The Brotherhood

33

The night had come for Kane to officially become the Alpha Supreme. The very thought threatened to make his stomach cave in. He took a deep breath as he waited in the foyer right outside the Great Hall. He clenched his hands into fists and opened his palms again a few times, trying to relieve the tension that had taken up residence in his chest. He was waiting for the rest of his pack to arrive since they would have to escort him into the Great Hall. Leading the new Alpha Supreme into his inauguration was meant to show the strength of the pack and to give them honor. Which the pack would receive if they ever bothered to show up. 

Kane started to pace back and forth while Raynar watched him. Kane could feel Ray's eyes on him as he started to wear a path in the carpet that extended from the Great Hall out into the foyer. Kane knew that some villagers had brought in the carpet to liven up the Great Hall. If Kane had his way, there would be no decorations up. He liked the Great Hall the way it was, cold and dark. 

"They'll be here," Ray reassured him. Kane wanted to laugh. Of course they wouldn't be here. Had Ray met their pack? 

Kane glared at Ray before saying, "Why do I not believe you?" 

Ray shrugged, "Probably because you've been a nervous wreck for the past month while everyone's been preparing for your big night." 

Kane shook his head and resumed his pacing. He was well aware that he'd been a nervous wreck. Nothing seemed to calm him down. He couldn't get to sleep at night and woke up long before dawn came. Several of his brothers had tried to calm him down and get him to relax. None of them had succeeded. Ray had come the closest, but still hadn't managed to keep Kane calm for more than an hour. There was only one person from the pack who hadn't tried their hand at keeping Kane's anxiety down. There was one person who made Kane's heart pound harder than it was right now. 

Kane looked up when he heard footsteps echoing against the stone. He saw Sloan, Warren, and Miles coming around a corner. A sigh of relief slipped from his mouth. Sloan gave Kane a shit-eating grin that Kane knew meant trouble was soon to follow. Ray gave Sloan a warning look that Sloan ignored. Kane braced himself. 

"You clean up nice, Supreme," Sloan said with a smirk, "Too bad all the ladies will be too busy fawning over me to notice you." 

Kane rolled his eyes at Sloan before turning to Warren, "Where are Xander and Finley?" 

"We're right here," a voice said from the top of the stairs that led into the foyer. 

Kane looked up and his breath got caught in his throat. Walking down the stairs was Xander with Finley on his arm. Finley wore a dress that Kane knew had to have been crafted by Natalie. There was no one else who could make such a masterpiece. The dress was midnight black, the way that everyone else's attire was. The only difference was no one else's attire made Kane's heart feel like it was lodged in his throat. 

Once Finley and Xander reached the foot of the stairs, Kane got a better look at the dress. Kane wasn't sure if that was a good thing. The dress clung to Finley's body like a second skin. It curved over both of Finley's breasts with no straps holding it up. The dress curved downward, sloping effortlessly down to Finley's waist. From there, the skirt flowed down like water. It was round and there were certainly underskirts, but from the way that Finley moved in it, it must have been comfortable. There was kohl painted on her eyelids as well in a way that made it hard to look away from her brilliant green eyes. She looked enchanting in a way that went well beyond distracting. Kane felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. 

Sloan let out a low whistle. Finley turned toward him and pursed her lips disapprovingly. Xander looked at Kane and slowly let go of Finley's arm. A bit of the tightness in Kane's chest left. Xander gave Kane a subtle nod that Kane prayed Finley hadn't noticed.