I stand in front of the mirror in the bathroom as I examine my outfit.
I decided to go with a simple light green sundress with small white flowers flowing down the skirt. Nothing too fancy and nothing that I will be uncomfortable in for the remainder of the night. I have no idea how long this will take so the more comfortable I can make myself, the better. Especially considering the fact that I'm already a nervous wreck. Emma helped, but there's only so much words can do.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I fight back my nerves again. I don't expect them to go anywhere, but I'm hoping that I can at least put on a bright smile and get through this in one piece. If the pack hates me now, I have forever to work on changing how they feel about me. I'm not going anywhere so the best-case scenario is that I have time to make things better for everyone.
"Red," I hear from behind me. My eyes shoot open and I see him leaning against the door jamb. I turn around and shyly bob up and down on my toes as I wait for him to say something. His eyes travel up and down the length of my body, but nothing comes out of his mouth. I nervously run my hands over my dress, suddenly thinking this wasn't the right choice for this occasion. Maybe I should have worn something fancier. If I'm uncomfortable for the night then so be it. This is an important night and I want to make a good impression, not look like someone who didn't put everything she could into herself tonight.
"How much time do we have before we have to leave," I whisper defeatedly. He furs his eyebrows and pulls his phone out of his pocket to check the time.
"If we want to get there on time, we should leave no later than thirty minutes," he says before shoving his phone back in his pocket. I stand there without saying anything for a few seconds longer, but he still remains silent as he stares at me.
"Good," I murmur, "I have time to change then." I quickly push past him and head for the closet. I can feel him right behind me and I can feel his confusion through the bond, but I ignore it for now.
"Why are you changing?"
I stop and just stare at him.
"You haven't said anything about what I'm wearing since you walked in. You've done nothing but stare at me this entire time. No comments on if I look nice, no comments on if you think this isn't appropriate for tonight, nothing. I'm already losing my mind with worry that tonight will turn out to be a disaster. I've already worried myself sick – literally – since this morning as you already know. The last thing I need is for you to just stand there and stare at me." As I finish my rant, Mason's eyes soften as he moves toward me. I prepare to pull away so I can find something to wear, but he quickly pulls me out of the closet. "Mason!" I snap.
He pulls my hand hard enough to pull me in front of him when his hands circle my waist and spin. I lose my footing in the process and tumble, reaching out to hold onto him. We fall onto the bed and I do my best to hide my smile as I stare up at him. He settles his weight half on top of me and half supported by his elbow as he looks down at me with that sexy-as-hell smirk he's always seemed to have lately. He nudges one of his thick thighs between my legs and leans down until his nose runs along the length of my neck.
I close my eyes and try to fight back the shiver as his nose runs over my mark. I figured out just how accurate it was when I was told once you complete the bond with your mate, it's extremely difficult to stop mating. I feel like Mason and I have gotten hardly anything done lately. This celebration was supposed to happen days ago, but it was so hard for me to let him leave the house that it got pushed back. It would probably be frowned upon, being in the territory and part of the pack for two weeks without being officially introduced to the pack. Every time I get to thinking we should get some work done, he walks up and kisses my neck and I'm a goner.
"Mason, we don't have time for this. I have to find something to change into and we have to leave in thirty minutes at the latest," I groan unto his throat but I can't help but lift my hips until they meet his leg.
"We have plenty of time for this. We've come to learn that I can easily relax you in much less than thirty minutes and you aren't changing your clothes, so it won't be a problem," he growls before nipping at my neck.
"You didn't comment on my dress, Mason, don't do it now because you want some action before we leave," I breathe as I tangle my hands in his hair. Who am I kidding? If he were to stop now I'd be more pissed than ever.
"I was too busy thinking of how to do all these naughty things to you without messing your dress up." What? "You look absolutely stunning, Red. This green color does wonders for your red hair. I don't know how I'm going to keep my hands to myself tonight."
"Well, it doesn't seem like you're doing a great job at that, sweetie," I whisper in his ear before pulling his earlobe between my teeth.
"Oh, we haven't left the house yet." He runs his lips across my jaw and over my lips where he stops and smirks down at me. I shiver and lift one of my legs to wrap around his waist as his fingers run over my waist as he fists the material of my skirt. "And we have thirty minutes."
***
I stand off to the side of the stage, nervously looking around at all the faces. Some are familiar, but the majority of them are very new to me. I can see people's eyes drifting off Mason as he stands on the stage getting ready to do whatever speech he's come up with to me. I do my best to smile at anyone who I make eye contact with.
