Free Web NovelChapter 10: Chapter 10 An Alluring Transformation
Jade’s POV
I hurried toward the beauty parlor, clutching the red gown against my chest like it was a lifeline. My heart was racing, not just from the run, but from the insane plan forming in my head. Seduce the triplets? Steal the spotlight from Linda? I was either desperate or delusional. Probably both.
But I had to save my mother. And if this was the only path, then I would walk it barefoot through fire.
I pushed open the glass door and stepped inside.
Warm rushes of perfume, hair sprays, and chatter filled the parlor. It looked expensive, far more glamorous than anywhere someone like me should ever stand. The receptionist looked up from her desk, her eyes scanning me slowly. Her nose wrinkled as if I smelled like the traitor blood they claimed ran in my veins.
I forced a small smile. “Good afternoon.”
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Then they widened in recognition.
“Oh...” she drawled. “You’re the traitor’s daughter. The one flogged this morning for stealing.”
My stomach twisted painfully. I swallowed. “I’m just here for a makeover. I have money....”
“No.” She stood abruptly. “We do not attend to thieves and traitors. Leave.”
“I just need....”
Before I could finish, she shoved me hard, so hard I fell back onto the polished floor. The sting shot down my spine and straight into the bruises across my back.
“If you don’t get out,” she hissed, claws elongating from her fingers, “I will scratch your face so deep that no amount of makeup will ever save it. Now....”
“What,” a voice cut in, “is going on here?”
I looked up.
A man stepped into view, no, glided, with the confidence of someone who owned beauty itself. His hair was styled into perfect glossy waves, falling artfully over one side of his face. He wore a fitted black robe, layered silver jewelry, and had long, elegant claws painted a striking, metallic purple.
The receptionist’s demeanor snapped into fear instantly.
“G.... Good evening, Mr. Valerio.”
Mr Valerio. He is the popular makeup artist and fashionista of our pack. I’ve heard about him before.
Mr Valerio didn’t even look at the receptionist. His gaze dropped to me instead, curious, sharp, almost hungry for detail. He crouched, and his purple painted claws gently lifted my chin.
“You have the facial curves of a model,” he murmured, studying me as if I were a rare gem. “And your eyes... goddess. They’re deep. Enchanting. A gaze capable of touching one’s soul.”
Heat flushed through my cheeks.
He stood, a spark of excitement in his expression.
“It seems I’ve just found my makeup muse for the night.” His voice was final. Commanding. “Come with me. I’ll do your makeover myself.”
“But sir....” the receptionist protested timidly.
Valerio finally turned his head, and with one cold, unimpressed stare... she shut her mouth immediately.
He looked at me again. “Follow me.”
I scrambled up, grabbing my gown, the money, and Linda’s stupid invitation from the floor, and followed him into a hallway. My heart was pounding. I half expected someone to yank me back and throw me out.
But no one dared.
Valerio pushed open an ornate door and led me into a private suite, lavish, perfumed, softly lit. Definitely VIP only.
“Sit,” he said, gesturing to an elegant chair before a framed mirror surrounded by warm bulbs.
I obeyed.
He crossed his arms, head tilted thoughtfully. “Now... tell me,” he purred, “what look are we aiming for? Cool and pretty?” He smiled slyly. “Or hot and sexy?”
The old me wanted to say the first one.
But the new me, the desperate, determined, reckless me, lifted my chin.
“Hot and sexy.”
Valerio clasped his hands in delight. “Ooooh, I love that.”
He spun his stool forward and began unpacking brushes, palettes, shimmering powders.
“This,” he said dramatically, “is going to be fun.”
Ronan’s POV
We pulled up in front of the city hall in our limo, and I couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips. Tonight was Linda’s birthday. Sweet, gentle, innocent Linda. She deserved this, deserved everything good coming her way. Her father, the new Beta, had managed to convince our father to let her host her party here, in the same grand hall where the Wolf Awakening Ceremony would take place. A rare privilege.
And honestly? I was glad for her. Linda had always been sunshine, kind, polite, graceful. Nothing like....
No. I am not going to think about her. Today’s supposed to be a happy day.
The driver stopped the limo and hurried around to open our door. Renzo stepped out first, then Ryder, then me.
And immediately....
Screams.
Cheers.
Shouts of our names.
It never gets old. Being adored. Respected. Having the entire pack look at us like we were celebrities, because we were. The Alpha’s sons. The triplet princes of Shadow Moon Pack. Future rulers.
We walked into the hall together, with confidence and innate charm. Staff members hurried toward us, bowing, smiling too wide, and guiding us to our VIP table. I was just settling into the familiar thrill of the attention when....
She arrived.
Linda.
She appeared at the entrance in her shimmering silver dress, her hair curled perfectly, a soft tiara glimmering beneath the lights. She looked beautiful, radiant even. And when her eyes met ours, she smiled, a shy, excited smile that made Renzo straighten a little and Ryder nod approvingly.
But just before she could finish her grand entrance....
Gasps tore through the crowd outside.
Then shouting. Screaming again, but this time different. Surprised. Chaotic.
People inside started running outside to see what was happening.
Linda whirled toward us, fury and panic tightening her face. “What’s going on? Why are they leaving when I’m making my entrance?!”
“We’ll check,” Renzo said calmly, already pushing through the moving bodies.
We followed him out.
The crowd outside was electric, buzzing like someone important had just arrived.
There was a sleek, luxurious car, black, glossy, custom. freewёbnoνel.com
“Oh my goddess, it’s Mr. Valerio!” someone screamed.
Of course. Valerio. The famous fashion icon. The man everyone wanted to touch their face.
He stepped out with theatrical grace, his purple painted claws glinting under the lights. The crowd roared
But then....
Something shifted.
The energy changed.
Valerio turned back to the car, opened the door, and stretched out his hand.
And a woman placed her palm in his....
And stepped out.
The crowd sucked in a collective breath.
I did too.
For half a second, I didn’t recognize her. The hair, the makeup, the dress, everything was transformed. Every inch of her shimmered with confidence and heat.
But then I saw the eyes.
Those damn eyes.
I can never not recognize them.
Jade.
My heart stalled. Not stopped, stalled. Like it forgot how to beat.
Jade.... but not Jade.
Not the weak traitor’s daughter.
Not the girl I hated, despised, avoided.
This version of her walked out like the goddess of sin had handcrafted her herself.
Her red gown clung to her curves like it was sculpted directly on her skin. The slit ran dangerously high up her thigh, revealing smooth skin that made something inside me tighten, and I felt my wolf growl within.
Her hair fell in dark waves down her back, and her makeup, goddess help me, made her eyes look like they were smoldering.
And her body...
Her body looked....
Perfect.
My throat dried instantly. The heat punched through my chest and shot downward to my crotch with humiliating speed. For a moment, just a stupid, traitorous moment, I forgot every reason I hated her.
She walked like she owned the ground beneath her feet. Like every stare in the crowd belonged to her, and damn it, they did. Men were tripping over themselves to get a better look. Women stared with envy so sharp it could cut.
“Who is she...?” someone whispered.
“She’s gorgeous, goddess tier,” another voice breathed.
Ryder froze beside me.
I could’ve sworn that Renzo wasn’t breathing again.
And me?
I just stared.
Stared like an idiot, unable to blink.
Because Jade.... freaking Jade, looked like a vision pulled straight out of an erotic forbidden fantasy.
My jaw clenched painfully.
Why.... why did she look like that?
Why did I feel like this?
Why the hell couldn’t I look away?
