Page 124 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
“Are you coming?”
“I…” My mouth flaps open but nothing comes out.
Jasper steps back into the elevator and the doors close, giving us another quick moment of privacy.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, holding me by my shoulders.
“I just—look, I’m not trying to rush you into anything. I know you won’t want to tell people and that’s fine—it’s fine, it really is. That’s hard and takes time and everyone’s journey is different. But I just don’t… I don’t know if I’m ready for this—for all of this.”
He laughs and grins and kisses my cheek. “What are you talking about?”
“I guess I’ve been chasing after this for so long, I sort of hadn’t figured out how it would feel when I actually had it, and now it’s here and I’m just… There’s so much I’m not sure about…”
He levels his eyes with mine. “Are you unsure about me?”
“I don’t know, maybe… People always say you have the world on your shoulders, and like, how could anyone not crumble under that much pressure and—”
He kisses me firmly and I know he’s just doing it to shut me up, but it works.
“What can I do to show you there’s nothing to worry about?”
But it’s the wrong question because there’s nothing he can do, not without me asking him to do something I know he isn’t ready for. So I twist about to free myself from his hands, which suddenly feel too warm. In fact, the whole elevator feels too hot and there’s not enough air and—oh Moon Gods, am I having a panic attack?
“Nothing, there’s nothing,” I say, pacing about as much as possible. “And I wouldn’t expect you to, but there’s just a lot I don’t understand, and what if we’re just making things hard for ourselves? And what if you realize it’s not worth it?”
“And what if we realize it’s worth more than we ever imagined?” he asks, and I can’t help but think he’s sort of enjoying seeing me freak out. “What then?”
“Well”—my heart rate slows and my breathing returns to normal—“that would be nice.”
Jasper is finally able to take my hands. “It’s going to be fine.”
“There’s just so much I haven’t got figured out, and who knows how this is even going to work and—”
“So let’s figure it out together,” he says, and just like that the doors of the elevator open again. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
This time Jasper doesn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he leads me from the elevator through the crowd. Some people turn to stare, but Jasper’s grip never wavers.
He pulls me across the dance floor, past his father’s officers and business partners, past the entire upper crust of werewolf society. He doesn’t let go as he leads me through the doors and out into the night air. With just over a minute until the ball drops, the patio is packed; everyone is outside to see in the New Year with a bang. More and more wolves are streaming outside to join the crowd overlooking Manhattan.
As we muscle through the masses, Jasper never letting go of me, I spot some familiar faces. Jericho and Morven are standing next to a potted plant, drinking from lowball glasses. Olivia and Mia are huddled in a corner. Katie is laughing at something Todd just said while Simon slaps him on the back. And Aisha, having already spotted us, is watching with a bemused expression.
Against the backdrop of Times Square, Tobias Volk is standing on the balloon-framed stage, holding a microphone.
“Ladies and Gentlewolves, there’s only one minute left until the stroke of midnight, so find that special wolf before the clock strikes twelve and get ready to see in the New Year with a kiss!”
Before I know what’s happening, Jasper is heading to the side of the stage and to my horror, up the stairs. Leading turns to pulling as he drags my ass onto the raised platform and in front of the ever-growing crowd of expectant wolves. I manage to tug my hand out of Jasper’s before too many people can see. What is he thinking? If this many people saw us holding hands, they’d have questions for sure. He must be confused or excited, or… Oh no…
I try to stop Jasper from going any farther but feel the heat of a spotlight on my face and swiftly retreat into the shadows. Politely as ever, Jasper clasps a hand on Tobias’s shoulder and whispers something in his ear. Despite a slightly confused stammer, Tobias graciously hands the microphone over to Jasper before exiting the stage.
“Excuse me, everyone! Can I get your attention?”
The DJ, or whoever, halts the music with an almighty record scratch, and every face on the patio turns to see what Jasper is up to.
“Thank you,” he says, shielding his eyes from the light for a moment. “I’m sorry—I know there’s less than a minute until the New Year, but that’s why I wanted to… Before we start a new year together as a strong, united pack…I have an announcement I’d like to make.”
Is this really happening? Please Moon Gods, say this isn’t happening!
“But first I want to say thank you to my dad, Alpha Jericho—yes, go ahead, give him some applause.”
