Chapter Seventy One

We stayed at the Inn until after lunch the next day. Liam was patient and doting the entire time and seemed far more relaxed than he was back at the pack. He played with Abi in the grass while Amy and I had coffee after breakfast. I could not take my eyes off of him. He chased her and played with her; he was patient and attentive. My heart melted watching him.

I was not excited about going back to the pack. I had an uneasy feeling about the next couple weeks. Damien and Lily’s wedding was less than a week away. Liam told me that Lily had been driving Damien crazy and he was worried about all the stress affecting the pup. Luckily, the dress did not need to be resized as she wasn’t showing yet.

Damien asked if I could take over wedding prep with his mom so Lily could relax. I told Liam I would, but I was nervous. This was going to mean I would be interacting with more pack members and I was not sure how that would go after Liam announced me as his mate. He tried to reassure me that everything would be alright but I couldn’t help but be nervous when he wasn’t with me.

When we arrived back at the packhouse, Liam was pulled away to work. Mrs. Hale ambushed me in our room, dragging me away before I could unpack our things. “Come on, sweetheart. Lots to do while my grandpup is baking!” she said in a cheery voice.

“What do you mean? I thought almost everything was done?” I asked her nervously.

“Liam didn’t tell you dear?”

“Tell me what exactly?” I asked as we rounded the corner and walked through the kitchen doors.

Felix was waiting inside with Missy. “Yay! It’s time to make the cake!” Missy cheered.

“Wait, cake? Are we making the wedding cake?” I asked looking around.

“Yes. That is why Lily asked for you to come help. Didn’t Liam tell you the bakery had to cancel the cake order?” Mrs. Hale said. Felix stood to the side while Missy danced around, waiting for us to begin.

I gave a short laugh. “No, he did not. So, what does the bride want exactly?” Mrs. Hale smiled, and we got to work.

-

In five short days, Mrs. Hale and I performed a miracle. I was not aware of all the prep work that went into a wedding. We made a delicious banana and strawberry wedding cake as well as cupcakes to match. We also prepped rooms for all the incoming guests from other packs. It had begun to snow which fit in great with the wintery theme Lily had chosen. The wedding colors were silver and blue. Even though we had moved all decorations and set up inside, the outside wintery atmosphere was adding to the mood.

Lily was absolutely glowing, beyond thrilled with everything we had accomplished. It is now Friday, and the bulk of the guests will be arriving today with the wedding happening tomorrow. We were down in the kitchen; I was prepping some chickens to roast for dinner while Lily sat at the counter snacking. Felix was outside the door, tired of listening to wedding talk I am sure. She was talking animatedly about the plans for the honeymoon. She stopped mid-sentence and I looked up to see her eyes glazed over for a moment.

“So, um, I think maybe we should wrap it up down here…” Lily said coming back to our conversation.

“Why?” I said.

“Because Gwen is here…” she said as the kitchen door burst open.

“Lily!” Gwen’s annoying voice called. “Who is the man muscle in the hallway-” she stopped seeing me.

“Hey, I didn’t think you were staying in the packhouse. I thought you would go straight to your parents,” Lily said with a shallow laugh.

Gwen kept her eyes on me. “Yea, Mom said my dear brother was slaving away with Liam today, so I came to see him,” she said as she turned to Lily. “Anyway, what’s the wall of muscle outside the door?”

“That is a Liam thing. Don’t worry about it. How have you been?” Lily said standing. She shot me a nervous glance and I nodded at her. Gwen was doing her best to ignore me.

“Totally boring. I am hoping Dad will let me stay now that I am back for a few days. Mom was in tears when I got here,” Gwen told her.

Lily walked towards her, trying to divert her attention and move her from the room. “She has really missed you,” Lily told her.

Before Lily could get her out the door, Damien and Liam walked in. Liam locked eyes with me. “You okay?” he immediately linked. I gave him a tight smile and nodded.

Gwen decided she was overjoyed to see both Damien and Liam. She squealed and jumped at the two of them standing side by side. Her arms managed to wrap around both their necks as they caught her, both caught off guard by her enthusiasm. Jealousy and rage bloomed in my chest immediately. Liam’s eyes were wide as he untangled himself from Gwen’s embrace.

