CHAPTER 34

MIA POV.
It was already mid-afternoon when I came downstairs again, only to be surprised to finally see Vivienne. She was walking down the stairs some ways ahead of me. Relief washed over me before it turned to concern. Something was off about her. Her usual radiance was replaced by a fragile, worn appearance. Her smooth skin seemed pale, accentuating the dark circles under her eyes.
Her black hair that was always styled in place, now hangs limp, framing her tired face. The sparkle in her blue eyes has dimmed, leaving them looking haunted. “Vivienne!” I call out to her, but she doesn’t react.
I approach her hurriedly, concern filling my chest. "Vivienne, are you alright?" She turns and looks at me in surprise. Did she really not hear me calling her the first time? I wondered. "Oh, Hello Mia... yes. I'm fine." Vivienne said as she plastered a smile on her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
I knew she wasn’t fine as I fell into step beside her, and we both started to make our way down the staircase. Vivienne's fake smile faltered for a moment before she regained composure. "Really, Mia, I'm fine. Just a bit... tired. I didn’t sleep to well last night." She says, before she swiftly changes the subject. "What about you? Are you prepared for the hunt party tonight?” She asks. I immediately knew she was deflecting, and I decided to let her be… at least for now. “I'd be happy to help you get ready, perhaps explain some of the finer details for you?" She says and I smile at her gratefully. “That would be of great, thank you Vivienne.” I say as we reached the bottom floor.
"I think I am going to need all the help that I can get. I've never attended a hunt party before." I say and the older woman looks slightly shocked to hear this. “I am or I was the odd one in my pack, so my attendance wasn’t really warranted.” I say and Vivienne looks genuinely annoyed by this piece of information.
Viviene takes a breath before a smile graces her lips and some of that sparkle enters back into her eyes. "Well, then, it would be my honour to officially prepare you for your first hunt. let's make sure you're breathtaking tonight that even the moon will howl for you." Her voice takes on a reassuring quality, and for a moment, I forget about her earlier fragility.
"Come on, we don’t have much time left.” Vivienne says as she grabs my hand and starts marching up the stairs again. “But we just came down for lunch.” I said as my stomach made a rumble to prove a point. “I’ll have lunch sent up to your room and until then I can start working my magic on you.” She said as the Vivienne that I have come to know, started to shine through again.
A little while later, I sat as Vivienne's skilled fingers glided through my hair, transforming it to her will. She pulls out strands to frame my face, accentuating my cheekbones and jawline. At least that is what she told me. She had already completed my make up, but I haven’t had the chance to see in the mirror for myself. She didn’t want me to ruin the surprise before she was completely done.
She steps back from me as she scrutinizes her handiwork and nods, seemingly satisfied. She walks over to my bed and picks up and outfit that was zipped up in a full-length garment bag on a hanger. How the outfit looked, I had no idea. One of the omega’s had brought in, as per Vivienne’s request, after we had a hurried lunch in my room.
“I haven’t had a chance to where this myself, but I think this will suit you better.” Vivienne spoke and she unzipped the bag. The first thing that caught my eye, was the shimmer of black fabric with a sparkle of a buckle. I sucked in a breath as the dress came into full reveal. I reached out to touch it and it felt as smooth as it looked. The dress was a provocative corset styled dress with off the shoulder satin sleeves with a sweetheart neckline. The bottom part of the dress were layers of lace overlapping each other. In the front, it was knee length but as the edges reached the sides, the material seemed to grow in length, looking like it would be able to trail after the person that would wear it.
This dress had my heart skip a beat. It was much more provocative and wilder than anything I've ever worn before. "Vivienne, I don't know..." I trail off, unsure even though I wanted to put it on so badly.
Vivienne's eyes sparkle with mischief. "Trust me, Mia. This is exactly the right dress for tonight’s hunt." Vivienne says and I could only nod as she had already come closer with the dress, and she quickly helped me into it.
Looking down at myself whilst Vivienne laced me up at the back, I couldn’t help admiring how comfortably and snugly it hugged my curves although the neckline dipped too low for my liking, revealing more skin than I was comfortable with, but Vivienne assures me again that it is perfect for a werewolf hunt.
Vivienne steps away from me to admire her handy work and she looked highly satisfied with what she had done, and this made me impatient and excited to see myself as well. Can I have a look now?” I asked and Vivienne turned me towards the full-length mirror, and I could help but gasp at the woman who was staring back at me from the mirror.
I gaze at my reflection, stunned. I stepped towards the mirror. The woman staring back at me was barely unrecognizable… this woman looked sexual, confident and captivating with an air of goth about her. Vivienne's hands brush against mine as she adjusts the dress's delicate straps. "You look absolutely breathtaking, Mimi.” Vivienne's gaze lingers on my reflection, still having that satisfied smile on her face. “Like a deadly werewolf queen, capable of commanding the attention of a room with just a click of her fingers. A queen who gets anything or anyone her heart desires." Vivienne says. I stare into my own eyes in the reflection again as I process her words.
I feel a surge of confidence that I have never felt before and suddenly I have this image of Dominic. His piercing gaze locked onto mine. His broad shoulders, his chiselled features and is commanding presence… submitting to my will.
A shiver runs down my back as the image plays in my head and before I could envision more, Vivienne announced that it was time to go. She had miraculously achieved to get dressed and do her makeup and hair in between while she had attended to mine.
My stomach started to knot with nervousness. Would Dominic like it? I wondered As Vivienne and I descend the staircase, the sound of murmured conversations could be heard somewhere as omega’s bustled about to serve their guests. We were just about to step off the stairs when Dominic and Tony came into view. They were both dressed in black suits although Dominic looked better in his.
I notice Tony's eyes widen when he caught sight of me, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Mia... wow." He takes a step forward, his gaze roaming over me, drinking in my transformed appearance. I felt a little exposed under Tony’s leering gaze. I tactfully sidestep Tony’s hand that he wanted to put on my arm and looked over at Dominic. But to my dismay,
Dominic stands in stony silence, his expression serious. His gaze sweeps over me, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of approval and something else, but I couldn’t tell. It made me nervous to not be able to read anything from his serious demeanour.
“Let’s go.” Dominic said and turned on his heel, leaving the three of us standing at the foot of the staircase. I was very aware of Tony still staring at me, but I ignored him as I followed Dominic to outside with Vivienne close behind me. As Dominic guides us through the winding paths of the pack grounds, the evening air thickens with anticipation. The sounds of laughter, music, and rustling leaves became louder and with it my nerves heightened, and I didn’t feel so confident as I had a few minutes ago.