Chapter 52

HUDSON

"Hudson, wake up," a sweet voice called, shaking my shoulder gently.

I groaned and pulled Alexis down on top of me, "Give me ten minutes. I'm exhausted."

"You got nine hours of sleep. That is enough for any human being."

"Says the woman who passed out for fourteen hours."

"That was because I had just finished my heat."

My eyes opened up halfway as I stared down at her with a teasing smile on my face, "Now you won't need to worry about your heat."

She blushed and buried her face in my chest, "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

My heart skid helplessly around my chest at the feel of her soft body in my arms. I let my hands trail down her form only to realize that she was still in a towel, "Did you just shower?"

Her head popped up and she glared at me with a narrowed eyes, "Haven't you heard? It's the latest fashion to walk around in your towel."

I pinched her nose, "Just asking, no need to get sarcastic, my little firecracker."

She blushed again, and I had to hold back my laughter as she rubbed her cheeks, "Don't stop blushing on my account. I think it's adorable."

Ever since we had mated, she kept blushing like a shy little girl, even though we both know she is far from it. I knew she was like this because she had never felt so closely intimate with someone and so exposed – after all, I knew every curve, stretch mark, and birthmark on her body now.

She was usually a confident woman so I was sure that this was just a phase, but that didn't mean I would stop telling her how beautiful she was.

My hand trailed down to her ass, "I wonder if your blush goes all the way down."

Before I could tug her towel off, she sat up and ran her fingers through my bed hair, "As much as I would love to watch you try to seduce me, I have to go shopping, Hudson. The Alpha Ball is tonight, and I don't have a dress. I went through the boxes my parents had dropped off, and I couldn't find something that was formal enough."

I tugged her back down and buried my nose in her hair, "Well, you know where my credit card is. Try not to buy a dress that will make me go nuts."

"That actually sounds tempting."

I groaned, "You're going to do exactly that, aren't you?"

My poor wolf was already suffering from the post-mating emotions. From what I knew and was experiencing, male-wolves felt extra possessive and were extra clingy to their mates after mating. They didn't like any other male touching their mates, regardless of relation. No logic or reasoning would ever cross their minds when they were this animalistic.

Just yesterday, Matthew held Alexis's hand during the part of the funeral where we had to join hands and my wolf did not like that at all. He kept growling and grumbling until their hands were back at their sides. I had a hard time conducting the funeral with him acting so inconsiderate.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure it's not scandalous," Alexis said, kissing my forehead and standing up.

I sighed and rested my head on my hand as I watched her get dressed. Once she was done, she pecked my lips and ran out to join Lucy, who was yelling for her from downstairs.

***

The sun was starting to set and I still hadn't seen Alexis since she got back. I was locked up in my office with paperwork and she was getting ready. Apparently, I wasn't allowed to see her until she was done and my wolf was ready to s hit himself.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my daze. I turned my head to see Breydon entering my office with two beers in his hand.

"Thought you could use this," he said, placing the bottle on my desk and plopping on the chair in front of my desk.

"Thanks. I could actually use this right now," I muttered, taking a swig.

"Post-mating issues?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he sipped his drink.

I froze in the middle of my notes and looked up, "How did you know?"

He scoffed, "It wasn't that hard to tell. Alexis's scent completely changed, and your face when any male touched her gave it all away."

"I was trying to control my wolf, but I guess I wasn't doing a good job," I muttered, scribbling some more things down.

"You know, watching you do all this paperwork makes me glad that my pack isn't big. I can leave for weeks without worrying about them. All I need to do is make a few phone calls, check for paperwork, and boom. I'm ready to go," Breydon smirked.

For some odd reason, Breydon seemed uneasy. He kept tapping his fingers on his leg and was chugging his beer that was almost finished. After a few more minutes of him rambling about his pack, I got the feeling he was here to talk about something else but didn't know how to direct the conversation in that direction.

I finally stopped writing and looked up at him, "You and I both know that you didn't come here to ramble about your pack. Spill the fucking beans, Breydon."

He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing gets past you or your father huh?"

I immediately caught onto where this was going.

"Is this about Lucy?" I asked, staring him down.

He nodded, "I want to bring her back to my pack after the Ball. Permanently."

