Chapter 3 - Dan
Blinking against the harsh glare of the sun, I follow Rex up the narrow steps into the raised central courtyard where he married Scarlett. I feel hot and itchy in my suit, and the air is already simmering, even though it’s extremely early in the morning.
Too fucking early. Not what I’d choose for my wedding day.
We have very little choice about the time, though. Trucks are already en route to our new town, and cars full of excited new pack members are leaving right now. Grace and I have to be married before we leave, so we can join our new pack as luna and alpha.
I almost run into Rex when he stops suddenly in front of me, and he turns to give me a firm pat on the shoulder.
“Chill out, buddy. Everything’s going to be okay. Look at it this way, at least you know who you’re marrying!”
“I wish that comforted me,” I mutter, looking around uncertainly. We’re in a covered, circular sitting area, and every stone bench is lined with elders and other important pack members.
Surrounded on every side. Might have to shoot my way out.
“Come on,” Brad says, coming up on my other side and giving me a rough squeeze. “It’s not that bad, I promise.”
“Right,” I reply. “Maybe it’s worse.”
“Hey,” Shawn says softly. “Are you up to this? Really up to it? The elders are getting nervy.”
I look over at the benches where the Clover elders are sitting, and they’re definitely giving me suspicious looks. The Rose Hollow council are smiling encouragingly, and Eccles, predictably, are glaring at me with more than a little hostility.
Fuck this. I’ll show them I’m an alpha who deserves—and commands—respect!
“Yes,” I answer, nodding. “I’m okay, I promise. This is just a very rough situation, and it’s too early in the morning for me to process it with good humor.”
“Not your strong suit, anyway,” Brad chuckles. “You always look so serious, I sometimes wonder if a smile would crack your face.”
I flash him a wide, extremely fake smile.
“Much better,” Rex mutters, putting his palm over his face. “Your bride will swoon.”
“Seriously,” Shawn says, giving me a shove. “The Clover elders are worried about this. You forget that they have generations of fear behind them regarding Eccles. They want to know that their people will be well cared for.”
Shawn’s words send a cool rush of shock through me. I’d been so worried about the wedding itself, I hadn’t thought too much about the other elders.
It was just too much of a relief to get away from the Eccles council. I forgot how secluded Clover has always been, and the reason why.
“They still don’t know about the snake, do they?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
“No.” Shawn shakes his head. “I have told Sarah, but we haven’t passed it on to the other elders. We’re afraid the pack would riot or break apart—or worse.”
“Would they attack us?” Rex asks.
“Maybe,” Shawn answers. “But it’s far more likely they’d just disappear into the woods and abandon their town.”
“Shit,” Brad mutters. “That bad?”
Shawn nods. “You have no idea how ingrained their traditions are. These elders are pretty upset about people wanting to leave at all, let alone form a new pack with a different alpha.”
“Okay,” I reply, straightening my shoulders and raising my head. “I’ll get my shit together and handle this.”
“Uh, Dan,” Rex says, giving me a sideways look. “You’ve got your game face on.”
“Well, of course I do. It’s time to get down to business.”
“Yeah, but you want to marry the girl and have a friendly partnership, not fight her one-on-one.”
“Might end up being the same thing,” I mutter.
“I heard that,” Rex says. “Seriously, man, what’s your problem?”
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath of scorching air that does nothing to soothe me.
She’s a fucking witch. That’s my problem.
“She’s strange,” I say. “I don’t know, I just don’t feel comfortable around her. She’s the last person I’d choose.”
“She’s very sweet,” Brad says. “She’s always at our house with Alisha, so I know her pretty well. She’s really just a genuinely nice person; she can just be very quiet and shy to start with.”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “I guess that’s all it is.”
“Really,” Brad says, gripping my shoulder and looking into my eyes. “She’s had a rough time—that’s why she seems aloof. I promise you, when she warms up, she’s generous, super funny, and really great with kids.”
I chuckle softly. “Yeah, well. That’s good to know. I can see that happening immediately.”
“Really?” Rex asks, giving me a grin and a raised eyebrow.
I can’t help but grin back. “Yes, she’s beautiful, okay? I admit that.”
“I’ve seen you looking,” Shawn says, grinning as well.
“I thought I was being discreet.”
“Oh, you were,” Shawn continues. “I just happened to catch it here and there.”
“Maybe the universe is giving you everything you want but can’t admit to,” Rex says. “Sometimes it works like that, and I sure as hell got lucky.”
“Yeah, you did,” I agree, sighing. “Where are the girls, anyway?”
All of us look around, seeing a decent crowd of people gathered around the central seating area. The elders are starting to look distinctly peeved, with no bride in sight.
“We’ve been standing here a while,” I say, looking around uncertainly. “What should we do?”
A strange feeling builds in my guts, and I don’t know if I’d be relieved if Grace didn’t show up or bitterly disappointed.
“I’ll text Scarlett,” Rex says.
The other guys step back to pull out their phones, and I take a few minutes to just breathe and try to relax.
Focusing my eyes on the hazy, far-off horizon, I call up the feeling of running through the hills on the hunt, letting my instincts soothe me.
As my breathing settles, I realize I would be disappointed if Grace didn’t show.
Yeah… I’m nervous around her, but I definitely want to know more about her, too. What happens if she refuses? Do the pack hunt her down and force her back here, or do we choose someone else?
Just as I’m about to ask Rex those exact questions, there’s a flurry of activity at the far edge of the crowd.
