She buried her face in my neck, "I hope he's ok" she said quietly, I kissed the side of her head as I rubbed my hands down her back.
"He'll be fine shortie, don't worry, and by the way, OUR pack is gonna love you" I said honestly.
How the hell could they not love someone like her? Full shifter or not, she was just so damn adorable and kind, and she was so strong, typical Alpha female, not physically strong like a shifter but emotionally strong. She let Trey do that to her for years to protect her mother, she would have stayed with him forever to save her mother, she'd have to be strong to not be a broken wounded girl right now. "Our packs going to love you too Alpha Phillips" she mumbled as she bit my shoulder making me moan. She really did know how to tease the crap out of me!
.......................................................................................
I finally managed to prise myself off of her at 11am and we drove over to Scott's to pick up Beth ready to go to the barbeque. I'd phoned Dom and he said it was probably a good idea that she go in case people wanted to meet her being as she was the one he cheated with. I gripped Brook's hand as we headed into Scott's to get her Mom.
"Hey Jay, I was thinking I'd come to yours about half past six tonight in case there's anything you need help with before we go to the field" Scott said looking at Brook who went stiff when he mentioned tonight.
She didn't want us to go, she was worried about us getting hurt, but to be honest there wasn't much chance of that. We had surprise, numbers and skills on our side. Trey was gonna be easy to take down, I should have just finished him off at Brook's yesterday when I had the chance. I should have just ignored her clinging to me and begging me like that and jumped out of that window and ripped him to pieces, it would have been easy.
I wrapped my arm around her "Yeah great man, half past six is fine" I said nodding, Scott really was the best friend a guy could ask for. I really wish I could ask him to be my second, he deserved it, he wasn't even of age for another month but he was ready for it. When I took Willow Creak from my father I would definitely make him my second.
Beth was saying her goodbyes to Scott's parents, Brook was chatting with Mel in whispers and my god I wanted to know what they were talking about, I wondered if they were talking about me. If I listened would that be an invasion of privacy? I laughed at myself, I really am obsessed.
"What's funny?" Scott asked grinning.
I shook my head "I am so whipped" I admitted laughing.
He punched me on the shoulder rolling his eyes, "Jayden Phillips pussy whipped, never thought I'd see the day" he said laughing.
I grinned, "Me either" I said shrugging.
When Beth was finally ready we left making our way over to Dom's house, luckily Beth knew the way as we were short on time and getting lost and being late to my own introduction wouldn't be a very good impression! We pulled up and ten to twelve but there was already a lot of people here, probably at least a hundred, crap this pack was bigger than I thought! It must be almost the same size as Willow Creak. I held Brook tightly to my side as we walked in through the house, people we smiling and nodding respectfully as we walked past. Damn this was so freaking weird!
I spotted Dom in the kitchen pulling out plate after plate of meat to put on the barbeque. "Alpha Phillips, Brook, Beth" he said nodding respectfully.
"Alpha Logan, how are you?" I asked holding out my hand to him.
He laughed "I'm good, and it's just Dom now" he said grinning as he shook my hand. He kissed the girls and turned back to me, "I told them this morning, I asked everyone here from eleven to get it out of the way before you came, I hope that's ok" he said almost apologetically.
I nodded "I would have helped you, did everything go ok?" I asked curiously, I knew his pack would give him shit for cheating on his mate and I wanted to be here to help him and calm the crowd if needed.
He laughed "Alpha, Bane's Creak is an awesome pack, we're very close, more like a family, families forgive mistakes, everything was fine, they're excited to see you" he said looking pleased.
I grinned and breathed a sigh of relief, I thought I would be fighting with them to banish him from the pack, I thought they would challenge my decision. "Dom, you can call me Jayden or Jay" I said laughing at just how ridiculous Alpha sounded when applied to me, I just couldn't get used to it. I actually liked the sound of it from Brook's mouth though, but only because she told me it was a turn on.
He grinned "I guess I should if you're mated to my daughter" he said shrugging, I kissed Brook trying my best to ignore the taste of her on my lips and the way her mouth fitted perfectly against mine.
