We arrive at the side yard of the house, where the ceremony is to be held in silence. Everyone is seated and ready to begin, and both our seats are in front. Seth holds my hand, leading me forward when I suddenly stop and refuse to continue walking.
“What’s wrong?” he asks with concern on his face.
“I can’t hold your hand. They can’t know I’m your mate,” I tell him, looking away. He won’t want me tomorrow, or maybe next week it will hit him. I don’t know when, but at some point, he’ll see past the bond and know he can find better than me.
I hear him growl, and he steps towards me. He gently grabs my chin and tilts my head to look into my eyes. Seth starts to say something but then stops himself. He’s towering over me, and it’s intimidating, but I feel safe with him. It’s probably just from the bond.
“OK, Molly. I won’t hold your hand, but they will eventually find out. You win for now, but we WILL talk about this later tonight,” he says firmly as his eyes flash with danger. I realize I’ve hurt him. I didn’t mean to do that.
“I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to be seen with you,” I begin to try to explain. “But you’re the prince. If people know you’ve found your mate, especially that it’s me, word will spread. It will hurt more when you finally reject me if everyone knows.” My voice is barely a whisper as I finish. I feel so awkward and vulnerable.
His free hand lands gently on my hip while the other moves behind my head. He leans to place a soft kiss on my temple. “I will not change my mind, but I won’t hold your hand in public for now if that’s what you truly want. We will figure things out tonight.” He releases me and moves his hands to both my hips now.
“It’s a full moon. You’ll be expected at the run tonight. It’s not every day a fancy-pants prince graces Lunar Falls with his presence,” I half-joke with him.
“And where will you be? You can’t be alone.”
“I usually lock myself in my suite. It’s by the kitchen in the basement and right across from the safe room, just in case.”
“Alone?” Seth asks me, concern evident in his voice.
“I’ve lived my whole life without a wolf. This isn’t my first full moon. Sometimes, I stay with the young kids who aren’t old enough to shift, but I just want to be alone tonight,” I tell him with complete honesty.
“We have a few hours until we need to worry about that. Go on and take your seat. I’ll follow behind in a moment,” Seth tells me. He releases me but quickly reaches out and squeezes my hand. Honestly, he seems like a really nice man. I’ve caused him more headache today than I’m worth, so I do as he told me and head down the aisle to take my seat.
My dad is sitting on his Alpha throne on the stage. Mom stands behind him, and Robbie is beside him. Since it’s the passing of the Alpha, no other family members are on stage, and I’ll be sitting alone.
As I’m walking to my seat, I hear the whispers start. I’ve gotten used to it from my own pack- and they all know I got the wolf hearing. These guests, though, don’t seem to know.
“That’s the wolfless one that Alpha Bardulf found and adopted.”
“I heard she’s human.”
“Do you think I could make her my w***e? She looks too good to go to waste. Too bad she’s not a wolf.”
And with that whispered comment, I feel overwhelming anger, but it’s not mine. It’s not like I haven’t heard these kinds of comments before. I realize then that I’m feeling Seth’s emotions through our bond. I know I can’t turn around and look at him.
I look up and see my brother coming straight to me in a hurry and my dad with a murderous look on his face. Robbie reaches me and, to my surprise, continues past me to a younger-looking man sitting where I had just walked past. He grabs him by the collar of his shirt and lifts him.
“You would do well to remember she’s the daughter of an Alpha,” Robbie tells him, releasing him unceremoniously back into his chair. By this time, my brother’s new Beta and Gama are headed to us.
I can feel Seth relax some, though he is still very mad. George, Robbie's Beta, offers his arm to me and escorts me to the front row to be seated beside Queen Audrey. We both bow our heads to her and King Peter. She stands up and, to my surprise, pulls me into a hug and kisses my cheek.
“You look stunning, Molly Dear,” She says loudly while she releases me but holds my hand as we sit down and squeezes it. It would seem that everyone in the room heard the comments. I smell Seth as he gets close and realize I’m in his seat beside his mother. I stand to move, but he shakes his head and motions for me to sit back down where I was.
The pack elder stands and walks up to my dad and Robbie. He welcomes everyone, and as he begins, I feel Seth’s arm come up and rest behind my shoulders. He rests his hand on his mother's shoulder beside me. Queen Audrey smiles at Seth before returning to my dad and brother.
The ceremony is beautiful. I know today is hard for my dad, handing over his pack to someone else, even if it is his own son. Robbie will do well. His Beta, Delta, and Gamma are all great guys and will do what’s best for the pack. The Elder instructs everyone to stand as Dad stands, and Robbie finally sits on the pack throne, officially becoming Alpha Robert of the Lunar Falls Pack. As I stand, I feel Seth bring his arm across my shoulders and back before completely releasing me, leaving me suddenly cold and alone. I’ve avoided acknowledging the bond thus far, but after feeling Seth's anger and loneliness at the lack of his touch, it’s really hard to ignore that it’s there.
