38. Aurelia

Chapter 38

Aurelia

N ervousness ran wild through me as a knock sounded at my door.

Leala opened it as I waited behind her, my hair and makeup now done. I was just waiting for the dress.

A red-faced Cecil stood in the doorway, a long black dress shimmering over his arm.

"I have been waiting out there for years and years," he yelled at Leala as soon as he could. "I knock. Hello? Nobody. Again. Hello? Nobody."

"Is this it?" Leala reached for the dress and ignored his comments, as he was only out there for a moment.

"No, no. This is no ordinary dress." He brushed past her, grabbing it by what appeared to be the strapless top. He shook it a little, and the whole thing shimmered. "It is plain. It must be plain, that's what the beta said. Fine. Plain. I get it, I get it. We don't show the boobage, but we show the neck. Fine. Shoulders? Fine. But where is the dicks with wings? I can't do that with plain dress."

I put a hand to my chest. "Did I create this dick obsession? I'm really sorry if I did. Not all clothes have to have dicks on them, Cecil. I'd definitely be happy for one piece of clothing without a dick stitched on it somewhere."

He lowered the dress a little, trying to read my face. "You want a vagine?"

"Or maybe just normal clothes without genitalia. That could be fun."

He narrowed his eyes. "I see." I worried that he probably didn't. "But here is this." He held up a finger, reached behind his back, and pulled a fuchsia sash from his pocket. "The beta likes pink, yes? We have a pink sash. It is plain! Except.. ." He lifted his furry brow, and it seemed to act like strings pulling up the corners of his mouth.

"Except?" I reached out and took the sash. Leala leaned in close to see, and then started laughing. In darker pink, little dicks with wings were stitched into the fabric. Apparently this was now my clothing calling card. "Great," I said with a grimace.

Leala laughed harder.

"Yes. There. Plain dress for the beta? Yes. Pop of pink by your request? Yes. Dicks? Yaaassss." He made a fist of victory. "We did it!"

"Did we?"

"Good." Cecil nodded. "In that dress, you make all the dicks stand at attention." He made the fist again, another symbol of his victory, before handing off the dress to Leala. "Do it proud."

With that, he left. I wasn't really sure what had just happened.

"I think Vemar and Hadriel have driven that poor man mad," Leala said with a huge smile. "I wonder if anyone will notice." She held the sash closer to her face and then started laughing again. "I can't believe he made this for the beta's claiming. The beta only gave him another chance at your clothes because he was so adamant about having the perfect thing."

I shook my head. "I just won't wear the sash."

"You have to wear the sash! He was told you were going in all black. He's going to wear all black to match. He has no idea that you plan to wear his favorite color, and no one else even knows it's his favorite color. It is the cutest idea. Remember how I gushed? I don't usually gush. It'll be a really sweet surprise for him. You have to do it. Trust me, he won't be looking close enough to see the dicks."

I sighed, shaking my head as I looked at the great many dicks stitched into this damn thing. It must've taken Cecil forever.

Hadriel showed up not long after I'd pulled on the dress and slipped on the sandals. They had no heels or ankle ties, just one little strap across my toes to hold them in place. It was as though I were walking barefoot. I wore no jewelry, only flowers in my hair and pins to keep it put. My shoulders and arms were bare, waiting for a mark that would never fade.

"Oh my..." He put his hand to his chest and gave me a weepy sort of look. "My darling, look at you! You are an absolute dream! Look at how pretty she is, Leala. She is perfect for that hot alpha."

"Beta," Leala said.

"Tonight he is an alpha wolf claiming his mate, dearest. We call him alpha. Don't fuck up and embarrass me."

Leala smiled at him. "Suck a lemon."

He returned the smile. "Fuck glass. Okay, Aurelia, my love, let's get ready, shall we? Everyone is waiting. We'll have a big pig roast. Burt has assured us that he is up for the job. I'm guessing he'll be at least half as good as you. We'll just make do. Oh! Listen to this. Finley asked me earlier if it would be rude to invite you to dinner but ask you to cook it. I told her it would, but that she should do it anyway. Be prepared for that. And we're walking. Here we go."

"Did you see what was on the sash?" Leala said as they walked beside me down the hall.

"No. What?" Hadriel looked at my waist and then back to the fabric flared across the ground behind me. "What is it? I don't see anything." He tsked and gave Leala an incredulous look. "That ape fucker didn't put dicks on that sash, did he? Say he didn't. Leala! Say he did not put dicks on an item of clothing that an alpha's mate is wearing to a claiming!"

Leala bent over laughing again.

"That seeping bell-end!" Hadriel gritted his teeth in frustration. "Well, don't tell anyone. All we need is for the alpha to get pissed when he's at his most primal. The man is as cool as they come, but everyone has their limits."

"I shouldn't have worn it," I murmured.

"Nonsense." Hadriel patted my arm. "Well, maybe not, but it's too late now. It'll be fine. Okay, here we go. We're turning the corner now, and— Where is that dragon?"

"Right here." Vemar stepped away from the wall wearing a crisp black suit with a sparkly green and silver tie. His pants were black, but his loafers sported the same sparkly silver as the tie. I belatedly noticed Hadriel wore the same thing.

"Right, okay." Hadriel shooed Leala to fall back. "But you definitely need to attend this thing, Leala." He looked over his shoulder. "You haven't seen them going at it. It is a fucking marvel. Talk about compatible! The passion is so scorching it will practically burn you."

"Fucking hell," I grumbled, wishing I could hide my face.

"It's okay, Captive Lady," Vemar said as we walked toward a side exit of the castle. "Most of the people here have seen a great many people going at it. Remember all those orgy stories? And remember that party last night I told you about? A lot of them were there. This won't be a big deal."

