Cora's P.O.V
I stand looking at myself in the mirror, my temporary mark has almost faded, the only evidence of it ever being there are 4 faint, white dots. I pull Caleb's hoodie which I still have over my head, hoping that Aidan won't check for a mark. Caleb walks into my room all dressed up, he is wearing caramel coloured skinny jeans and a white, fitted t-shirt with a long sleeve, light weight, dark blue, unbuttoned shirt over the top.
"Are you going to wear that?" He asks, "there are about 100 better ways you could of said that" I say back a bit too harshly.
"Sorry, this a semi formal occasion, jeans and my hoodie are a bit too casual for this event" he rephrases, "that's better" I murmur to myself. "What should I wear?" I ask,
"well the jeans are fine, you just need a better top" he replies.
"How about a nice sweater?" I question, it is winter after all,
"that will do" I hunt out my pastel pink knitted sweater to go with my white jeans, I also add a grey beanie and infinity scarf as accessories.
"That's better, now you look cute" he compliments me while kissing me on the cheek. I smile in return. Don't get me wrong I am still mad about the temporary mark and all and I still refuse to switch to his pack and sleep in his room but he is my mate and the mate pull is making it harder for me to resist him. Caleb and I made a deal that every time I go into heat, up until we complete the mating process he is allowed to temporarily mark me to take the pain away, but only then is he allow to do it without my verbal permission.
As Caleb and I walk out of the pack house our hands brush and he reaches out to grab my hand, I don't refuse. We reach one of the pack cars. I don't personally know how to drive because Aidan would never teach me but maybe Caleb will teach me?
I enter the passenger seat and buckle up. Caleb enters the drivers seat and also buckles up, he sticks the keys in the ignition, moves the gear stick into drive, hits the excelerator and we lurch forward onto the dirt road.
One and a half hours pass of Caleb driving and trying to explain to me how a car works and the basics of driving as well as me mainly listening to music on the radio.
We pull in at a forest entrance and drive down a long dirt road, then out or nowhere a large mansion appears, "wow" I say shocked,
"is this the pack house?" I ask.
"This is where all the Alpha's, Beta's, Delta's and their families live, the pack house is larger and out the back" Caleb answers parking the car and exiting. He runs around the car and opens the door for me. I smile at him saying thanks.
"I thought you said you and Aidan never see each other?" I say.
"We see each other but we don't really get to catch up or hang out you know, its not the same" I nod in understanding. We intertwine fingers and enter the house, guards at the door stop us,
"Alpha Caleb who is this girl you bring with you?" One asks,
"my mate" he responds,
"she does not have an Alpha status sir"
"Because I haven't mated her, do you have any other problems Fredrickson?"
"No sir, continue in please" the guard nods curtly before letting us through. The inside of the building is as grand as the outside, large staircases on either side, an even larger crystal chandelier hanging from the roof and marble everywhere you look.
"He looked really scared of you" I whisper to Caleb, Caleb sniggers, "that's because our pack is the fifth strongest pack out of all the Zones"
"Really?" I answer in disbelief, he nods, "what's Aidan's?" I question,
"twelfth" he replies a smirk on his face" I elbow him,
"hey, that's my other pack you're talking about"
"Sorry. All the packs are numbered from strongest to weakest"
"What's the weakest?"
"I don't know like 209"
The foyer is filling with Alphas, Luna's, Beta's and future Alphas. A medium heighted, blonde haired, slightly aged man comes up to us, he and Caleb shake hands. The man is followed by a Luna and another boy around my age. "Caleb how are you my boy?" He questions.
"I'm good, yourself Miles?" Caleb responds,
"excellent, I brought my son along with me this month, just turned 20, just married and next full moon he is going to become the new Alpha"
"Wow, big step"
"Yeah, Lorraine is freaking out about it as she does" the women next to him smacks his arm.
"Anyway Caleb you haven't introduced me to this lovely looking girl" he holds out his hand for me to shake, I shake his hand.
"This here is my mate Cora" Caleb says proudly, I press closer to his side as my social skills are rusty and there seems to be quite a few people here.
"It's nice to meet you Cora. Cora meet my son Josh" Miles says, Josh also puts out his hand to shake and I accept it. "Hi Cora, pleasure to meet you"
"You too" I stammer. I've never been a good people person and being in front of this many Alphas scares the crap out of me. We say good bye to Miles and his family.
"What's wrong?" Caleb asks,
"I'm not used to this many people, especially Alphas" I respond, "Alphas are just like ordinary people"
"Well I'm not the best people person"
"Relax, I'll be here with you the whole time" he grabs my hand and holds it in his. In the corner of my eye I notice Aidan. I swing around taking Caleb with me.
"Aidan" I say hugging him,
"hey lil sis" we pull away,
"still a part of my pack I see" he smirks. "Hey Caleb" Aidan greets, "sup man" they hug, slapping each others backs at the same time. I notice Aidan eyeing off the spot where Caleb marked me, luckily it's hidden behind my sweater for now. I hug Kelsey. Kelsey is like my best friend, so I miss her almost as much as I miss Aidan.
A man appears at the top of the grand stairs,
"everyone please come with my into the meeting room" he announces. Wow he's 103? He looks 40. Mel's hair is short cut and dark brown, he has a short beard with specks of gray beginning to show. He is wearing a black suit and red tie. Everyone begins to file into the meeting room. This is just the beginning of a very long day.