Pete came over grinning, "Alpha Philips, good to see you, I know you said you didn't want to ask for the help of your pack but I was speaking to few of the high rankers and they want to come with us tonight" he said almost apologetically.
Shit, they did? "Really?" I asked a little shocked, maybe this was a good pack.
He nodded "Yeah, they want to protect their Alpha and his mate" he said smiling at Brook warmly.
She smiled back, I sighed I really didn't want them to have to do this for me, I'd been Alpha for less than a day and already they were having to risk their lives!
"Ok well I'll talk to them later, see how it goes" I said trying to think of a way I could say 'thanks but no thanks' without hurting anyone's feelings or anything.
"Come on, Pete why don't you put this food on the barbeque I'll introduce Jayden to everyone" Dom said holding out a huge plate of sausages and burgers.
Beth grabbed another one off of the side, "I'll help you put it on, I'm not needed right Jay?" Beth asked hopefully. She was nervous at being the 'other woman' she said in the car she didn't want people to hate her, but it was a long time ago, and technically she didn't do anything wrong anyway.
"Yeah, your not needed Beth don't worry" I said smiling reassuringly at her, she sighed seeming to relax as she followed Pete out of the back door into the garden.
Dom smiled "Ready?" he asked, I nodded and grabbed Brook's hand as we followed him out into the garden. His garden was huge, it backed right onto the woods and he's taken down the fences so people were just milling around everywhere. The were so many people, probably close to a hundred and fifty men, women and children all standing watching our every move. Holy crap this is a big pack! Brook stiffened next to me, her hand squeezing mine so tight I was a little worried she'd hurt herself. I shook her hand lightly trying to get her to loosen her grip as we walked behind Dom to the little patio area.
"Calm down shortie" I whispered, she nodded and put on a fake smile.
"Ok guys, so after my announcement earlier, I'm proud to introduce you to your new Alpha, Alpha Jayden Phillips" Dom said loudly grinning at me. Oh fuck my life! People started clapping and cheering, I held up a hand to stop them and everyone was quiet instantly. Shit that was awesome! I smiled a little overwhelmed at the power I had over these people that they would just instantly stop talking like that with the raise of my hand.
"Hey it's nice to meet you all, I look forward to talking to you all individually, I know you're probably worried about what having a new Alpha will mean for you, but basically I don't want to change anything, Alpha Logan and I will sit down and talk about how he ran the pack and I'll try my best to stick to the things that work for everyone" I said honestly. I didn't want to come in and disrupt everyone's lives.
I pulled Brook a little closer to me, "This is my mate Brook Mills, your Alpha female, I want everyone to know that although Brook isn't a full shifter she is still Alpha female by blood and by mating and I expect people to respect that" I said sternly.
"Jayden don't" Brook whispered gripping my arm blushing like crazy, I smiled at her, I needed to get our pack to respect her. No one would dare disrespect a normal Alpha female but I didn't want people thinking they could get away with anything because she couldn't shift.
"Ok shortie, I'm done" I said nodding reassuringly at her. I turned back to the crowd "So
Alpha Logan's laid on some awesome food and stuff, and Brook and I will be happy to meet anyone, but I am really bad with names so please forgive me if I have to ask you a couple of times what your name is" I said grimacing slightly, people chuckled in the crowd. "Does anyone have anything they want to ask or anything while we're all together?" I asked curiously. It would probably be easier to get this all out of the way instead of repeating it a hundred times.
A couple of hands went up in the crowd, I smiled and pointed to a guy in his mid thirties, "Yeah um, I was just wondering, if you'll be staying in the area, Alpha Logan mentioned you were in college" he asked.
"Yeah I'll be transferring closer to here so I can be near my pack and my mate" I said nodding, I pointed to a lady who had her hand up.
"Will you still be running monthly meetings?" she asked.
I nodded "Yeah monthly meetings, I'll probably call the first next week after I've spent a little time with Alpha Logan" I said looking at him.
