wolf who had been staring at me before came walking up to me. By the looks of it, he had built up enough courage to walk up to me and start a conversation.

Just me f*****g luck.

Where the hell were palace guards when you actually needed them…

“Hi beautiful.” He called out to me with a huge smirk, and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes at the man.

Seriously? Hi Beautiful… for f**k's sake…

“Would you like a drink?” He asked me as he leaned in, to make sure I would hear him. His body is far too close against mine for my liking.

I frowned, as I lifted the drink I was still holding on to in my very own hand. A drink that was still very full.

“Sorry, I’m still good.” I responded, looking away and hoping he would just turn around and leave me be. I saw his cheeks turning a bit red, and I had to admit, I felt a bit awful for my harsh reaction. Apparently, he at least felt a bit awkward as well. At least, I think he did. So, I swallowed as I thought about Addie’s words.

“This is your first party! You should be getting wasted, dance with some hot guys.” And her words kept going on in my head, over and over and over. Until I bit my lip and made a decision. So I sighed again and forced myself to smile back at the guy that was standing in front of me.

“You know what, I would like another drink.” I spoke back at the male wolf standing in front of me. Making him smile wide as his eyes lit up.

“ OK great, stay right here, I’ll be right back!” He smiled wide as I nodded my head. Thinking about maybe running away after all, as he turned to walk over to the bar. Deciding that I would never make it far enough with this outfit.

After a few minutes, the guy walked back over to me as he handed me over something that looked like a cocktail. I looked at it questioningly, wondering what the hell I was even looking at right now.

“It’s a cosmopolitan. I read somewhere that that is the cocktail that most women like to drink, so I just took a guess.” I looked at the male wolf standing in front of me. He had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes and he seemed genuinely nice, so I just nodded as I took the glass from him. Giving him a small smile as I nodded my head, thanking him for getting me the drink, acting like a good princess would.

So, as Addie’s words were still floating around in my head, I drank the glass much faster than I normally would, hoping I would at least get a bit looser from the alcohol.

“Ian.” The guy smiled at me, making me widen my eyes at him in question. Which made him grin. It made him look cute. I had to give him that. It also gave me the impression that Ian knew exactly what he was doing right now. He didn't seem shy at all. Not anymore.

“Ian, my name is Ian.” I nodded, my mouth forming in an ‘O’ as I heard him, as my head started to feel a bit light. Yup, my drink is working!

“Ivy.” I answered, nodding back as I drank the glass empty, seeing Ian’s eyes linger down, looking at my empty glass.

“Ivy, I believe you enjoyed that drink that I picked out for you.” He spoke as his lips curled into a smile once again.

“Well Ian, I guess I did enjoy it.” I answered back, using the same tone as he had just done.

“Would you care to dance?” Ian smirked at me, and as Addie’s words started to sound back in my mind, I just nodded as fast as I could, knowing that if I thought about it some more, I would have just said no and walked away.

Ian took the glass from my hand as he placed it on a table that was standing close to us, leading me towards the dancefloor as he placed his hand on my back, guiding me to wherever he wanted me to go. And I sighed deeply, as we made our way to the already overly crowded dance floor.

I started to dance, by looking around and watching how other she-wolves moved and danced, copying their movements as I swayed my hips from side to side, never feeling Ian’s eyes going away from my body as I did. And honestly, I never started to feel any better or more relaxed. I still felt like I didn’t belong and I still just wanted to go home. As the song faded into the next one, going a bit slower, Ian all of a sudden grabbed my waist as he brought my body closer to his harshly. I yelped in surprise at his sudden action, but as we moved to the rhythm of the music, I slowly felt myself relax a bit more, as my mind started to become blurrier by the minute and my body seemed to be having a life of its own. I looked around and I saw a lot of she-wolves that were standing in the somewhat same position as me, so I guess I was still doing what one might do at a party?

I shivered as I felt Ian’s breath flowing over my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but shiver again, as I felt his lips brush against the skin of my shoulder. A bad shiver, that turned my stomach around.

Was it normal to feel like throwing up at a party?

Ian moved in even closer as his body was standing flush against mine, and I could feel his hard erection pressing against my back. Making my body freeze.

“Do you want to go somewhere else? Where there isn’t this much noise?” Ian growled lightly into my ear. Making my eyes open wide as I leaned aside to look at him.

NO! I don’t want this!

If this is the way normal wolves party, I was a lost cause and I would never fit in.

I would never belong here.

“I’m sorry!” I excused myself as I pushed my body away from his. I had tried this party thing, and clearly, this wasn’t something for me. I hated everything about it and, right now, I didn’t even feel safe. I needed to get out of here, right now.

So I excused myself again as I stormed out of the room, not looking back once. Not even when a lot of noise came from behind me. I just needed to get out of here, right now!