Chapter 74

The Pack

Weddings of any size can bring a community together. A Royal Wedding can make history.

Adding to that all the scintillating drama of the Alpha family lately, the union between Dominic and Mira was on everyone’s minds.

An entire team of house staff was busy in the week leading up to the chosen date.

“You’d think they were the gods themselves,” a maid complained as she ironed hundreds of napkins.

“It’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to one,” replied the girl next to her. “I hear Luna's dress is to be made of gold leaves…”

There were flowers to arrange and menus to plan and print on grey cards embossed with gold. Invitations were sent out across the compound, though they weren’t wholly necessary since it was assumed everyone would be there. This wedding would solidify the future of the Pack, and no one wants to miss out.

The Alpha even extended invitations to select outsiders, including the Alpha and guests from the Brooks Pack. A sign of honor and respect, Davos hoped it would add to his legacy as he passed his title onto his son.

The ceremony would be held outside, given the warmth of the spring season. Log benches were moved again and again until the ideal formation was found. Astral charts were scrutinized so that the moonlight would hit the couple exactly at the moment that they kiss.

A bower was being constructed in the woods not far from here, so the couple may retreat to a private place to consummate their marriage. Under the light of the moon but away from the eyes of other Pack members.

And as the wedding day approached, soon the new Luna would ascend to her title and stand trial with the Elders. A formality of cultural tradition, it would consist of interviews to test her knowledge and aptitude and see how well she does under pressure. There would be a physical challenge, exhibiting her wolf and control of the power she wields as Luna.

“She’d better pass,” the wedding planner, Jade, said to her partner. “I can’t handle all this work and then no wedding, not like last time.”

“Ugh, so horrible,” Cleo replied. “I still have the seating chart for it, even three years later. It feels kinda haunted.”

“Well if all goes well, you can finally throw that thing in the trash,” Jade said mockingly. “Or better, yet burn it!”

“A sacrifice to the gods of marriage!” Cleo threw her hands up in reverence to a higher power.

“Fingers crossed they keep a close eye on the bride for the next few days, at least until after the wedding,” Jade said.

The two went back to their work, carefully writing name cards in crisp calligraphy.

“After that, it won’t matter if she disappears.”

Mira

“Hello? Anybody home?”

Cinda was waving her hand in front of my face to get my attention.

“What? Hey— what?” I said, blinking to refocus my eyes.

“Did you hear anything I just said? Or were you too totally zoned out staring at a poster for CPR?”

Laughter always started in her eyes before she cracked her smile, her large white teeth comforting and menacing at the same time. Her sarcasm was razor-sharp, and she would let you stew before smiling to let you in on the joke. That smile could build or break you, such was the power of this head nurse.

“Sorry, I was just.. distracted.”

“Uh huh,” Cinda said, nodding slowly as she looked at me. “I can’t think of anything that might be on your mind.”

I exhaled. “Right, yeah, it’s been…busy,” I said, not wanting to get into the details of where my mind had gone.

“Is is the wedding, or the fact that you’re being assayed by a bunch of dried up dust-bucket elders.”

Cinda didn’t mince words when it came to the traditional patriarchal system, even as it changed and modernized.

“Not all of them,” I said with a sideways look. “And you’d better be careful what you say about the council once I'm the Luna— I might have to report you for seditious speech!”

“You go ahead and try, sweetheart,” she said, her palm resting under my chin, “There ain’t nobody in the highest temple of the gods that can bring mess with me. I will protect my peace.”

“I know you do,” I said, smiling at my friend. She had become a confidante and elder counselor of mine in many ways, but I didn’t need to annoy her by reminding her of it.

“But seriously, if you need to talk about it, you always have my ear,” she added. “Even if I can’t help and you just need to vent about tablecloths!”

“Well, it is kinda wedding-related, what I’m thinking about,” I said, chewing my bottom lip. “More, wedding night-related…”

This time, the smile came at the same time as the glimmer in her eyes. I could tell she wasn’t going to laugh, but she was amused and then concerned and then delighted, repeatedly.

“Oh honey,” she said, nurturing, “it’s alright to be nervous. The first time can be…surprising.”

“I think I have some idea, I am a doctor—“ she slapped the side of my arm.

“Not like that! Just how you feel, what you experience in your own body with your own lover— that will always be a surprise.”

“Right,” I said, looking down slightly. “I guess I worry that he won’t like it, or me. I know he has some experience, a little, and maybe I can't live up to expectations.”

She was quiet for a moment, a contemplative confessor.

“Have you been intimate at all, yet? More than just a kiss or a cuddle?”

My cheeks blazed at her questions. “We’ve been…getting closer,” I margined to say without perishing. “And, I mean I haven’t seen everything, but we are getting to know each other’s bodies I guess…”

“That’s good, very good,” Cinda said with a cheeky smile. “Being comfortable, uninhibited, trusting— those things will bring the chemistry you want with him.”

“And we—“ I didn’t know how to explain, “I think we are Fated Mates. I mean, I’m pretty sure we are.”

There was silence for a moment because Cinda’s mouth had dropped open. It took a lot to shock her. Then she threw her head back and laughed hard for a few seconds.

“Are you serious? That universe works in such ways!” She was shaking her head, as if this time the joke was between her and the higher powers.

“We can communicate, share emotions, in our minds,” I explained, excited to share this new development in my relationship. I’d never been very sentimental, but being with Dominic was making me giddy. “Cinda, it’s incredible. It feels unreal, like a spell that should wear off soon. I can’t even explain how it feels to be near him.”

“That’s beautiful, magical,” she said, her smile genuine and her eyes teary.

“But what if it does wear off?” My anxiety was setting in again. “What if I lose my wolf again, and our passion is gone? What if he doesn't love me anymore?”

“Mira, darling,” she placed her hands on my shoulders to settle me. “Did he tell you that?”

I didn’t even care how cheesy my smile looked, I wore it proudly.

“If you two are in love, that is all that matters.

She gave me a soft squeeze then went on her way to her next task, leaving me alone again with my thoughts. One thought in particular was taking up a lot of my brain space.

Dominic had told me he loved me, and I hadn’t said it back.