A Witch's Scorn- Book I

II

Emory had spent the majority of the evening trying to convince Alexa that they should leave immediately.

"Em', there's a blizzard happening right now," Alexa chuckled at her disoriented friend. "What's gotten into you? I thought you were having fun?"

Why did they choose the coldest day of January to have this ball? And to top it off, what were the chances that it was a terrible blizzard happening right at that very moment?

Emory sucked her teeth in annoyance, "I would prefer to stay in the nice hotel that we wasted money that I don't have on."

It was true, Alexa's family had taken Emory and her siblings in when they were kids, but she'd been on her own since she was sixteen years old. She'd worked part-time while finishing high school just to be able to pay rent in her very first crappy apartment.

She and Alexa had just recently decided to be roommates in their new apartment in downtown San Francisco. Emory could barely afford shampoo now, so wasting money on a non-refundable hotel room was pretty displeasing, to say the least.

Daniel laughed, "Don't worry, Red, we don't bite! It'll be fun for you to see how good we wolves live."

Sasha chimed in, "Yes, of course, Emory! A few nights here and you'll never want to leave."

"Seeeeee!" Alexa smiled, poking at Emory's pouting face.

Emory felt flattered that they all were trying to convince her to see the upside of things. Not that she didn't find the members of Hillwood's pack hospitable and kind to her, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen that she couldn't prevent.

Just as Emory was about to give in to her friends, her body tensed up as a familiar ambiance appeared to be too close for comfort.

Alexa and the others ceased their chatter and bowed their heads at once. They all spoke in unison:

"Alpha."

The man nodded his head in an acknowledgment of them all. "Evening."

"Em, this is the honorable Alpha Fallon Lockhart," Alexa smiled at Fallon and then looked to Emory. "Alpha, this is my best friend, Emory Evanora."

Alexa had told Emory that Alphas ran the pack. They were the big dogs—pun intended. They were to be respected by all, especially their pack members and others of lower rank.

But Emory had already had an unsettling encounter with him while alone, and she didn't want to entertain him for too much longer. "Pleased to meet you, Fallon," she smiled, looking elsewhere, hoping to show her disinterest.

Alexa took in a nervous breath, " Em—."

Fallon chuckled at Emory's arrogance. "It's Alpha Fallon," he chided.

In an attempt to change the subject, Alexa chirped happily, "Maybe she'll learn a thing or two about our culture during our stay here because of the blizzard!"

With a raised brow and a smug facial expression, he responded, "I hope you learn a lot during your stay in my home." Just as he did before, he walked away to talk with and acknowledge other guests.