Page 6 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

As I pulled off my boxers and started the shower, though, part of me thought very strongly about straight up missing this ceremony.

***

Rapping my knuckles on Kaiden’s door, I waited for him to answer. Lupe had been kind enough to let me in, and the house was a damn circus with so many wolves stuffed between the walls, including several antsy Alphas.

Brooks passed me as he headed down the hall, and I was met with a firm clap on the shoulder.

“Hey there, asshole.”

Smiling, I rolled my eyes at him and pulled him in for a quick hug. “And hello to you, too.”

Shaking his head, Brooks leveled me with a stare and gestured at me with a quick jab of his chin.

“There must be something in the water over here, man. First Jet, then Kaiden, and now you. What is the deal with all of you up and finding your mates?”

I struggled through a fake laugh. “I don’t know, dude. Personally, I’m more impressed that all of us are finally living up to your grand status as Alpha.”

Brooks scoffed, pulling on his suit lapel with not a small amount of flair.

“Think again, Gray. Y’all will never live up to my high standards. Especially not now that your balls have been permanently grounded. And here I had just gotten used to seeing your sorry ass alongside me during a night out.”

I loved the guy to death, but damn, he was such a slut. Even if I had been actually sleeping with all those women he shoved at me, I still wouldn’t have been able to keep up.

“Oh, just wait, dickwad. Someday you’ll find a woman who goes through you just as quick, and your sorry ass will be all bent out of shape about it.”

He put on a mock shocked expression, putting a hand to his chest.

“Well, I never.” But then, with a shrug, Brooks shook it off. “I assure you, Gray. If I find a wolf who can keep me on the rope like that, I’ll have no problem turning in the old hotel key.”

The door creaked behind me, and I turned around to see Kaiden standing at the door.

“Hey, Brooks.” He ran his eyes up and down the guy. “Nice to see you wearing thefullensemble this time.”

“Only because you asked so nice, Kaiden.” Brooks patted me on the shoulder and angled toward the hall. “But yours truly has also been tasked with helping to park the cars, so peace out, bitches. I’ll see you down there.”

I shook my head, Kaiden mirroring my expression, and we watched Brooks walk off down the hall to the main entrance.

“Idiot,” Kaiden offered and then refocused on me. “Okay, let’s get you suited up.”

Turning with a nod, a door on the opposite side of the hall clicked open, and when I looked over, I was immediately greeted by a flailing Kit, who shoved her hands in my face.

“What areyoudoing here?! Go away! You can’t see her!”

Kaiden was chuckling behind me when I just picked out the scent of the ocean and old paper—deeply charred as it always was now—wafting out of the room across from me.

“Don’t worry about it, Kit. Grayson and I don’t believe in that superstitious nonsense.”

Kit sagged, and I looked down at her with a renewed knot in my stomach. Her brows were down over her eyes, and as Kit looked over at Kenzie, she dropped her arms.

“Oh, well, okay then.” Turning back toward me, Kit looked over my shoulder at Kaiden. “Would you get him ready quickly, babe? We need to leave soon.”

He smiled. “It’s a suit, hon. It’s not like we have to lace up his corset. We’ll be down in like ten minutes.”

She rolled her eyes and then joined Kenzie across the hall. With a moment to finally take her in, I was a bit shocked by what I saw.

While the disdain in Kenzie’s eyes was par for the course at this point, I’d never seen her so done up before.

Wolves didn’t adhere to the same human traditions, which Kit had thoroughly explained when she was mating Kaiden. Still, it looked like a few things from that ceremony had carried over to this one. Mostly, the fact that Kenzie wore a long gown, and the healer, who was typically functional clothing unless she was going out, was covered in tiny beading.

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