Alpha Riley

Chapter 9 - A love like no other.

Riley

I had to laugh at the direction my thoughts were taking. I couldn’t imagine being mated to Jeremy. He was like my big brother. Sort of. There was always something. A feeling of sorts that kept us apart to a certain extent. I was his omega. I had to laugh at that as well. I was no longer his omega. I am now his housekeeper.

“You look happy. Did I do good?” His voice floated through my thoughts and I laughed. If I told him what I was thinking about, he would probably think I was a little crazy.

“Nobody has ever done anything like this for me. Of course, I am happy. What girl wouldn’t be?” My answer seemed to make him happy. “Why did you tell the ladies we would be back later?” I smiled as mischief filled his eyes and he laughed.

“You clearly don’t understand how a surprise works, do you?” He sounded amused as we came to a halt in front of our next appointment. I looked at the store in front of us for a moment, not entirely sure where he was going with this appointment. I was an omega. I was born with an eye defect, as my parents called it. It wasn’t strange that I had to wear glasses and there was never hope that my eyes would heal like those of a stronger wolf.

“I don’t need new glasses, Jeremy.” I laughed. I actually did, but he has already done so much for me.

“We aren’t here for glasses.” He grinned and opened the door, so I could walk in. The optometrist greeted us, and we went through the entire eye test without either of them giving me any indication as to why I was going through a test without getting glasses. They both disappeared and I scanned the office. There was nothing special about it. It was just a normal eye doctor’s office.

“Well, how would you feel about contacts.” The optometrist grinned from ear to ear when they returned, and he took a seat in front of me. He had a small tray with him and I gaped at Jeremy for a moment after seeing the huge range of contact lenses. I had always wondered if I would be able to wear them. My parents refused to get them for me when I was younger and got teased about my glasses!

“I would love them!” I beamed. I was not going to say no to something I had wanted since I started wearing glasses. The optometrist explained how they worked and that I would have to come back to get more, but that he had some sample ones I could use in the meantime. The first set felt too thick, and it felt as if I was wearing filthy glasses.

The second set fit perfectly. It scratched a little to have them in my eyes, but the optometrist explained that, just like glasses, it would take some time to get used to. After our appointment, Jeremy and I returned to the salon. Jeremy announced that it was the last part of my enormous surprise. The girls were going to get me ready for my party and I felt as if I was in heaven.

I had never had any of this. The massage was incredible, and I nearly fell asleep. I was so relaxed. After, they did my nails and even gave me a beautiful manicure on my toes, which I was convinced wouldn’t look that great after I shifted, but I didn’t say anything. I was just so happy. I felt guilty that Jeremy was spending so much money on me, but he seemed happy about it and I didn’t want to risk spoiling his good mood so close to my celebration.

If this was going to be the only one I ever had, I wanted it to be perfect. It took most of the afternoon to get all the treatments done. All I could see were my nails and toes as the staff moved around me to try and hide the make-up and hair. After I was done, they showed me to the dressing room and one of them helped me into my beautiful gown I would wear for the evening.

I felt like a princess. It was the most special day of my entire life and when I walked out of the dressing room, Jeremy’s face said it all. I looked good. He escorted me to the front of the store where they had covered a mirror.

“My sweet Riley, you have been through so much heartache in your life that I really wanted today to be special. You will be entering a new phase of your life tonight, and I want you to drink in every second. I don’t want you to think you owe me anything. All we did was bring out the incredible beauty you are inside. I hope you find the man that is destined to love you tonight.” Jeremy grinned before pulling away the sheet and I gaped at the woman who was looking back at me. I knew it was me, but I just couldn’t believe it.

My astonishment was quickly replaced by overwhelming emotions. I looked like a princess! My hair was pulled up and curls were framing my now perfectly made-up face! The dress clung to my body in just the right places and swooped out around my legs. I grinned at Jeremy, who looked proud while the surrounding staff tried their very best to save my make-up from being ruined by my tears!

Jeremy

I felt something I never felt before as Riley walked out of the dressing room. I had to hold back what I was feeling as she walked to the mirror. We had to wait for the moon to reveal the truth, and I still couldn’t believe it until that happened. The young girl who had been living in my home for the past two years. The girl I had grown so fond of and wanted to care for and protect had been my mate the entire time!

When she hugged me in the salon, I had to hold back every urge I felt to mark her then and there! I was so much older than she was. Would she even think of me in that way when the moon revealed to her that we were destined to be together? I knew her history. I knew what Caleb had done to her. She knew mine all too well. There were so many reasons for us not to be together.

I pushed all my thoughts as deep down as I could. We had to wait for the moon to reveal who her true mate was. I had to wait. I might just be having all these feelings because I cared so deeply for her. I couldn’t let them influence what was definitely going to be the most important night of her life. I had planned everything with Emily down to the very last detail.

The pack house was decorated with her favourite flowers. Her birthday cake was made of her favourite cake and the pack seemed to have accepted her as one of us. The evening just had to be perfect!