His face looked like stone, but I knew the emotions rolling just beneath the surface.
Still, if he couldn't even follow this instruction, this whole thing would be for nothing.
He stepped forward stiffly, and I was pretty sure I heard Nana exhale. He stopped when he was just barely within arm's reach of Alpha Walker and tilted his head ever so slightly. I guessed that could be called a bow.
"While this emblem is worn, you will be at peace with our people." Alpha Walker lifted the circular medal affixed at the end of a bright white ribbon. He dropped it over Branson's head. The medal bounced off of Branson's chest, and I wondered if it burned like holy water would a vampire. "Omega to Branson Walker," Alpha Walker said, and Riley stepped forward.
One by one, our line moved forward to make a new line, each of us sporting a new necklace. The medals contained the symbol of the shifter, a lone wolf howling at a full moon. I didn't mind the picture but hated needing to wear it.
Still, when Alpha Walker dropped Kansas's necklace around his neck, I felt a surge of relief. I couldn't be around him twenty-four seven, and at least now I knew that as long as he wore that symbol, no one from the pack, including the representatives, would be able to touch him without facing punishment.
When we'd all been leashed, Alpha Walker addressed the crowd again. "Join me in welcoming our observing members."
The crowd clapped politely, the loudest applause coming from Nana, my mom, and Paul. They approached when it was clear that the seven of us weren't moving.
"You've done the hard thing," Nana whispered. "For a good cause."
I hoped she was right; nothing about what had happened had felt good.
"How are you feeling, Kansas?" she asked.
"Good, thank you, Nana. Just swollen and hungry, but also sick to my stomach. So normal. Mr. Boots wanted to come when I told him you'd be here, but I told him there would be too many dogs around." Kansas laughed, making me think there was a joke tucked in what he'd said, though I couldn't always be sure with him.
"Did you come today to ask to return, Julie?" My father's question boomed louder than anyone else.
My mother dropped her chin, her hair swinging forward to hide her face. She clasped her hands in front of her, falling back on habit and instinct when my father spoke to her.
But that wasn't respect that made her subservient. It was fear.
"This isn't the time or place, John," she replied.
That seemed like a very reasonable response, one that only made my father angrier. "It is always the time to try to make your mate see reason."
I rolled my eyes, meeting Nash's gaze after. A vein ticked in his jaw, telling me he was as angry as I was at the exchange.
"You should know, then," my mother replied. "I've petitioned the council for an annulment. You aren't an alpha, and I'm not your omega. I can still do that." Her hands might have been shaking, but her voice was like steel. "Whether this process is simple and quiet or drawn out and messy is up to you, John. I won't change my mind."
She lifted her face, meeting my father's head on. The show of power, no matter how small or fragile it was, made him growl. He stomped forward, raising his hand and finding a wall of Walker men between himself and his target.
"Enough," Alpha Walker growled.
My father ducked his head between his shoulders and scampered back to my grandfather. He couldn't hit us, not after what had just happened. Still, it looked like Alpha Walker had sent him packing. Or maybe he left of his own accord, but the end result was the same: one less John Walker in my immediate vicinity.
"Enough of this," Nana said suddenly. "This is a moment for celebrating. Who brought the music?" While she tried to get the party started, I held Kansas's hand. He was nervous, and that ceremony had been a lot of standing, especially considering how swollen his feet had been when we'd started. Nana had already managed to procure a few picnic tables, and I brought Kansas to the closest one, sitting him down on the bench so he faced out.
"That's your old house?" he asked, looking at the mess that was the Alpha's mansion.
"No, but we spent a lot of time there. We lived on the shore. You know the houses you can see from the back patio at home? We lived in the one on the end."
Someone must have found a radio because music began to play.
Already, Nana's determination was paying off. People began to chat, some of them laughing. Most of the outside representatives stood in a group, staring at the rest of us. Jeb broke free, and I tensed until I saw he wasn't coming for Kansas.
"Should we show 'em how to start a party, Texas-style?" he asked Paul, holding his hands out. The question sounded friendly enough, but I didn't like the possessive edge. Maybe Paul had been in his pack once before, but he was here now.
Paul frowned. "We don't have enough shotguns," he said without inflection.
Jeb grunted and grabbed Paul's hand instead of waiting for him to accept it.
The loud snarl that followed didn't come from Paul but Tyrone. "He didn't say yes," he growled, sizing the other shifter up.
This was another reason why packs didn't normally ask around for help. It always resulted in an influx of domineering personalities who didn't play well together.
"He's my brother's bitch. The yes is implied," Jeb shot back.
The four of us rose as one to go to Tyrone's aid. We'd had our beef with the guy, but when it came to him or Jeb, I'd choose Tyrone every time.
"It's fine!" Paul shouted, forcing himself between us. "I'll dance, fuck! It isn't that big of a deal." He grabbed Jeb's arm and pulled him toward where a few others were dancing.
"That's exactly the type of guy I would've hunted for in the past," Kansas said when they'd walked away. "Why did he call Paul that? Does it mean the same thing for you guys?"
"About the same," Branson replied. "It's more of a catch-all, derogatory term for shifters, not gender-specific, just power-specific."
"But if Jeb isn't an alpha and Paul isn't an alpha, how do they have a difference in power?" Kansas asked.
"Strength, challenges, intent." Branson listed the varied criteria that most shifters used to establish a member's worth.
Paul and Jeb swayed with enough room between them another couple could've danced through without noticing. Still, Tyrone watched with a tight gaze. "He used to be involved with his brother," Tyrone said, and I couldn't be sure who he was talking to—I assumed Kansas. "Before Paul made his way here. But Jeb's brother was as great of a person as you can see Jeb is, and when he died, it was a blessing for Paul. He left and never looked back. Until now…" He was dancing dangerously close to slandering his Alpha, and I assumed that was why Tyrone's mouth closed suddenly. "It isn't right."
Paul yelped, and we could all see why: Jeb had yanked him closer, fed up with the distance Paul had kept between them. Tyrone launched from where he was standing so quickly his muscles had to have been coiled and ready for the attack already. He slammed into Jeb, pushing the other shifter away from Paul and to the ground.
"Enough!" Alpha Walker commanded.