Chapter 92: Not going to Happen

Evie’s POV

As much as it was a shock to see Victoria again, I was glad that I came back to my senses quickly. I was not going to allow Sarah to protect me from that viper. Not when I knew this woman was so dangerous. I could see that Rhett was not happy about her running into me. The top of his ears turned red in embarrassment at hearing that his mother had Gracie working at his father’s company. He was as surprised as I was about it, so he didn’t tell her about Gracie. I don’t have to doubt who did. I am sure that Hillary probably told Victoria. She is probably trying to stay in the Coleman families good graces. Rhett seemed upset at hearing about it, and I knew that I needed to act fast.

I had received a new phone for me to be able to stay in touch with my parents and friends. I had put Gracie’s number into my phone. But I had not called her yet. I didn’t know quite how to explain what happened to me. We are not supposed to tell humans about us. Not unless one of them was mated to a werewolf. Then they would have to be told, unless they decided not to accept their mate. I had just disappeared off the face of the earth for her. I am quite sure that she had blown up my old phone worried about me disappearing again so soon after being taken. Since my phone was lost when they abducted me, it could be at the bottom of the swamp right now. I just knew that I didn’t have it anymore.

I called Gracie while we were still waiting on our food to arrive. I didn't want to give Victoria an opportunity to move forward on taking Gracie. “Hello?” I heard her familiar voice speak into the phone and I almost started crying in relief. We are not too late. I am sure that they went home, but she has a goon squad that she uses to carry out her dirty work. She doesn’t want get involved until they are far away from the city. Hidden away in a swamp so she can get rid of the proof of what she was doing.

“It’s me, Gracie,” I told her, and she gave a sob of happiness too. I needed to talk to her in private, and I also wanted her involved in my big day. So I blurted out, “I am getting married!”

“Oh my God, are you serious!! To whom? Do I know him? Is that why you disappeared after you were taken?” Gracie was squealing with happiness, and firing off questions one after the other.

“Yes, I live with him now. I am in town to get my wedding dress and I wanted to see if you had time to come with me for my appointment. Your input would mean a lot to me. I want you to stand up for me as my maid of honor. I am sorry I left you in the lurch. You are my best friend and I never want you to forget how much you mean to me,” I told her. I wanted that right out in the open. Just in case Victoria decides to move forward quickly. I am pretty sure that she was, especially after she let me know that she was planning on using Gracie in my place.

“I don’t know Evie. I was planning on going over to the Coleman’s house to discuss my internship. They are really doing me a favor with giving it to me, as my school year hasn’t even started yet. They usually just give it to juniors and seniors. She told me because I went to school with Rhett that she wanted to give me the opportunity,” Gracie told me.

I felt real fear for her, as Victoria was conning her. She already had her claws in deep, and Gracie felt like she owed them for their help getting her that internship. I couldn’t just go in bad-mouthing them because Gracie would pull back from me, and could potentially hang up. I needed to work this out right. I needed her to remember how much we meant to each other. I had to have a fantastic excuse as to why I have been MIA for over a month after my kidnapping. I am sure that she has been worried sick about me. She needed to know that I was OK, and she knew that I just visited Helen, and not her. I was going to visit her, but then we left the hospital we were chased. The plans to go to her house had to be changed.

“I also found my birth parents. I wanted you to meet them. They are going with me to the dress shop” I told Gracie and had to pull the phone away from my ear at her scream of joy. She was so happy for me that she was shrieking and running to go tell her mother that I had finally found my parents. I could hear them both on my phone, the whole table could hear them on my phone. My parents were smiling at how excited Gracie and her mother were about me finding them. They already knew what a great friend Gracie was to me in school. Mom then mentioned inviting Gracie’s mother along too.

“See if your mother would like to come to the bridal appointment too,” I told Gracie and they were both chatting into the phone telling me how happy they were for me. I didn’t realize how much I had missed Gracie, and her family. They had been nothing but supportive since I met them. They were some of few people that I could depend on, besides Helen, in my life. I then gave the appointment details, and they told me that they would come. They were both really excited to not just see me, but meet my parents as well. I wished I had contacted her sooner, but I have truly had a lot going on.

Our lunch improved with me making that call. Sarah was a little jealous of Gracie, but we were getting married on the same day. She wouldn’t be able to stand up for me. She was going to go first, and then her and Beau were going to go and take their pictures. Then we were going to get married, and while we were taking our pictures, everyone could greet and congratulate Beau and Sarah. This wedding was planned out to the smallest detail. They wanted our day to be special. I could see how mom and Debra were a little wistful about the wedding.

When they became Lunas, most just got marked and mated, and that was it. You were together from then on at least in the eyes of the werewolf community. Recently there has been an upturn of weddings. It doesn’t replace the mark, it is just every girls dream to have a beautiful dress and be connected in a spiritual way, along with the physical way. Plus having the ring on your finger meant that you were taken in the human world. The men didn’t have to be jealous anymore of human men trying to approach us because they didn’t know that they were claimed.

I think that I should mention this to Sarah, and see if our mom’s don’t want to do this too. At least have a party to celebrate them and their bond, and they can each get their rings to wear when they come around humans. I think that it would be a sweet thing to do for them. We can then take our father’s aside while we are at the dress shop for them to be able to find a special dress for them too. I have a smile on my face as I mindlinked Sarah from across the table. I saw her smile, and I know that she is excited about that too. We can help them plan their special day too now.

Sarah mindlinked her father, and I asked dad if I could speak to him in private. He was immediately on board as he would love to claim mom as his in this way too. She is gorgeous and had been receiving looks since the moment we entered the restaurant. I don’t blame dad, and this would be a great way to get the Moss Point pack to focus on a positive. There has been a lot of changes there in a short amount of time. Even though the pack is flourishing again with the businesses, the mood in the pack is still a little off.

This plan of ours is making our lunch, and our day, much better. Sarah has already forgotten about Victoria, and is making plans for telling her mother when we get to the shop. Hopefully, they can squeeze them, and Gracie into our appointment. I know that they can find an evening dress that they like. I kind of hope that mom picks out a wedding dress for herself, Debra too. They are both very attractive women in the prime of their life. Who doesn’t like to get dressed up occasionally? It has changed my day back to being the exciting and happy one that it originally was when we left Dark Marsh earlier today.

Seeing Victoria was a shock to me. But if she thinks that I am going to stand by and allow her to do the same thing that she did to me, to Gracie, she has lost her mind. I won’t allow my best friend to be traumatized like that. Torren is very protective of Gracie, she knows how much Gracie has done for us over the years. Torren wanted to hurt Victoria the moment she saw her. It was me that tensed up as I was not prepared to see her. I am glad that Torren reminded me that we are no longer weak. We can defend ourselves. We are no longer a victim. I don’t think that I will ever be able to see Victoria and not remember her standing over me with that knife in her hand. But the fear that I formerly had for her, has deminished. She doesn't frighten me anymore, not like she did. Jake and Beau saved me from her, and her group. I am so thankful that the Goddess put them there.

I am not planning on allowing Victoria to ruin my day, or any of theirs. She is not going to be successful with her plans for Gracie either. I am actually very glad to have run into her now. I am going to make sure that there is a team there tonight watching Gracie's home. They won’t be slipping in and catching her family unaware to be able to take her. This time around, they are going to be the ones that are caught unaware. We know exactlywhere they would be taking her, and we can plan a surprise for all of them when we get there.