The guard returned shortly, and his demeanor had changed dramatically. He addressed us humbly, “You may go inside now. If you need anything, please tell us at any time.”
“Well, then let us go in,” Beryl raised her chin and ordered proudly.
“Okay.” The guard was amused and hurried to lead us in. When I was about to enter the banquet hall hand in hand with Beryl, I heard Mommy’s voice from behind. I was so startled that I dared not turn around to look. So, I snatched Beryl’s hand and dashed into the hall.
Crystal’s POV
I’d been searching for Arron for a long time. At last, I spotted Beryl and him arguing with the guards in front of a banquet hall.
I became anxious when I realized that this was the venue of Rufus’ ball. A continuous stream of Alphas and noble ladies of various packs were entering the hall. Rufus would arrive at any time. I couldn’t let him see Arron.
I called out to Arron, wanting to take him with me. He obviously heard me, but he charged into the banquet hall with Beryl without a backward glance.
I was puzzled. Why was he suddenly rebelling? Arron had never disobeyed me.
I hurried to get to him, but was stopped by a guard at the entrance of the hall.
“You can’t go in without the invitation.” The guard scrutinized me with sharp eyes.
I awkwardly pulled my knee length thick coat tighter around me. I had stepped out of my accommodations in a hurry and was wearing my pajamas and pink wool slippers. I was obviously inappropriately dressed for the ball. If I were the guard, I wouldn’t allow someone like me to go inside.
“I’m the mother of the two kids who just went in. I want to take them back with me,” I tried to explain to the guard, but he ignored me. He just asked me to show him my invitation and stated that he could allow me inside as long as I had an invitation.
I colored with embarrassment. I had no intention of attending the ball at all, so I wasn’t carrying the invitation with me when I rushed out to look for my son. I hadn’t expected that Arron would come here by himself.
“If you don’t have an invitation, you should leave.” My pleas left the guard unmoved.
I had no choice but to reveal my identity. “I am the Alpha of the border pack. The mask I’m wearing is enough to prove that.”
The guard’s expression remained unchanged. He reiterated that no one was allowed to enter without an invitation.
I was so agitated that I was very close to losing my mind. I stood on my toes and poked my head in the hall, trying to see where the kids had gone.
The passing guests gave me strange looks. Eventually, the guards lost their patience and shoved me.
“If you don’t leave now, we will use f0rce!”
One guard pushed me back. A hand landed on my shoulder and someone pulled me behind her. I turned my head and saw Flora! In a frosty voice, she said to the guard, “We have invitations.”
As she spoke, she winked at Warren, who was standing behind her. He immediately caught her hint. He took out two invitations and showed them to the guard. He had the same icy expression as Flora. “Can we enter now?”
The guard recognized Warren and didn’t dare go against him. He nodded and said, “Of course, you can go in.”
When I heard that, I was overjoyed. Just as I was about to enter the hall, Flora stopped me. With a heavy sigh, she said, “Honey, look at you. It’s not appropriate to go in like this. Do you want to become the target of everyone’s stares?”
She lowered her voice so that only I could hear her. “You don’t want Rufus to notice you, do you? He will become aware of you if you wear such out-of-place clothes.”
I pursed my lips and considered her words carefully. Flora was speaking sense. The ball was about to start and the kids wouldn’t likely to coincidentally bump into Rufus. I prayed hard to Moon Goddess that they wouldn’t!
“Don’t hesitate. Let’s go and get you changed!” Without giving me a chance to refuse, Flora grabbed my arm and led me away.
Crystal’s POV
Flora quickly dragged me to the lounge. Every guest had been assigned a private lounge. There was a large pile of snacks on the table of this one, all of which were Flora’s favorite. It was obvious that Warren had thoughtfully arranged for them.
It was evident that Flora had lived a good life in the past five years. I presumed that Warren spoiled her a lot, and his subordinates also had immense respect for her.
“Sit down.” Flora animatedly pulled me to the sofa, then ripped my mask off my face and sat in thought for a while. “Let me apply some light makeup for you. Why do you look ill?”
“I’ve come down with a cold today,” I explained.
Flora reached her hand out and checked my forehead. “Fortunately, you don’t have a fever.”
At this moment, the door of the lounge was thrown open, and a well-dressed werewolf walked in, followed by several assistants. They came in bearing numerous dresses and a lot of jewelry.
“This is my personal designer, Muschel.” Flora greeted the werewolf and pushed me in front of him. “I’ll leave her in your hands. Dress her to be the most gorgeous lady at the ball.”
Muschel swept his eyes over me in surprise and praised me, “Oh my God, babe, your eyes are so stunning. You don’t even require contact lenses or any eye shadow.” Few people paid me direct compliments. My cheeks heated. “Thank you.”
“I will definitely dress you as the most beautiful woman at the party!”
I choked on my words for a moment and said, “Actually, that’s not necessary. I just want to go in to find someone. You can pick any dress for me.”
“How can you do that? All the people in the banquet hall, whether the nobility or the aristocrats, or even the ordinary maids and waitresses, are trying to look their best. You will stand out more if you’re plainly dressed. You’ll look like a duck among swans,” Flora explained as she picked up a sapphire blue dress and held it up for me.
Her reasoning made sense, but the excited expression on her face made me feel weird for some reason.
After my hair and make-up were finally done, Flora eyed me with satisfaction and said, “That’s perfect. Do you feel like a brand-new person?”
“I’m just going there to look for my kids. Isn’t this dress a bit too much?” Feeling uncomfortable, I crossed my arms across my chest. This dress was too revealing. Not only was my cleavage on display, but my back was also exposed.
“Of course not! You look super sexy and glamorous! This red color looks like it’s made for you. You will be the most gorgeous she-wolf at the ball.” Flora winked at me and studied my chest. “Your breasts are as full as before, and your waist is slimmer!”
I didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh. Fortunately, Muschel noticed my embarrassment and discomfort and placed a white shawl over my shoulders.
“Let’s go. The ball is about to begin.”
Flora tugged my hand and hurried out. Warren had been waiting for quite some time outside the lounge.
Flora suddenly froze in her tracks as something just occurred to her. “Your mask is very ugly. You need another one.”
She didn’t allow me to refuse. She hastily put her mask on my face, so that a small part of my chin was revealed. Although no one would be able to see my face clearly, I was still paranoid about being discovered. I wanted my mask back, but Flora quickly grabbed an invitation from Warren’s hand and tossed it toward me. Then, she swept away with him.
“You’re on your own now!” She giggled loudly and blew me a kiss from the distance.
I could feel a headache coming on. It was too late to return to my residence and get another mask. I had no choice but to enter the banquet hall.
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