Chapter 157: For Selene’s Sake

Lucian’s POV

She wore a perfume that nearly drove me out of my mind.

"Hey," she said.

Hey. Nobody had ever greeted me that way ... not when I was still the alpha I used to be before Selene. But people were different now, orientations and all, so I matched her energy.

"Hey," I said back.

"Umm... I came to see you because they said... we’re getting..."

She was clearly nervous. She had never been married before, let alone to an alpha.

"Married. Yes, I know," I finished for her.

"How are you feeling about it?" she asked.

I almost laughed. She was literally interviewing me ... she thought that was how this worked. I didn’t need to feel anything about it. I just had to marry her.

"You already know the circumstances under which I’m marrying you. I..."

"Lost your love to another person," she said.

She had done her research. Damn. Someone needed to go and get her some recommended glasses. She was also dancing around the part where my own Luna had betrayed me, but I guessed she didn’t want to push it that far.

"Life doesn’t always go the way we plan it," I said. "But I’m willing."

"And you? How do you feel?" I turned it back on her.

"I feel good about it. I’ve never been married before, so I’m looking forward to it," she said.

Her eyes looked so innocent ... genuinely innocent. I wouldn’t have wanted to put her through something she didn’t deserve, where I’d end up not treating her right or giving her the love she was owed. So I had a change of heart right there in that room, before we ever made it to the altar. I decided I was going to do right by her.

"It takes two to make it work, so I’m also willing. I came here to tell you that," Celeste said, then started toward the door.

I wasn’t really into she-wolves anymore ... not after everything ... but her backside was driving me absolutely crazy. I watched her leave without saying a word. I just... observed. Her curves. The way she moved. It was hard to believe she was that innocent. Those eyes could have been deceiving me the whole time.

She had spoken so gently, so calmly. Someone fit to be a Luna, if not for the mess that love always seemed to make of things.

Unlike Tessa ... rowdy, shitty she-wolf that she was. If she had stayed in Winterwood until now, I would have been a dead alpha.

I wasn’t in love. But it still took me a while to fall asleep that night. The whole thing had my mind running.

First thing in the morning, my room was swarming with people trying to get me ready. I had been through this before, so it didn’t shake me. Makeup and dressing took a while. They said the alpha had to look presentable.

Valerie stood beside me through the whole thing, running errands with the kind of speed and accuracy only she had. She had the car ready before I even asked. Celeste must have still been getting herself together on her end.

A few hours later, I was done. I took the car to the venue, and I was exactly as certain as I’d expected ... I arrived first. Celeste was still getting ready.

I sat down. We all waited.

Then she walked in.

Her head and face were covered, and from across the room, she looked like something out of a dream. An angel wrapped in white. She had expectations ... I could feel it in the way she carried herself ... and I made a quiet promise to myself to fulfill them.

The council priest was ready to perform the rites. He went through all the rituals, checked the crowd for any objections ...

Nobody said a word. Who would be stupid enough to do that?

... and then we were asked to say our vows. Celeste said hers with intention and precision, like every word mattered to her. He placed garlands on our heads and declared us married. Husband and wife. Alpha and Luna.

The crowd erupted. A standing ovation from every corner. The people were thrilled to have a new Luna, and it showed. We took pictures, mingled, popped champagne, and laughed with the pack. But even then, we weren’t finished ... there were still more rites to get through before the real celebration could begin.

"Now that the Alpha has his Luna," the council priest announced, "we will officially create the Beta."

Valerie stepped forward and went down on one knee.

"The first of her kind," the priest declared. "The new dawn of the Winterwood territory. We stand in awe of what is to come, for our very own Beta will exceed those who came before. I hereby crown Valerie as Beta ... second in command of Winterwood."

Another round of applause broke out as he fastened the badge and placed the garland on her.

The party kicked off. Everyone was dancing and full of joy.

I wasn’t.

There was nothing to be excited about, and I couldn’t fake it. Music played and I just sat there.

Then my newly married Luna appeared beside me.

"Come on, let’s dance," she said, reaching out her hand.

I had already promised myself not to let Celeste suffer because of me. If not for anything else, then at least for Selene’s sake. So I stood up and stepped onto the dance floor with her.

The whole pack froze.

This wasn’t the alpha they knew.

After all the merrymaking, everyone went home. Me and Celeste included. And suddenly, it was just the two of us.

Beta Valerie didn’t come to check on me after we got back. She knew exactly what she was doing ... they all did. I was like, Ahh.

Me and Celeste couldn’t look at each other. She was shyer than I’d expected, and I wasn’t about to ask her for anything I didn’t genuinely want. She slipped into the bathroom to bathe, and I went in after her.

Even after all that, the awkwardness hung in the room like a thick fog. The kind of silence that said everything. I knew what she was hoping for.

"If you’re not ready tonight or you don’t want it, I won’t force you," I said, breaking the silence. "But I’m all in either way."

I wasn’t even facing her when I said it.

"Who says I’m not ready?"

I heard her voice before I felt her ... her arms wrapping around me from behind, her lips close to my ear.

"I’m all in too, Lucian," she whispered.

I was shocked.

Looked like the night was going to be a long one.