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Getting back to the house felt a hundred times longer than the run over. Possibly because now we were both burdened with what had happened. After pulling my clothes on and stumbling back into the house, I was so distracted that I almost ran smack into Randy, who was carrying several boxes of fresh red roses.
“Here- let me help you,” I said apologetically. I grabbed a few boxes from the top. He murmured his thanks, and I followed him back down to the clearing in the backyard.
It truly was beautiful. Lanterns had been arranged around the wooden platform. The ceremony would include a pack-wide shift, so there weren’t any chairs in the audience. Instead, pillows and yards of soft fabric were tied down to give the guests something to sit on while the vows were being recited. Everything was deep cream or red, nicely offsetting the dark green grass and treessurrounding us. Whoever Mariam had hired to help with coordinating the deco had done a great job.
Randy was setting the roses into large glass vases, so I brought the ones I had over to him and began doing the same. I stepped back to admire the bouquets when it was finished, but he caught my eye instead. Randy was a mated male shifter. Maybe he would know if Gabe’s actions had crossed a line.
“Randy?”
“Yeah?” He was distracted and out of his depth trying to arrange the flowers. I took a deep breath to gather my nerve and broach the topic.
“Um…as a mated male werewolf, would you ever, you know… flirt with someone else?” Randy stilled instantly at the question. My cheeks flamed red, and I regretted saying anything at all.
“What?” He glanced at me and then began rearranging the flowers more aggressively as though they might be able to save him from the conversation. “Listen, Ella, you’re a nice girl and all, but I’m not--”
“Oh, goddess, that is NOT what I meant. Never mind, forget I said anything, please. Please. Please.” I just kept repeating that last word as I turned and walked back to the house. For one horrifying moment, I thought he was going to follow me, but when I glanced over my shoulder, he had gone back to manhandling the roses. I probably wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye for a long time.
“Where have you been? You promised you would help with the rest of the planning today.” Mariam caught me as soon as I crossed the threshold of the large front doors.
“I was helping Randy bring your roses down,” I said,cringing at the awkwardness I had left in my wake and the bitter taste of the half-truth on my lips. “What else do you need me to do?”
Mariam glanced at the woman with the clipboard on her right, the same one who had been helping her in the madness when I first arrived at the house. “Jess, what else do we need to get done before the rehearsal?”
Jess.I scrunched my face, trying to place the name. Mariam had said something about this person before, but I hadn’t paid close enough attention. Maybe this was another friend she had made in Tumblewild?
“We need to set up the dining area on the veranda, and then we should be good to go,” she said, eyeing the clipboard. “Just in time, too. The rehearsal guests should be arriving in an hour.”
“Wait. Do I need to change?” I asked, glancing down at the jeans I was wearing. They were the same pair that I had left outside for the better part of the day, so more than a few twigs and dirt smudges were clearly visible. Mariam’s glare told me I shouldn’t have even asked. “Right. I’ll change, then meet you on the veranda for any last-minute things you might need.”
“Fine. As long as that clothes change includes a shower,” she said. “I don’t know where you’ve been all day, but you smell awful.”
__________
I had never been more grateful to take a hot shower. The run to town and back had left me completely exhausted and more than a little sweaty. The water soothed my tight muscles, and the body wash cut through the woodsy smell,but nothing helped to relieve the pit of anxiety in my stomach.
My wolf felt it, too, possibly even more than I did. She was fidgety, pacing around in the corner of my mind. Her faith in Gabe was shaken, and she wasn’t handling that well. I felt bad for her, but there wasn’t anything I could do to help. Maybe this would be the proof she needed that Gabe wasn’t a great match for us.
For the first time, she didn’t try to argue when the thought crossed my mind, a testament to the level of doubt she was feeling about our mate.
I switched off the water and wrapped myself in a fuzzy towel, scrunching my hair dry as I walked. Mariam, or someone at her direction, had laid out an elegant black dress on the bed. Unlike the one from the date, this dress actually covered my thighs almost down to my knees. The cut of the bodice was similarly modest yet appealing, with sheer tule covering what would have been bare skin in a more revealing outfit. I took several minutes in the mirror, admiring how it hugged my frame without making me feel insecure. I loved it.
True to my word, I arrived on the veranda just in time to help set out the glassware and plates. The caterers were shifters, too; their scent gave them away as much as the wolf emblem on their aprons.
I paused when Mariam joined us outside. She was a vision, and it took me a second to recognize the woman before me as my younger sister. Trace couldn’t keep his eyes off her, either, and for good reason. Her short cream dress was trendy and glamorous, something I could never pull off, but she made it look…perfect.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, too. “Ella, that is… I mean, that dress looks perfect on you. Where did you get it?”
I frowned. “It was on my bed when I went to take a shower. I thought you had left it for me.”
“Nope, not me. Maybe you have a secret admirer.” Her eyes twinkled at the idea, but I just shook my head.
“I already have more than I want in that department right now,” I said. “It must have been Justine. I’m sure you’ve already told her how hopeless I am at getting dressed up. She probably wanted to help.”
The guilty look that crossed my sister’s face confirmed that I was correct on that count.
The evening was ready to begin. Thankfully, this wasn’t a huge dinner, nothing like the celebration planned for tomorrow. Tonight was just an opportunity to discuss everything that was going to happen with those who had roles in the ceremony and do a quick practice run before enjoying a meal together. If I had it my way, the actual mating ceremony would be more like this and less like a huge production. But maybe that was why the moon goddess had chosen Mariam as a mate for the alpha of Tumblewild and not me; my sister clearly didn’t mind hosting the massive event.
Jess, Randy, and Justine were already in the house somewhere. Jeremy was next to arrive, followed by a group of male werewolves I didn’t know and one I did. My heart raced when Gabe stepped out onto the oversized porch. He scanned the group mingling by the outdoor fireplace, but his gaze stopped when he found me. He took his time looking me up and down, leaving me feelingunbelievably exposed, even in the conservative dress.
