Page 54 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
We hug and chat for a while. A glance at my phone lets me know that it’s still only six in the morning. I’m not usually an early riser, but I make an exception on Christmas Day. When it’s finally late enough, we call my parents, and lying next to each other on the bed, we chat with them for the better part of an hour. I’m glad Katie is here so I don’t have to field too many anxious questions from my parents. I know if it were just me and them, they’d stare at me with concerned faces, wondering if today is the day I let them know what’s going on. This way we can all pretend like everything is normal and there isn’t this big announcement hanging over all our heads.
Next up is Katie’s mom, who’s rushing out to see Katie’s grandparents so can’t chat long, but has enough time to tell us this hilarious story about Katie’s aunt who had a little too much eggnog at their family Christmas party. It’s so nice lying here, for a moment I almost forget that we’re high up in the mountains, in a strange and unfamiliar pack, and that our mates are here with us, but no one is getting along.
“Yikes, we should probably get ready soon,” Katie says, after saying goodbye to her mom for the nineteenth time.
“Wait, why? What’s happening?”
“Mason told me after you left last night: there’s this Rocky Pack tradition where they go up to Wolf Point and leave offerings for the Moon Gods.”
“Of course there’s another tradition,” I say, rolling my eyes.
Katie tilts her head and holds my arm with both of her hands.
“It’ll be nice to get some air, and don’t you want to see Wolf Point?”
“We’re going there in like two days.”
“Come on, it’ll be like when I come over to your place the day after Christmas and we go hiking, only with more people.”
“People I don’t want to see.”
“Mason is going,” she says. “Come on it’ll be fun.”
I don’t really want to spend all of Christmas locked up in my room, or sitting in an empty chalet, so reluctantly I agree.
“Fine, let me just grab a hoodie and we can head down for breakfast.”
I go to my cupboard and pull out my hoodie.
“What’s that?” Katie asks, pointing to the wrapped gift on the floor next to my shoes.
“Oh, it’s a present…for…”
“Jasper?”
“Yeah, it’s dumb. I probably won’t even give it to him.”
“Maybe you should bring it on the walk?” she says, her voice lilting suggestively.
“Maybe you shouldn’t push your luck.”
“It’s cold!” I say, shouting to be heard over the roar of the wind.
“There’s supposed to be a snowstorm coming tonight,” Mason yells back.
We’ve been hiking for close to two hours, up through the mountains, along winding stony paths, with little shelter from the gale.
“Are you sure it hasn’t come early?”
“Morven will turn us around if it isn’t safe.”
I stare daggers at Katie for making me come on this walk, and she smiles exaggeratedly, trying to be encouraging.
Up ahead, Jasper is walking beside Mia, where he’s spent the entire trek. Clayton was with them, too, early on, until he was distracted by Halle and her friends and left Jasper to be a creepy slimeball.
Todd and Simon are here, too—both of them looking back occasionally to glance at Katie and huffing when she refuses to join them.
“I get that they might need some time to adjust,” Katie says. “But I told them I’m not changing my mind.”
