Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1265 - 20 : Legend of the Moon Ball

*Zara*

I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it myself.

“Yeah,” Marcus said, his smile widening at our reactions. “The Moon Ball—it’s not always just a dance. Sometimes, wolves go on a midnight run to find their mates. Maybe that’s what happened. Some packs, mine and Drogomor included, believe the moon is calling to us on that night.”

Marcus was right. I had been thinking of Moon Balls as dances and had really forgotten that some packs had the practice of running in the woods in wolf form.

It was a possibility....

Gia smiled. “That practice is among my favorites. It’s so romantic that they’d find each other out on a run.”

“The call is especially strong when mates are close,” Marcus added. “The moon is very powerful.”

Gia’s eyes sparkled, and she looked at me. “Is that how it felt for you, Zara... a night of passion where you threw caution to the wind and let the moon help guide you?”

I thought back to that night, a shiver crawling down my spine at how beautiful and intense those emotions had been. Slowly, I nodded, letting out a soft sigh.

“Yes,” I breathed, causing Gia to giggle.

“Oh, she’s lost in the memory. It must have been magical,” my best friend said, batting her eyelashes again.

“Gia!” I complained, feeling my face flush.

I felt so fuzzy inside, wishing I could experience exactly that again. But then I frowned.

She furrowed her brow. “What’s the matter?” she asked softly.

“I just... I’m worried. I can’t remember what happened afterward or even how I got back to my room that night. I can’t help but worry about that and... maybe I’ll never be able to find him again.”

Marcus asked, “Ah, you haven’t seen him since?”

I shook my head, letting out a sigh. “Not once, no. Gia and I set up a profile on a searcher site, but we’ve only gotten creepy and desperate messages instead of promising leads.”

Gia added, “Dozens of them... in fact, her inbox had over a hundred at one point. It took us forever to go through each profile!”

Marcus wrinkled his nose. “I like the dedication, but that sounds wholly ineffective. Tell you what. I’m not doing much except hanging around for the wedding. How about I help you two find him?”

Gia and I exchanged a glance. Marcus had been nothing but pleasant.

“I don’t see why not,” I said finally.

Gia’s eyes locked on Marcus, and she said, “But you need to promise not to tell anyone, alright?”

I gave her a bewildered look. “He did so already, Gia.”

“Well, he’s on the team, so he needs to double promise,” she said firmly, her lips twitching up into an amused grin.

Marcus chuckled, his eyes lighting up at how goofy Gia could act sometimes to get a laugh. He put a hand over the left side of his chest. “I promise. All that happens is between us only.”

Gia said, “Perfect! Welcome to the team. We need a team name, right?”

“No, we don’t need a team name, Gia,” I said, giving a light laugh.

She stuck her tongue out at me, no doubt clearly joking around.

“We will have one in spirit. I’ll keep the team name I come up with for us a secret,” she teased. Then she grew serious, looking between me and Marcus. “So, the Moon Ball... that’s a very solid lead.”

Marcus grinned, giving a nod. “Right, especially with how Zara described feeling exactly that way. I always liked to imagine the myth buried within the tradition was true.”

“Me too,” Gia agreed, which caused me to chuckle.

“I think you should attend the upcoming Moon Ball at our pack. We have one at Windy Clouds in just a week. I was going to skip it. It shouldn’t interfere with the wedding, as that’s in two weeks, right?”

I nodded. “That’s right, two weeks.”

I shook my head, feeling a surge of despair at the idea of Noah ending up in a completely unhappy relationship, but there was nothing more I could do.

Gia, meanwhile, was ecstatic. “Marcus, you’re brilliant!” she exclaimed. “I think that’s the perfect idea. Zara can attend it and hopefully find her mate again!”

Marcus beamed at Gia, then looked at me. “You only need to be near your mate to see the golden threads, right, since you saw them after that night?”

“I think so,” I said thoughtfully. “Are you sure we will be welcome to attend the Moon Ball? I don’t want to intrude but it sounds so perfect.”

I didn’t want to get my hopes up and just invite myself to the Windy Clouds Moon Ball. But Marcus gave a soft laugh and a thumbs up.

“Consider yourself invited by me... you and Gia! I want to hear more about your wildlife adventures if you want to come. Plus, I can tell you’d want to be there for your friend,” Marcus said.

Gia’s eyes gleamed with sheer delight. “Yes! Oh, this is wonderful, Zara, we have a chance to find your mate! Plus, attending such a special event sounds lovely!”

A surge of excitement ran through me, and I grinned widely. “Thank you so, so much Marcus!” I said, letting out a relieved sigh. We were closer than ever to finding my mate.

Maybe, just maybe, this could lead to something big.

