MY NEW MOON

CHAPTER TWO

TAY TAWAN POV

''Tay, Tay,''  A woman come up to me. '' I thought I wouldn't see you here.'' I smile at Alice, an a good friends of mine. '' Why not?'' '' Because of last years, I thought we wouldn't see you here ever again.'' She wraps her arm around me. ''Are you looking forward to all pretty boys and girl?'' I shrug . ''You know I don't  believe in these events. Thought I could use some fun tonight.'' ''Whatever.'' She smile and leads me to the front of the hall. ''There are some people you might want to meet.'' I trail after, her long red dress nearly tripping me every time I take a step. In front of me are a group of men and women, all huddled around one phone. When I come closer I realise they're looking at a video. On the screen are, I assume,  the boys and girls that are our potential mates. I don't know who filming but they seem to have preference for the girl in the tight dresses. I grin. '' You don't think I'm interested in that, right?''  ''Of course not. But it doesn't hurt to see them without them seeing us.'' Alice pulls me closer to the phone. '' That way they won't crowd around you.'' 

Flashback to last year go throungh my mind. It wasn't that they were crowding me , more that people were crowdingher and I was just in they way. I shudder at the memory. That is why I hate big events, I'm too quiet for them, I stand out, just not in the right way. I step back some and try to blend into wall behind me, Alice now back to giggling and talking to her friends. Seeing all these people together, all alphas, all single, all looking for mate. It makes everyone look more normal, the baseline for being an alpha or not just jacked up a hundredfold. It's not even that height or size matter. Alice is like a delicate flower, she only reaches the shoulder of most men here, and in dress she wearing she look almost like a girly girl, But underneath that all, she trained martial arts fighter, she is shooting up the rankings in army and runs a very tight pack back at the base. She could probably take out most people here ease. But in a dress, at event with other who understand her, she is just a young woman.

  It's this early interaction between everyone that I like the best, at atmosphere is easier, more relaxed. We're all the same, all here for some thing, sort of. It's only when you add the other pack members and the humans into the mix that things start to tense up. Though, with enough alcohol it shouldn't be too bad. There are enough choices and there are strict rules in place on what is allowed behaviour. The rules are strict, but if you put more sixty or more alphas together in room with all-you-can-eat buffet of available bodies, you're gonna need them.

  A man and a woman open the doors at one side of the room. '' If you can all come over here, we'll annouce you name and then you can go down the strairs the main hall. We'll announce you two at time, one male one female. At the bottom of the stairs will be someone waiting for every one of you and you're expected to dance with them for a while.'' ''How long?'' Someone from behind me raises his voice. The man and woman look at each other. '' Let's say, about 5 or so couples that come down the stairs. That should leave the dance floor decently filled until the end of the announcement.'' They step aside. '' When we call your name, please come to the front.''

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  I try to keep my face under control, features pleasant as I step down the strairs. Alice hold my arm, her presence helping me not to freak out. She squeezes my arm for a moment, sensing my discomfort. It's by far not the first situation we've been together. We grew up in neighbouring packs, our family regularly in contact about everything and nothing. The crowd look up at us expectantly, waiting for us to reach the bottom of the stairs. We both take the hand of the dance-partner we've been assigned and start a slow waltz. They might send us down two by two, but we would not work together on the dance floor. We'd both try lead and that isn't helpfull at all. The girl in my arms quite a bit younger than me, maybe early twenties while I'm nearly reaching 30 but she's tall, which is good, because it stops me from looking like a giant. The girl smile at me. '' Are you looking forward to the rest of the night?'' ''Sure, just as soon as this part is over.'' I wink. She nods her head. '' I get you. But they want us to dance male-female for this dance, it's not like we can choose.'' ''True.'' ''Hey, can you introduce me to the woaman you come down the stairs with? if you know her well enough that is.'' A blush spreads on her cheek that the make-up can not hide. '' I will.'' I turn us in a different direction, '' How long do we have left?''  '' Two couple more.'' She lets out a bit of sigh.