Being Saved By The Alpha

Chapter Twenty-Two

Amy pinned my hair back after curling it so it falls in soft ringlets down my back. I refused to wear make-up. I'm wearing a pair of white ballet flats with little bows on the top, which suite the dress nicely.  

After one final tug, Amy stands back and lets her eyes roll over my hair. I see her smile in the mirror in front of me.  

"Thank you, Amy." I say, turning my head back to smile at her.  

She smiles at me. "No problem. Now, let's go." 

I follow after Amy as we leave her room. I know my way around Ashton's house pretty well, now. Amy goes down the stairs first, heading over to her friends who are waiting in the lounge room. 

I head down a moment after her, after telling myself that no one is going to stare. I can't remember when I last wore a dress. I've been a bit too thin to fill one in nicely.  

I descend the stares, a thoughtful expression on my face. I walk into a room full of people who are ready to go to the bonfire. My eyes search the room, looking for the brown irises I'm so used to. I see Jack first, with his arm around Mandy's shoulders.  

Then I see Ashton, talking and smiling with his pack members. His attention wavers as I step into the room, and he turns and spots me. His special, dazzling smile crosses his face. He politely excuses himself and starts walking towards me, wading through the crowd.  

Ashton wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to his chest. "You look stunning , angel." He murmurs, nuzzling his face into my hair. 

I smile as colour rises in my cheeks. "Thank you."  

I feel Ashton smiles into my hair. "Ready to go?" 

I nod against his chest, still smiling to myself. Ashton lets me go and takes my hand, leading me out with everyone else. There are cars parked out the front, and people are slowly getting into them. I see Amy get into one with her friends, as well as Jack and Mandy getting into another.  

Ashton and I go in a car by ourselves. I sit in the front passenger seat, considering I can't drive.  

Ashton starts the car and follows another out of his driveway. He holds my hand in his as he drives, and I don't complain. My hand looks tiny in his, but it makes me feel comforted.  

"So where exactly is the bonfire held?" 

"In the forest." Ashton says without taking his eyes off the road. His thumb draws small patterns on my hand. "The land is owned by my family, so no humans can get onto it. It's especially for my pack, and the bonfires we have." 

I nod. "I suppose that's a good idea." 

Ashton's lips twitch up a little. He follows a car as it turns down a track I would have never noticed if we were driving past. The tar road disappears and is replaced by dirt. The track is rough, but not too rough. I watch the trees roll past, just smudges of green and brown.  

A few minutes later and we arrive in a parking lot of sorts. It's a fairly large clearing in front of a stream, where cars can be parked and left. Aston pulls into a spare spot and stops the car. 

"Ready to go?" He asks, turning to face me with a smile on his face. 

"Yep." I grin excitedly. I wonder what the people in Ashton's pack are like. I think it'll be nice to be around a large number of werewolves for once.  

Hopping out of the car, I notice the car Jack and Mandy rode in arrive. I wave at them as they walk closer, drawing their attention to me. Jack leads Mandy over, holding her hand. 

"Hey Rosy." Jack grins down at me, kissing my forehead gently.  

"Hi!" 

"Are you excited?" Jack questions. 

"Yeah! It's gonna be fun."  

"Are you going to be alright around so many werewolves?" Jack asks, a worried look coming to his face. Mandy squeezes his hand.  

"I should be fine. Right?" I say, a hint of doubt creeping into my voice as I turn my head up to look at Ashton.  

He slips an arm around my waist and side-hugs me. "You'll be fine." He reassures. 

I return to my smiling self. "Let's go then!" 

Everyone laughs at my enthusiastic nature, making light colour come to my cheeks. Ashton grabs my hand and leads me down a path through the trees, parallel to the stream. Up ahead I hear the sounds of a lot of people talking, and I smell their scents. I practically bounce with energy as we arrive at the large, open space.  

There are at least a hundred people flittering about. At one end of the field is a marquee of sorts, barbeques set up and smoking. The smell of food washes up my nose. Lined up on tables under the shelter are places of bread, sauces and side dishes.  

Three fairly large bonfires litter the field. The space for them had been cleaned away of grass and replaced with sand so there is no chance of anything catching fire. Logs surround the flames, providing a place to sit. Some people brought fold-out chairs and are sitting on them too.  

On another side of the field there are guys probably Ashton's age playing footy. People are sitting on the side-lines, watching. Little kids are playing hide-and-seek and tag around the forest edge, laughing and screaming in joy. Groups of girls are sitting in their little circles, doing various things. There are even people running around in wolf form, playing around and barking happily. 

"Ashton!" A partially familiar voice calls out. A guy with brown hair approaches Ashton with a few others, smiling. 

"Hey!" Ashton calls out, grinning. "Rosy, you remember Joshua here. He's my Beta."  

"Oh, yeah! Hi!"  

"Hey, Rosy." Joshua says, smiling. He shakes my hand. "How's it going?" 

"Good." I grin. 

"This is your first bonfire, right?" 

"Yep!" 

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself." Joshua smiles, before continuing with talking about guy stuff to Ashton.  

I look around, and spot Amy with a bunch of her friends. She catches my eye, and excitedly beckons me over. I tug on Ashton's hand, bringing his attention back to me. "I'm going to go talk with Amy, ok?" I ask, blinking my eyes innocently. 

Ashton smiles down at me softly. "Ok, but find me at around seven, ok?" 

I nod. Ashton swoops down and kisses my cheek gently, making my face flame up. I let go of his hand and walk away, heading in Amy's direction. She greets me warmly, and introduces me to her friends. Somehow I believe this is going to be a fun night.