I held tightly to Collin's hand as we drove the few blocks to the event center. Jedrek sat across from us with Axil, gazing out the window. The beta had his arm around his mate as he messed around on his phone. It was weird but also exciting to see everyone dressed up. I was going to be at one of those fancy events that I had watched on TV. It was a surreal moment.
Collin brushed my ear with his nose. "Don't wander off. There's going to be a lot of people there. It'll be easy to get separated."
Swallowing hard, I nodded. "I won't."
The car pulled into line behind a string of other black vehicles.
"Your brother isn't coming," whispered Axil.
Jedrek shook his head and scoffed. "Why would he? Max is your cousins. Being an asshole is hereditary."
"It's partially your doing." Axil eyed the red werewolf. "Someone's reputation isn't the greatest."
"Whatever, it would look bad for the Midfield successor to celebrate the creation of a rival pack."
Axil gave his mate a squeeze. "That's probably why. Max has been rather full of himself lately. There's something about alphas, they have oversized egos."
"Yeah, look at Judah," Jed said under his breath. "Jet isn't that any better, either."
"Be nice to the old man."
"He's never been nice to me."
Laughing softly, Axil pulled Jed to him. "You'll get over it."
"Did you decided on a name?" asked Collin.
Jedrek turned to the beta. "Yes, we did."
Axil sighed. "Lincoln."
"Lincoln?" Collin said surprised. "All that fighting and you didn't go with either."
Jed grinned at his mate. "Lincoln will be his official name, but his nickname will be Lette."
Axil groaned. "They don't even sound similar."
"I will call my son whatever nickname I want."
"I like Lincoln." I smiled at the pair.
The beta perked up a bit. "What about you two?"
Collin moved his arm around my shoulders. "It's a work in progress. It's still too early to be announcing anything."
Camera flashes came in through the window. I froze when I saw the crowds. We had to walk through that? Axil fixed his robes and was first to get out when the door was opened. He waved to the surrounding werewolves. Reaching back into the car, he took Jedrek by the hand and helped him out. The couple stood there for a moment as pictures were taken. They walked on ahead.
Collin rubbed my arm. "You'll be fine. I'll be with you the whole time."
He climbed out and I followed. I stood at his side and stared at the mass of werewolves. I had never seen so many in one place before. I was pulled forward and stumbled after Collin. We walked up a small set of stairs to an open area outside a tall building. Werewolves were everywhere. Before coming one myself, this would have been a nightmare situation. It still felt like one even in this form.
"Is this him?" said a black werewolf in a silver gown. "He is stunning." She smiled at me.
I pressed into my mate's side.
"Collin." A black and red werewolf shook Collin's hand.
"Alpha." My mate bowed his head slightly. "I like to introduce Milo." He moved in front of him and held my shoulders. "Milo, this is the alpha and his mate."
Terror filled my body. I could feel my legs shaking. I would have run, but with so many dominants walking around, I didn't know where."
"Poor thing looks terrified," said the alpha's mate. "These events are so hard on subs."
Collin gave a nervous chuckle and tucked me beneath his robe. It helped calm me down. I was mostly hidden from view. My head was spinning, though.
"How have things been working with Axil?"
"It's good," replied my mate. "We have our disagreement at times but that's expected."
"I'm glad he finally convinced you." The alpha looked into Collin's eyes. "You have too much potential to be wasted on that farm."
"Thank you, sir. It's an honor to hear that coming from you."
"There are some people I'd like to introduce you too." Judah motioned for us to follow.
I froze and hugged Collin. I wanted to go home. My ears kept twisting in different directions and my fur was standing on end.
"Do you want me to take him inside?" asked the alpha's mate. "There's a room for the sub to wait until the banquet starts and things calms down. Jet always take Lette there so he doesn't get overwhelmed by all of this." She waved her hand at the crowd.
Collin tried to pull me away but I would not let go. My claws were dangerously close to breaking his skin.
"I think I better do it. Tonight is his first time in an environment like this."
"Hurry back," said the alpha. "I'll be waiting."
"Yes, sir." Collin nodded and led me toward the building.
A middle rank opened the door for us and Collin quickly took me inside.
Swinging me around, he lifted my muzzle. "Breath, you're fine. Everything is fine. No one is going to hurt you here."
"So many—" I gasped. "T—the alpha?"
"It's fine. Okay." He hugged me. "You can stay in here." He swayed from side to side.
A middle rank took us to a small sitting room. My nervous settled when I saw all the white fur. These were werewolves I wanted to be around.
"Will you be okay? You can come with me if you like."
I shook my head. "I'd rather stay here."
Collin chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "I figured you would. I'll come and get you as soon as I'm done."
