Chapter 118


    Many strangers greet us as we make our way inside. Though I am familiar with the building from the


    gathering, it lookspletely transformed. Sure, it was dressed up before, but everything is switched


    around now. There are fewer tables and instead more room for standing and chatting or whatever


    leaders do. As my eyes scan the area, I see most people standing with a drink, in groups of two to five


    people. And unlike the gathering, there are guards at the doors outside and inside. Coincidentally, I


    spot Theodore with one other guard towards the back, and I immediately make ns in my head to see


    him.


    James ces his hand lightly on my back, reeling me back to the current situation. Knowing that we''ll


    have to wee everyone, his movements towards the grouped people don''t surprise me. I take a


    quick breath before we reach the first one, a set of three.


    "Can we interrupt?" James says to the woman and two men, in a friendly way. His free hand gently


    touches the woman''s shoulder as he speaks, causing her to swiftly spin around.


    "Alpha Grant," she cheers, the other two facing us as well. "I was wondering when you''d get here. You


    always keep me waiting," she scolds in a motherly way. "You know I''ve been dying to meet her."


    She turns to me as she says it, and I smile. Oddly enough, the woman gives me a loose hug and I


    nce up at James. "Rae, this is Renee. She was good friends with my mother," he exins, and I


    make sure to smile even more when she pulls away. "She is Alpha Alder''s Luna."


    The man standing next to her moves closer and reaches his hand out, so I shake it and assume he is


    Alpha Alder. It is difficult to tell who is an Alpha when in a crowd stuffed with them. "It''s nice to meet


    you."


    "We won''t be Alpha and Luna for much longer, I''m afraid. Our son is taking over any day now, all he


    has to do is let him," she nudges her mate.


    Alpha Alder says, "He''s getting there."


    "Anyway, when I saw that you were having an announcement party I nearly fainted. I''ve been waiting


    for this day, your mother and I both. Oh, she''d be so happy, James. And you," she switches back to me,


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    "you even look a bit like her, so beautiful. Which pack did youe from, dear?"


    "The Waters Pack," I say, thankful that''s she''s asking easy questions.


    "And where did you two meet?"


    "A gathering at the Waters Pack," James takes over. "I went to meet with Alpha Waters while a few


    pack members attended the event. We ran into each other."


    She looks to me again, the sweet expression sticking to her face and never peeling off. "And he''s good


    to you?"


    "Yes, He is."


    His hand returns to my back and my heart finally settles. "I hate to leave you, but we have to make our


    way around, greet everyone, you know."


    "Of course, of course," she shoos us off, "it was lovely meeting you, Rae."


    "It was nice to meet you too," I say back, my voice light and airy.


    We make our way around the room, and I introduce myself to Alphas, Luna''s, and Betas, and I wonder


    how James has so many allies. Maybe it is not soplicated, maybe it is simply because he is a


    good, smart Alpha who knows what he''s doing. I haven''t gotten the chance to see him in a action many


    times, so hopefully after this, when my announcement is official, and when I''ll be helping around the


    pack, I''ll get to.


    Many of the Alphas we walk up to seem to admire James greatly, and I feel as if I''m being introduced to


    a new side of him. They are quick to apud him for fixing the rogue situation, and I wonder if I should


    have myself. I didn''t know it was such a big deal. Maybe that''s just another sign of myck of


    experience. It''s another push for me to get involved with the pack and to learn about my position.


    Like a pair of cherries, we stay close, James doesn''t leave my side. Whenever I stumble or struggle to


    find the right words, he takes over and eases me back in, knowing that I am not the most charismatic


    person. Most of the women I meete off as confident and powerful, but none of them are rude.


    None of them point out myck of Alpha Blood unlike I expect. It is hard to keep up with them, though.


    It''s clear that these women are experienced when ites to events such as this. But it''s when I spot a


    girl around my age that a sense of curiosity hits me. After we leave Alpha Reynolds and his Beta, I lead


    James towards her.


    "Alpha Grant," a man turns and pats James on the shoulder. "Quite the announcement you got going


    on here."


    The younger girl drifts towards the man, and I notice her pregnant stomach right away. She warms up


    to him, no longer looking cold.


    "It''s nice to see you again, Lance," James says back and after going through the normal round of


    introductions—finding out that the girl is his Luna—James and Alpha York immerse themselves in a


    deep conversation. I keep ncing at the girl, excited to have found a Luna that can possibly rte to


    me. We''re both likely the youngest Luna''s here.