Mated?!

I'm Thrown to the Wolves, Literally

I followed behind Nora in my truck to Dominic's house but had to park two houses down because of all the cars that were parked out front. As I get out of the car and walk to the front of the house where Nora and Cassidy are waiting for me, my nose is assaulted by the overpowering scents of so many different wolves crammed in so close together.
Nora and Cassidy both ignored my obvious discomfort and led me through the house's open front door. Once inside I figured it would be impossible to get through the press of bodies that was so thick I couldn't see the other side of the room.
But as soon as I was taken notice of, the crowd thinned and parted out of my way. I wondered if it was because I was a stranger and no one knew who I was, but it seemed the more likely reason was that I still smelled like Dominic. He was all I'd been able to smell from the point that I'd gotten into my truck to now.
Everyone else knew that he and I were to be mated and that I was going to be the new Alpha, Dominic had been right, they were treating me like I was practically their god.
As I glanced around I realized that I had been standing awkwardly in the doorway for several moments, finally, Nora nudged me in the back and I stumbled a little bit before regaining my balance and making my way through the crowd.
Just like before I could pinpoint Dominic's scent amongst the others, even though it was overwhelming me a little. I found Dominic in what looked like the dining room. He was sitting on the edge of a massive table talking to another guy, that was until he saw me.
He held up a hand, cutting the other guy off mid-sentence "Fallon..." He stood up and crossed the rest of the distance between us, taking my hand in his, "Wow you look..."
"Different?" I supplied.
He shook his head "Stunning actually, and you wore your hair up..." He smiled at me and leaned down so that I thought he might kiss my neck like he said he wanted to. But instead, he just whispered in my ear, "I told you there was nothing to worry about didn't I?" He squeezed my hand before straightening and turning to the gathered crowd. "Guys, this is Fallon, let's make her feel welcome, okay?"
Everyone else seemed to take that as their cue to go back to normal and almost instantly the noise level rose as they all went back to talking to each other.
The guy that Dominic had been talking to before walked up to me and smiled "Hi Fallon, it's great to meet you, I'm Marcus." He offered me his hand and I took it, shaking it firmly.
"Nice to meet you too Marcus,"
Dominic leaned in towards my ear again, "Marcus is my Beta,"
Marcus chuckled "And best friend, at least I ought to be, seeing as we've been friends since we were in diapers."
I smiled as Dominic rolled his eyes, "Yes, Marcus has lived next to me our whole lives, I've known him longer than I've known else outside of my family."
I nodded then turned my head when Nora walked up beside me, "Come on Dom, you can't hog her the whole time. Fallon needs to mingle with the rest of us lowly pack members too."
With that, he seemed to realize that he was still holding my hand and had stepped even closer to me. "Oh, sorry Nora, of course. Enjoy yourself, Fallon, I know everyone else is as excited to meet you as I was."
I laughed and squeezed his hand before I let go of it, "let's hope for their sakes that isn't true."
I left him to ponder what I'd meant as I let Nora lead me off into the mass of people.
I learned so many names in the first hour of being at the party that I knew I'd never keep them all straight. But as the night went on it seemed like Nora was determined to introduce me to everyone in attendance. Which as an afterthought was probably a good thing for me, being the new Alpha and all that.
After several hours we seemed to have finally made the full circle through the house and we were back in the entryway of the house. Just as I was turning to Nora to ask if we were finished with introductions, a very large man stepped in between the two of us with his back to me. He was so massive that I couldn't see around him. But his rumbling voice was easy enough to hear, even over the party noise. "Hey beautiful, have you thought about my offer?"
I tried to get around him so I could get back to Nora but the press of bodies was too dense. I couldn't tell what Nora was saying but I could sense the tension of the surrounding crowd.
"Oh come on baby, don't be like that." I could see him reach out for Nora but suddenly Cassidy appeared almost out of nowhere in front of Nora.
"What have I told you before, you stay away from her!"
I managed to get halfway around the guy and could see the anger on Cassidy's face, and Nora seemed to almost be hiding behind her. The man was glaring down at Cassidy but didn't seem anxious to reach for Nora again, even though Cassidy was nearly half his height and probably a quarter of his weight.
The tension between them was so tight you could've cut it with a knife. But then Dominic appeared out of the crowd and growled "Vince, you weren't invited to this party, and you've been told before that Nora wants nothing to do with you. I suggest you leave quickly and quietly before I let Cassidy at you again."
The other man, who appeared to be Vince, snarled at Dominic and I thought for a second he was going to challenge him. But then he shrugged and turned away, stalking out of the front door and slamming it behind him.
Once he was gone Nora shuddered visibly then let out a little gasp and Cassidy turned and pulled her close "it's alright hon, I'm here, you know we won't let him hurt you again."
Dominic moved to her side as well "hey now, I told you that I would keep you safe."
She nodded a little and hugged Cassidy, bending down so she could bury her face in her brilliant pink hair.
I wanted to go to her, to offer comfort in some way. But I barely knew her, and though I could guess what had just happened, I didn't know the whole story. Though I was impressed that tiny Cassidy had stood up to the man who was twice her size.
After a few minutes, the party got back to normal and people started talking amongst themselves again. And Nora seemed to settle a little more so Cassidy led her away, claiming all she needed was a stiff drink to calm her down.
Once they were gone Dominic turned to me, "Sorry about that, just a bit of pack drama that we are going to have to deal with sooner rather than later. But we'll get to that later." His eyes skimmed over me and he smiled "You look stunning, by the way. I think I said that already, but it's worth repeating."
I smiled easily and shrugged my shoulder, "I just figured I should dress down for school." With all the others diluting his scent it made it so much easier to be more me around him.
He smiled and offered me his hand "come on, Nora seems to have failed at supplying you with refreshments."
I smiled at him and put my hand lightly in his, "how very sweet of you to notice."
He raised his eyebrow at me and squeezed my hand, pulling me close to him at the same time. "I do try," the smile on his face was easy and playful, but when he lowered his head to press a kiss to my neck I could hear his heart beating rapidly. And of course the moment I felt his lips touch my skin my own heart responded in kind.
But he only kissed me briefly before straightening and leading me towards the kitchen.