And now for the guest of honor, please welcome your King Alpha Lennox.
The room went still.
The air stiff.
The noise nonexistent.
Time stood unmoved.
The hair on my neck stood up and chills turned into a solid cold feeling. I couldn't look away from the opening the other Alphas came through. The suspense was almost unbearable. I had never seen the King Alpha, like most of the women in this room. We had only heard the stories of a ruthless, selfish man. A man who thought of himself as a god. A man who wouldn't think twice about sacrificing someone so he could live. A man who did just that for years. I was positive that my heartbeat was the only sound heard in the auditorium. What felt like hours of waiting was only, realistically, around 45 seconds, but then he emerged, but not alone.
And he wasn't what I was expecting.
I had expected a large, burly man. One who would intimidate any other were. One who would command a room with one glance and had a voice that could make mountains bow. One who everyone looked up to.
As it turns out, he was the one who looked up to everyone else. Literally.
The man known as King Alpha was young, at least 19 years old. He strutted on stage, fluid and giddy, and stood around 5 foot 5 at the most. He was small and lanky, thin and frail. He had long blonde hair that stopped right above his shoulders and he wore a crown, as if we all didn't already know he was the king. His face was beautiful, objectively. He had as strong jawline, with a roman-esc nose. I couldn't see his eye color, as I was too far away, but I had heard that they were a deep chocolate brown. His eyebrows were thick and framed his face almost perfectly. His clothes were crisp and clean, a white button up, slightly unbuttoned, with black dress pants and shiny black shoes.
I would not have flagged this man as the King Alpha. If I saw him in my community, I would think he was a regular guy. It was almost admirable that he didn't live up to the unrealistic standards everyone else had for Alphas.
But if I am honest, I was more interested with the man who walked out with him.
He walked behind the King Alpha, wearing all black, like a shadow. He was taller than the King Alpha by half a foot and his face was almost as stiff as his walk. With his shoulders pushed back by confidence and his back straight, I couldn't help but stare at him. He had dark brown curly hair, which was probably mistaken for black a lot. His lips were full and pink, like he licked them too much due to stress. His nose was smaller than the King Alpha's, but it suited him, his face being softer while his aura was so strong. He oozed importance, the total opposite of me, which intimidated me. I wished I could see his eyes. Something told me they were breathtaking. He stood next to the King Alpha, seeming like the protector type. He had all my attention even if he didn't want it.
The King Alpha addressed the crowd by waving after he sat down. We all bowed and repeated the same phrase, the phrase we are supposed to say every time one of us is to come in contact with the alpha.
"Long live the King"
A little overplayed if you ask me.
The lady, who I almost forgot about due to the handsome stranger, starts to explain the next steps of the sorting process.
All of you ladies will be called up in alphabetical order and the King Alpha will decide which pack you all will belong too. Good luck!
I zoned out after that; my focus stolen by the curly haired man. It seemed he looked over the crowd instead of at us. I wanted him to look at us, to look at me. But why would he? I wasn't special. The women around me were gorgeous and I was just me. I adjusted my glasses, feeling insecure all a sudden, and tried to pay attention to the lady announcing names. My last name was Windsor, so I knew I would be one of the last and we were only on J.
This situation made me nervous all of a sudden. I started to sweat, realizing what was actually happening. I would have to walk on stage, in front of all of these people and get handed my fate by a child. And I would have to walk in front of him. The dark dressed mystery. I don't know if I could do that. There was something about him that made me so antsy, like he could save me and break me at the same time. I snapped out of my scared thoughts to see what letter we were on.
Oh. N.
I could breathe for a little while longer. For some reason, this process seemed to be going by so fast, speeding up my inevitable participation. My breathing increased and I tried to calm myself.
S.
I felt as if the walls were closing in. I shifted my glasses once more, smoothed my dress again and again, trying to stop shaking. My dress would probably be filled with sweat from my hands by the time I even got to the stage. I bet I looked a mess. I looked toward my family, not being able to decipher their facial expressions.
V.
Here it is. My fate. My former life is over. My life will never be the same. I will never be the same. What is going to happen? What will the future hold for me? How is my family going to feel? What will happen to Jaxon? Will he be able to take care of Mother and Father? Oh my God, Mother! She is going to be a wreck! How is Father taking this whole situation? Will I really never see them again? Can I do this? I don't think I can do this.
Everything is going to change.
Kaitlyn Ann Windsor.