Chapter 2 - Grayson

It was morning again, and I could still feel the sting of Kenzie's verbal whip across my skin. Every second in that room with her had been torture, and I knew that I was an asshole for even thinking that. She was the one with the actual rejection to deal with.

Fucking fuckity fuck.

I groaned, rolling over onto my back and scrubbing my hands over my face. Today was supposed to be some "mating" ceremony to ensure that Kenzie and I were together, and we both knew we had to go through with it if we wanted this whole fake-mates thing to work.

Which, you know, would be a lot easier if she weren't your actual mate.

My skin was itchy, and the tension that crowded my muscles refused to back off. Aside from being either asleep or drunk or in the rare fight that cropped up, I was never relaxed lately. The stress was constant, and the nagging part of me had to wonder if I really was cut out to be Alpha.

I'd seen Jet lead and protect his pack my entire life, and the job looked like stress served up on a silver platter.

But apparently, I was a glutton for punishment because I still wanted it.

Standing up and stretching, I decided to take a shower. I needed to get my suit for the ceremony from Kaiden. He'd told me to swing by a little later in the afternoon when Jet and the other Alphas had all gotten settled at his compound since he was the closest to the Williams.

Looking over toward the clock on my nightstand, I realized that it was already ten. I needed to get a move on if I didn't want to be late to my own mating ceremony. Kaiden's was an hour's drive away, and we needed to drive another thirty minutes from there to the Williams compound.

As I pulled off my boxers and started the shower, though, part of me thought very strongly about straight up missing this ceremony.

***

Rapping my knuckles on Kaiden's door, I waited for him to answer. Lupe had been kind enough to let me in, and the house was a damn circus with so many wolves stuffed between the walls, including several antsy Alphas.

Brooks passed me as he headed down the hall, and I was met with a firm clap on the shoulder.

"Hey there, asshole."

Smiling, I rolled my eyes at him and pulled him in for a quick hug. "And hello to you, too."

Shaking his head, Brooks leveled me with a stare and gestured at me with a quick jab of his chin.

"There must be something in the water over here, man. First Jet, then Kaiden, and now you. What is the deal with all of you up and finding your mates?"

I struggled through a fake laugh. "I don't know, dude. Personally, I'm more impressed that all of us are finally living up to your grand status as Alpha."

Brooks scoffed, pulling on his suit lapel with not a small amount of flair.

"Think again, Gray. Y'all will never live up to my high standards. Especially not now that your balls have been permanently grounded. And here I had just gotten used to seeing your sorry ass alongside me during a night out."

I loved the guy to death, but damn, he was such a slut. Even if I had been actually sleeping with all those women he shoved at me, I still wouldn't have been able to keep up.

"Oh, just wait, dickwad. Someday you'll find a woman who goes through you just as quick, and your sorry ass will be all bent out of shape about it."

He put on a mock shocked expression, putting a hand to his chest.

"Well, I never." But then, with a shrug, Brooks shook it off. "I assure you, Gray. If I find a wolf who can keep me on the rope like that, I'll have no problem turning in the old hotel key."

The door creaked behind me, and I turned around to see Kaiden standing at the door.

"Hey, Brooks." He ran his eyes up and down the guy. "Nice to see you wearing the full ensemble this time."

"Only because you asked so nice, Kaiden." Brooks patted me on the shoulder and angled toward the hall. "But yours truly has also been tasked with helping to park the cars, so peace out, bitches. I'll see you down there."

I shook my head, Kaiden mirroring my expression, and we watched Brooks walk off down the hall to the main entrance.

"Idiot," Kaiden offered and then refocused on me. "Okay, let's get you suited up."

Turning with a nod, a door on the opposite side of the hall clicked open, and when I looked over, I was immediately greeted by a flailing Kit, who shoved her hands in my face.

"What are you doing here?! Go away! You can't see her!"

Kaiden was chuckling behind me when I just picked out the scent of the ocean and old paper—deeply charred as it always was now—wafting out of the room across from me.

"Don't worry about it, Kit. Grayson and I don't believe in that superstitious nonsense."

Kit sagged, and I looked down at her with a renewed knot in my stomach. Her brows were down over her eyes, and as Kit looked over at Kenzie, she dropped her arms.

"Oh, well, okay then." Turning back toward me, Kit looked over my shoulder at Kaiden. "Would you get him ready quickly, babe? We need to leave soon."

He smiled. "It's a suit, hon. It's not like we have to lace up his corset. We'll be down in like ten minutes."

She rolled her eyes and then joined Kenzie across the hall. With a moment to finally take her in, I was a bit shocked by what I saw.

While the disdain in Kenzie's eyes was par for the course at this point, I'd never seen her so done up before.

Wolves didn't adhere to the same human traditions, which Kit had thoroughly explained when she was mating Kaiden. Still, it looked like a few things from that ceremony had carried over to this one. Mostly, the fact that Kenzie wore a long gown, and the healer, who was typically functional clothing unless she was going out, was covered in tiny beading.

The fabric of the dress was a deep emerald green color that looked gorgeous against Kenzie's alabaster skin and copper curls, with intricate beading all over the top down to her waist. Those red ringlets had been piled up on the top of her head, and the thin straps of the gown left her shoulders and chest exposed, her skin glowing in the light.

"MacKenzie, you look—"

"Yes, well, we don't want to be late. Come on, Kit."

