Chapter (Slightly) Awkward Introductions (2)
“Four things?” Nox was even more curious. The door opened, and he was blessed with her presence. Guadalupe gave him a shy smile. “Yup.”
“So... Roccio being a werewolf is one, and the others?”
Guadalupe chuckled and shook her head. “Oh no, sir. We haven’t unlocked that level of friendship yet.”
“And Roccio has?” Nox hated this burning feeling in his chest. Hated the thought of Roccio being close and intimate with her.
“Jamie only knows two of the remaining three secrets. There is only one person who knows the last secret and that is me.” Nox leaned closer, brushing his nose against hers.
“Will that number ever go up to two?” he whispered, relishing in her soft gasp and the fluttering of her eyelids.
“I-I don’t know.” Guadalupe whispered breathlessly, and Zev purred. “Maybe I’ll never tell.” Her hazel eyes snapped open, and they were filled with defiance. Nox smirked.
“Oh God.”
"Bella...”
“This is the worst day of my life.”
“Ada...”
“I’m going to make a complete ass of myself. Everyone is going to laugh. The world will swallow me whole!”
“Guadalupe!”
“What?!”
Guadalupe spun on her heel, facing Nox and Jamie, who stood a few feet away from each other with their arms crossed and staring at her with an exasperated, yet amused look.
Violetta, in all her excitement about Nox bringing Guadalupe home, had decided to throw a party to introduce her to the pack.
Guadalupe, thought that the idea was ridiculous, and wanted out, but Jamie and Nox thought it was an okay idea since now that she knew Nox was a werewolf and Jamie was part of his pack, she would be around a lot more often.
The idea of Nox being an Alpha made her snort with laughter.
What Alpha had glow-in-the-dark stickers on his ceiling?
“Everything is going to be fine, Ada. You don’t even have to say anything. Nox is just going to introduce you as his m- human friend, and mine as well, so that when you’re around, people won’t be hostile towards you.”
Nox was grateful for that quick save. As much as he wanted to claim her, he still thought that going slow was the best way to go.
“I really don’t have to say anything?” she asked uncertainly, and both men nodded, causing her to sigh with visible relief. “Okay, good.”
.
.
.
Werewolves, old and young alike, trickled into the massive house, all here to meet the Alpha’s human mate, who had chased down their Gamma, slapped him silly and called him a bitch.
Needless to say, they were all very excited to meet the spitfire human.
She stood next to Gamma Roccio, talking animatedly as they sipped on their drinks. Young Alpha Violetta was with them, her undivided attention on their future Luna.
At exactly the time the party was to begin, Alpha Nox and his mother, Luna Marisol, entered the room, instantly commanding everyone’s attention. They took their places near the human, Gamma Roccio and young Alpha Violetta, both giving the crowd pleasant smiles.
“Good evening everyone.”
“Good evening Alpha Nox.” Came the simultaneous, joyful reply.
“I see we’re all in a good mood.” It pleased the crowd greatly to see their Alpha smile; it had felt like ages had passed since they last saw one grace his face. So, his good mood caused their good mood.
“I’ll get straight to it. I believe most of you saw the...” he glanced behind him, and the future Luna flushed, the redness of her cheeks soft on her dark skin. A few of the older women cooed at how adorable she looked. “interesting interaction between our Gamma Roccio and a human earlier today.”
Some of the teenagers cheered, causing the future Luna to flush even more, and Gamma Roccio to chuckle. Alpha Nox cleared his throat, an amused look on his face.
“This human, is Gamma Roccio’s best friend, who I met by chance and is now my... friend.”
“Mate.” He sent out through the pack link.
“So, if you happen to see her around, don’t take her as a threat. Please give a warm Moonrise Pack welcome to Guadalupe Florentino-Wrayburn!” Alpha Nox stretched out his hand, beckoning the human forward.
She stepped forward shyly, her dark cheeks still holding a soft red tint. Alpha Nox’s arm went around her shoulder, and it didn’t slip past anyone the gentle rub he gave her as she waved to the cheering crowd. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, and she rolled her eyes before retreating to Gamma Roccio’s side.
The cheering died down, and Alpha Nox spoke again. “We’re all here, so let’s have fun!” With a dismissing wave of his hands, the crowd dispersed in search of food and their friends. A few people approached the staircase, where the Alpha had given the introduction.
Though they sensed her hesitance and unease, Guadalupe was polite and kind to everyone who came to greet her. With the familiar presence of Jamie and Nox’s radiating warmth, her anxiety was much lower than expected.