"Dom" he said grinning.
"Right" I said laughing, I keep forgetting that!
"Will you be changing the high rankers? Bringing in some people from your old pack?" a guy asked curiously.
I shook my head, "No, as long as the people that were Dom's high rankers are happy to be mine then I don't see there will be a problem" I said frowning. I really needed to speak to Scott and make sure that this was ok with him. I know that he always thought he would be my second too and I didn't want him to be disappointed or angry with me.
There were a few more questions, people wanted to know how old we were, how long we had been mated, they wanted to know about my father and my Alpha blood and lots of other tedious questions. I answered everything honestly, it was easier to just get this all out of the way now. After about twenty minutes the questions were done and I was starving! "So guys, let's eat and we can start to get to know people better" I said eyeing the barbeque longingly.
I smiled at Brook as people started to talk amongst themselves, "Did I do ok shortie?" I whispered wrapping my arms around her tightly.
She grinned, "You did excellent Alpha Philips" she whispered back making a shiver run down my back. I kissed her gently pulling away before I couldn't.
"Lets get some food, I'm starving and maybe your Mom will need a hand" I said looking over at the crowd of people all milling around her getting food. She nodded and I led her towards the food eagerly. We didn't get very far, we were stopped every foot of the way to meet people, it seemed like every single person was just taking it in turns to talk to us.
After an hour of talking we were still only half way to the food, Dom came over and handed me and Brook a burger each slapping me on the back amused. Oh thank god! We continued to talk to people while I inhaled my burger making Brook laugh at me. Everyone seemed really nice and were really welcoming and friendly.
A little girl of about four ran over and tripped in front of us, Brook immediately bent down and picked her up. "Hey, you ok sweetie?" she asked rubbing the little girls knee. The little girl started to cry and shook her head. "Does you knee hurt?" Brook asked soothingly, the little girl nodded.
Brook smiled and kissed her fingers before rubbing the little girls knee. "There all better right? That was a magic kiss, I learnt it from my Mom" Brook said smiling at her as she sat down next to her.
"Really?" the little girl asked wiping her face, Brook nodded smiling making the little girl smile back.
I could see her parents looking at us unsure whether to approach or not, probably intimidated thinking she was in trouble or something. They made their way over timidly, "What's your name sweetie?" Brook asked as she plopped herself in Brooks lap.
"Isabelle" she said playing with Brooks hair.
"That's a pretty name" Brook said smiling happily, God she'll make a good mom!
"I'm sorry" Isabelle's Mom said looking horrified.
I sat down next to Brook, "Don't be sorry, it's fine, don't worry" I said honestly. "So Isabelle how old are you?" I asked.
She grinned "Four and a half" she said proudly.
"Really? Is that all? I would have said you were at least five" I said jokingly, she grinned at me proudly. We chatted with her parents for a while and in the end a group of about twenty kids and mom's were all hanging around chatting to Brook.
I glanced over to Pete who waved me over and pointed to a group of guys standing near him, I nodded and turned back to Brook. "Shortie, I just need to go talk to some people ok?" I asked, she nodded and gripped the front of my shirt pulling me closer so she could kiss me. I kissed her back softly very aware that my new pack were all watching so I didn't want to get too into it. "I'll be right back, you want anything? Drink? Food?" I asked.
"I'd love a soft drink" she said smiling her sexy smile, I couldn't resist kissing her again before I got up.
I made my way over to Pete, dodging people and promising to be right back when people stopped me. "Hey, everything ok?" I asked him as I grabbed another burger eating it in four bites.
"Yeah, the high rankers want to talk to you about tonight" he said nodding over to the group of about ten guys sitting down chatting. I sighed and nodded making my way over to them, Pete followed me over.
"Hey guys" I said sitting down with them. Then all bowed their heads respectfully but to be honest I was getting used to it now, people had been doing it to me since we arrived a couple of hours ago.
"I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to come and talk to any of you yet" I said honestly, they all smiled.
