Read The Half Blood Luna by The Black Daisy
Chapter 44
Ella’s POV:
We walked deep inside the hall passing through many people, until we reached a table almost at the head of the hall. That’s when I noticed Joseph, Sara, and alpha Klaus all standing together and talking.
Sara was the first to notice me before I reached them. She was wearing a red, long sleeve, dress with a side sl!t. Her hair was styled in vintage curls. She broke away from them and hugged me so tightly as she whispered in my ear excitedly “I am so glad you’re here Ella. You look so gorgeous and stunning.”
I smiled at her compliment and said “You look so beautiful too. Red is definitely your color.”
She thanked me, held my hand and walked me towards where Joseph and Klaus were standing. Joseph looked so thrilled to see me. He was smiling broadly at me. He was wearing a formal tuxedo with a black bow tie. He looked amazing. My eyes slid over to alpha Klaus and froze there for a while. He was stunningly beautiful in an all black tuxedo suit with a black bow tie. His hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail instead of his usual messy look. He was openly staring at me, from my dress up to my face. His face didn’t reveal anything.
“I’m glad you changed your mind kiddo. The ceremony wouldn’t feel complete without you,” said Joseph happily.
I tore my eyes away from alpha Klaus and smiled at Joseph in appreciation.
I looked around me and didn’t see Linda anymore. She must have seen someone she knows and went to stand with them. I told her before we entered that she was free for today. The ceremony wouldn’t be over until late none, by which time it will be Stephanie’s turn. And I will probably just end up staying with Sara the whole time, since I don’t know anyone else.
We kept standing for about twenty minutes. Me talking to Sara about my day, and Joseph and Klaus a few feet away talking about the hall organization. During that time, four women approached alpha Klaus separately. They would share a brief hug, exchange a few words then they would tell him that they were available to take the lead with him at the opening dance. Although I was supposed to be listening to what Sara was saying, I found myself involuntarily paying attention to his reply every time someone asked him. It was always the same reply, he would thank them for the offer politely, without indicating whether he agreed or not.
Jake told me that the alpha must officially open the ceremony with a formal dance with his mate or in this case partner. They would be performing the pack’s special dance. After the first song ends, everyone will be able to start dancing and enjoying different styles of dancing based on the music the DJ chooses. When he first told me about it, my heart squeezed as I was positive that it will be so hard for him to dance with someone else. I wondered if he had the authority to remove that part of the ceremony to spare himself that pain. Apparently he doesn’t.
I turned my attention back to Sara, chastising myself for caring so damn much. I don’t know how, but I felt him approach us before he appeared next to me. I turned my gaze to him and found him looking at me in uncertainty.
I turned my attention back to Sara, chastising myself for caring so damn much. I don’t know how, but I felt him approach us before he appeared next to me. I turned my gaze to him and found him looking at me in uncertainty.
“Ella, I want to ask you something, and it is totally okay if you say no,” alpha Klaus said to me in what appeared to be a tensed tone. From the corner of my eye, I saw Joseph taking Sara’s hand and pulling her away from us.
I wondered what that was about as I nodded my head at him.
“I want to ask you to be my partner for the opening dance. I am sure Jake taught you the moves already,” he said.
I tried to hide the smile that was about to escape from my lips. While I was so shocked that he asked me to be his partner, when four other women offered themselves. That was not why I hid my smile from him. The way he said ‘I’m sure Jake taught you the moves already’ left no doubt in my mind that he was jealous of him. Why he was jealous though? I had no clue.
“He did teach me the dance. But I’m new at the whole thing, I don’t want to mess it up and end up embarra*s*sing you in front of the pack,” I said shyly.
“You would never embarr@ssme Ella. Even if you mess up, I’ll be here to back you up, it won’t be the end of the world,” he said so gently, I couldn’t say no to him.
“Okay…. I am honored to be your partner for this dance,” I said softly.
He offered me his hand, and I held it right away. He squeezed my hand a little as we walked to the center of the stage, and I felt something inside me squeeze too. We stood a few feet apart looking at each other. Instantly, the music that was playing in the background stopped. At the same moment, the hall fell silent and people started gathering around the dance floor in a wide circle.
I looked at him and saw him gazing at me admirably, I felt my cheeks burn in response.
Just as the song started playing, my nerves were about to go haywire on me.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but you look so damn beautiful Ella.”
A soft gasp escaped from my lips as I heard alpha Klaus’s voice inside my head for the first time. His voice was so soft. My nerves calmed down immediately. Hearing these words calmed me down and gave me all the courage I needed.
As the intro of the song began, our dance started. We both raised our right hands, palms out, and brought them close to each other without actually touching. We moved together in half a circle then stopped again. We did the same thing with the left hand. Finally, we raised both hands, brought them close, and circled each other one last time. The instant one of our hands touched the other, my other hand landed on his shoulder, while his other hand held my waist, an electric shock went through me, and b*tterflies popped inside my stomach.
We performed the dance perfectly. We were in complete harmony together. You’d look at us and think we have been performing this dance for years. I felt completely safe and confident with him, with every turn, every spin, and every lift. He was a talented dancer too.
The song was breathtakingly so meaningful and deep. I felt every word until it ended. It filled me with so many emotions. Emotions I never thought myself capable of feeling. The whole dance, our eyes never broke their contact. We were totally alone, nothing and no one else existed but us, in this moment, in each other’s arms.
He felt the exact same thing. This time, his face showed every emotion he always kept hidden from everyone. I was afraid he wouldn’t put such effort in the dance because he was missing his real partner. But he was perfect and amazing. He gave me his full undivided attention, to which I was deeply moved and touched that I could feel such emotions from him towards me.
The song ended with his hands around my waist and mine around his neck, our foreheads touching and our eyes closed. We stayed like this for a few seconds, before a loud applause broke the silence. Our foreheads broke the connection and we opened our eyes, but we were still holding each other. His hazel eyes were trapping me inside them. I couldn’t look away from them.
“I hope you enjoyed your first and final dance.”
Dread and terror replaced all the beautiful feelings I felt a second ago. As the voice of the mysterious guy from my nightmares, the man who tried to K*ll me at my old pack, filled my head.
He mind-linked me again as he said in a deadly tone that caused me to shudder in intense fear.
“If you don’t want Sara to d*ie in the next two seconds, I suggest you keep your mouth shut little girl.”