Heat

IX.

Today was the day that everything would change. I had opted for normal clothes this time, a simple top and jeans and a pair of sneakers. There were only a few people coming to watch the ceremony, Finn, Greg and Emily were the only outsiders of the ceremony, so there wasn't a need for such a formal event. That and my dress could use a break after being worn for two days straight. The elders and Ethan were the only ones that would commence the ceremony. The Beta and Gamma didn't have a role to participate, nor did the previous Alpha. Ethan said today he would be picking me up a bit early to prep with me. Originally Emily was the one going to take me to the ceremony but Ethan insisted and Alpha's orders are Alpha's orders. I rolled my eyes at the thought. I don't think I would ever really see Ethan use his authority on me, not that I could tell anyway. I hope he would think the same as I think of him, our close relationship is something I treasure and I don't see us parting. We would have distance between us when I left for college but that shouldn't affect our relationship. A message rang on my phone, most likely Ethan telling me he was outside or approaching. I quickly grabbed a sweater and hustled down the stairs to the front door. I saw Ethan's truck pull up so I sent him a smile and a wave as I locked the door. I jogged down the deck stairs and waited for his truck to completely stop. He leaned over to open the door for me while accidentally taking his foot off the peddle.

"Easy there Alpha, I know how to open a door on my own" I tease him opening the door fully and jumping in.

"I know but I can be nice and help you out" he shrugs and rolls his eyes.

"You have a good night last night? What time did you get done?" I ask curious how busy he was kept. He looked a little exhausted and it made me feel slightly guilty that he was doing the ceremony the next day after we just graduated high school and he became the Alpha, he hasn't had much down time to himself. He groans before respond but doesn't take his eyes off the road.

"I maybe had an hour nap before I came here to pick you up" he chuckled dryly. Probably not too happy right now.

"Are you sure you don't want to put off today for another day?" I ask a little glumly. While it would be nice to join the pack as soon as possible, I cared for Ethan and his well being and if it was pushing him too much then it would be better to leave it for another day. He reached over to touch my knee reassuringly.

"No. This is important to you" he said giving me a reassuring smile. I smiled back at him and touched my hand to the back of his to give him a squeeze. I released my hand so I didn't linger too long. He gave one last squeeze and retreated his hand back to the wheel.

"So did everyone in the pack greet you or what" I joke.

"No, no literally everyone I met again and was congratulated by" he laughed back at me but he was also completely serious.

"So there are that many people?" I tentatively asked a little shocked.

"We are one of the bigger packs" he shrugs off nonchalantly.

"Are there a lot of pack?" I hadn't asked about anything outside of our pack. What was it like? How did they all keep it a secret if there were lots of us.

"Not as many as you probably are thinking. We have our territory in the northwest which encompasses a couple states, then to our south is the south western pack. We have a lot of land where we don't occupy residents because we are more family based and close knit but lots of land to roam" he explained. It was interested how close the pack was with how much land they actually took up. The population of the town we lived in was probably the entirety of the pack with humans mixed in like my parents. That could explain why the school was keeping away from me.

"Do you know much about the other packs" I ask. If he knew about the others maybe it could lead to why I was a rogue in this land right? Hopefully I could find more answers. Additionally I was going south for college so it might be a good idea to see what the pack is like.