"We kinda hung back so you could meet the rest of the pack, there'll be plenty of time for us to get to know each other" one guy said.
I grinned "Thanks, I appreciate it, so you guys want to tell me your names and rank?" I asked looking round at them.
They were all a lot older than me, mostly in their early forties, I tried my best to memorise their names as I went round them. The most important were my top four, I already knew Pete pretty well and he seemed like a nice guy. Rick was my third, Spence my fourth.
"So about tonight" Rick said raising his eyebrows at me expectantly, I shook my head, I didn't want them to come, I couldn't ask that of them on my first day.
"It's fine guys, I have seventeen coming with me from Willow Creek, I can't ask you guys to do that for me" I said sternly.
They all looked a little pissed off, "Alpha, we're your high rankers, if your going to fight we need to be with you" Rick said fiercely, I looked round at them all, they all had the same expression, determination and annoyance.
"Guys I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to ask you to do that, I don't want my first responsibility as Alpha to be to come in and ask you to fight for me and my mate, none of this is your problem, I can sort it" I said honestly.
"Alpha, it IS our problem, were a close pack, we want to come with you, you don't need to ask for support for it to be there, it will always be there" Spence said sternly. I smiled, they really were nice guys, I looked at Pete, he nodded in agreement. I couldn't really say no to that.
"Ok well thanks, we're meeting at a field in Willow Creek territory at ten, maybe you could travel with Pete and Dom, they know where it is" I said.
Pete nodded, Dom came and sat down next to me, he'd been hovering on the edge of the group looking like he didn't want to intrude or something. "Actually Alpha, I was thinking I'd come back with you when you leave, maybe spend some time with Brook and Beth" he said looking at me hopefully.
"Sure Dom, that'd be fine, and I told you to call me Jayden, you can all call me Jayden" I said smiling, they all nodded. "I better get back to Brook, thank you guys, I'll see you tonight and then we can maybe have a meeting in the week so I could get to know you all better, sort out anything that needs sorting" I said standing up, they all stood and bowed their heads again. "I'll see you tonight" I said a little uncomfortably but trying desperately not to show it, I thought I was getting used to the whole bowing thing but apparently not!
I grabbed two cokes from the cooler and
headed back over to my angel who was still sitting there chatting happily with a bunch of women whilst making a daisy chain with Isabelle. God I loved that girl so much, watching her with that little girl I couldn't help but hope she was carrying my pup, but I knew that it would be better for us to wait a couple of years. She hadn't even finished school, I didn't want to take any opportunities away from her because she was pregnant or anything. I sat down behind her scooting forward so her back was pressed against my chest and breathed in her beautiful smell.
"Hey, everything ok?" she asked pressing into me.
I wrapped my arms around her "Mmm Hmm" I mumbled against the back of her head. Everything was fine now that I was back at her side.
After another hour the barbeque started to wind down, by the time everyone left and I had passed out my number to everyone in case of emergencies it was almost five thirty. "We better go shortie, Scott's coming in a bit" I said brushing her hair away from her face.
She nodded, "I'm ready when you are" she said nodding.
"Dom, I better go, Scott's coming at half past six" I called.
He nodded "I'm now done, I'll finish this tomorrow" he said throwing the last of the rubbish in the bin.
I led Brook out to my car opening her door for her, "Hey you waited" I said laughing as she stood there waiting for me to open her door.
She grinned "I remembered" she said rolling her eyes.
I shut her door, "You coming in my car or following?" I asked Dom.
"I'll follow in a couple of minutes, I'll bring Beth I just want to put the rest of the food in the fridge and stuff " he called heading into the house with a plate of food.
I held Brook's hand on the way back to mine, I was really happy, the pack were great, they seemed to love her to pieces which was the most important thing in the world to me. When we pulled up I jogged round to get her door, she was so breathtaking, honestly the most beautiful thing in my world. "Thank you Alpha Philips" she said teasingly biting her lip, I stopped breathing, I knew her hormones were raging, I could tell by the look on her face. I didn't need to smell it to know what she was thinking right now.