Adjusting - 6. Chapter 5 - Barbecue

I knew that Alex was only trying to take my mind off of meeting the rest of the pack, but there was no need to work me to the bone. He told me that we were having a barbecue tonight, so there was a lot of work to be done.

We had prepared two giant regular salads along with potato and pasta salad. I put together a big veggies-and-dip platter while Alex made fruit salad.

After that, we poured many bags of ice into two large metal bins. Once they were full of ice, we stocked one with alcoholic drinks and the other with non-alcoholic drinks.

By now, I was sweating from the hard work and from continually going outside into the hot sun. Alex and I were resting on one of many picnic tables set up outside, taking a short break to rest and drink some lemonade. Suddenly, we could hear howls alerting us that the hunting party was returning.

I began to tremble. Fear was running rampant through my system and my mind was coming up with crazy "what if" scenarios.

Alex put his arm around my shoulders and began to rub his hand up and down my left arm. "Adrian, you need to calm down," he said gently.

"But what if they don't like me?" I asked worriedly. "After all, no one likes rogues. I'll be kicked out of the pack before I even join!"

"That's not true at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, no one will hate you. The Alpha likes you, so everyone else will like you. Besides, not everyone hates rogues."

'Really?"

"Really. After all, if I hated them, would I have saved you?"

I smiled at him before replying, "I guess not."

He smiled back at me and gave me a quick hug before letting go and pulling me to my feet as he stood up.

"Come on now," he said. "Let's get ready to introduce you to the pack."

I gulped loudly before nodding at him and following him as he walked towards the forest. All of a sudden he stopped, pulling me to a stop beside him. We stood there for a moment, silence between us, until a large group of wolves came out of the forest. There were probably about twenty wolves in all. Fifteen of them were walking in front, while the other five dragged the day's kill behind them.

I heard noise coming from behind us, so I quickly turned around to face what might be sneaking up behind me. It turned out to be the rest of the pack that hadn't gone hunting.

There turned out to be around forty pack members in all. My nerves were coming back in full swing when I felt pressure surround my hand. I looked down and saw Alex's hand holding my own. He suddenly gave it a quick squeeze and I looked up to see a small, comforting smile on his face. I took a deep, calming breath and gave him a small smile in return.

I looked up to see the wolves in front of us had changed back into their human forms. They were all staring at me; some curiously, some rudely.

It seemed like hours had passed when Alex finally spoke.

"This is Adrian. He is joining our pack."

After a moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward with a frown on his face. "Are you a rogue?"

"No," Alex answered for me. "I just told you, he's a pack member now."

"Are you a rogue?" the man asked again, ignoring Alex.

My fear grew and I answered, "Yes."

The crowd broke into an outrage. Several people were yelling, and a few looked like they were going to attack me.

"Enough!"

Everyone turned towards the powerful shout from Alpha John. Some, including myself, whimpered at the power exuding from him at that moment.

"Yes, Adrian was a rogue."

He started walking towards me, parting the crowd like Moses did with the Red Sea.

"But he isn't, now."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, showing all who he would protect were a fight to break out.

"He is joining our pack. That is final." The Alpha shot a pointed look at the man who had spoken earlier against me. He ducked his head down, showing Alpha John that he understood.

The Alpha looked into each person’s eyes, seemingly judging whether or not they still planned on attacking. When he was down, he nodded to himself and dropped his hand from my shoulder.

"Now," he said with a smile, "let's eat!"

*

"Please, no more introductions!" I cried out, my head falling down onto the picnic table.

Alex laughed at my theatrics. He sat down beside me and rubbed his hand up and down my back in a soothing manner. I let out a sigh and relaxed into his touch.

"Don't worry, you've already met everyone. I just came over here to tell you that the food's ready."

I picked my head up off the table and looked him in the eyes. "Did everyone else already get some?'

He frowned slightly. "No."

"Then I'll wait."

He looked at me with confusion until understanding and irritation lit up his eyes.

"You are not an omega. You are the same as everyone else in this pack and are going to wait in line like everyone else."

I shrunk back from the power in his voice and nodded meekly. He gave me a soft smile before climbing out from the picnic table. He held out a hand to me and I blushed slightly before accepting it and letting him pull me up.

He ended up pulling a little too hard and I crashed into his chest. His arms wrapped around me, keeping me from stumbling and eating dirt. I blushed heavily into his chest and tried to push away.

Alex pulled away from me with a small smile on his face before taking a step back and taking my hand in his. He led me over to the buffet table, where there was a steadily growing line. I heard whispers all around me and hung my head, trying to hide from judging stares.

"Ok, that is the last straw!"

Alex and I went our heads around to face the objection. Standing there was the same older man from earlier. I was starting to think that he hated me.

"What do you want, Rick?" Alex spat out.

Rick glared at Alex before turning his gaze to me, disgust quickly covering his features.

"First we have to accept this mongrel into our pack, and now he is treated like us? I don't think so. He came from the bottom as a rogue; he should be treated as such."

Alex growled loudly at the man. Everyone in the vicinity cringed and backed away, including me. I ducked my head, shame flooding through me. I knew I should have waited... I started to move to the back of the line when Alex grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into his side. I struggled against his hold, but he completely ignored me as he stared down Rick.

Rick seemed to be growing nervous. His skin was stretched tight over the fat covering his muscles and was growing red. He was starting to sweat, the salty liquid showing through the little brown hair he had left on his head. Although he had stretched to his full height-which wasn't very impressive-his beady black eyes were betraying his worry.

Alex was the complete opposite of Rick in that moment. He was standing tall and strong, looking down at the middle-aged man in front of him. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his green eyes were cold and calculating, not betraying any of his emotions. He was definitely inflicting fear in not only me and Rick, but all of the pack members around us. At that point, I couldn't help but wonder why it was that Brian was next in line to be Alpha and not Alex.

"Here's the deal," Alex finally said, his voice coming out as a deep growl that made everyone shrink back even more. "You are going to go and take a run until I have calmed down enough that the next words out of your mouth won't be your last. Then, when you come back, you will apologize to Adrian."

Rick nodded frantically and was about to run and shift when Alex started to stalk towards him, his eyes filled with green flames.

"Lastly, if I ever hear you insult Adrian again," Alex was saying as he grabbed Rick's shirt and lifted him up slightly, "you won't see him ever again to be able to. Got it?"

His last words were louder and were a deep, rumbling roar. Rick nodded quickly again, scratching desperately at Alex's hand on his chest, frantically trying to get Alex to let go of him.

Suddenly, Alex let go, allowing Rick to drop down into the dirt. Rick shot up, turned tail and sprinted towards the forest. When he was halfway there, he shifted mid-sprint and ended up shredding his clothes in the process. The large brown wolf bounded into the forest until no one could see it any longer.

All was silent as Alex took a few deep breaths, calming himself down slowly. Finally, once he was calm, he met the eyes of each and every pack member, seemingly searching them for harmful intents.

"That goes for all of you. Understand?"

Everyone hastily nodded or made noises of consent. Alex seemed content with this and went to get some food. I stood there shocked for a moment longer. Not long after, everyone else joined us.

One thing bugged me for the rest of the evening. The thought gnawed on my mind like an irritating mosquito or tick; throughout dinner, throughout helping with clean-up, and throughout being showed my room, the thought ran circles in my brain.

Why did Alex react so harshly?

I snuggled down into my guest bed, not able to think of anything more than the fact that I was lying in an actual bed for the first time since I was seven. It felt more than amazing, and all I could do was savor the feeling for a moment before I passed out, exhausted from the eventful day.