Hooked

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Leader

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, N.L.PETIT 2015.

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Leader

"I can't believe this is really happening."

He looked at me as he stood in his black suit and rolled his cuffs slowly. His left hand flexed, a nervous habit.

"It doesn't seem real," he said under his breath.

I had never seen him so uncertain. I wanted to walk over to him and make him see that this would go without a hitch and that he had nothing to worry about, but I had the feeling he would be fine once we were with the pack.

Everyone knew Adrian was born to be an alpha. Fair, strong, and smart, he knew how to lead the shifters far better than Trailmagne -- or, in my opinion, any other werewolf alpha -- had, and he was their first choice to hold them all together. I was beyond proud of him when he first told me he was taking the position as alpha: He had been so hesitant, and for the first time, I had seen a much greener, more anxious side of him. I wanted nothing more than to soothe him, but I knew he had to do it himself in order to be comfortable with something he had never even considered becoming.

"You're going to be amazing, Adrian," I said. I walked to him and smoothed nonexistent dust from his black suit jacket and straightened his tie. He titled his head back for me to tighten it.

Instead of fixing it, I stood on my toes and pressed my lips against his neck. Immediately, he relaxed, and his hands fell upon my hips, using my body as a sort of stabilization.

Drifting my lips over his skin, I said, "It's almost time to go out there."

"I'd much rather stay in here with you." He wrapped his arms completely around me and held me in place, as if to prove his point.

I pulled away and adjusted his tie, following with an encouraging smile. "No, you won't. You'll be great. Come on, it's time."

Less than ten minutes later, we stood behind the platform upon which Adrian would take his vows. In less than half an hour, the entire local werewolf community would be in attendance, with me sitting in the front row like the lovesick fool I was. I couldn't remove the grin from my face, even as I spoke to Adrian's -- and now, I guessed, my own -- friends and family. Cars continued to park in the grass lot a few yards away, and more and more people filled the chairs to enjoy the surprisingly sunny atmosphere. The crisp air made goosebumps rise on my skin, but I shivered from anticipation rather than the cold.

Alaina sat beside me in the front row with her legs crossed daintily. Her rose gold dress and nude heels were a fashion statement on their own, and I suddenly felt underdressed sitting next to her in my white, semiformal dress. I crossed my ankles and stared at my leather pumps, taking in the similar color.

"I like your dress, Sophie," Alaina's voice called me back from my thoughts.

At Adrian's mother's request, I had worn a white dress to the ceremony. Though she hadn't specified her reason for asking, I had assumed it was a werewolf norm to wear white to such an event, but looking around, I could not find another person wearing white in the crowd.

I thanked her. "I'm just glad I was able to find it so last minute. This all happened so quickly..."

"It's lovely. I'm sure Adrian likes it too." Alaina smiled, but there was something in her eyes that made me feel a bit on edge. But I pushed it away and focused on Adrian again.

"I'm proud of him," I said quietly, not fully expecting her to hear me.

"So am I. Not long ago, I thought he'd never take the step to be our alpha," she said, as if the thought upset her. Then her eyes settled on me. "You know --."