Her Promise

Her Promise | Chapter Seven

MISSY

“I checked with Candace this morning, the catering is on schedule for tomorrow, and the bakery delivered all the deserts this morning,” Sadie told me, running down our checklist.

“Looks like we have almost everything in order,” Emma said.

We spent two whole months preparing almost every day for our Alpha ceremony. When we got to the part about all the different laws Serenity Waters had over Blood Eclipse, I was struggling to keep things straight. Maddox was too, as this was his third pack in only a couple of years. Some laws were held across all packs, but others were specific to each pack. Sadie came to the rescue, learning everything she could about Blood Eclipse and then breaking it down for Maddox and me. She was too smart for her own good.

Last week, we officially turned Emma and Langston’s offices into ours. It was still weird having my own office. The only real personal touches in my office were a picture of my family with Maddox and me at our graduation hung on the wall and a picture of Maddox on my desk.

Right after we switched offices, we also moved into the Alpha suite, which was even crazier than our first one. Five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a study, a living room, and a small kitchen in case we didn’t want to go to the main house. We left it basically the same as Emma and Langston had it. All the bedrooms had covered furnishings except the master. We didn’t have kids, so there was no need to change those yet. The only change we made was to paint the master bedroom.

“Almost?” I questioned. I couldn’t think of anything that was left out. We even practiced the ceremony the previous night. The phone on the desk rang. Emma looked down at it expectantly, so I hesitantly picked it up. “Missy,” I answered.

“Someone is here for you, ma’am,” the omega reported.

“Um, alright. I’ll be right there,” I said and hung up. Emma just smiled at me.

“Who was that?” Sadie asked.

“Someone is here for me,” I told her.

“Shouldn’t keep them waiting!” Emma said cheerily; she was up to something. She led the way out of the room, and Sadie and I connected gazes.

“You don’t know?” I linked her. She just shook her head.

As we rounded the corner to the front hall, I laid my eyes on Lemon and let out a yelp. “Oh my gosh!”

“I hear someone needs a dress,” she smiled. I ran at her and almost tackled her in a hug. We both couldn’t stop laughing.

“You called her?” I asked Emma.

“No. I spoke with Azalea about what you might want to wear tomorrow, and she said you would take wardrobe advice from no one other than Lemon,” Emma explained.

“Lea called and asked if I wanted to help you pick out a dress for this ceremony. I couldn’t turn down a shopping trip with one of my favorite girls,” Lemon smiled at me.

“Did you bring Axel?” I asked her. I wouldn’t mind him tagging along since they were dating, but I was hoping for girl time.

Lemon shook her head. “No, he is going to come tomorrow,” she said. I realized there was a bag sitting on the ground at her feet.

“You’re staying here?” I asked excitedly.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss your big day!” she smiled.

“Well, you girls should get out of here. Your parents will be here for dinner tonight. I’m sure they would love it if you were back by then!” Emma said.

“Can I go?” Sadie asked, bouncing on her heels. “Uncle Josh never takes me shopping!”

“The more, the merrier,” Lemon smiled.

“Wait, Lea and Liam are coming tonight? I thought they weren’t coming until tomorrow,” I questioned.

“They thought it would be nice to spend a little time with you guys before the ceremony. Azalea wants to help get you ready tomorrow,” Emma answered.

My excitement was officially trumping my anxiety. I hadn’t expected to see Lea and Liam or my siblings until after the ceremony was through, and I really hadn’t expected Lemon to help me get a dress. I hadn’t put much thought into what I would wear, assuming I would just find a dress I already owned.

Emma tossed me a set of keys. “You guys get out of here,” she smiled. “I’ll let the boys know where you went.”

-

I pulled on yet another dress in the changing room as Lemon waited outside, holding a few more if this was another flop. Emma said it wasn’t necessarily a requirement, but it was tradition to wear white during the ceremony. Finding a white dress that didn’t look too wedding or too informal was more difficult than we thought. Sadie ran off to the bathroom two dresses ago.

“Sadie is a talker,” Lemon laughed from the other side of the door.

“Yea, but I think there is just a lot going on in her brain. It all needs to go somewhere,” I laughed back. Thankfully, this dress had a zipper on the side. I zipped it up and stepped out of the dressing room.

“Oh, that one is pretty good!” Lemon said, seeing the dress. “Do a spin!”

I spun around slowly. “It feels pretty nice too. Less stiff than the last one.”

“Too bad Lea’s dress won’t fit you,” Lemon said. “She’s just too short. Here try this one. I want to see it too.” She handed me another one of the dresses she was holding.

