Chapter 22
#Chapter 22: Make It Believable
The girls in the crowd were staring daggers at me while Nathan wrapped his arm
around my waist and pulled me close. I felt my face turn beet red, and all I could do
was stare down at the stage beneath my feet and wait for this attention to be over.
Colin finished his small speech, and then announced Nathan.
“My son, the Alpha of our pack, will now announce the beginning of the hunt.”
Nathan, with his arm still around me, led me across the stage to the center. He
stopped in the middle and looked out over the crowd, holding his champagne glass
up with a smile.
And then, with the booming voice of a true Alpha, Nathan announced that the hunt
would begin.
“Thank you all for coming to this year’s Full Moon Day celebration,” he said, his
voice ringing out clear and handsomely across the crowd. “May the guardian spirits
watch over our hunt and help us catch a good feast!”
The crowd clapped and cheered. Nathan sipped his champagne, ending the toast. I
sipped my sparkling juice and tried not to come across quite so awkwardly,
although I still felt the girls’ nasty eyes on me.
All of a sudden, though, Nathan bent down and whispered in my ear.
“We have to k*ss,” he whispered. “We need to make it believable.”
I felt my eyes go wide. I wanted to shake my head and say no to this sudden task,
but I didn’t realize that Nathan already used his Absolute Obedience on me again.
when he put his arm around me. Nothing would come out when I opened my mouth
to speak.
I could only stand there like I was frozen while Nathan slowly bent down to me and gently pressed his l*ps on mine.
Da mn you, Nathan! I thought to myself, feeling anger bubbling up inside of me. Why
couldn’t he have told me sooner?
+15 BONUS
However, I couldn’t deny one thing: Nathan’s l*ps were soft and sweet, and his k*ss was like nothing that I had ever experienced.
When we finally pulled away and he released his Absolute Obedience on me, I felt my face turn an even deeper shade of red. I swallowed the butterflies in my stomach and smiled stiffly as I looked out at the crowd.
Half of the crowd was murmuring and smiling excitedly at seeing their next Alpha and their new Luna k*ssing, but some people seemed to hate it; the group of girls, with Angela Morelli as their leader, were the people that hated our k*ss.
I watched icily as Angela sneered at me, then leaned over to one of her friends and whispered something. My throat closed up as I saw them giggle at whatever she said.
A
The hunt began. Just as all hunts went, the girls and the guys split up. It was really more of a big game of hide and seek than anything, as traditionally the men would try to find their lovers at the beginning of the hunt so that they could hunt in pairs.
I stood amongst the girls, with only Jenifer at my side while the rest of the girls murmured amongst themselves. When the trumpet blared for the hunt to begin, the girls excitedly took off to be found by their crushes.
Jenifer shot me a mischievous look before she, too, disappeared into the forest. Now, I stood alone.
I couldn’t shift. It wasn’t necessarily a requirement, and many girls chose not to shift until they were found, but I still felt awkward. I decided to walk off into the woods and wait for Nathan to find me, just as he said he would.
I walked around for a little while, kicking rocks beneath my feet, as the forest filled with the sounds of giggles and playful growls.
Suddenly, as I walked, I heard the sound of twigs snapping behind me. I whipped around, breathing heavily, to see the big, black head of a wolf emerging from between the trees.
“Nathan?” I whispered as he approached.
+15 BONUS
The wolf nodded slowly. As he walked up to me, I couldn’t help but hold my hands out and touch his fur. It was silky and thick, and felt incredibly warm around my fingers.
“Your wolf is beautiful,” I whispered, drinking in the raven black fur and glowing red eyes. He stood several heads higher than me, and looked regal and dignified. He really did look like a true Alpha, and suddenly that k*ss from earlier felt awfully fresh on my l*ps.
Nathan bent his head down, just as he said he would. I blushed as I climbed up onto his back and tangled my fingers into his fur.
Once I was comfortable, he ran off into the woods to join the rest of the hunt. I couldn’t help but grin and let out a wild yell as we ran together. I felt so free… But at the same time, I felt ha ndicapped without my own wolf, and as I saw the other couples running together in their wolf forms, I felt like the odd one out.
Nathan weaved expertly around trees as he caught sight of a deer up ahead. I leaned down and held tightly onto his n*eck as he ran through the forest, gaining quickly on the deer. It was a male with a big set of antlers; the perfect catch on Full Moon Day for a young Alpha.
Nathan shot forward even faster, and snagged the deer on its hindquarters with his teeth. I heard the deer shriek in fear, and a low, satisfied growl rumbled in Nathan’s throat.
But as he lurched forward to catch the deer, I felt myself lose my balance.
“Woah-Nathan!” I cried as I tumbled from his back and rolled across the forest
floor.
I fell into the crunchy leaves and underbrush with a crash and a groan, my flesh scraping against the brambles on my way down.
Nathan, noticing that I was gone, trotted up to me with the deer in his mouth while I writhed around in the underbrush.
The
dress,” I said annoyedly as I struggled against the thorns, “the lace is caught. It’s going to be ruined-”
+15 BONUS
I finally wrenched myself free, cringing at the sound of the fabric ripping in some spots, and turned around. When I did, however, Nathan’s eyes widened and the dead deer dropped out of his mouth with a thud.
Behind him, several other wolves stood, and they were all staring a
me with equally wide eyes. A few of them even shifted back and began whispering to one another; I immediately recognized one of them as Angela, who was snickering nastily from around a tree.
“What?” I asked, looking around wildly. “Why is everyone staring at me? I just fell…”
Nathan said nothing, but his eyes kept flickering from mine, down to my breasts, and back up again. I slowly looked down, and shrieked.
At some point during my fall, the dress ripped in the front. Because the dress was too small already, the seam burst and broke open entirely, revealing…
My bare breasts.
I quickly covered myself with my arms, feeling my face turn beet red as I realized that I just exposed myself to half of the pack.
Komentar