After about half an hour, people stopped coming to her and she let out a huge sigh of relief, falling into what she thought was Jamie’s side. When she heard the chuckle that sparked unholy feelings within her, she lept forward, startled.
Before either to utter a word, Violetta swooped in, grabbing Guadalupe by the elbow. “Come on. I want you to meet some people.” Grateful for the save from an embarrassing conversation, at least on her part, Guadalupe followed without complaints.
Feeling his burning stare on her, she glanced back and shot him a small smile that he returned just before she disappeared around a corner.
Guadalupe’s eyes darted through the crowd of people, the unfamiliar faces overloading her senses. Violetta waved gingerly to a group and increased her speed, pulling Guadalupe in a straight line as the crowd parted for her to pass.
“Guys,” Violetta sang as they came within earshot, “this is Guadalupe.” The girl in question came to a stop before unfamiliar, yet familiar faces.
One face in particular, was very familiar.
“Guadalupe,” she tore her eyes away from the blushing boy upon hearing her name. “this is Jenna,” she pointed to a pretty blonde with pink tips and ocean blue eyes,
“Andrea,” a grey-eyed girl with light brown hair and an eyebrow piercing,
“Quinton,” a lean, mocha-skinned boy with dark eyes and curly hair with yellow tips, “and-”
“Keon.” Guadalupe cut off, staring at the tall, lean boy with blue, spiky hair and a lip piercing, skin as dark as hers and green eyes she was envious of.
“Surprise.” Keon mumbled into his drink, and Guadalupe nodded slowly, a smile of disbelief blooming on her face. “You should start running Keon, because I’m gonna beat your ass into next winter.”
With a fear-filled chuckle, Keon took off, weaving through the crowd. Mentally, Guadalupe counted to ten, then took off after him, after gently squeezing Violetta’s shoulder and saying, “I’ll be right back. Oh! And it was nice to meet you guys.”
With a disarming smile, Guadalupe was off, expertly weaving through the crowd and grateful to be away from all the unfamiliarity.
Violetta giggled as Guadalupe sped off. “I like her...” Andrea murmured, and the others waited patiently for the “But...”
“What? I mean it.” She said defensively, looking her friends in the eyes. “She called Gamma Roccio and jackass and a bitch, and told Keon of all people that she’s going to beat his ass into next winter. She’s got spunk, I respect it.”
The others nodded in agreement, and Violetta sighed dreamily. “She’ll be a great Luna.”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” Jenna and Quinton agreed simultaneously.
Their conversation shifted to other topics, and the rest of the night went by smoothly, the entire pack happy that their Alpha finally found his Luna.
Keon entered an empty room; Guadalupe was hot on his trail. She shut the door behind her as Keon settled on the far end of the room. They were silent, save for the echo of the music that blasted through the house.
Guadalupe shot him a wry smile. "So..." she trailed off, looking unobservantly around the room before settling on him again. "You wanna tell me why you've been ignoring me for two years?"
His grip tightened around the cup, slightly crushing it. "I kept smelling that... rogue on you." Guadalupe inhaled, clenching her fists. "Another liar?" She thought sourly, licking her teeth.
"What rogue?" she questioned, but she already knew who he was talking about. "Charlie." Keon spat, effectively destroying the red plastic cup.
A bitter chuckle bubbled up from her throat. "You were ignoring me long before I started hanging out with Charlie." The crushed cup landed harshly on the ground.
"Yeah, what were you doing hanging around that piece of scum?" Keon started to approach her threateningly. Guadalupe inhaled deeply, squeezing her fingernails into her palms.
"That's none of your business." Keon barked out a laugh. "Oh, so you were fucking him then?" Guadalupe felt like she got stabbed in the heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and she bit her lip in an attempt to stop them.
"If I wouldn't willingly do it with your good ol' pal Mateo, what makes you think I'd do it with Charlie? Hmm? Am I that much of a whore?" Her voice cracked, and she saw a crack in his resolve.
Guadalupe took one step in retreat. "Charlie and I had a messed-up relationship, but it was nothing sexual." She shot him a regretful smile. "With none of my friends around, I needed someone to lean on." She shrugged, finally looking away from Keon. She took a few more steps in retreat.
"I was going off the deep end, and he pulled me back. But I guess you would have known that if you weren't avoiding me like the plague." Guadalupe gulped, taking more steps in retreat until she was at the door.
She didn't wait to hear what Keon had to say to her; she found the doorknob and twisted it open, then ran off into the crowd of people, leaving Keon with the bitter taste of regret.