Damon couldn't look away from Talia. He was confident that he was the luckiest guy in the world. She was beyond beautiful. And under that enchanting façade, Talia was kind and powerful, and he will give her the best Luna ceremony ever! That was something even Sapa agreed on.
Everyone will know who Talia is, and no one will doubt that she is his mate. His only one.
'You are next, kitten,' Damon's voice sounded in Talia's head through their private mind-link.
'That sounded like a threat,' she responded without looking at him.
He cleared his throat to suppress incoming laughter. To think that only weeks ago, this cheeky female was shrinking whenever he talked to her.
'I hope you will think of it as a promise, kitten. I will spend the rest of my life making you happy.'
Her eyes drifted toward him to meet his gaze. 'And I will make you happy, Damon.'
'You are already doing that. By existing, you are giving me a reason to live.'
An immense amount of love flowed into Talia through their mate bond, and Talia's knees shook. She really wanted to kiss him and hold him tightly until the end of time, but they had a lot of eyes on them, and this was about Maddox and Tatiana.
'I know I shouldn't say this, but… I can't wait for this event to be over,' Talia shared her thoughts.
'Me too. Me too', Damon responded in a singing voice.
Talia struggled to peel her eyes off Damon and focus on the ceremony. She was looking forward to this, and it was a one-time thing and it would be a pity to miss something important because she was flirting with Damon.
'Would you like us to have a ceremony like this, princess?' Gideon's voice sounded in Mindy's head. He could see that she looked at Maddox and Tatiana with longing, and for the first time in his life, Gideon disliked his position. If he was an Alpha, he could give her a ceremony and status, and like this…
'How about we celebrate every year on the day we met?' Mindy responded. 'Just the two of us.'
The unspoken promises of carnal pleasures hid behind Mindy's words; Gideon could feel them as the pressure in his groin area increased.
Another guy disliking that he was not an Alpha was James. He looked at Cornelia and regretted that he won't be able to give her a ceremony like this, the one that would include a whole pack looking at them as their leaders. That was reserved for Alphas and their Lunas, and no matter how awesome Cornelia was, she won't be a Luna because he was not an Alpha. Stinky bloodline. If James knew who his real father was, he would give him a beating, but he couldn't snoop around that because if Alpha Edward catches a whiff of how James was not his son… James had no idea what would happen.
Cornelia caught James' gaze and smiled, pleased that he was looking at her.
Actually, all the couples on that podium were looking at each other, and Varya felt like an outsider. She noticed Kalina eyeing Tony, Meg looking at Kai, Maya and Caden were smiling foolishly, and… what about her? Sure, Oliver was handsome and available, but there was nothing more to it, and seeing all these mates, Varya wanted more!
Varya remembered that Kalina said how Talia has the power to attract mates, and Varya decided to stick close to Talia.
The moment the ceremony was complete, James rushed to Cornelia's side, offering her his arm to hold on to. Alpha Edward said that James should leave a good impression on Cornelia, treat her well, and stick close to her, and James had every intention of doing so.
After a round of congratulations, James led Cornelia to the tables where bridesmaids and groomsmen were sitting; three tables were set for eight people to accommodate a party of twenty-four. James loved that he will have dinner with his chocolate-colored Goddess. Every seat had a nametag, and his name was next to Cornelia's. Perfect.
Now that James thought about it, he had no idea how he would endure if they ended up sitting at different tables. What if he was stuck with the group from the Red Moon pack? What if Cornelia had another guy as her walking partner? Would that bastard sit next to her? Would he flirt? James' insides shook with rage at that thought.
"Jay… Jay…" Cornelia called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I think you should stop putting food on my plate."
James' hand paused midair. He was holding a fork with an appetizer stuck on it that was on the way to Cornelia's plate, and there were three pieces on that plate already. Did he put them there? Probably.
Robotically, his hands moved, and he put that appetizer in his mouth. She was right. He needed to focus and not feed her tonight, at least not in front of everyone to see.
"How is your leg?" James asked. "Did you twist your ankle?"
She was not sure if she twisted her ankle, but… "It's fine when I'm sitting."
"Are you sure?" James licked his lips nervously. "If you are in pain, I can help you to your room and get food and…"
Cornelia's eyes flashed in panic. Was he about to talk about sex? They were surrounded by werewolves, and someone was eavesdropping!
"Uhm," she cleared her throat. "I am fine, for now. If it gets worse, I will let you know." It's not that she didn't want privacy with James, but if they left before dinner was served, everyone would notice!
She wanted to change the topic. "How did you become the groomsman?"
James glanced toward Talia, who was standing nearby with Tatiana, Kalina, Varya, Meg, and a few more females. "Someone called and said they are one groomsman short, and I agreed to fill in the spot."
Cornelia quickly put the pieces together, remembering that Talia said she had the perfect groomsman, and James ended up being marked on the list as X. Cornelia loved that James got to be her partner, but she didn't appreciate the surprise factor. So much stress could be avoided if Cornelia knew what Talia was up to!
James leaned closer to Cornelia and spoke in a whisper, "My father will want to meet you."
Cornelia held her breath. His words splashed on her cheek, close to her ear, and she almost turned to kiss him. He was so close, and the temptation was maddening.
"When?" She asked.
James was not sure. "Probably after dinner."
James was not comfortable with Alpha Edward coming close to Cornelia. What if he gets funny ideas about Cornelia? What if he does something that crosses the line? So far, James didn't care what his father did, but now it was different.
"Miss Cornelia," James called in an official tone and stared into her brown eyes seriously. "Whenever your leg or anything else is causing you discomfort, let me know, and I will handle it."
"Alright," Cornelia responded with a smile, knowing that 'anything else' included his father. But Cornelia had no intention of making James do all the work. After all, she came here to help.
