Chapter 80 Intervention

• A gasp escaped her lips, unbidden, and even though it wasn’t loud, it wasn’t silent either. Dorian’s eyes immediately zoned on to her. “You okay?” he whispered as one of the Elders delivered his introductory speech before the ceremony began. She gathered herself because now was not the time to back out. Even if…
• “I am…just…nothing,” she mumbled, leaning closer to his side. The mildly chilly air left goosebumps on her skin. She dearly wanted to shrug in Dorian's suit jacket again. She tuned in the speech again, forcing herself to concentrate and not appear ignorant or absent-minded, the pressure of leaving a good first impression and not being triggered by the site of the crowns was taking an immense toll on her mind. 
• “We are proud of how far Alpha Dorian has come,” she heard the Elder say as if Dorian was a notorious child. She glanced at him to see he was looking somewhere above the person’s head, glaring into space. Serena knew it stung, to be ushered as the king but still jabbed at.