Energy of the Omega

Part 9

Caly’s POV

Between last night’s sugar rush, and my desire to finish that damn romance novel, the three hours sleep I actually managed to get seemed grossly inadequate by ten the next morning.  Luna was a spinning top flitting between all the activities that required her attention; the decor, the deliveries, taste testing and a few hundred other items on her to-make-Caly-do list were, in her mind at least, all immediate or vital. I was trying to be chipper and helpful, but I was exhausted and I still had at least sixteen more hours to make it through this night. That was a conservative estimate, if it was to be considered truly a success, we might be serving breakfast before anyone even thought of heading to bed.

It was nearly four o’clock when Luna Katherine was satisfied that the pack-house wouldn’t come crashing down around us if she took a break.  I headed straight to the kitchen for my sixth cup of coffee.  Gloria handed me a plate with one of each of tonight’s appetizers. She made it my job to test them, grumbling to herself about how I needed canapes to soak up the caffeine before my heart gave out.  She has no idea how much university had increased my caffeine tolerance.  But the little bites were delicious, so I tried to snag some more before my pinkies were slapped, and I was ejected from the kitchen.

After my late ‘lunch’, I rushed to Alpha Darius’ office. He quietly took in my haggard appearance with a hard look. I resigned myself to the fact a dad-esque lecture was inevitable.

“Calypso Johnson,” he used my full name to instill the fear of all creation into me. “You need to be careful with yourself, are you planning on wasting all of your energy before the party even starts?”

“I’ve just been doing my best, Alpha Darius.”  I fake my happy reply.

“Kat won’t be happy you go down in the line of duty, my Dear Girl,” he reminds me. Luckily I can tell I’m going to get off easy this time. “I called you here because I wanted to discuss last night.”

Athena’s ears perk up.  She truly would like to be a gossip hound.

“I can’t help but think that last night was a trial run for those rogues. We were not able to capture them, so we have no information on why they were here, or what they could possibly be after.  We also had two Alphas who just today remembered to finally RSVP.  To say I’m mistrustful of their intentions would be an understatement.” He dramatically paused while I let all this new information sink in.  

“Am I being fired for tonight?” I say with a soft chuckle. Hopefully, he’ll let me hole up in my apartment, and not be stuck locked up in a safe room. If I wasn’t so damn tired I would feel guilty about letting the Luna down.  

“Against my better judgement, my Kitty-Kat thinks I have to make sure you attend at least the Ball. Luna’s intuition and all. Just this once, I would like her to be wrong so I can ensure your safety.”

‘I have a feeling the Luna is right, Babe.’ Athena whispers in my head, in a voice so low you would think she was afraid Alpha Darius might hear our private thoughts.

‘Let me guess, you suddenly have been struck with intuition as well?’

‘Do not mock me. My instincts keep us alive!’

“What does Athena have to say about this?” Alpha’s words startle me out of my own head.  He’s caught me out, so now I have to be honest with him.

“She felt the Luna was right. She also reminded me that it’s her wolf instincts that keep me alive.”

“I had honestly hoped she would disagree.  That way I could somehow justify sending you to the safe room.”  He paced the length of his office for several minutes.  I just waited for his final verdict.

“You should trust your wolf’s instincts, Calypso, even if you don’t immediately understand their reasoning.”

He sighed and stopped pacing.  I didn’t like the way he was staring at me with so much concern.  I wanted to offer to help, but Athena kept me silent. She was wary of the Alpha’s dark mood. So all I could do was wait for the Alpha to talk again.

“We will need to take some extra precautions.  I want you to take one of your boiling hot showers, and scrub away as much of the scent as you can.  You’ll need to wear this,” he produces a small vial of scent neutralizers. A swirling glow when I grasp the tiny bottle alerts, Athena, to the gravity of this situation.

‘Black Magic,’ she informs me. ‘s**t just got real, Babe.’  

‘Well, that sure as hell doesn’t inspire any confidence. Are you sure you can handle this?’ I’m going to freak out, I’m now sure of it.

“Stay inside the pack-house, and keep yourself near people. Always. Perhaps I should assign you a guard.  Even Jason tailing you would be better than being alone.”

‘I don’t need that foul squirrel protecting you. I will be more than enough,’ she arrogantly huffs.  

“I will be fine, Alpha. You have to let me do my job. I will keep myself safe.”

“Shower and head upstairs, the Luna will help you get ready.” He leans for a hug, and I sense his trepidation.  It suddenly feels as though we are saying goodbye. I can’t shake this terrible fear that has come over me. I feel myself being pulled away from his strong grip, and very soon I realize I’m being pulled away from everything.

I’m in total darkness when I hear my wolf tell the Alpha we will be okay.

