Once the introductions had neared the end, Amelia snuck out of the crowd, slipping between her fellow pack members back into the house. She headed straight for the kitchen, pushing through swinging double doors. The two cooks and half a dozen assistants were flurrying about the room, preparing tonight’s feast. She worked her way through the bustle, avoiding those working and made her way straight for the fridge.

She pulled out a bottle of water, quickly guzzling down the cool liquid. She felt hot, the type of heat that had nothing to do with the temperature outside. Her heart was racing and her stomach was doing acrobatics, enough to bring back the nausea.

“Is everything okay dear?”

Amelia snapped out of her daze to find a short, stout woman with flaming curling hair pulled up into a knot on top of her head, standing in front of her. “Yes, Ms. McKready. It’s just hot out there.”

“Make sure to drink plenty of fluids. We have a long night ahead of us,” Ms. McKready smirked with a wink, getting back to prepping the chicken.

“You have no idea.”

Amelia tossed her empty water bottle into the recycling bin before leaving the kitchen. The pack house was busier than ever. Between her own pack and the four visiting ones, the house was a bit chaotic. She saw her group of friends, huddled in the living room. The girls were gawking at the new male beef and the males were drooling over the unmated females that had arrived.

She weaved in and out of varying sized groups of those chatting, making her way to her friends. Daniel was there, her ex-boyfriend, smiling at her as if she hadn’t doused the inside of his car with vomit. She couldn’t help but smile back. Even though she had broken up with him they had still been friends for as long as she could remember. That wouldn’t change.

Four of her closest girlfriends were whispering loudly to one another. Commenting on various assets of the new arrivals.

She didn’t want to hear it. At her approach the girls instantly stopped talking, standing in silence as she joined them.

“Please tell me someone has a drink for me.” Amelia whispered amongst her friends.

The girl on her right, Cordelia, immediately handed her the coffee mug she had been holding. From the outside most would assume she was consuming coffee but from the smell it was well aged bourbon.

“Thank you Cordie.” Amelia praised, taking a deep drink of the burning liquid. She immediately felt lighter as the liquor hit her empty stomach. “Goddess I needed that.”

“What’s got you so wound up?” Cordelia asked, her eyes still gazing over the continuously growing crowd.

“You don’t wanna know.” She mumbled into the mug before taking another long drink.

“Man, I thought we had some fine-looking men in our pack but these new beef cakes are making me blush.”

Amelia eyed the girl on the end, Gabby, her cousin. Her short, cropped brown hair filled her slim face. She was always looking for her next conquest, making her a bit of a hoe, but who was she to judge? She knew how to have fun.

The other girls nodded in agreement as they continued their ogling.

“Has anyone seen the new Alpha that just arrived?” Cordelia purred.

“You mean Alpha Gabriel?” Amelia asked her, her heart racing by just the mere mention of him. She loved the way his name rolled off her tongue.

“What I wouldn’t give to ride that fine stallion.”

Amelia nearly shot bourbon through her nose as she coughed wildly into the mug. Her head was burning, her nose itched something fierce, enough to make her consider cutting it off. Everyone seemed to have noticed her coughing fit as it seemed all eyes were on her. Her cheeks were flaming red with embarrassment. Thank God her father wasn’t in the room.

“Amelia.”

Shit. She handed the mug back to Cordelia who looked down at the back washed bourbon disgusted. She glanced over at her father who stood in a circle of all the visiting Alphas and Alpha’s sons, including Gabriel. She tried to ignore the burning of his eyes as they stared at her. No matter how he was looking at her, he had nothing on her father. If looks could kill.

My office. Now.

She hung her head as his orders rang in her ears. She stepped out of her circle of friends when she felt a hand wrap around her arm, pulling her back. She looked up to find Daniel. His soft baby blue eyes looked at her as he handed her a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Thank you, Danny.” She whispered to him, taking the handkerchief before leaving the main room of the house, down the halls, into her father’s office.

Her father’s office had always been on the main floor of the house. She had met some Alpha’s who preferred having their office’s on the top floors, near their rooms but her father always wanted to be accessible to his pack. Since it's normally forbidden for pack members to go up onto the Alpha floor, it never made sense to him.

She pushed the door open to his office, her nose instantly filled with old spice and peppermint. Her dad always had peppermint gum lying around, everywhere. Thankful for his weird quirk, she quickly pulled out a piece from his top drawer, hastily chewing it, hoping to remove the smell of alcohol on her breath.