"Breathe," I hear Brandon whisper from beside. I glance gratefully over at him and lean forward to smile at Mary who is stuck to his side. "I can all but smell your panic from across the room, you know." Mary slaps him on the arm and gives him a disapproving look before shaking her head.
"That's really helpful, Brandon, thanks," I sneer at him quietly. Just what I need, the entire pack noticing just how nervous I am at the moment. Great.
"Leave her alone," Mary whispers. "I'd be the same way if I were her. She's got to stand in front of everyone in a few seconds and give a small speech. I'm pretty sure I'd be puking my guts out already."
Speech?
"She's already done that," Brandon grumbles, but I ignore his little comment as I'm stuck on what Mary said.
I have to give a speech? I thought I would just have to stand up there with Mason while he introduces me to everyone. There is no way in hell I'm going to get through a speech without making everything worse.
'Mason,' I call through our mind-link. I watch as his eyes come to me. 'Do I have to give a speech? Because that's going to be a disaster. I'm nervous to just go stand up there. I will never make it through a speech.'
'You don't have to give a speech. It's not a requirement. If you want to say a few words you can, but other than that this is just everyone getting a chance to see you. After we'll walk around and everyone will most likely want your time, but no speech, Red.'
I sigh in relief and I can see him smile lovingly at me before moving toward the center of the stage. Brandon rests his hand against my shoulder for a brief second before heading off into the crowd with Mary. She glances back at me and gives me a small thumbs up before turning back around. I watch her walk away. I guess whatever happened at the mall is over now. I expected Brandon to bring her around, but the times he came around when Mason finally managed to leave the house he was always alone. I asked about her, but he always came up with some excuse with wide eyes. I knew he was lying. After what happened at the mall, Mary just didn't want to be around me as much right now. Maybe seeing her today is a good sign.
"Alright everyone," Mason's voice booms. I look around the crowd and watch all conversations cease as they all focus on their Alpha. My chest fills with pride as I look back at my mate standing tall in front of everyone. "Today has been a long time coming, and I know you all have been very anxious for it to get here." Cheers echo throughout the clearing behind the pack house. I can't fight the smile at that. At least some people seem excited about my showing up. "I know these last two weeks there has been a lot of information floating around throughout the pack. That's something that I will discuss at a later time when things become clearer on what's actually going on. Today, we are here to celebrate. Today, you are all here to officially meet your Luna!"
The roar from the crowd is almost deafening. Mason beams with pride as he looks out over the pack. Part of me wants to believe that this is their real reaction. That everything is actually okay, and they are excited to invite me into the pack. Then there's that other part of me. That part that thinks this is all for show, because what other option do they have besides going along with what their Alpha says? I take a steadying breath and push all those thoughts aside. I have a plan for tonight and I need to stick with it. If they are just going along with Mason, it's up to me to change their minds. I can make this work. I can win everyone over. Mason warned me that he was going to mention some of the reasons I'm here, so hopefully, that will help.
"Now I know the circumstances behind Alaina's arrival are different than what packs usually deal with, but I'm here to clear some of that up as well. See, I know some of you have tried to keep it on the down-low, but I've heard some of the gossip going on within this pack, and I can say I'm not proud of it." I close my eyes. This is not the time to lecture them. That's not going to help anything. "Alaina was running away from another pack when she found her way here, to me. She was kicked out of the territory by someone close to her for doing nothing more than protecting the ones she loves from a monster. We are her refuge and I expect you all to help her settle here. This is her home, as it is all of yours. Can you all do that?"
There is a beat where there is no noise before the cheers break out yet again. Okay, maybe they did need a lecture from him. I shift my eyes from my mate and glance around the crowd. I can see numerous wolves smiling brightly at me. The smile I give in return is easily returned. My stomach loosens as I look back up at the stage.
"Now I'd like to introduce my mate, and Luna of this pack, Alaina Holt!" Mason roars before turning his gorgeous smile towards me. Without hesitating, I run up onto the stage and throw myself into his arms. I press my lips to his hard as I wrap my arms around his neck. The cheers grow louder, and I can't help but laugh against his mouth. He pulls away and smiles down at me. I turn to face the crowd and I can't help the smile on my face. This isn't so bad after all. I scan the crowd, stopping briefly at Emma and Randy and then again at Brandon and Mary. The warm smiles on their faces bring me joy as I stand up here with Mason.
I'm finally where I belong.
"Now, enough of the formal shit," Mason laughs out. "Let's eat!"
Mason wraps his arm around my waist as he guides me off the stage and straight into the crowd. People reach out and squeeze my hand or give me a hug as we make our way through. I spent the entire day worrying about how this would go. The love and joy I feel from this crowd is beyond comforting. I smile and lean further into Mason as we continue to greet our pack members.