Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 13

The day of our alpha 'coming out' party, I woke with a knot in my stomach accompanied by a low-grade fever that seemed to be climbing. My stomach was so tight that I curled into a ball and whimpered into the pillow. It started as a small pit deep in my core but expanded as soon as I stretched out. The pain gripped me and held me firmly in place. I pulled the covers up to my chin and whimpered again.

"Hey there." Adrian emerged from the bathroom and hurried over to the bed. One knee on the edge, he bent down and kissed my forehead. "Are you ready to face a houseful of loyal werewolves?"

He's doing this for you. My wolf peeked her head out just long enough to remind me of the important things in life.

"Of course. You've been talking about it for days, so I feel that I know everything I need to know." I smiled up at him but didn't move. "How soon do we need to leave?"

"A couple of hours." He grinned and tweaked my nose. "You're going to be great."

I sighed as he wandered into the walk-in closet. If I was going to pull this off, I would need every ounce of will power to stay upright through the event.

#

Ada's house pulsed with music and conversation as we approached the front door. Adrian had teamed up with her to make our first alpha party one for the history books. In record time, they'd planned the event and sent the invitations. When they'd told me about their 'sunrise' theme, symbolizing a new day/era/alpha, I went along with it and enjoyed their enthusiasm. Ada offered to host and decorate, claiming she knew my taste better than Adrian. Of course, she was right, so he had to concede to her expertise. He handled food, drinks, music, and guest list.

Most of the guests had already arrived, so our arrival drew everyone's attention. Adrian was swarmed by alphas as soon as we entered the house, as they knew him from his years as beta. I slipped into the kitchen to avoid the main crowd. Even primped to the fullest with my fanciest dress, styled hair, and glittery makeup, the crippling pain in my gut ruined any chance of feeling 'glamorous'. Events like this usually perked my spirits, but not this time.

"Sierra?" Ada appeared in the kitchen doorway. "What on earth are you doing in here?"

I gripped her best friend in a hug, thankful for the chance to hold onto something. The pain wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Ada... Thank goodness you're here. I don't think I can do this alone."

"Do what? Sierra, what's wrong? You look so pale." Ada steered me over to a chair and eased me into it. "Talk to me."

I hunched over with my arms crossed over my stomach. "I woke up with this terrible stomach cramps. It gets worse when I'm upright. Sometimes, there's this intense wave of heat that roars through my body. I don't understand, Ada. What's wrong with me?"

Ada rubbed my back for a minute. "Is this the first time it's happened?"

I bent over until my forehead rested on my knees. "Yeah, it is."

"And you two haven't...?"

A new level of awareness of sent blood rushing to my face. With all the joy and excitement of simply being with Adrian and figuring out our joint alpha-ness, I forgot about the rest. Now that my first heat was upon me, I hissed under my breath. This was really going to be one hell of a night if I had to deal with the full extent of a first heat.

"Sierra, I'm sorry. This must be agonizing for you." Ada stroked my hair and glanced out at the main room. "Seriously, girl... What are you doing here? Nobody would have blamed you for staying at home."

I shook my head. "This means so much to Adrian. He's been talking about it for days, and it was important to him that we come out as joint alphas. I couldn't let him down by backing out due to some girl problems."

"Sierra, this is far more than a little stomach ache. My mom said her first heat made her scream and writhe in pain. I'm sure Adrian would understand." Ada sighed but didn't push. She'd become a much better friend since I turned alpha. Her loyalty ran much deeper than most knew. She was a girl beta, the best possible friend to help me through awkward stuff. For a girl who hadn't found her mate yet, she knew a heck of a lot about how things went down once you did.

For several hours, I moved from chair to chair making small talk with the lunas and nibbling on the delicious snacks. Adrian remained swarmed by people for most of the evening, but he glanced my way every now and then to flash a reassuring smile. I always smiled back, even though I wanted to scream.

When Ada ushered me into the front hallway, I kept one hand pressed tight against my stomach as another barely tolerable heat wave subsided. Everything had gotten worse in the last half hour.

"How are you doing, Sierra?"

I blinked back the tears and sucked in a deep breath. "I am so miserable, Ada. My stomach is knotted so tight that I can't stand up straight. This stupid heat..."

Ada nodded slowly. "I figured as much, which is why I'm sending you home. I am the hostess, so I have the right to dismiss my guests as needed. One of my guards will drive you, and I'll call one of yours to stay with you until Adrian comes home."

A few tears escaped my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. "Thank you, Ada. I really want to stay for Adrian, but... I just can't."

"Of course. I will take care of Adrian for you. You just go home and be comfortable." Ada wrapped my coat around my shoulders and pushed me towards to door.

Against all hopes, I glanced back into the house to see if Adrian was checking on me again. With all the people, I couldn't see him. It could be hours before he even noticed I was gone. Hopefully he wouldn't be too angry with me for leaving without him.

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What do you think? Will Adrian notice? Will she make it home? What's gonna happen next?!