"Did you talk to Lucy about this?"

"I did. She's cool with it."

"Did you talk to my dad?"

"Yeah, he threatened me a few times, but he agreed it was time."

"Then why are you asking me?" I asked, confused by his logic.

"I'm not asking you anything. I'm just telling you."

"Well, if Lucy and my dad are okay with it, then what's left for me to say?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither."

We stared at each other blankly for a few moments before Breydon shook his head, "I was worried that you would not let her leave. You know, overprotective brother shit."

I raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think Lucy would let me boss her around?"

He chuckled and stared down at his hands with a smile, "Nope and that's what I love about her."

I sighed, "I'm only going to say this once. I'm happy for you and Lucy, and I probably should have made it clear a lot earlier. She could have gotten a different mate who might have annoyed me more than you."

He growled quietly, probably at the thought of Lucy having another mate, "Yeah, like that jerk Daren."

I groaned at the thought of Alpha Daren, "Don't remind me. We have to actually see his face tonight."

We shuddered just thinking about it.

Breydon got up from his chair abruptly, "Well, I better go get changed. It's almost time to go."

I frowned and stared up at the clock, "You've got to be f ucking with me. I haven't even shaved. Never mind, showering."

He left the room cackling, leaving me to slam my head on my desk several times.

***

ALEXIS

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time and smiled nervously at Lacey and Gracie, "How do I look?"

Lacey laughed, "Like Hudson's going to need a coat to cover up his boner once he sees you."

Gracie, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down, "If I was into girls, I would do you."

"I don't think Boston would be too pleased with that," I said, my smile widening as she blushed a little.

Gracie had apologized to me yesterday and ever since then, we were all getting along nicely. She even offered to do my makeup, which I had to say was a relief

[Image: (A/N: I put it here since I didn't want you guys to see it before Alexis's POV)]

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(A/N: I put it here since I didn't want you guys to see it before Alexis's POV)

My hair was nicely curled and pinned back while my makeup was on point – smokey eye, lipstick, highlight, blush, everything.

"Come on, I want to see his reaction. I get the feeling he's going to flip," Lacey said, tugging me along gently. I followed behind her, holding up my skirt a little so I didn't kiss the floor.

As we made our way downstairs, I saw Dorothy snapping pictures of Hudson, who was grumbling and trying to grab the camera from her.

"Mom, this isn't prom, it's just a–" he trailed off slowly as he saw us coming down. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as his eyes took in my appearance.

He clenched his jaw and bit his lip before looking away, "We have to go, Mom. You can take pictures once we get back."

Dorothy shrugged, "It's alright. I got some great shots of your face as Alexis came down the stairs."

She turned to me and winked, "You look stunning, dear."

"Thank you," I smiled warmly, walking towards Hudson and her.

He placed an arm around my waist lightly and traced his thumb over my spine. My breath hitched, and I saw him smirk just a little from the corner of my eye.

"Well, have a nice time. I have to go snap some shots of Lucy and Breydon."

We followed her outside, and as we headed to the car, I cleared my throat and tried to start a conversation because he was awfully quiet.

"Hudson."

Great conversation starter, I know.

We had just reached the car so it caught me off guard when he turned around and shoved me against the door.

"Don't you dare f ucking speak right now," he growled, panting heavily like he was trying to control himself.

I blinked, "I–you–what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? How can you ask me that so casually?"

I tilted my head to the right slowly, "Is it the dress? Do you not like it or something?"

"Do I f ucking like it?" He growled, "You tell me. I want to throw you onto the hood of this car and f uck you till your legs are shaking and the only word that can escape your lips is my name. Does that sound like I like it?"

I wonder what he would do if I kissed him. I got the feeling we were going to have a hard time keeping our hands off of each other tonight, especially with him in that tuxedo.

He leaned down and crashed his lips into mine with a growl. I grabbed his cheeks in surprise and kissed him back just as hungrily.

"You look gorgeous," he breathed against my lips, "I don't think I'll be able to keep my sanity tonight. There is just no way, especially with so many Alpha males around."

Possessive? Check.

Hot? Check.

Post-mating emotions? Check.

This was going to be a long night.