Everyone in the room is looking at my brother, so I take a chance and reach my left hand over just enough to find Seth’s as he wraps his around mine and gently squeezes it. He’s so comforting, and I begin to think that maybe we can make this work. My parents start to descend the stage, and I realize now that people may look our way, so I reluctantly release his hand.
Robert sits on the pack throne with his men behind him and releases his first howl as Alpha, causing all but the royal family and present alphas to bow their heads and bare their necks in submission. I notice that I’m not affected, but I always respond to my dad’s Alpha commands.
Seth has noticed because he leans over slightly and explains in the lowest of whispers in my ear. “You’re the mate of a royal. Alpha commands won’t work on you anymore.” It definitely wasn’t what I expected him to say, and I suddenly feel more uncomfortable about the situation.
The ceremony is complete, and as we stand to leave, I realize my being between Seth and the King and Queen has complicated our exit now. Typically, the new Alpha would exit first, with everyone after in order of hierarchy, but since the Royals are here, they must exit first.
As they turn to leave first, King Peter turns back to us, “Seth, why don’t you escort sweet Molly out? I’m sure our new Alpha Robert won’t mind.”
He turns to Robbie, who smiles. “Of course,” he agrees easily, but not without shooting a look at the guy he mildly assaulted just 40 minutes before.
Seth steps before me and offers me his arm while wiggling his eyebrows. “My lady.”
I honestly can’t help but giggle at his face. I catch my mom out of the corner of my eye and she’s simply beaming at the entire interaction. I take Seth's arm with my hand, and he reaches his other hand over to place it on mine. It’s warm, and the bond sparks with excitement over our contact.
We walk out behind his parents. Once we reach the end of the aisle and out of view of everyone, my brother reaches forward and grabs Seth and me.
He leans forward behind us and tells Seth, “Watch your hands, bro,” with a smirk.
“Oh, I will absolutely be watching where they go,” Seth returns to Robbie, and for a moment, I think my brother might actually lose control of his wolf. “I’m joking, Rob. I’ll always take care of her.”
The sincerity in his voice touches me. He barely knows me, though. It’s an empty promise, but he’s trying.
With the ceremony over, it’s almost time for the reception. Hopefully, my actions earlier and the delay haven’t hurt the dinner service too much. I know I’m not supposed to be in the kitchens today, but Dad has already sent me down once, and it would look terrible on the pack if things didn’t go smoothly. I make up my mind and decide to head down.
“Seth, I need to go down to the kitchens and make sure things are ready. I’ll meet you in the dining room once they’re settled,” I tell him, and his brow furrows. “I’m the head chef for the pack, and while my sous chef is handling everything since this was a family gathering, I’d feel much better if I could ensure everything is ready, and they don’t need extra hands,” I continue, realizing I’m unsure if he even knows I’m a chef.
“I can come with you if you really need to. I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’ll be fine, honestly. It’s just my staff down there, and you met Oliver earlier. I’ll be fine and head up once they’re all ready.”
“Molly, you’re the future Queen now. You don’t have to work anymore,” he tells me, and I know he’s trying to be kind, but that hurts.
“I’ve never been required to work. I had to convince my dad to let me have this job. I enjoy it. It’s how I’m able to contribute to my pack,” I explain, but I realize that in my hurt, I’ve said more than I meant to. I have complicated feelings about my role in this pack, and I didn’t mean to start telling him about them.
“I understand. At least let me walk you to the kitchen so I know you’re safe, please.”
I know his request is genuine, and he wants me to be safe, but with more people leaving the ceremony and coming around, I don’t want anyone to see us together.
I nod at him but release his arm. “It’s this way,” I tell him, and I start walking toward the service stairs.
I can feel his irritation at me for releasing his arm through our bond, but I continue, and he doesn’t say anything. We reach the bottom of the stairs when he suddenly grabs my arm and sniffs the air. He sniffs again, pushes me against a door, and sniffs my neck slowly. His body is pressed against mine, and his breath is hot against my skin. He’s so close and towers over me. His scent has enveloped me, and I’m beginning to feel completely overwhelmed.
“Everything down here smells like you,” he finally tells me. ”It’s so strong.”
“Oh, uhh, yeah. I spend all my time down here. The kitchen is down that hall, and my office is there. The door behind me is the one to my suite.” I tell him.
“Show me, please,” he says, and I consider it momentarily. He’s so close, and it’s making my heart race. He pushes himself against me the slightest bit more and kisses the spot on my neck where his mate’s mark would go.
Aksara