The Fall Ball
Chapter 56

(Rose)

“May I k**s you?” Ash asked me. I don’t even think about the question as I nod and lean in closer to him. The nice slow gentle k**s soon becomes more. The k**s builds and deepens with our l**t.

As we start to get lost within the k**s Ash pulls back. We are both panting and trying to catch our breath.

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.” He says to me. I smile at him, and climb onto his lap.

“I know exactly what I want.” I say to him. I lean in to k**s him once more, but again he pulls back and he places his hands on my h**s and looks at me.

“Rose, as much as I want this. This is not the place or time.” He says to me. “Oh okay…” I say getting off of his lap.

I feel a little disappointed. Maybe he doesn’t want this as much as I do. Is this the bond working? I wonder to myself.

“No, this is not the bond. Yes the bond helps, but you two are both young and you have feelings for one another. And sometimes your emotions can get the better of you.” Lilly says to me.

“I get that, but he is my mate. Why cant we be like the other newly mated couples?” I ask her.

“You can be. But, do you really want your first time to be outside in the garden? While everyone is here to celebrate?” Lilly asks me.

I got lost in the moment and forgot that we have a huge celebration going on.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want to risk someone to see us.” I admit to her. After her pointing that out I feel silly. I can feel my self blush. I look up to see Ash watching me.

“Talking to Lilly?” He asks. I nod. “I figured, you spaced out a little and your eyes turned green.” He tells me.

“Rose, I want this I really do. But I want it to be special. Its our first time, and I don’t think we should do it outside by the fountain where anyone can see us.” He tells me while grabbing my hand.

“Ya I got a little caught up in the moment and forgot where we were at.” I admit. He smiles at me and squeezes my hand.

“I am glad that this is you and not Lilly pushing for it. But lets wait until we have some privacy please.” He says to me. “Ya, you are probably right.” I say to him while standing up.

“Lets go back to the party.” I say to him. He stands and wraps his arms around me.

“You have no idea how hard it was to stop. When I want to do so many things to you.” He says, I blush and look away.

We walk hand in hand back to the party. People are everywhere. Some are dancing, some are siting and talking. A bonfire has been started. It looks like all of the pups are gone, must have been put to bed.

“So the run is about to start. I know that your wolf is not available at the moment. But I would still like you to go on the run with us. Would you like to ride on Aspen?” Ash asks me.

“Oh yes! That would be great.” I say to him with a big smile.

“OK, good. I have to go talk to my dad. Do you wanna come with me or do you want to mingle on your own?” He asks me.

“I think I am going to replace something to drink.” I tell him. He nods to me and starts to walk off. But then he stops and turns around and k****s me.

“I know that you can link me, so if anything happens while I’m away please link me or Craig. I really don’t like leaving you alone.” He says to me.

“With all these people here I am sure I will be fine.” I tell him. He nods and walks over to his parents.

I walk over to the bar. I grab just a water. I stand there watching everything that is going on. It makes me happy to see everyone having a good time. Tonight has been amazing so far.

Just as I think that, a strange feeling washes over my body. And then it is gone. I shake it off and try to not think about it. I start to walk around. I pass a group of she-wolves.

“Look at her. Who does she think she is?” I hear one of them say.

“How could he want her?” I hear another say.

“She isn’t even that pretty. She has a weak wolf who is hiding away. She will never make a good queen. She is going to ruin our kingdom.” I hear someone else say as I pass them.

I feel the tears forming in my eyes. I try to get away from the crowd as fast as I can. But I run into someone. I look up to see Raymond looking down at me.

“Everything okay?” He asks me. I shake my head no. He guides me over to the side of everything, I let out a whimper.

“How can they say those mean things?” I ask him. He looks at me confused. “Who?” he asks me.

“Don’t you hear them?” I ask looking at him. He sits there silently for a few moments. “I don’t hear anything being said about you,” He tells me.

I look at him confused and tell him what I heard.

“Rose, before you started to hear these things did anything happen?” He asks me with concern in his voice.

“I strange feeling washed over me, but it was gone as quickly as it showed up.” I say. He nods at me and I see him smile.

“Rose, you gained another power. This one will be tough to control.” He says to me.

What power could I have gained now? And how many of them am I going to get, I wonder.

“You gained mind reading. It is one of the rarest powers that the goddess has given. It can easily be abused to gain power and many other things. There are ways to control it, and we will work on that in training. But for now, I think you need to stay close to me or my guys.” He says to me.

“Why?” I ask him.

“Can you hear anyone’s thoughts while I am next to you?” He asks. I stop and focus.

“No only what they are saying out loud.” I tell him and he nods at me.

“That is because the goddess blessed you to read thoughts of pack members to ensure safety within the kingdom. But you can not read the thoughts of your natural enemy, vampires. So when we are within close proximity, your power is not available.” He explains to me.