***

*Noah*

I made my way to the healer’s room, wanting to check in with Calvin to see how Zara was doing. She’d been busy lately, probably searching for the mate she didn’t want to admit was missing.

When I got there, Calvin said, “Hey, Noah. Here to check on Zara? She is recovering well... so well, that she is going to the Windy Clouds Moon Ball with Marcus and Gia in about a week.”

“She is?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “And she’ll be back in time for the wedding?”

Not that her attendance was necessary for the wedding to carry on... but I knew she wanted to be there, maybe for support, or maybe to try one more time to convince me to step away from this. Maybe she was being a friend. Who knew? Either way, I wasn’t looking forward to the wedding itself.

“She will,” Calvin said. “I see no reason to advise stopping her from going to the Moon Ball. There are no signs of her fatigue getting worse. She is handling it like a champion.”

I nodded, wondering if she was going to the Moon Ball to find that missing mate. I felt my wolf grow restless, and the urge to attend the ball was very strong as well.

After bidding Calvin farewell, I wandered down the hall and into a lounge area, where Zara, Marcus, and Giovanna were discussing the Moon Ball plans.

Taking a seat, I raised my brow. “Moon Ball, huh?” I muttered. “Sounds like an interesting occasion.”

Zara eyed me curiously and nodded. “We wanted to have some fun before the wedding.”

“Oh, the wedding doesn’t sound like fun?” I asked sarcastically, causing Zara to roll her eyes. I noted a hint of a smile on her face, as my tone was tinged with amusement.

“Cousin!” Marcus said, grinning. “These fine ladies want to have a dance and praise the Moon Goddess, maybe go for a little run during the Ball. It’s too bad you’re so busy with the wedding, or I’d drag you along with us too!”

Marcus had just given me an in without even knowing it. I realized the thought of Zara running under the full moon and potentially meeting her mate there sparked a surge of jealousy.

“Actually,” I said casually, “I’m not that busy. It sounds like a good time. I need some time to relax and decompress before the wedding.”

Zara frowned, saying softly, “It’s stressing you out quite a bit, huh?”

I nodded. “It is,” I said, without elaborating. I quickly added, “But it’s necessary to finally carry on with everything.” I didn’t want her thinking I was second-guessing my decision.

Even if, slowly, I was starting to. Serena was getting on my nerves more and more.

Maybe it was just a phase. Hopefully it would pass, I thought, and she would settle down after the big day.

I heard a, ‘Hmm!’ from the entrance of the room.

Serena walked in, her eyes wide with delight. “The Moon Ball? How exciting! I can take a break from the wedding planning for a bit of fun, among other things.”

I refrained from sighing and pretended to be curious. “Other things?” I asked.

“Yes! As future Luna, it’s good to familiarize myself with neighboring packs and meet other Lunas, too,” she said.

Well, that seemed innocent enough, even if it was shrouded in a bit of her ego. Still, her desire to prove herself and do well for the pack gave me a sliver of hope that the marriage wasn’t some huge mistake.

Marcus said, “It’s a plan then. We all would be delighted to welcome you there! Oh, and the food will be just as delicious as what we’ve been making here.”

“Oh, that sounds very exciting!” Giovanna exclaimed, licking her lips.

Serena looked at Zara with a sweet smile. “Oh, will you be seeing your mate there, Zara? All this time away from him must be driving him nuts! Is that why you’re going, to spend some time with him?”

“Not quite,” Zara said, an uneasy glint to her eye. She remained silent for a moment before her friend spoke up.

“Zara just loves dancing and a sweet atmosphere!” Giovanna said. “With all of the love in the air, she will be able to see people getting together in real time, which is very sweet.”

Zara chuckled, looking relieved. She nodded. “My desire to see people happy does go beyond my job. Seeing people dance under the moonlight for a magical night is a wonderful thing to me.”

“More myths and legends?” I muttered.

The Moon Ball myth of finding fated mates was yet another thing I thought was a fairytale, though I was starting to wonder otherwise given Zara’s faith in everything else.

“Think this one is real?” I asked Zara. I was actually curious.

“I do,” Zara said, smiling somewhat. “Something beautiful and romantic like that is similar to my powers.”

“At least this time we don’t need to go trekking through the Dark Realm to see some mystical thing happen,” Serena said with an eye roll.

Zara looked at Serena and gave a shrug. “That journey has been worth it. I’ll be able to help find matches even more efficiently with what we’ve found.”

“Oh, I’m sure!” Serena said with a hint of sarcasm.

I stopped myself from giving a groan. Serena being there for the Moon Ball was going to be a handful, but at least she gave me an additional excuse to go other than, ‘I felt like it.’