CelesteThe sun had already dipped beneath the horizon by the time I arrived at Fiona's house. The golden hues of dusk greeted me, and with every step towards her front door, I could feel my heart pounding against my chest.Today was finally the day of the ball. Jack had bought my excuse, and our plan was in motion.It was sure to be a tumultuous night, what with having to call my brother every hour and send him the pictures that Fiona and I took ahead of time, but it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make for the sake of getting the chance to attend the ball… and see Matt.Matt still had no idea that I was coming. I was too afraid to text him in case he talked to my brother and they somehow put two and two together. Hopefully, he didn’t have another date lined up; but if the texts he sent me were any indication, it seemed to me that he didn’t.I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he finally saw me there. In my mind, it was like a fairytale. I imagined his eyes widenin

Celeste“I know who this ‘Mystery Girl’ is.”The moment Sabrina’s voice uttered those words, I retreated further into the stall, praying she wouldn’t discover me. My breath hitched in my throat as I pressed myself up against the wall.The whispers and giggles filled the space, my heart rate accelerating with every insinuation.“Come on, Sabrina, just spill already! Who is this mystery girl? And what’s with the mask?” I recognized Eliza's voice; she and Sabrina had been two peas in a toxic pod since… well, since forever.Sabrina let out a teasing laugh. “A girl has to have her secrets, doesn’t she?” she cooed. “Just wait. Time will tell.”“Aww, Brina!” another voice whined. “You can’t leave us hanging like this!”Sabrina just chuckled again and tapped the side of her head. “You’ll find out soon enough. I’m cooking something up in here. It’s gonna be good; trust me.”Hidden within the confines of the stall, my breathing grew shallow as the cold bite of Sabrina’s words continued to sprea

CelesteThe suffocating weight of the ballroom’s atmosphere and the tumultuous whirlwind of emotions pressed me to seek solace. It was time to call my brother before he got suspicious again.Without a moment’s hesitation, I slipped out of Matt’s grip and darted towards the restrooms. My heels clicked against the marbled floors, echoing the rapid rhythm of my heart.Barely catching my breath, I locked myself into a stall, carefully placing my mask on the hook and pulling my hair back tightly. With trembling hands, I dialed Jack’s number, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity.“Finally,” came his gruff voice. The tiny screen lit up with a FaceTime request. “Face me,” he ordered.Trying to control my racing heart, I angled the camera towards the white-tiled wall, ensuring he couldn’t discern my location.“Celeste, where are you? Why can't I see you?”“Just... bear with me,” I whispered, sliding the straps of my dress down and turning the camera towards my face, still carefully

MattThe Moon Goddess Festival Ball was held in a vast ballroom with an adjacent greenhouse.It had been mostly abandoned for a long time, but ever since Nina made contact with her Alpha King father, he had been sinking a good amount of his endless money into fixing up this little town. This ballroom was one of his first projects.I still remembered clearly seeing the sudden flood of workers, all of them werewolves, seeping into the building and restoring it to its original beauty.It was a project that only took them a week, maybe two; it would have taken human workers much longer, but between the strength and stamina of the workers and the Alpha King’s vast stores of cash, it was over quickly.Now, to honor his donation, we moved the annual tradition of the Moon Goddess Festival ball over to this beautiful building. The humans in Mountainview were none the wiser, thinking that it was just some anonymous donor who decided to fix the place up and fund the lavish parties.But I knew be

Celeste“I think you forgot to take out your colored contact lenses.”The shock of Fiona’s words hung heavily in the air. My eyes widened.“No,” I said with a wry laugh, shaking my head. “Stop teasing me, Fiona. It’s not nice.”“Celeste.” Fiona grabbed my wrist, her eyes burning with sincerity. “I’m not joking. Come here.”Still holding my wrist, she yanked me to my feet and headed for the bathroom. I followed close behind, my heart pounding in my ears, matching the rush of panic swirling in my gut.With a light shove, Fiona pushed me over to the mirror. Upon seeing my reflection staring back at me, my stomach dropped.“God, how could I be so stupid?” I muttered, staring at the reflection in the bathroom mirror. The vivid blue contact lenses that had transformed my mismatched green and brown eyes for the ball were still there. They were supposed to be my perfect disguise.Fiona’s eyes widened in the reflection. “Celeste, I’m so sorry I didn’t notice sooner.”“It’s not your fault,” I w