“You going like that? What happened to the shirt?”
Shay wrinkled her nose. “That thing swallowed me.”
“And you’d rather be half-naked instead?” he asked, scowling at the length of her skirt. “When you’re not wearing panties?”
“I’m covered,” she argued, glancing down to be certain.
“Barely.”
“I thought you shifters considered clothing optional,” she teased.
“As long as it’s not my mate, I do.”
Laughing, Shay reached in and grabbed his shirt, tying it around her waist. The material fell to her knees, covering all but a small portion of her thighs in the front. “Better?”
His gaze fell to her breasts, and her nipples responded by tightening. With a sigh, he muttered, “It will have to be. I just hope no one dies tonight. Pack’s small enough as it is.” Rory placed his hand on her lower back and escorted her forward.
As they shoved through the heavy foliage with Rory leading the way, Shay caught a branch before it could slap her in the face. “You guys ever think of trimming the underbrush or cutting back the overgrowth?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “We get a lot of tourists in the area. The last thing we want is some noisy human, thinking they’ve found a new hunting or hiking trail, discovering our existence.”
“Other than the noisy human comment, which I’ll let slide, that makes perfect sense, but still, do you have to keep it this bad?” She slapped at a bug that landed on her arm.
“It gets better up ahead.”
He was right. A few yards ahead they stepped out into a large clearing with a knoll in the center. The area was filled with people standing around in groups talking. The minute she and Rory came into view, Shay found herself the center of attention. Their animosity hit her like a body blow.
“Show no fear. Don’t let them sense any discomfort or uneasiness you might be feeling. Shove it down, way down inside and lock it away.”
As Shannon ’s words drifted to mind, Shay straightened her shoulders and slid on the attitude that came as naturally to her as breathing. She didn’t walk. She strutted into the midst of them like she owned the place and the people and didn’t care who didn’t like it. These people didn’t know her, and she wasn’t here for them. They could take their hostility, their suspicion, and stuff it where the sun didn’t shine.
A path opened before them. The loud talk dropped to barely a murmur. King of all he surveyed, Rory led her through his people. She’d seen the concerned brother, the nagging pest, the lover and caretaker, and his wolf and half-shifted forms, but Shay had never seen him in true alpha mode.
Once they reached the centermost, highest point of the rise, Rory turned to face them, holding Shay with her back to his chest. He looped one arm across her chest, and the hand of his other rested on the slight swell of her belly; his hold was both protective and possessive.
Shay relaxed, allowing Rory to support her weight as she glanced over the motley group. Upon closer examination, Shay discovered they weren’t as intimidating as they’d originally appeared. Well, as long as she didn’t think about the fact that the majority of those present could rip her throat out before she could blink.
The members present comprised all ages and races, though there were very few young children. The ones she did see were male. Some of the women offered hesitant smiles. The younger, unmated—Shay assumed from the way they were acting—males were checking her out: face, tits, and thighs. Males were the same everywhere, no matter the species.
Standing to Rory’s right were the men he’d previously identified as his second and third, Caleb and MacDougal. To his left were three older gentlemen, which by process of deduction and Shannon’s detailed descriptions, Shay concluded must be the council. They reeked of arrogance and barely concealed hostility. Shay smiled, a big teeth-baring grin, laughing inwardly when the middle one stiffened in outrage.
Rory did some type of metaphysical mumbo jumbo that had her heart pounding faster and the hairs on her arms and nape standing at attention. One by one, silence fell as gazes lowered in recognition of his power.
“Tonight I introduce to you your alpha-fem. My mate, Shayla Morgan!”
Chapter Ten
The small spattering of tepid applause ended abruptly when one of the men to the left stepped forward and boldly—albeit stupidly, in Shay’s opinion—proclaimed, “She’s not your mate until the council officially recognizes her as such.”
Shay remembered her conversation with Shannon. “Beware the council, Shay. If they refuse to recognize your mating, then some of the more die-hard traditional members of the pack won’t either. Your pup will be labeled a bastard and considered not fit to lead the pack when the time comes. More importantly, the men will consider you usable and the women will consider Rory fair game. Now Wesley, the youngest and most arrogant of the council, will be against the mating simply because he didn’t sanction it first. He’s been full of himself ever since he was given the position.”
“Protocol demands that the council vet her, make sure she’s suitable to be your mate before you claim her,” the oldest-looking member of the council stated harshly.
“Graham is the pack’s historian. You’ll know him instantly as he’s the oldest. He’ll be against the mating because he’s a bigot. Hates humans, vampires, women…almost everyone.”
So the old Native American-looking dude was Graham, Shay thought, as a few low murmurs rose from the group.
“I’m alpha,” Rory reminded in a quiet, deadly tone.
Graham sniffed. “Be that as it may, how do we know this woman, this human”—he spat out the word human the way a racist would say nigger—“is capable of being the alpha-fem the pack needs?”
Shay felt the pinprick of claws biting into her skin. Behind her, Rory burned like a furnace. She felt a light sheen of sweat break out where their bodies touched. His chest vibrated with a barely contained growl. Pushing aside her own outrage, Shay prepared to enjoy the show.
“You dare to question my judgment?” Rory asked in that same quiet voice.
“That’s what it sounds like to me,” Shay responded.
When Graham’s eyes narrowed on her in intense dislike, she smirked. No sense wasting time getting the old dude to approve of her, and really, Graham was just the kind of tight-ass Shay liked to mess with. Their reactions were so comical.
He flushed red and snarled, “As elders, we have a responsibility—”
“Don’t preach responsibility to me. Remember who established your positions and gave you those responsibilities…and who can take them away,” Rory said sharply.
“Uhm, guess you heard that,” Shay murmured, pursing her lips.
Graham shot a venomous glance at Shay.
“Rory, Graham, let’s all calm down. Rory, why don’t you tell us why, after all this time, you selected this charming young…woman to be your mate,” the remaining councilman said.
“Bertram is usually the voice of reason, but don’t let his calm nature fool you. He won’t like you and Rory mating any more than the others. He’ll simply use a different, more subtle approach to voicing his displeasure.”