Heat

VIII.

Graduation for high school came and went. My parents and grandparents showed up, we took pictures and went to a nice dinner. The usual that happens after graduation, nothing fancy. However the Alpha ceremony was today. This was where my mind was most occupied.

Ethan and I had worked hard together virtually everyday except weekends to get me "tamed". For the most part I would consider myself tamed, I could control when I shift and avoided having anymore black outs. There was a couple times during training I would wake up in the forest pinned by Ethan in the middle of the night waiting for me to shift back. We got comfortable with being around each other that walking me home butt naked didn't bother us anymore. He became a very close friend of mine. If I didn't know about the mate thing I would've fallen head over heels for him but he's taken. I would always wonder when I might find mine, maybe when I move I would find one. I decided not to tell Ethan just yet, I was enjoying our time together and I didn't want to create a rift in our friendship.

The Alpha ceremony was tonight and my ceremony into the pack would be tomorrow. Emily and I had gotten closer and Hailey had shuffled out of what was once their group because of me. I didn't mean to push her out but that was just how it was, she didn't want to be around the rogue as much as she wanted to be around Ethan and his friends. Emily told me to pay not to feel bad for Hailey's own decisions. It still wasn't right for me to replace her but given the situation it was just how it is.

Emily was set on driving me over to the ceremony and getting ready with me. We had all day to get ready as the ceremony begins with the moon rises over the trees. Instead of finding an excuse to buy two dresses, I wore my graduation dress to look nice which was a simple black dress that flared out slight for the skirt. It wasn't overall fancy but I could dress it up ir dress it down. I chose to dress it down with a pair of sneakers which Emily eyed me for.

"You really want to wear those?" she asks giving attitude. She cocks her hip while looking me up and down.

"Is it that formal?" I ask now feeling a bit insecure for wearing something simple. I wasn't insecure with how I looked it was mostly how I misread the formality of the event.

"More formal the sneakers girl, c'mon let's find you some shoes" she said walking into my closet. I sat on the bed with a huff already thinking about the shoes she is going to pick. I had an idea she would be replicating my graduation outfit with the sole pair of strapy heels.

"Really?" She comes out holding the pair of heels off her finger.

"What" I ask confused, they were a good choice, they also were the only choice.

"One pair of heels? Girl you have zero style" she scoffs playfully before heading back into the closet.

"I just don't wear heels" I call out to her.

"Unbelievable, that just means I need to do your makeup to make you dazzling" she days tossing me both heels. I laugh it off and put the heels on.

Emily and I were on our way to the ceremony now. She had done my makeup with a smokey eye and red lips, a classic look to fit a plain outfit choice. My hair was straightened and pulled off to one side while Emily defused her curls to make them into perfect coils and a brown based smokey eye and red lips to match me. She decided to wear a simple outfit as well to be coordinated, her dress was a skin tight black dress with sleeves and similar black heels. The ceremony was held on the front porch of the pack house with the pack watching in the open field. This would be my first time really seeing how big the pack was but my concern was my smell. I learned the pack could tell a rogue versus a member by the smell, rogues had a strong mud odor. Regardless of if I had just lathered myself in a mud bath I still smelled that way to them. Ethan had said he let the pack know that an outsider would be joining the ceremony and they would be in no danger. I was still tense, lots of people, they know about me and I make them on edge.