“That’s enough, Gwen,” Damien said as he pulled her off. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Mom and Dad?”

“How could I not come to drag my two favorite boys away from all that boring work?” she said in her fake sweet voice.

This time it was Lily who growled, surprising everyone. We all looked at her as she held her hand up to her mouth. “Sorry, I think it's the hormones…”

Damien left Gwen to go to his mate and pulled her into his arms protectively. She smiled at his attention. Before he could move, Gwen clamped onto Liam’s arm and cooed at Damien and Lily. My eyes went wide. Liam tried to push her off, but she seemed determined.

“Gwen,” Damien’s voice interrupted. He was clearly irritated. “Let go of him. You do not get to ignore his mate who stands ten feet away from you.”

Her face got angry. She let go of Liam before turning on her heel and stomping out. I looked at Damien and mouthed a thank you as Liam came over to me. He and Lily left the kitchen. I closed my eyes as Liam wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m sorry. We came down here as quickly as we could…” he said.

“It’s okay. I’m okay…” I said.

His hand came up to my face and wiped away a tear I did not know had fallen. “There is nothing to be jealous of. I only have eyes for my Little Luna,” he said softly. I opened my eyes to look up into my favorite blue eyes.

“I know,” I said.

“Want to come to my office with me until it's time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner? The caterers should be here in the next hour to start cooking.”

I smiled at him. “That sounds nice. Can I sit with you while you work?” For some reason I just wanted to be close to him right now.

“Of course, baby,” he said as he pulled me close. I let his scent calm me.

-

I stood in the mirror in the bathroom, pinning my curls back from my face. Liam walked in behind me. He looked handsome in his dress clothes. I was wearing a blue and silver dress that Lily picked out. It was really pretty with draping layers of blue hues. Liam had a silver dress shirt on, and he made me want to drool.

“You are going to outshine the bride, sweetheart,” Liam said in my ear from behind me. I smiled at him in the mirror.

“Oh no, it is their night. We are just there for support,” I said to him.

“I know where my eyes will be all night,” he said with a sexy smirk. I rolled my eyes. Pinning the last curl in place, I turned to my mate.

“Let’s go, My Alpha. People will be expecting you,” I said. His eyes darkened a bit. I needlessly adjusted the collar of his shirt so I could touch his chest before I turned to leave the bathroom. We headed into the bedroom where I slipped on some short heels. Liam grabbed his phone and put on a watch. When we were both ready, he held out his arm for me to hold as we went downstairs.

When we got downstairs, we walked into the hall where the tables for dinner were set up. There was already a good amount of people gathered but we did not see Damien and Lily yet. Liam led me towards the font of the room to the table we would be sharing with Damien and Lily. Of course, we were stopped before we could get there. He was an older gentleman, probably around Alpha Robert’s age. He had a woman at his side that was clearly his mate.

“Alpha, it's good to see you. Is this your lovely mate?” the man said.

“Alpha Langston, it is great to see you too. Yes, this is my mate. Azalea let me introduce you to Alpha Langston and his mate Ella. They are from our neighboring pack,” Liam said.

“It is so nice to meet you,” I said with a smile.

“Oh darling, she is beautiful. You better treat her well, Liam,” Ella said, looking me up and down. I gave her a smile.

“Wouldn’t dream of anything less,” Liam said, giving me a warm smile.

“We should take our seats, dear,” Alpha Langston said to his mate. “It was lovely to meet you, Azalea.” We waved goodbye to them and continued towards the table. Liam and I sat down together waiting for it to be time to begin. Liam would be announcing Damien and Lily then their parents would give some short speeches and we would be served dinner.

Liam and I were talking when his eyes hardened at something over my shoulder. I turned to see his parents behind us. I froze not knowing what would happen. Liam stood and took a protective step towards me. “Mother, father,” he said. He was tense. I swallowed my fear and stood up. His arm came around my waist and I faced his parents with him.

“Azalea, you look nice, dear,” said Luna Lyssa.

“Um, thank you…” I whispered. Liam’s arm tightened protectively around me.

