The Lady In Red

••• Charlotte’s POV ••• I stretched out my body and cracked my neck before leaning back against my swivel leather chair. “Goddess, I didn't know taking over the pack would require so much time and effort,” I mumbled to myself as I looked at the stacks of documents in front of it. There seemed to be no end to them. Ever since the incident in the club, I had been burying myself with work, partly because I needed to distract myself from thinking about it and also because I needed to get myself used to the pack matters. I had to prepare all the pack business and all the cooperation with other packs. It was tiring as sometimes it got too much, and I had to stay up late to finish all the tasks. I closed my eyes and intended to take a short rest when I heard the door opening, and Leo’s voice reached my ears. “Tired?” he asked. I opened my eyes to see him smiling at me dotingly as he handed me a cup of my favorite coffee. “A little bit.” I took the cup from him and took a sip. The aroma and taste of the coffee instantly relaxed me. “I don't know how you managed to take over all my tasks when I was away. But thank you. You did a great job,” I told him in appreciation and a bit of guilt. When he told me everything before handing me the pack matters, I could see he did a great which made me easy to continue from where he left off. He chuckled. “Then how are you going to thank me?” I raised an eyebrow at him as I kept sipping my coffee. “Is there anything you want? I can buy it for you.” He laughed. “You know I’m not short of money.” It was true. Having taken over my tasks for the past three years and being my Beta, his salary was high, higher than anyone else I knew. He was pretty rich himself. “Then?” He smiled and placed an invitation on the desk, sliding it toward me. “I want you to go to a meeting, and I’ll be going with you as your Beta.” I took the invitation and was surprised to see it. The invitation was white with gold borders and gold lettering. It was addressed to ‘Alpha Charlotte of the Moon Crest Pack.” Only one pack used this color for invitations. And the seal on it... “It is a VERY important meeting, and he invited you personally,” he smiled and hinted. I caressed the seal and couldn't help the excitement from blooming in my heart. I smiled. “Of course, I’ll go with you, especially since I was invited personally.” “Good. Now, we still have time to go through all this paperwork. Let's get to work. I’ll help you.” He started to pick up a document and began reading it. I groaned, wishing I could just take a short rest, but I still obeyed him in the end. As we were busy reading the documents, my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up without looking at the caller ID, and suddenly, an excited voice so loud sounded from the receiver. “Char! Did you get an invitation too?” Livie’s voice was high and loud, and I had to place my phone away from my ear in case she pierced my eardrum. “Yup, I got it. I got invited personally,” I grinned. “And Leo will be coming with me as my Beta.” “You got invited personally? Oh my Goddess, I can't believe it!” she screamed again. “You need to look the best tonight. You don't have to do anything. I’ll prepare everything for you tonight. Wait for me at your pack. We’ll get ready and go together!” she said. Knowing it was impossible to reject her, I just said ‘okay’, and she hung up the phone after I agreed. I shared a look with Leo, and we shook our heads helplessly. Livie sometimes could be domineering and would take no for an answer. Olivia moved fast. Not long after her phone call, she arrived with two dress bags and two makeup artists and quickly pulled me to my bedroom. She opened hand the bags and unzipped one of them. “This is your gown!” She showed me excitedly. I was surprised to see her choice. It was a Scarlett one-shoulder gown. Upon closer inspection, it consisted of two dressed infused into one. The inner part was of a short sequined dress that reached above half of my thigh. It had a low sweetheart neckline which would push up and showcase my cleavage. The outer part was made of silk. One of my breasts would be shown because of the sequined inner dress, but the other would be hidden under the one-shoulder silk. The silk cinched on the left side of the waist, still showcasing the short inner sequined dress, and it flowed down longer on the left side. It would show my long slender legs. I chuckled. “Bold choice, Olivia.” “You need to be the center of attention!” she said and began helping me into my gown. “Oh my Goddess, you are gorgeous, Char! The dress fits you perfectly!” she squealed. The makeup artists quickly did our makeup and hair. My hair was braided along the hairline and coiled at the back. I had smokey eyes with red lipstick, while Olivia’s makeup was softer. When done, we both look at our reflection in the mirror. I looked at my perfection, and I had to admire her choice. It indeed was perfect for me. The makeup and the red dress made me look sexy, yet the style was still elegant. Olivia herself wore a sequined champagne mermaid dress, making her look elegant and sweet. The contrast in our appearance would no doubt turn heads when we arrived together. I took a pair of dangling red diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet. It set my whole appearance perfectly. When we finished getting ready, we went down only to see Leo had changed into a formal tailored black three-piece suit that perfectly wrapped his lean muscular body. His hair was styled back, making him look even more handsome. When he saw us, he froze and looked at me in a daze. “Goddess, Lottie. You look... You look..” Apparently, my appearance made him speechless, and I couldn't help but laugh. “Sexy? Alluring? Amazing?” Livie provided some words for him in a teasing tone. “Gorgeous...” he gushed with an adoring expression, which kinda made me blush. “Well... You look not bad yourself,” I winked at him to cover my blush. He chuckled. “I’m lucky to be the escort of two such gorgeous ladies.” “So I’m gorgeous too?” Livie teased him. “Of course!” he grinned and offered each arm for us to take. We hooked our hands through his arms, and he opened the car doors for us before going to the driver's seat. When we reached our destination, Leo asked us to go in first as he needed to make some calls. We stepped into the grand ballroom, and as expected, many werewolves were looking at us. We were both daughters of Alphas, and with our contrasting appearances, they couldn't help but notice us. This meeting was really important, just as Leo had said. The host was none other than the Alpha King, and it was held in their magnificent castle. Even I was dazzled by the luxurious decorations of the ballroom. Just like the invitation, the ballroom was white. And it was decorated with everything gold. It didn't look tacky but tasteful. But what did you expect from the Alpha King other than classy and elegant decorations for his castle? As Olivia and I moved inside the ballroom, I saw someone I hated - Milla and her friends. I sighed. I should have known they would be invited too. I passed her by without even acknowledging her when I heard her whispering to her friends. “Hey, did you see the lady in red just now? She looks so gorgeous. She must be a noblewoman. That type of woman is the woman who deserves to be my brother’s Luna, not that slutty bitch Charlotte,” her words took on a disgusting tone toward the end of her sentence. “Yes, you are right. She looks so gorgeous. I’ve never seen someone as gorgeous as her. She definitely deserves to be with your brother,” one of her dogs agreed with her. I laughed in my heart. Was she talking about me? Did she not recognize me? I smirked when I thought how she would react when she realized ‘the lady in red’ she was saying was worthy of her brother was actually me, the person she kept mentioning as a slutty bitch she was disgusted at.