*****

I am not allowed to come forward in my own head until my skin has been as been scoured pink.  Whatever Athena has done to me has made me calm and resolute.  I head up the flights of stairs until I am at the door of the Luna’s private quarters.  She appears like a beautiful vision. Her hair is piled high, with a few curls streaming down. Her make-up is flawless and instantly draws you to gaze into her eyes.  How can she be even more hypnotizing than usual?  She pulls me into her room before I even get the chance to knock. She clicks the deadbolt on the door behind us, and that sound forces me to tear away from her eyes to take in the rest of my surroundings. The Luna is wrapped in a silk kimono-inspired robe. It’s a deep red colour and patterned with cherry blossoms.

“It’s my good luck dressing gown,” she tells me like it’s a secret superstition I need to understand. “Oh thank the Goddess, Darius finally listened to me. We were waiting for you to get here before we got dressed. I notice a garment bag being held by none other than Kyrie, the fashion consultant.  She is frantically gesturing with her free arm for us to get dressed, and to be quick about it. The bag is shoved into my hands, and from an enormous box, Kyrie pulls a solitary ball gown. I thought the Luna’s whole new wardrobe would be packed into a box that size!

Matching tonight’s theme, the dress is exquisite. It’s a long royal-blue gown, that flows out with a truly princess level worth of crinolines underneath it. The bottom circumference of that dress is nearly as wide as the Luna is in height.  It has off the shoulder straps and a  neckline that plunges deeply to look like a heart. The ‘girls’ will be on full display in that dress. With the sparkle of silvery gemstones accentuating her curves I bet that Alpha Darius won’t leave her side for a minute tonight.  

“Go big or go home,” She tells Kyrie.  It takes some finagling to get her laced up with the ribbons in the back, but the final product makes me think that no other woman stands a chance at outshining our beloved Luna.   

“You’re up, Caly!”  I am somewhat frightened as to what will be in my bag.  At least it won’t be as flouncy as the Luna’s skirt. It would be a nightmare for me to walk around in a dress as big as a table and not knock people over.

The zipper slides down to unveil a dress that is at least ten times flashier than I had expected. Sensing my hesitation, Kyrie begins to explain the dress in minute detail. There is a thick gemstone collar that will wrap around my neck like a gaudy necklace. Apparently it is called a halter, and it is practically blinding me. It’s meant to distract the eye away from my boobs. The ones I don’t actually have very much of. The top portion is in the same azure blue colour the Luna has chosen for the decor. Perhaps I can hide myself behind one of the floral arrangements. The numerous little pleats on the bodice are apparently called ruching, which is supposed to give me at least the illusion of a bust-line. The shoulders are completely bare, and can’t for the life of me think of any way it would be possible to wear a bra under this dress.

‘b***h, please. You need a bra to hold up what exactly?’ 

‘For my personal comfort,’ I snap at my wolf. ‘I suppose you like this dress?’ 

‘We haven’t even tried it on yet, why do you have to be so negative? Not very open-minded of you.’

I try to take another look at the dress more objectively.  There’s a belt under the bust line that matches the collar.  The skirt is very pretty, I have to admit.  It’s black and asymmetrical, making it knee length in the front and longer in the back.  That part works okay for me, but it seems comprised of several layers of a see-through fabric like tulle. Isn’t tulle just used to wrap up gift baskets and decorations?  Not very practical for a dress. I’m afraid if I move too fast I will be exposing too much skin.

Kyrie looks at me as if I have grown two heads because I’m not falling all over myself to try her creation on.  The Luna is clapping her hands at chest level, and bouncing enough to make her dress puff out even further when she moves. It reminds me of a ripple on the lake.

I will try on this dress for her. I will try to be positive.  I can do this, it’s just for tonight.  No sweat. I decide I’m not going to strip down in front of the two of them. I don’t give a crap if the door is locked.  I have learned my lesson. I quietly excuse myself to use the bathroom to change.

The Luna has a great old-fashioned mirror in here.  It’s the type that has an ornate frame around the edges and sits on its own stand. You can tell that it is old, likely a true antique.

‘Are you judging the dress, or judging the mirror, Babe.’  

Okay, maybe I was trying to distract myself from my reflection. It’s remarkably less awful than I was picturing in my head. It’s still a smidge to glittery for my tastes, but I am astonished by how it all pulls together to flatter my figure.  The true litmus test will be how it looks in the rear-view.  I twirl quickly so I can determine how opaque the skirt will be if I have to make a run for it. So far so good, I glance over my shoulder and I still look respectable in the back.

‘You have an awful and skewed imagination. We cannot hide from the fact we are bootylicious. I think this look is rather nice, it suits us.’ She’s being modest, I can feel her containing her excitement to glide through a packed ballroom in this dress. To find her Prince Charming.

‘We are working,’ I have to remind her.  ‘We need to not draw too much attention to ourselves. We need to be careful and protect ourselves. We don’t have time to sniff out a Mate.’

She chooses to ignore any and all of my protests.

“Did you need help in there, Caly?  What’s the hold-up?” Kyrie’s voice is too loud and clearly displeased.  The Luna must be getting impatient.