As she spun around, the flowing skirt of Kenzie's dress swirled, the long slit up her leg revealing a bit of her thigh. The back of the gown laced up, and more delicate skin was revealed through the crisscrossing laces, which tied in a bow right at the small of her back.

And then she was gone, leaving me standing in the hallway like a jackass.

"Stunning."

After a beat, I turned around and started pushing past Kaiden into his room. He let out a low "umm," closing the door behind him once I was inside.

"Did I miss something?"

I shook my head, reaching for the suit where it hung in a garment back over the back of a chair.

"No."

***

When I arrived at the ceremony hall in the Williams compound, I was sure to avoid seeing MacKenzie any more than I had to. When anyone asked, I blamed it on that stupid human tradition Kit told me about, and after that, most people left me alone.

Now, I stood on a raised platform at the far end of the room. It was similar to Jet's meeting chambers but much larger. The Williams compound was large in general, and I wondered absently what it might be like to live here and lead its pack.

The room was filled with wolves from every pack. Betas, Alphas, friends, and family all gathered around me on what was supposed to be a "day of bliss."

Yeah, about that.

Kaiden and Brooks stood with me on the platform, acting as my witnesses to the rite. Across from me were Senna and Kit, who would be standing with Kenzie as hers. The council of Alphas had all come as well, and the only person who looked less comfortable to be here than me was Cade. He nodded at me as I met eyes with him, and I offered him a quick, wide-eyed nod back, silently agreeing with him that I wanted to get this over with already.

The boom of the door opening at the other end of the room signaled that I'd got my wish, and I waited for Kenzie to enter and join me on the platform.

You have to do this. It's the only way, Grayson. And you will be a good Alpha. Jet and Kaiden believe in you .

But nausea claimed me as the nervous energy swelled. Kenzie still looked so damn gorgeous, and she maintained a soft smile until she stopped and waited for me to step down and welcome her up.

When I reached out my arm, she took it, but her body was rigid, and her jaw was locked tightly in place.

"I was going to say you look nice, by the way," I whispered.

She didn't look at me; she just followed the few steps back up to the platform.

"Funny, I was going to say that you look like a waiter."

I swallowed that down like a knife, clamming up because it was clear Kenzie didn't want to talk to me. Again, not that I blamed her. With everything I'd done and was now asking of her, I could never blame Kenzie for hating me.

I hated myself.

"Thank you for coming," Aspen called out, and the room echoed his words. "Today, we join these two in the eternal bonds of matehood. This is the first step into the future together, and one that could see Grayson on his path to becoming Alpha."

He looked down at me from his position one step higher. "Grayson, if you will, please present your arm."

Nodding, I turned to face Kenzie, releasing her arm so that I could roll up my sleeve and give Aspen my right wrist.

"Thank you." Aspen nodded.

As he turned to the small altar next to him, I stood with my arm outstretched, looking forward at Kenzie. She didn't meet my eyes, keeping her attention focused on Aspen.

I knew it was stupid; I knew it was because of that lingering bond that had been revived when she'd been declared my mate in front of everyone, but I didn't want to look away from her. Kenzie looked breathtaking. She was always breathtaking, and I was the damn fool that had let everything get to this point.

Grayson, come on. Don't.

I wasn't sure if I was talking to just myself or the wolf beneath my skin that stalked back and forth, desperate to go to Kenzie. He cried out for her in my blood, and that pain I'd been ignoring, the one that had nearly faded to nothing, was stoked all over again.

"Grayson Edwards, Beta to the Edwards Pack, you are here to present yourself in front of those gathered as the mated partner of MacKenzie Edwards. Do you accept?"

"Yes."

As soon as the word left my mouth, Aspen drew his ceremonial blade through my wrist, slicing just deep enough to cause blood to well to the surface.

Aspen turned to Kenzie. "MacKenzie, please present your arm."

She did as instructed, staring up at the officiant without moving a muscle afterward.

"MacKenzie Edwards of the Edwards Pack, you are here to present yourself in front of those gathered as the mated partner of Grayson Edwards. Do you accept?"

For the first time since arriving here, Kenzie looked over at me. When her eyes met mine, I saw the glimmer of tears coating her vibrant blue eyes, and my chest ached. We were putting on this show for everyone, but the only true way to claim Kenzie as my mate was with the bite.

And we wouldn't be doing that.

"Yes."

Aspen sliced the blade through Kenzie's wrist, a shallow cut that was just enough to bleed.

"I join these two now in a symbol of their everlasting union." He took my arm, lifting it over Kenzie's as he pulled hers beneath mine. "Let what is brought together today no force asunder."

Our wrists were pressed together, our blood touching, and then Aspen wrapped a long white cloth around us to bind us together. It was about as symbolic as you could get, and that pinprick pain at the center of my chest itched, threatening to drive me mad.

Mine. Mate. Mine.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight against the wolf as he howled inside me. He was desperate to shift forward and leap onto Kenzie, biting her slender neck and allowing her to do the same.

He wanted to perform the mating bite so fucking badly that I thought I was going to be sick for resisting him.

"I present to all those gathered, Grayson and MacKenzie. Mated as one!"

Aspen called out as he hoisted our bound arms into the air, and the entire room cheered. I couldn't look away from Kenzie's steely expression, though, and when the room finally settled, and she was untied from me, it wasn't just my wrist that was sore.