She Was The Honored Guest

"We didn't want to be really formal," Laney said, motioning to a table set up as a buffet with tons of food--beef tenderloin, chicken, ham slices, mashed potatoes, and chunks of cheese, as well as tomatoes, salad, melons, and grapes.

Axel Ash stood apart from Cassie, giving her some room to manoeuvre around the table. She didn't notice the spread of food as much as she did the way Axel Ash watched her in the crowd of people, probably twenty to thirty pack members. 

He stood out among them, his shoulders straight, his dark gaze fixed on hers, his head lifted high, in charge, the dominant male. No matter that the room was filled with tension as everyone watched them, his gaze was steady and unaffected.

He was a calming presence, although she had never felt as self-conscious when she was speaking to an auditorium full of people as she did now. Maybe because that was impersonal.