The Teacher's Mate

Part 17

They arrived at the pack house around seven. The whole place was lit up and there were people everywhere, much to Audrey's dismay. At least she just had to stick close to her dad and let him do all the talking.

James opened the truck door for his daughter. Unbeknownst to her, she would officially meet her mate tonight. He helped her down from the truck so that she wouldn't get any mud on her dress. I haven't done this since she was a little girl, he thought as he set her down, even then she had hated having to have someone help her. She was so tiny when she was little and at the age of five decided she was a big girl and could get into the truck all by herself, even if she had to jump and catch the handle to pull herself in. She was no longer tiny, she was tall for a girl and slender, very much like her mother. He led her into the main room of the pack house to greet the Alpha pair.

"Alpha, Luna," James greeted, "this is my daughter Audrey."

"Pleased to meet you, Audrey." Alpha Richards said with a kind smile.

"Likewise," Audrey replied politely.

"I'm Alpha Richard, this is my Luna and mate Evelyn." Alpha Richard introduced himself and his mate.

"If you ever need anything, feel free to come ask." Luna Evelyn said as a couple of the staff took their overnight bags from James and one of them handed him a key with a number engraved on it.

"We will," James replied as Audrey smiled in agreement. He steered her over to meet some other pack members. To Audrey's surprise it seemed as if half the town was here, almost every person here was new to the town but there were quite a number of them. Her dad told her on the way here that this was a small pack but with almost a hundred people she couldn't help feeling boxed in and anxious. Were they all looking at her?

Audrey knew she wouldn't remember most of the new names, but some of the ones she already knew were a surprise to find here. Who knew old man Carson was a lone wolf before this pack formed? It was a formality as the paperwork was already done, but all of the new members still needed to 'meet the pack'. All of the new members had to cross the stage in family groups to be formally introduced by the Alpha pair, and even though they weren't the first or last ones in line, Audrey's stomach dropped into her toes. It was only the reassuring presence of her father that got her to go across that stage. James had almost had to drag her across as her feet did not want to take her into the stares of almost a hundred people.