CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Kate, Gem, Lexi and Rose were all at the lodge with Luna, getting ready for the ceremony. "I can't believe we are finally here. So much has happened in the last month." Luna spoke.
"You look beautiful Luna. I am so glad John and I are here today." Rose wiped a tear from her eye.
"He isn't still sulking is he?"
"He's trying to understand."
Luna nodded and then turned towards Kate, "Kate, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Kate felt her alpha and her friend examine her swirling thoughts and gave her a gentle smile as she added silently
"No Luna I'm not fine, but I'll get through this. Don't be thinking about me today."
"I will always think of my family, my friends, my pack. My wedding day is no exception."
"You and Thorn are so perfect for each other and the pack."
"Lucas has had enough fun teasing Thorn about how late you are, so how about we get out there?" Gemma pushed them to get moving.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Rose, Gemma, Lexi and lastly Kate walked ahead of Luna and began the walk along the path that had been created.
The pack had gathered from far and wide. Thorn stood at the alter waiting with Russ, Lucas, Alex and Aaron at his side. Russ would partner Kate, Alex would team up with Lexi, Aaron would be with Rose and of course Lucas would be with Gem. She hoped there wouldn't be any problems tonight.
Kate had made a promise to Luna and knew from her that Thorn had threatened Aaron if he didn't behave. It hurt so much to have him right there, so close, and yet so far away. Shit he looked good in his formal clothes. She tore her eyes away from him to focus on the marriage of her best friend and Thorn who she loved like a brother.
Luna ran her hand over her belly lightly and looked straight into Thorn's eyes. "It's a lovely night for a wedding." Kate couldn't disagree it was beautiful. The pack gathered like this was lovely but the reason itself made this more special than any picturesque setting could, or even the stunning evening Mother Nature had provided. The whole pack not only depended on their alpha pair but loved them too.
Melody and Michael began the traditional words of the ceremony and Kate listened to them in a way she never had before. Being mated now she heard things she had never had at previous pack weddings, and her heart ached to have the chance to be joined with Aaron by the vows their pack had made for so many years. She wiped away a tear of her own now, not just the happiness of her friends joining in marriage, but her fear she may have lost her mate forever.
***
Aaron argued with his wolf again. The beast thought they should just take their mate until she saw sense and accepted them. He was too hurt to forgive her and didn't believe she was really ready. She was saying all the right things, but he was sure it was the therapists and her desire to please Luna and Thorn, not her own heart she was following. She had made it clear she still didn't believe he was good enough for her. She also didn't find herself worthy of anyone's love. He had seen her with her brothers and Emily and knew they were part of her healing. Maybe if he waited long enough she would be whole again and they could... but how could he know it was real? He couldn't let her in again just to lose her all over again. The pain had been terrible. He stiffened as it crossed his mind that a rejection from his mate would be a death blow.
"She isn't rejecting us idiot. She barely manages to keep her eyes off us. She weeps because you are too stupid to forgive her and pull her close. She was broken, we should have bloody seen it. We were too busy boasting, how proud we were of our mate, to all those near us. Too busy bragging about how lucky we were to have such a gorgeous woman as ours, to busy going on to even notice her breaking. We showed off her picture and her stories to our workmates, while she sat alone getting more and more freaked out. Then she sought us out for comfort and distraction on one of the worst days of her life. Comfort, I might add I was begging for myself, and you declined to fuck our mate. You owe her, and me, you idiot. I want to fuck her into a bloody coma, for how long she and you, have kept us apart."
"Quiet dog. Thinking with your cock is where I went wrong for years."
"Don't get that tone with me you stupid shit, I begged you to stop being a manwhore and wait for our mate. You couldn't go a week without dipping your cock in a..."
"Shut up. I know."
Aaron looked quickly at Kate not wanting to get caught.
"Our mate is bloody gorgeous. I know you want her and I am sorry for everything. You know that."
"Then move on. Stop sulking about it, forgive yourself, and forgive her. We can help her heal, better than her brothers and all the therapy, better than Emily. I love that girl too human, but our mate needs us."
"We have a month. If she doesn't come to us in the next few weeks..."
"If she doesn't come to us by the end of next week I am taking over. You two are useless. Can you really just wait, and if she doesn't find the magic unknown words or gesture to make you believe it is real, just let her go? Let Thorn break the mating bond?"
"I don't know."
"Well I fucking do. You will die. We will die. You will kill her and us, if you let him break the bond."
"Without her I don't care if I die."
"You don't care if you kill her?"
"She wouldn't die. She's strong. She isn't weak like me. She can survive this and find someone as good as she is. Someone who can do what I couldn't."
"Oh brilliant. This is even worse than I thought. You aren't just weak, you're on a bloody suicide mission."
Aaron growled quietly and then stopped speaking to his wolf, who growled loudly back then turned his back on him. He grabbed another peek at Kate and argued with himself. It wasn't a suicide mission. He needed to know she loved him and wanted him. Not just because of the pull. Or to please everyone, like she had tried to do her whole life. Needed him because without him she was less, without him she hurt. That she forgave him for hurting her. Before they mated and after. Forgave him for not seeing how much she was suffering. He wanted to be her everything. That was what she was to him, everything, and if he couldn't be hers what was the point?
He watched the binding ceremony of his brother to Luna, and couldn't stop the pang of jealousy even though he felt true happiness for them.
He felt his lips quirk when Thorn broke their kiss to wipe her tears away, "I don't like seeing you cry."
"Girls are supposed to cry at weddings. Look around." Luna teased his brother.
Thorn did and was surprised to see woman in tears everywhere he looked.
"Fuck, I'm alpha this isn't good."
Thorn's wall gave enough for the family to hear due to his emotions.
"They're happy tears Thorn, suck it up alpha boy, if I can handle it you can."
