Taking the Leap

Chapter 19

She walked in with her daughter and two sons trailing after her with her husband taking up the rear. Marc was a handful of inches shorter than his wife and where Tara exuded he was nothing more than a wallflower. It was common gossip where people wondered about how their relationship worked and who "wore the pants." Humiliation crawled beneath my skin as I knew I'd wondered the same thing. Marc had a softer face, with a well kept red beard and fiery curls.

Tara came up to me suddenly, meeting me at eye level because of how tall she was. Alphas could be like that, all domineering. Her eyes slanted when she saw me, and soon she was in my space, and touching my back, rubbing comfortingly. "What is it?" She said in her warm, soothing tone. "You seem troubled, Lee." And then she saw Xander, hesitating for a beat. She inhaled softly, "Ah, this is uncommon." Tara circled the both of us, "A vampire and a shifter, mates, and male." She clucked her tongue, "Very uncommon, but wonderful, nonetheless. Congratulations, Lee." Tara broke into a genuine smile, clapping me on the shoulder and extending her arm out towards Xander to shake his hand.

"How can you tell?" Was all I managed to say, in perfect shock.

"I'm your alpha." She said in her soft rumble, "I know when one of my own people has found their mate. I mean it when I say congrats. It reminds me of my Marc. People couldn't imagine my being with a man who's so different from me. Come into the dining hall, and sit by my family tonight, I'll keep a few seats open for you."

I nodded silently, thankful. It was an unspoken honour to sit by the alpha during dinner. The alpha, and their immediate family along with their betas sat at the table. The table was slightly elevated and I noticed a few curious glances settling on Xander.

Eventually the hall was full and noisy, and Tara stood up from her seat. That was enough to make everyone fall quiet. It still amazed me every time she did that. Wolves weren't nearly as hierarchical as humans, I really thought it was the human part of us that wanted hierarchy.

It was instinctive to look towards Tara, she was a guardian, parent and leader all in one, our alpha.

"I hope everyone has had an enjoyable month and thank you for joining us for our pack meeting despite the bad weather earlier. Our run will be short today and afterwards there will be a few important announcements. Anyone not running today can help prepare the meal. I'll see you all afterwards."

Tara sat down and the hall became a mass of movement as people got up  and started heading outdoors or to the kitchens.

Xander looked at me, a furrow appearing between his brows, "I can't exactly shift."

I smiled, "it's fine, lots of people help cook. Did you want me to stay with you?""

Xander touched his neck worriedly, pressing his thumb into his collarbone, "No, I'll just turn on the charm. I wish I could watch you run,
though. You're pretty as a wolf."

I took the charm out of my pocket, and handed it to Xander as we stood up, "It's fine, just put this back on."

Xander frowned, still worrying his neck, but eventually he took it, "Just don't feel pressured to do anything crazy."

#
The run was short and uneventful because of how agitated I was. Anders wasn't there to run with me and Tara kept moving out of lead position to urge me to stay with the pack as I fell behind.