The Invitation
The invitation came in a gold envelope.
Gold. How ostentatious. How... typically lupine. Gold equaled wealth, and wealth equaled power. And power was a wolf's very being.
I slipped my finger under the fold and pulled out the invitation. It was written in gold ink on thick card stock with gilded edging. I rolled my eyes.
Dear Nia Adair,
You are cordially invited to the Alpha's masquerade ball. Please arrive promptly at 7 pm on Saturday.
T.A.A.
T.A.A. The Alpha's Advisor. The alpha didn't even send his own invitations.
I folded the invitation back into the envelope and placed it in my backpack with the few valuables I still owned.
I'd have to go. I didn't want to – it would be the most stressful night of my life, trying to avoid the alpha's notice – but I'd draw more attention by not attending.
I looked around the room I was claiming as my own. It was one of the less run-down bedrooms in an old mansion that had belonged to a wealthy human family a long time ago. I'd cleared the cobwebs and found some candles to light the space, but the window was still broken, the floorboards damp from the last downpour, and the heavy curtains folded on the floor before the door to block the draft. Or at least attempt to.
Where was I going to find something to wear?
