AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’m okay. Just trying on the dress, and I suddenly missed my parents,’I answered.
‘You want me to come in there and chase them out?’he asked, making me chuckle.
‘No, I’m okay. This is just the first thing I’ve gotten of my mother's,'I responded.
‘I love you.’
‘I love you more,’I said before I took a deep breath and exited the closet to show Kelly.
“Whoa, you look seriously hot and elegant,” Kelly said as she circled me. “And it looks like it was made for you. Fits like a glove!”
“It’s perfect,” Maya squealed.
The door to the office opened as Gillian stepped inside and stopped, Danny‘s head popping over his shoulder. They looked at me with their jaws dropped, but when we heard Markus telling them to keep moving, Kelly squeaked and pushed me back into the closet.
“Don’t look ather, Alpha! It’s tradition,” she yelled, locking me in.
“Fuck tradition,” Markus grumbled from close by. “Alright, alright. I’m going. It’s not like I didn’t already see the dress at the bank,” he added in response to whatever attempt Kelly was making to push him away.
“Not the same. You can see her in the dress tomorrow during the ceremony,” Kelly chided before I heard the door slam. “Luna, please change. We still need to find Maya’s and my dress. We have a full schedule today, and Mom wants you out of the house while they start decorating.”
I groaned, and I heard the guys laugh in the office. I had forgotten about their dresses. Well, at least I didn’t have to try a hundred dresses on. I could just watch and judge. I dressed in my usual jeans and t-shirt and headed out the door. Danny and Markus opened the door and gave Maya and me a kiss before we could leave. Kelly sighed while she waited by the elevator. “You are lucky ladies to have found your mate so quickly. I’m almost twenty-two and still got zilch to show for it.”
“I’m sure the wait will be worth it,” Maya said. “I can’t imagine life without Danny.”
I nodded in understanding. Life without Markus seemed so far in the past already. All three of us sighed and giggled at the mirrored emotions. We headed to the mall with Zack, Brent, George, and Gabriel to guard us. I had complained about the amount of attention three girls with four giant bodyguards would attract at a mall with humans in it, but after Ruby, neither Markus nor Danny were willing to let us out of their sight without sufficient warrior protection, and even Gillian argued with his sister when Kelly insisted we didn't need so many guards. It was sweet that they worried about us, but who would try anything at the mall?
We went to three stores before Kelly found a dress for Maya, and it was stunning. It was a fire-yellow, A-Line, off-the-shoulder, sweep-train, chiffon dress with some intricate sequin design on the bodice and a slit going down the right leg. Danny was going to have trouble keeping his hands off her for the whole ceremony.
Two stores later, we found Kelly’s dress. A sexy, forest-green, one-shoulder mermaid dress with a diamond cut out at one side. There was an elegance to it that screamed her name.
Once we had the dresses, we went to the food court to get some food. I was standing in line with Gabriel near the Chinese lineup when I felt the hair standing on end at the back of my neck. I suppressed a shiver and looked around, trying to find the source of discomfort, but I saw nothing. Kara was pacing in my head, also feeling anxious. We received our food and went to sit with Kelly, Maya, Zack Brent, and George. The feeling went away as I ate, sandwiched between Gabriel and Zack. I began thinking I was being silly until I was answering a question from Kelly, and I felt it again; that feeling of being watched. It made my skin crawl, and I looked around again. For a moment, I thought I saw a familiar face in the crowd, but it was gone so quickly that I was sure I imagined it, yet Kara seemed tense; she didn’t want to be here anymore.
“Luna, are you okay?” Zack asked, looking around.
“I just felt like someone was watching us. I’m probably imagining it,” I said.
“Is that what you felt earlier while we were waiting for our food?” Gabriel asked, standing up and looking around. Their food now forgotten, the boys all stood and surrounded us.
“You noticed that?” I asked, and when he nodded, I sighed. “I‘m probably just imagining things. With what happened to Ruby, I’m just on edge. I’m sorry to alarm you.”
“We will wait for you to finish eating, and then we will head home,” Brent said.
“I‘m not really hungry anymore. Plus, dinner is in a couple of hours. We should get home,” I said instead. If they weren't going to eat, I’d rather just be home where I could feel safe.
“Yes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We need to fit in these dresses tomorrow anyway,” Kelly said, getting up and dumping the trash in the receptacle for everyone. We started to make our way out of the food court when I caught a scent that gave me pause. It was familiar, but not enough for me to recognize it. It was too muddled from the food court that I didn’t have a chance to process what it was.
When we got home, Mrs. Quinn pushed us into the conference room for last-minute decisions and forbade us from going or looking out the back. She was quite adamant about it and even made Markus place a guard at the back door entrance. I thought it was a bit extreme, but Markus asked me to play along. There had not been a luna since his mother passed when he was five, and the entire pack was over the moon.
I went upstairs to get ready for dinner. There would be several alphas and guests arriving tonight who had traveled long distances to be here. They would be staying in the guest suites for a few days. Most of the council would arrive tomorrow morning. It would be my first long event as a hostess and luna, so with the help of Kelly, I had chosen a few outfits for each day.
This whole weekend was going to be an entire formal wear event for me, and I was already exhausted just thinking about it. I was working on my makeup when Markus mind-linked me,‘The first guest is at the gate. Could you please come down to greet them with me, love?’
‘On my way’I said, finishing putting on lipstick and looking at myself in the mirror.
Ready Kara?I asked.
My eyes flipped to black for a moment as she pushed forward excitedly and said,Born ready, baby. It’s showtime.
