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“As high as the equivalent of a luxury wedding. There’s no set budget for it. The luna ceremony is sacred for most packs, so you can go as fancy as you’d like,” Mom answered.
Evie nodded and went back into deep thought.
“What are you thinking, love?” I asked quietly after a few minutes.
“If I can go as fancy as I’d like, can I also do the reverse?” Evie smiled at me but asked Mom.
“Of course,” Mom answered, a little confused.
“Then I’d like to do a barbecue. Hot dogs, burgers, wings, brisket. Potato salad... you know, normal food. No decorations, nothing fancy in the setup. With the rest of a fancy wedding budget, I’d like three identical memorials erected for the people that we lost in the last full moon and have them unveiled at the ceremony,” she looked so confident while she spoke, but then gave me a side eye glance and her expression turned to one of uncertainty. “That sound okay to you?”
I chuckled a bit. Did she not know how much that made me love her more?
“I think that’s perfect. A fitting start for the amazing luna you are going to be,” I answered her while grabbing and squeezing her hand. Mom was almost crying, but I saw her blinking away the tears and nodding.
“I’ll look for some quotes and then grab you, Areli, Nat and Valeria to see what kind of design you want for it. Once we have that, we can decide on the rest.” Mom looked at Evergreen, who had lit up at having his mate included, before looking back at Evie. “I know you have two loving parents who have given you all the love and praise you deserve, but I’m so proud of the woman you’ve grown up to be. I couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect for Cory,” she said, choking up a little. Evie looked surprised and happy at the love Mom showed her and blinked back a few tears of her own.
“Well, before I start with the waterworks, too; Cory, you are free to go ravish your mate now. That’s all we needed you for,” James said, making Evergreen groan and slap his nephew upside the head with a glare. The tender emotions in the air dissipated, and everyone laughed at the pout and sheepish, ‘Sorry, uncle. I forgot,’ James gave as an apology while he rubbed the back of his head.
Everyone started leaving, but Evergreen hung back a little. He looked uncomfortable with whatever he wanted to say.
“I know it’s not the best time...” He winced at his own words. “But Mom would like to see you, Munchkin. Both of you, actually. She wanted me to ask you over for dinner at our place whenever you’re up for it.”
“Tonight works. In fact, how about tonight we have dinner with you and tomorrow we have dinner at Mom’s with both families present,” I answered for Evie. Evergreen looked happy and relieved at the news.
“I’ll let her know. Thank you, Cory.”
Evie and I walked out to the conference room, and I steered us toward the kitchen, looking for the lunch James promised. We grabbed a picnic basket labeled for us on the counter and walked back to our suite. I set down the basket and opened it up to see what we were having for lunch. James set us up with a plethora of food, snacks and fruit. There were waters, Gatorades and champagne at the bottom. Seeing the overabundance of sustenance, I started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Evie asked.
“Everyone keeps talking and acting like we’re not leaving our room at all for the next month,” I explained, motioning to the basket. She walked over and took in all of the items in there and laughed along with me.
“I couldn’t believe the way they were tiptoeing around the fact that we have work and responsibilities. As if we’re going to drop everything and just have sex twenty-four-seven...” She almost doubled over in stitches, and it took her a moment before she caught her breath long enough to continue, “And the look on Dad’s face when James used the word ‘ravish!’ I had to bite my cheek so I wouldn’t laugh at both of them.” I chuckled, more with the joy of seeing her so happy than at her words.
“Well, we do have a few days off from work, but you’re right. They are being ridiculous. I have our entire life to love you,” I said, caressing the side of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch for a moment before she pulled back and looked at me more seriously.
“Cory, I know I haven’t said it yet, but I’m sorry I let my insecurities get the best of me and made us lose so much time and moments together.” The guilty, sad look on her face broke my heart. I lifted her into my arms, cradling her to my chest like the precious woman she was to me, and walked us over to the couch.
“I was a little mad at the start. No, that’s a lie. I was furious. Not just the fact that you hid from me during the full moons. I was mad you never told me about the bullying. Evie, I would have done something about it. I wish you hadn’t run away from us. We missed you so much. Not just me, but the boys and Bells. We were so confused and hurt.” I kissed her forehead.
“I wish you wouldn’t have hidden from me for so long... I wish...” I closed my eyes for a moment. “I should have noticed you weren’t there. I should have sought your beautiful green eyes within the crowd to ensure you weren’t my mate, but to be honest, I was in denial about my feelings for you. I always thought it was wrong for me to want you because you left us, and I felt like I should respect that you had moved on from being my friend. I thought if you didn’t want me in your life, I had no right to try to push myself in by being your mate, so when I saw you at the full moon gatherings and I felt nothing during the moon peak, I didn’t try to force it by looking for you. I think that part is on both of us.” She buried her face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply, and I could still feel her guilt through the bond.
“But I also want to talk about what you told Tenoch last night. About why you really hid.” I made her pull back and look up at me. “If I ever did or said anything, consciously or subconsciously, to make you feel like I wouldn’t accept you if you were my mate, please forgive me. I know I was overprotective. I know I was annoying with how many times I pushed you one way or the other, or tried to stop you from doing something to make sure you were safe.” A knot formed in my throat, but I forced it down to explain.
“I may not have said it the right way or sounded annoyed, but I always thought you were this brilliant, small ball of fire that spent so much time doing things for us that we had no clue how to even begin to help you do. I wanted to put you in a little bubble where nothing and no one ever touched or hurt you. Like my own little Pokémon.” I chuckled, then looked her in the eye so she would see how much I loved her.
“You’ve always been so precious to me. I always knew you would be amazing at whatever you decided to do with your life, and I wanted to do whatever was necessary to make sure you made it there. Whether you needed me with you or not, I wanted to try because I needed you in my life.” Evie’s eyes watered, but she shifted until she was straddling me, holding my face in her hands.
“Cory, it wasn’t you. You have to believe me. It was never anything you did wrong. It was this group of girls that always whispered behind my back, but close enough for me to hear. They got under my skin, always saying how much of a burden little Evie must be on all of you. I didn’t listen at first but look at me. I’m a nerd. Proud to be one, but still a nerd. It wasn’t that far from what the truth could be. People like you and Bells don’t usually have lasting friendships with nerds like me. It took me a long time to realize that it didn’t matter what the norm was. We were always our own weird mismatched group that somehow worked well together, and I broke that. Once I realized that, it was a matter of me finding the courage to come back and face what I did.”
“Who?” I wanted to know.
“Who what?” she asked, confused.
“Who said that? Who put those lies in your head?” I clarified. I needed to know who had pushed my mate away from me and my friends, but Evie shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter. Their words should have gone in one ear and out the other. Ultimately, my actions are my own, and I will do everything in my power to make it up to all of you.” She pushed forward and kissed me long and hard, pushing any protests out of my mind.
