Infernal

13.

It was amazing to see how he could easily influence a huge crowd of people. All ten thousand wolves looked at Alaric, waiting to hear what their fierce leader had to say. I tried to stay composed in front of the humungous crowd, as thousands of eyes stared at me in curiosity. Did I make Alaric look weak? A tiny girl stood next to a large Alpha male would've looked questionable to me, if I was in the crowd.

"I am aware that there has been much talk that I have found my mate," Alaric said, his voice was loud, and his tone was formal.

"That is indeed correct, I have found my mate just under a week ago when I took a visit to the Shields pack." He gestured to me, holding out his hand for me to take. Our fingers laced together and Alaric squeezed my hand softly. I didn't realise that I had started trembling until our hands touched. I couldn't help it, it was as if my body had a mind of its own and it was nervous for me. I heard a few titters of conversations through the crowd. I couldn't understand or hear what they were saying, and it made my stomach turn.

"Citizens of Regnum, may I present to you my mate and your Luna, Valerie!" In Alaric's voice, I detected a sense of pride, it made me feel even more nervous. I wasn't used to this amount of attention.

I felt ten thousand pairs of eyes on me and it was nerve-racking. I swallowed hard, Alaric's words sinking in and it was as if it had been made crystal clear that I was the Demon Alpha's mate and the Luna of his pack.

"I hope that you will treat her with the same respect that you would show me!" Alaric said with a pure assertion in his tone.

He turned to me. "Valerie, would you like to say a few words?"

My eyes widened and my mouth ran dry. This was my chance to show Alaric that I could be strong, this was my chance to prove to thousands of wolves that I was worthy of being Alaric's mate and also worthy of being their luna. I didn't want to be seen as the Demon Alpha's weak, purple-eyed mate. However, every fibre of my being froze up at the idea of speaking to an enormous crowd, and a part of me wanted the ground to open and swallow me up. I wanted to fight against that feeling, I needed to prove myself.

I nodded my head, feeling slightly unsure but also slightly happy that Alaric had given me the chance to speak.

"Erm hello everyone!" I said awkwardly, that earned a few smiles but also a few eye-rolls. I swallowed hard, my confidence feeling deflated. I looked up to Alaric who smiled at me reassuringly. I turned to face the crowd, holding Alaric's hand tightly as a form of moral support.

"I'm Valerie, as you all now know..." I swallowed again, feeling my hands start to sweat and become clammy.

"I erm... I..." My words suddenly felt strangled in my throat, my knees felt weak as if they could suddenly give in at any moment. Swiftly, Alaric pulled me closer to him as if he could sense what was going on with me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, letting go of my hand.

"It's fine, love. You did well," Alaric whispered to me, so only I could hear.

"Apologies everyone, Valerie is a bit overwhelmed," he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of my head, before straightening up. I liked the fact that Alaric was showing me affection in front of his pack. It also showed that he was accepting of me as his mate in front of everyone.

"I want to thank you all again for arriving on such short notice," He said in an appreciative tone. "I also want to remind you all, that Regnum is still on lockdown until further notice!"

A few murmurs of concerns could be heard across the crowds. I got a sense of fear from the majority of people, they were fearful for the return of the vampires.