Amelia wiped at her still running nose with the handkerchief. The burning sensation was almost gone now. She tucked the piece of cloth into a hidden pocket in her dress when she heard the office door open. She spun around to find her father standing in the doorway, glaring at her.

She hung her head in shame. She hated disappointing him, yet she couldn’t help herself most of the time. Damon was the good twin.

“Amelia, what is going on with you?” Stephan asked.

He stepped further into the room when she noticed Damon was just behind him. Her brother closed the office door.

She turned to follow her father as he sat behind his desk in his large leather chair. “Nothing’s wrong dad.”

“Are you drinking already?” Stephan asked, his nostrils flaring.

Shit.

You’re in trouble.

She glared at her brother before answering her father. “It was nothing dad.”

“Promise me you will not embarrass this family tonight. We have a lot of eyes on us today and I want all of us on our best behavior. Do you understand me?” he asked, throwing in a touch of Alpha voice for effect.

She bowed her head in respect. Even though Alpha commands never worked on her, she never let it show. Only her twin knew. “Yes father.”

Her father got up from his desk, circling around to stand in front of her. She felt his large, calloused fingers cup her chin, pulling her face up to look at him. “You look beautiful, my little rose.”

She smiled up at him. “Thanks daddy.”

She heard him sigh deeply as he moved his hand away. “Just try not to get drunk until after the ceremony,” he warned her, his eyes twinkling playfully.

Amelia grinned. He knew her well. “Promise.”

“And no picking fights. I don’t want to embarrass any of these high and mighty Alphas when my little girl could kick their asses,” he laughed over his shoulder as he went to leave the office.

“You just have to suck the fun right out of me!” she called after him, the door shutting behind him.

She couldn’t help but smile. Her father always had an easy way of making her smile, making her happy. Beside her twin, her father was her closest friend. She noticed he was still in the office, standing just beside her. She could tell he was itching to ask her something.

“Spit it out Damon. Dad will expect us back out there.”

“What’s going on with you?” he asked her, cutting her off before she could give him some non-answer, “and don’t tell me it’s nothing. Don’t forget, I know you better than anyone.”

She rubbed her forehead, a small headache beginning to form as the effects of the alcohol were already dissipating. “I met my mate.”

Damon’s jaw nearly broke hitting the floor. “Wait, what?! Like an actual mate? Like a real mate?”

“I think so,” she said softly, her heart sinking further into her stomach.

“But who?”

“Alpha Gabriel.”

“Christ, Amelia.”

She groaned, throwing herself down on the small loveseat, cradling her head in her hands.

“I know. It’s bad. What am I gonna do?” she felt like crying but swallowed it down, burying it deep. She refused to spill a single tear on a man she didn’t even know.

“There’s nothing to do right now. You have to put this mate thing aside. Right now, our priority is the Alpha ceremony. Afterwards we can deal with your problem,” Damon said, trying to prioritize.

“What if he claims me? I don’t want to be a Luna! I want to travel, see the world. I had plans,” she could feel her eyes betraying her, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Damon grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up to stand. He shook her softly so that her head rolled back to look up at him. “We will figure this out. I promise you. I won’t let you go anywhere if it isn’t what you want.”

“But the law clearly states that the male in a mate bond has complete control of his mate, willing or not,” she cried, sniffing her nose.

“Fuck the law. This is not the dark ages. No one will force you to do anything. I always have your back,” he promised her, pulling her in, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

Amelia instantly relaxed against her brother’s solid form, wrapping her arms around his waist. She quickly pulled away from him, pulling back out the handkerchief from her pocket, wiping away her tears and cleaning up her nose.

“We only have a few more hours until the ceremony and then we can let our wolves out for the pack run,” Damon reminded her.

Amelia shuddered in delight. Her wolf nodding her head excitedly. It had been a while since she let Rey out. She loved her wolf form. She never felt freer than as a wolf.

“Alright, let’s get back out there,” she said, tucking the hankie away.

She watched as her brother left the office. Taking in a deep breath, she made sure her face was dry before leaving the room. She walked down the hall, the sound of voices growing louder by the second as she got closer to the communal room, when suddenly she felt herself being dragged. Her arm was pulled harshly, pulling her into a room, the door clicking shut behind her.

The lights weren’t on, the sun was already setting outside, providing little light but she didn’t need to see to guess who it was. Her skin tingling, gooseflesh spreading up her arm and down her back, told her exactly who it was.