Brenna
Knock, knock, knock!
I slid out of bed, slipped into a silk robe, and opened the door. My Glam Squad had arrived early and was standing just outside the door the following morning. But I was already awake, nervous about the day and what was to come.
It was my wedding day, and the day Adan will claim me as his Mate.
Asana froze just outside the door, her broad smile fading. “We aren’t too early, are we?”
I quickly shook my head, stepping back to open the door wide so they could get in. “Oh, heavens no! Come on in!”
Asana pulled me to the side but motioned toward the mini salon as she spoke to the ladies. “Go in and get set everything up. We’ll be right there.”
The ladies kept their professional demeanor but smiled and laughed as they did as they were told, clearly excited.
“Brenna, you’re not having second thoughts. Are you?” Asana asked, her eyes filled with concern.
“No! Not at all.” I sighed. “It’s just that I didn’t sleep well last night. Nervous, I guess.”
“Well,” she said, linking her arms in mine as she led me back to the salon. “Every bride gets cold feet. It’s only normal.” Then she lowered her voice, leaning in conspiratorially. “Especially this close to a Blood Moon.”
I chuckled. “No, it’s not that at all. With the attack, Darius Snow, and getting married, it’s... just a lot to take in.”
“Indeed it is.” Asana took my hand and patted it as a grandmother would, even though she didn’t look a day over twenty-five. “Just take one thing at a time. First and most important is your marriage. Everything else you can deal with when the time comes.” Then her broad smile returned. “Now, go in and shower and be sure to shave, and we’ll take it from there when you come out.”
I nodded, smiling. “Thanks, Asana.”
“It’s my pleasure, darling.” She started pushing me toward the door. “Now, go! We have no time to waste!”
I quickly showered and shaved as she said, letting the warm water soothe my nerves. When I came out, Asana greeted me with a glass of champagne. “Here. Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”
“But it’s like... I don’t know... eight o’clock in the morning!”
“It’s seven, dear,” she corrected, shoving the drink into my hand. “Trust me, you’re going to need it. Just....” She waved her hand dismissively in front of me. “Just drink it and pretend that it’s five o’clock.”
By five o’clock tonight, everything will be over.
I let out a deep breath as I took the drink and swallowed a few gulps, and she quickly refilled my glass. She was right. I wasn’t going to have enough to get drunk, but a few sips of champagne seemed to do the trick and was just enough to take the edge off.
Soon, I was enjoying myself and not overthinking our marriage and what was to come after.
Don’t be such a coward, I thought to myself. I would have liked it more if we could have just gotten married last night and been done with it. But then again, this had been the moment I had waited for my whole life. I just wished my parents and my brother could have been here to share it with me. But I quickly pushed the thought aside, not wanting anything to ruin this day.
When I was buffed and polished with makeup applied and my hair done, Paige and Asana helped me into my dress. When I was ready, they turned me toward the mirror. My hair was done up, and Heidi had attached a small veil that hung down to the middle of my back.
“Shoes!” Asana snapped her fingers, and Paige bent down to help me with my satin heels. I didn’t want anything too high, and luckily, Asana obliged. These were three inches and plenty high enough. There was no way I wanted to fall face-first down the aisle in front of the whole Pack and my Mate. Not today.
“You’re ready!” Asana proclaimed and then looked at the clock. “And we’re right on time!” She took my well-manicured hands and looked into my eyes. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, smiling. “I’ve been ready for this moment for a long time.” The moment that Adan would finally belong to me, and me to him.
As we walked down the hallway, it was empty, and Asana rode down in the elevator as the others took the stairs. She smiled as she carried a bouquet of flowers for me. “Here. These are for you.”
“Thank you... for everything.” I smiled as I took the flowers, hoping Ember had used waterproof mascara on me.
“It’s my pleasure.” Asana pulled me in for an almost hug, not wanting to wrinkle me. “You look fantastic. Don’t worry about anything. Just live in the moment and enjoy the day.”
I nodded as the elevator door opened, and everything happened at once.
Outside the door, a line of people dressed in their finest formal attire created a path from the elevator to the auditorium across from the main dining hall.
“What’s going on?” I asked Asana, nodding to people as we passed.
“Darling, it’s not every day that the Alpha and the Luna marry.” She moved away from me as I approached the huge wooden doors. Two wolf-shifters stood holding the doors. I nodded to them when I was ready, and they swung them open as the music changed and started playing “A Thousand Years,” as a woman I recognized in the Pack sang.
By then, the champagne had worn off, and my nerves started getting the better of me again. But when I looked down the aisle and saw Adan standing at the altar waiting for me, dressed in an elegant black tuxedo with an ascot tie, smiling at me from the other end of the aisle, I wasn’t nervous at all.
Everyone stood, and I slowly walked down the aisle, knowing I was the luckiest woman on Earth. Just as the song said, each step I took brought me closer to my Mate and destiny. When I reached Adan and took his hand, everything was right with the world.
“You look gorgeous.” Tears filled his eyes, threatening to spill over as he blinked them back.
“So do you,” I breathed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We turned to face Magenta, when there was a ruckus in the back of the church.
“Well, well, well! Look what we have here!”
I quickly turned around, and Darius Snow was standing in the back of the church with Dominic and Mason at his side. “The Alpha and the Luna are getting married, and I wasn’t invited! Imagine that!”