Under the Skin

Chapter 9

Today was the day Jonah would formally be accepted into the pack. 

The ceremony was fairly simple. Jonah would have to swear his allegiance to the pack, and he would then have to exchange blood with the alpha of the pack in order to form the bond. 

When Alec had told him the news last night as they walked back from Melissa's cabin, Jonah had felt more anxious than excited. He was reluctant to stand in front of such a big crowd, since he already had a hard meeting new people in general. He also knew that he had made a bad first impression, and that most wolves were weary of him. This made him worried they would not accept him into the pack. 

These thoughts lingered on his mind all day. Even as Zoe chatted away beside him as they spent the afternoon salting the meat, along with some fish a group of teenage pups had caught while they had made a successful attempt to fish on ice. If Zoe noticed he was distracted, she didn't say anything and Jonah was grateful for that. 

Just before they left for the ceremony, he told Alec his concerns when the stress became so much that he had to share its burden. 

After asking if he wanted a hug, the beta wrapped in a warm embrace and tucked his face against his own neck. Jonah could feel some tension leave him as he inhaled his mate's reassuring and comforting scent. 

"As the beta of the pack, I have to be close to the front, so I won't be far if you need me. As for the pack members, I think they'll trust Thomas judgement as their alpha. They know he wouldn't let just anyone join the pack, especially if he thinks they're a threat. I'm confident everything will go well." 

Jonah thanked him for reassuring him, and Alec simply told him it was only natural as his mate to do so.  

Right now, Jonah was waiting with the other members of the pack for the alpha to arrive. As the beta of the pack, Alec was standing in front of the crowd. When the two of them locked eyes together, the beta sent him a wink which made Jonah blush.

The younger male kept rubbing his palms onto his pants to try to remove the sweat that had gather on them because of the nervousness he felt. His chest felt tight and he almost felt light headed when Thomas finally came out of the pack house along with Zoe.

"Good evening everyone, I gathered you here today because we are welcoming a new wolf into our pack. Jonah, you can come forward." 

Jonah took a deep breath and began to step towards the front. Whispers became louder as the crowd parted to let him through. He tried not to focus on what they were saying, and chose instead to look at Alec, who was smiling at him. 

Once he stood beside Thomas, Jonah kept his eyes on the ground since he couldn't bring himself to look at the crowd. 

"You have probably all heard about the rogue who came on our territory two weeks ago. After talking with Jonah here about his situation and how he came to be here, I decided that he wasn't a threat to our pack and he could join our pack." 

The crowd broke into whispers once again. When Jonah dared to look up, he saw that some of them were staring at him in disgust, and he quickly looked down again. 

"But he attacked Melissa, one of our pack members!" Jonah felt his shoulders tense as more voices shouted their discontent.

"That is true, but he had only done so because he was frightened. he had no ill intentions towards her." Those who had heard Jonah's story knew that wasn't the truth, but Thomas knew that revealing Jonah had been with hunters would make the pack even more agitated.