“How’s Axel?” I asked her as I headed back into the changing room.

“Great,” she said. I could hear the happiness in her response. “It’s been a lot better now that all that mess is over with. If Sadie is tagging along with us, I hope that means you’ve made at least one friend.”

“Yea,” I smiled. “Sadie is great. Way smarter than the rest of us. Ronin is really nice too. He’s very soft compared to Maddox, but I think they will make a great team. Vera and Valen haven’t been too bad either.”

“Vera and Valen?” she asked.

“You’ll know them when you meet them. I will let you experience that one for yourself,” I laughed. Instead of zipping, this dress tied at the waist. I left the changing room as I tied it tightly.

“Oh wow! That one is perfect!” Lemon said as I stepped out of the little changing stall. I looked in the mirror and had to agree. There were small stitched details along the hem that softly crept up the skirt of the dress. It looked a bit like a wrap dress, but it wasn’t.

“Do you think Maddox will like it?” I said, trying to look at every angle in the mirror. “And it makes me look kinda like a grown-up, right?”

Lemon laughed loudly at that one. “You do know you’re an adult now, right? They kind of force that on you when you graduate high school.”

“Not everyone looks at us as grown up,” I denied.

“Wow, Missy, that is so pretty!” Sadie said. I turned to see her joining us again. She had a bag in her hand. “That looks amazing on you.”

“Where did you go? The bathroom is like three stores down?” I asked her.

“Oh, I saw this and thought it would be perfect!” she smiled, holding out the bag. Confused, I opened it and looked inside. There was a small black velvet box inside. “Open it!”

I pulled the box out. It was flat and square. I flipped it open to see a heart wrapped together with an infinity symbol hanging from a gold chain. “It’s really pretty,” I told her.

“I thought it was fitting for tomorrow. You guys will be taking an oath to love and care for the pack,” she smiled.

“Wait, this is for me?” I asked her. Sadie nodded excitedly. “Thank you,” I whispered, taken aback a little. Sadie, Ronin, Langston, Emma. They had all been so welcoming and supportive over the last couple of months. I was starting to feel like I could actually be Luna.

“Well, is this the dress and that the jewelry?” Lemon asked.

I looked up at them both smiling happily. “Yea, let’s get some lunch,” I returned.

-

Maddox was waiting for us when we got back. I happily retreated to our room with him. Unfortunately for him, we didn’t have enough time for him to properly express his excitement for tomorrow before we were expecting Azalea and Liam for dinner. With growling promises for some alone time that night, we got ourselves ready and headed to dinner.

When we got in the dining room, Lemon was chatting with Sadie and Ronin, and Lea and Liam were talking with Langston and Emma. I raised up on my toes a little, excited to see them. Maddox kissed my cheek and pushed me forward. “Go ahead,” he said.

I rushed forward as Lea turned to greet me. I went right into her arms for a huge hug. It had only been a couple of months since seeing them, but I immediately missed home. “Oh, Missy, I can’t tell you how much we miss you back in Blood Eclipse,” she said, crushing me tightly. I squeezed her back just as tight.

“We missed you guys, too,” I told her. Maddox caught up, meeting Liam with a handshake.

“They have done wonderfully,” Emma said as Lea let me go. “We thought it would take longer to have them ready, honestly.”

“We expected nothing less,” Lea smiled. She looked so proud and happy.

“Where are Junior, Leo, and Azly?” I asked, surprised Maddox hadn’t been tackled yet. Sometimes, the kids like him more than me.

“Lily and Damien will bring them tomorrow,” Liam answered. “We thought they might be a little bored tonight.”

“We should all sit so dinner can be served!” Emma said.

As we all took our seats, I felt oddly content. I wasn’t as insecure as I was when we got to Serenity Waters. I was still a little nervous about our ceremony the next day, but that had to be expected. It probably wasn’t healthy not to have some nerves about all of it. Lemon and Sadie were getting along well; Liam and Ronin were talking about baseball. Emma and Langston were chatting with Azalea about their trip. Everything seemed in harmony.

Maddox held my hand under the table. I looked at him, only able to smile. “Are you ready for all of this?” he asked softly. I nodded.

“I think we might have a good shot at not messing it all up,” I told him. Maddox’s eyes danced with something sweet and joyous. He only ever looked at me that way.

“You just have to promise you aren’t going to freak out and run away from me,” he joked.

“I am faster than you,” I reminded him.

“Not for long,” he teased back.