"It's a claiming," Hadriel said. "The wolves definitely won't think of it as a big deal. Except for how long his knot lasts—that'll turn into some sort of myth or legend, just you watch. No one will fucking believe it. Here we go, and Vemar is getting the door for you."

He jogged to get there before us and pushed open the door, standing there with a smile as I passed through before Hadriel.

"You look gorgeous, Aurelia," Vemar said. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," I answered as butterflies swirled within my belly.

"Okay." Hadriel caught up to me again. "Here's how it is going to go: Vemar and I will walk you into the alpha's general vicinity. Once he sees you, we'll fall away to the sides. All you do is walk straight up to him. You don't look at anyone else, you don't say hi to anyone—nothing. You walk right up to him as though he is the only person in the area. As I said, he'll be at his most primal tonight."

"His most possessive?" Vemar asked.

"Yes, exactly. His most possessive. Jealous as a motherfucker. He'll literally kill someone for touching you, but don't worry about that. You love him and you want this, so I doubt you'll stray very far from him. Once you are in his bubble, he'll handle the rest. Just go with it. Worst case, let your wolf guide you."

I let out a shaky breath, excited and aroused at the idea of Weston being at his most primal. He was always so incredibly hot when he let that out. "Okay."

"Ready?" Hadriel asked me.

The panic from earlier crept back in. I was worried about the people now, about doing something wrong. "I don't know."

"Good enough. Here we go."

The glow of several fires illuminated a whole host of people standing and chatting to each other. They'd all dressed up for the occasion, everyone in suits and dresses, their hair done but their feet bare. I noticed that ties were loose and dresses were like mine—easy to shed. They expected to shift.

Another wave of nervousness swarmed my belly, this one prompted by my wolf. She'd be on show here more than me. This was my night for love, but she'd be expected to adhere to duty, to join the pack and, hopefully, correctly hold the bond.

Pigs rotated on spits, someone cranking them to keep them going. Cups clinked as people cheered and laughed.

As I neared, the chatter started to die away. Smiles slipped as they took me in, looking at my dress and then the sash flowing out behind me. Looking at my face and my shoulders.

I breathed evenly, trying to steady my flip-flopping stomach as nervous energy zinged through my body.

"There," Hadriel said in a hush, nudging me. "Beyond the fires. Walk right through the middle. Our alpha is making a statement."

"What's the statement?" I whispered.

"That your presence demands everyone's attention."

I started to shake with nervousness now. This was such an extreme break from anything in my life before. To stay safe, I'd been taught to be a wallflower, a shadow, a ghost. If people had noticed me, they'd sneered and tried to chase me away. It had always been dangerous to draw too much attention, and now here I was, the focal point, all eyes on me.

"We've got you, Aurelia," Vemar murmured, steel in his voice. "We're right here. You tell us when we should let you go."

"No, that's not protocol," Hadriel hissed. "We need to?—"

"I don't give two shits about protocol," Vemar growled. "We go when she says we go. Guard the asshole, always."

We walked between the fires, and a hush fell over the crowd. Then I saw him, a little beyond the fires as Hadriel had said, standing with the king and queen in a black suit that was practically molded to his delicious body. He turned his head when the king stopped speaking, finally seeing me walk toward him.

The world fell away when I saw his handsome face. He wore his tie loose like the others, and no belt. He also stood barefoot, his pant legs just that little bit longer to make that seem normal. He turned around fully then, pulling his focus away from the king and queen and giving me his undivided attention.

I nodded at Vemar, and he and Hadriel drifted away to either side as Weston scanned my face and then raked his gaze down my body. When it hit my sash, his eyes widened and his gaze snapped back up. Surprise and warmth rushed through the bond, followed by hard love and unshakable devotion.

He took several steps toward me to close the gap between us and cupped my face in his hands.

"You are my chosen," he said. The way he said it, in a loud, clear voice, seemed like a ritual or ceremony. His gaze was rooted to mine as his thumbs softly stroked down my cheeks. "My true mate. My beloved. I will die to protect you, Aurelia, and work every day to make you happy. I love you more than words can say, and I am honored that you have chosen me as your mate."

He didn't kiss me. Hunger burned in his eyes.

"I see you remembered my favorite color," he said softly, for me alone. He was going to be really surprised at the Moonfire Lily label.

"We can take turns now," I replied. "One of us can be levelheaded and the other bold. One of us rational while the other takes risks. We can balance each other. Tonight, you can be the dirty, dark, devious alpha, and I'll be the submissive good girl, doing as her alpha says."

His breath hitched, and his fingers slipped down to my neck and tightened as he stared at my lips hungrily. I let my arms fall to my sides, fully under his control as my desire burned through me. I didn't care that people were watching, just like I hadn't cared before. When I was with him, it didn't seem to matter. He was all I noticed, all I focused on. With him, I didn't deny myself, because I knew I'd be protected no matter what happened.

"What do you crave, Little Wolf?" he asked, his voice deep and dark. He pushed up my chin with a thumb before kissing down my throat.

"You, Weston," I moaned. "I crave you."

He tsked, shaking his head. "What do you crave, Little Wolf? What do you need from your alpha?"

He dragged his lips first down one side of my neck and then the other, sucking in my flesh. One hand slid down my chest, cupping a breast before sliding down and around to my ass. He gripped a handful.

"Tell me." His voice was riddled with power.

"I need my alpha's thick cock deep inside of me while he stamps me with his mark, claiming me. Ruin me for every other male, Weston. Make me yours."

"You are mine!" He ripped my head to the side while bending, and sank his teeth into my shoulder. His magic tingled as it worked over my skin and then down into my bones. Heat pooled low. I needed his touch, his cock.