People part, making a corridor for the girls to walk through, and I see Scarlett, Alisha, and Sarah walking towards us.
As they get closer, they pull back, letting Grace come forward to walk ahead of them.
My breath gets caught in my throat, and for a second, I actually feel dizzy.
She’s so beautiful!
Grace is wearing a pale pink gown that hangs from narrow straps on her shoulders to fall in flowing waves around her, clinging to her slender curves.
The fabric is so light, the smallest hint of a breeze causes it to rise and fall, moving like pure magic.
Her long, blond hair is pulled up elaborately at the back of her head, with curls falling against her cheeks.
A decorative spray of little white flowers is tangled through the crown of hair, and as she gets closer, I can see it growing. Little tendrils of green shoot out, looping through her blond curls, with tiny white buds opening as they sweep down towards her shoulders.
What the fuck?
I’m struck by her beauty, but the obvious display of her power unsettles me, and my guts twist and flip, leaving me with an uncomfortable simmering feeling not unlike waiting for a bomb to explode.
Is that really what I’m worried about, that Grace will explode with insane amounts of power? I have to get some perspective here. If she does any kind of exploding, it will most likely just be flower petals.
The girls reach the bottom of the stairs, and Grace looks up at me, her pale gray eyes glittering like white quartz through dark stone. Her face looks composed, but I can tell she’s hiding a fuck ton of stress.
Well, that’s one thing we have in common.
She slowly makes her way up the stairs, and as she reaches the top, I take her hands. A small electric pulse snaps between us, but it doesn’t hurt. In fact, it sends a little thrill of pleasure through me.
The idea of being with her does excite me. I can’t deny it.
As she raises her head and smiles at me, the tendrils in her hair have a little growth spurt, cascading little white blooms down around her shoulders. Some of the petals shake free, falling around her like a veil.
“Sorry,” she murmurs. “I’m just nervous.”
“It’s okay,” I reply, not really sure what she’s apologizing for.
The flowers?
“Okay,” Rex says, raising his voice for the crowd. “Thank you, everyone, for attending. Our three packs witness the creation of the fourth to strengthen our alliance. We join Grace and Dan together in the sacred union, so they can carry the power of the new pack into prosperity.”
Grace and I stand together before Rex, holding each other’s hands. He speaks the ritual words, and we repeat the correct responses, even though I’m barely listening.
As we stare at each other, Grace’s eyes captivate me. I fall into her gaze, silver and diamond prisms that catch the light, reflecting it back to shimmer around me, caging me with a dancing glow. Her hands feel very warm in mine, and parts of my body start to respond.
Holy shit. I’ve got to let go of her soon, or the whole crowd is going to see my cock putting up a tent in my pants.
The second Rex announces our union, I let go of her and step back, and I see a frown flash across her face.
I hope I didn’t offend her or anything… but I really had no choice. The situation was critical.
Grace takes my hand again, and even though her touch is warm, it doesn’t send sparks flying or lusty thrills through my skin.
We wave to the crowd and then head down the steps to where a small feast has been laid out.
The original plan had been for us to get married, then head straight for our new home, but Rose Hollow insisted on putting together a banquet.
I’m grateful for it. It might just be nerves, but I’m starving right now.
As we approach the table, people congratulate us.
Grace smiles warmly, shaking people’s hands and thanking everyone for their well-wishes.
It occurs to me quite suddenly that I have barely said a word to my new bride.
There are too many people crowding in to congratulate us for me to make that a priority, so I focus on getting to the head of the table where we can both sit down.
The leafy trees above provide a cool respite from the sun, and when the breeze passes by, the branches whisper, and a chill runs down my spine.
It felt like they were really talking… to me.
Someone puts a plate of food in front of me, and I gratefully stuff a drumstick into my mouth.
The rich taste of roasted chicken grounds my senses, and I devour the whole platter in a matter of minutes.
When I sit up and take a breath, trying not to belch, I see Grace looking at me with wide eyes as if she’s trying to conceal her reaction.
What? Shock? Disgust? She doesn’t like how I eat chicken? This marriage is off to a great start.
I wipe my hands, trying to catch up on the conversation. Grace has turned away to talk to Hazel, and even though she appears composed, the little flowers in her hair are blooming again. I instinctively feel like this happens when she’s nervous or upset.
“Do you really think this role is for you, dear?” Hazel asks, her tone barely concealing her contempt. “I mean, you’re nowhere near anything resembling noble birth, so to arise to the position of luna is—”
“Is perfect!” I say, a bit too loudly. “She’s great. I couldn’t be happier.”
To illustrate my point, I wrap an arm around Grace’s shoulders and give her a squeeze. The flowers in her hair go through an insane growth spurt, pouring down around her shoulders in a soft flurry of white petals.
Shit.
I let go of her in a hurry, hoping I haven’t upset her. Even though she leans away from me, I can see I’ve diverted Hazel, who is swiftly walking away.
Okay. Now’s my chance. I’ve got to at least introduce myself to this woman—we’re married for fuck’s sake!
I clear my throat and prepare to speak, but as I look up at Grace, she picks up a strawberry from her plate and delicately bites it in half. I’m mesmerized by the way her mouth moves on the lush red fruit and how the juice stains her lips. I’m still staring like a fool when she turns to look at me.
“What?” she mumbles, licking her lips as she swallows the mouthful of strawberry. “Haven’t you ever seen a woman eat before?”
Even though I hear the words, I don’t take them in, and end up just shaking my head.
Great start, Dan, I congratulate myself inwardly. Now you look uncivilized AND stupid.