"Bye." I gave him a peck on the lips before he left.
I didn't like being away from my mate, but if it meant being dragged around in a sea of dominants, I'd manage without him. I went to an empty couch and sat down. It seemed like the other subs knew each other. The cushion beside me pressed down, making me jump.
A pure white werewolf with a bit of red smiled at me.
My mouth fell open.
"I haven't seen you before."
I blinked at Lette in shock. I had only seen the sub on TV and pictures with the patriarch. "I—I'm Milo."
"Milo?" The old sub thought for a moment. "Oh, Collin's new mate."
I nodded. "I guess he's related to you."
Lette smiled. "He's one of my many grandsons. I have too many to keep track of nowadays. I never thought I'd have such a large family that I don't even know half of them." He let out a deep breath. "Hopefully, I'll get to know you and Collin better. Judah and Axil speak very highly of him. My mate is interested in what kind of pup you two will have with that hidden Asian werewolf in your bloodline."
I gripped my knees. "We're trying. We want to have one soon."
"That's great." He patted my arm. "You're coloring is very unique."
Running a hand through my head fur, I shrugged. "Not quite pure white."
"Pure white isn't unique," he laughed. "There are plenty of werewolves in this world that look like me."
"You're the first one that I've seen."
Lette grinned. "I suppose we're rarer than I thought. I've seen a lot of us because of my mate's rank."
"This is my first time getting to be around subs. My mate lets me go on this chatroom with human-born subs like me, but it nice to be with werewolves of my rank in person."
"The walk to the building must have been a new experience for you."
"The alpha came to meet us." I took a deep breath. "If there weren't so many dominants around, I would've ran. He's slightly terrifying."
"Judah can be a strict man, but he has to be as the alpha. He'd never hurt a sub, though." He gave me a firm nod. "If there's a problem, he'll confront the dominant partner."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What is it like to be mated to the patriarch?"
Lette laughed. "Is he that terrifying."
I nodded. "I was raised a slave. All we heard were the horror stories."
"He's very—"
The door open and I froze. The entire room did as the patriarch entered. The black werewolf where a black rob and deep blue diamonds walked to the couch. I sunk into my shoulders and bowed my head. The door was still open. I could make a run for it and find Collin, or at least, put some space between this man and me. His hand landed between my ears before I could decide on what to do.
"Who is this, Lette?" said a gravelly voice. "I haven't seen him before."
"Milo. He's Collin's mate."
The old alpha nodded. "The one with the Asian heritage."
I didn't dare move as my body shook with fear. I could sense the power in the man. Even though he wasn't the alpha anymore, he scared me more than Judah.
"Human-born?"
Lette nodded. "He was a slave, remember? Collin was lucky to find such a rare beauty." He grinned at me. "His fur is stunning, isn't it?"
Jet brushed his fingers through it. "Yes. I spoke with your mate."
I closed my eyes and focused on breathing.
"I'm glad to see you're already working on having pups. Bloodline should not be wasted by time. Axil is already testing me enough. It's good to see some of my other grandchildren are listening to me." His hand went to my chin. "Look at me."
I did so and had to fight with myself not to pull away.
"Subs, a dominant's biggest temptation." He looked to his mate. "He is beautiful."
Lette smiled.
"They're moving into the banquet hall." He let go of my muzzle and held out his hand to Lette. "We better be going."
"Bye, Milo." Lette stood and passed by me. "Hopefully, it won't be too long before we can meet again."
The door closed and I was able to let out the breath I was holding. I was still shaking and my eyes were starting to burn. I hated this feeling but I couldn't control it, either. Others came to get their mates. I hid my face so they couldn't see I was so close to crying. I didn't like this part of being a werewolf.
"Milo?"
My head snapped up and there was immediate relief.
Collin hurried over and gathered me in his arms. "Oh my god, what happened? You're shaking."
Crawling into his lap, I took deep breaths of his scent. "The patriarch," I whispered. "I was talking with Lette." I pulled my ear. "He put his hand on my head. That's it. That's all he did and I can't get rid of the feeling."
Wrapping his robe around me, Collin held me to his chest. "This is a lot for someone of your rank." He lifted my chin. "You're not the only one effect."
I peeked over his shoulder and saw a couple other subs with their mate. "I'm worse than them, though. They're handling it better than me."
"It gets easier with time. You're human-born. You haven't had to learn how to deal with instincts until recently. Some werewolves never overcome it."
Taking a deep breath, I laid my head on his shoulder. "Can I stay like this a bit longer?"
"As long as you need."
Collin's scent surrounded me and my eyes began to close. The party hadn't even officially started yet and I was exhausted.