“You two have made it abundantly clear that you do not approve of my Goddess given mate. What do you want?” Liam said in a cold tone.

“Son adjust your tone. Your mother and I are not here to fight with you. We are here…” he trailed off.

“We are here to apologize. Liam you are our only child and we have behaved abhorrently towards you and your mate. Your father and I have discussed it, and we would like to be there for her Luna ceremony if you will let us,” said Liam’s mother. She looked at me now. “Azalea, we are truly sorry for how you were treated previously. We are sorry for our actions. We know we cannot make up for the past, but we would like it if you could give us a chance for a future.”

I was shocked. Liam looked at his father. “Father?” he said.

“We would like to support Azalea as Luna if you will allow us to,” he said in a gruff tone.

“Decisions don’t need to be made tonight. I am sure Damien and Lily will be along any minute,” said Luna Lyssa. She pulled her mate away and left Liam and I standing there.

“Liam,” I whispered. His arm tightened around me even more. “Are you okay?”

He did not say anything for a moment. His grip loosened slightly, and I turned to face him. His eyes were hard as they followed his parents as they walked around the room. I reached my hand up to his face. He finally snapped out of and looked down at me.

“I’m sorry, baby,” he said. He ran his nose along mine. I closed my eyes and savored the contact, letting his touch calm my nerves.

“Let’s talk about this later, okay?”

“Okay. Damien just linked. Time to begin,” he agreed. He let go of my waist and let me step back. He quickly grabbed my hand, keeping me standing next to him.  He called attention to the room and everyone looked to us. “Welcome friends and family. Thank you for joining us. It is my absolute pleasure to introduce my best friend and Beta of Blood Eclipse, Damien Hale, and his wonderful mate, Lily,” Liam’s voice boomed.

Damien entered the room with Lily on his arm. She looked radiant in a silver dress. Damien had the largest grin on his face; he looked like a man in love. I could not wait to see his face when she walked down the aisle to him tomorrow. Damien and Lily met us at the table in the front. We all exchanged hugs.

Soon we were listening to sweet speeches from both their parents and dinner was being served. We all talked comfortably at dinner with plenty of interruptions from people coming up to congratulate the couple and pay respect to Liam. After dinner, people began to slowly vanish. I had my fill of Alpha-mate duties, so I began helping clear plates and take them to the kitchen. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. I leaned against the counter in the kitchen after all the dishes were collected. The caterers had started breaking down the tables, so I was alone in the kitchen.

I leaned against the counter, taking a deep breath. I am sure I would get used to all this stuff as time went on but talking to so many people was a little draining. I heard the door open and assumed it was a caterer bringing something in.

“So, the little leech isn’t attached 24/7 after all?” said a cold voice. My eyes flew open to Gwen standing right in front of me. “He get bored of you and send you to the kitchen?” she sneered.

“What do you want Gwen?” I asked quietly. I was not very confident in my voice right now.

“I want you to leave. I want you to go so Liam and I can be mates like we are supposed to be,” she said. She crossed her arms.

“That isn’t going to happen. He is my mate, Gwen.”

“And he dumped your a*s years ago. Quite literally.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“So, he didn’t reject you and leave you all alone in that stupid, run-down Inn?”

“That is enough!” Liam’s voice boomed behind us. “Gwen, I warned you. Leave now and do not speak to Azalea again,” he threatened. I could feel his Alpha authority in his voice. Gwen could not help but comply. She bowed her head in submission and walked out of the room. Liam came around the counter to face me.

“You disappeared,” he said softly, cupping my cheek in his hand.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I shouldn’t have let Felix go home…” he said looking down at me. “I will talk to Declan about keeping her away from you tomorrow. And then she leaves on Sunday.” I just nodded my head, giving him a tight smile. “Sweetheart, what is wrong? Did she say something to upset you?”

“Kind of… It's okay. I’m okay,” I told him. I hated that Gwen’s words affected me so much. He pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me.

“It’s been a long week. I am sure you are just overwhelmed. I am so proud of you though,” he said softly into my hair. “Let’s just go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day and I am sure you will be needed to calm a crazed Lily.” I smiled at that. With no warning, Liam bent down and scooped me up. I just laid against him, letting him carry me to bed.