I step out of the bathroom. “You look perfect, just as I imagined!’ The Luna manages to squeak out. “Give me a turn!”  I spin around twice, and when I look back her hands are clasped as if she were about to pray. She bats her lashes, her eyes are getting watery.

“Don’t do that Luna Katherine, you’ll wreck your eye-liner! You’ll make me feel bad.” I insist.

“Come here, my girl.” She hugs me and sways us around in a slow dance,  “It’s just that you’ve just gone and grown all up on me. I feel fortunate to share this moment with you.”  She doesn’t have to say anything else.  She’s thinking of my Mama.  I am, too.

“Alright stow away the sadness, we have a party to start! Kyrie, can you go grab Constance for me? Oh, let Darius know he can come in as well.”

“Who is Constance?” I question the Luna.

“Hair and make-up.”

“You still look perfect, you don’t need any touch-ups,” I tell her honestly.

“Not for me silly, for you!  I have to head downstairs and greet the arriving Alphas! You get all gussied-up and head down when you are ready. Tonight is going to be perfect, Caly. I can feel it!” Her tone left no room for argument. “First thing you better do when you head down is to come and find me! Got that?”

“Yes, Ma’am!”  

*****

Constance was a force to be reckoned with. I told her I didn’t usually wear make or fuss too much with my hair.  First, she told me to sit down and shut up, she didn’t care what I normally did. Then she told me that she had her orders, and since I didn’t outrank the Luna, she couldn’t possibly care any less about my thoughts on the matter.  Lastly, she informed me that she still had three more important she-wolves she had to get to, so if I didn’t stay perfectly still she wouldn’t think twice about ‘accidently’ dropping a hot curling iron on me.  I’m pretty sure she didn’t have to tug on my hair quite so hard, but she was pure evil, and clearly enjoyed it.

When she was done with her perverse form of torture, she took her hairbrush a hit me in the ass.  It was a loud thwack and Athena took some exception to it and turned me around to give her a glare with her black eyes.  Constance only rolled her eyes and mumbled something about between my ass and the fifteen layers of the dress I would live. I grabbed my cell phone and the low strappy heels I was left to wear, I was going to carry them downstairs and put them on when I was safe at the bottom.  I got my fingers rapped once again with the hairbrush, and she harshly told me, “Put those on now!” She was evil, I swear!

I headed straight to the kitchen.  I know I promised Luna I would come to find her first, but this was my shortcut.  Besides, I know she just did it so I wouldn’t be seen using any of the Omega entrances.  But I am an Omega, so I don’t really care.  I also had a job to do, I needed to check everything was moving perfectly here.

“How’s she hanging, Glo!” I look around the very busy kitchen.  Clearly, we have enough food to feed all these wolves for the next three weeks. All of the people serving look great in the spiffy new black uniforms while personalizing their looks with silver and blue accents.  I think every single and available wolf we have is here dressed to impress. Whether they find their Mates tonight or not, all the pheromones in the air tell me that no one will be going home alone if they don’t want to.

“Oh my goodness, Girl, you look smokin’ hot!” She gives me an air hug, since she doesn’t want to coat me in breading like a chicken wing.  Whoops, it’s not wings Glo is working on, she’s breading little shrimps.

“Smokin’, huh?  Probably the six layers of grey eye-shadow they painted me with. I close my eyes so she can check it out for herself.

“Well, I have orders to get you out the hell outta here. No food or coffee either, I can’t let you eat anything that might mess your lipstick.”  She laughs and returns to dropping shrimp into a fryer.

“You got about three seconds before your personal guard comes in here looking for you.”

“I’m leaving, try and stall him!” I rush out the kitchen door and start my search for my Alpha and Luna.  I spot them, it’s hard not to see that they are the picture of happiness.  Luna is rocking her dress, and Alpha Darius is draped over her shoulder, his arms tightly around her waist.  His tie and kerchief the same colour as Luna’s dress. They are some pretty serious relationship goals.

 The guests have formed a polite line and are waiting for the power couple to receive them. I slowly make my way over.  I stand far off to the side, trying to not draw attention.  Luna has an eagle-eye and beckons me over to her. She pulls me into a hug, then holds me at arm’s length so she can inspect  Constance’s work.  I bet the evil hairdresser didn’t smack any of her other clients with a hairbrush.  

“Absolutely lovely! Dar, isn’t she just the prettiest young lady here?”  I am thrust into the Alpha’s arms. I can hear some people in the line bitching that I jumped the line, and why was an Omega with the Luna, blah blah bullshit.  I tune them out and give the Alpha a quick hug. “You do look lovely, Calypso.”

The Luna slaps her husband’s arm to get his attention, then whispers something in his ear. They focus on something across the room so I try to find out what has caught their attention.  A familiar face is moving with a purpose towards me.  My personal guard has just joined the party.