Calix
I refused to put Chasity down right away and she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get out of my arms either. I held her bridal-style throughout the tour aboard yacht Chasity. She marvelled at the master bedroom. Mom had picked out the colour scheme: all warm colours like chocolate brown, cream and gold. I tossed my backpack at the side of the colossal California King Bed and carried Goddess into the master bathroom. The jacuzzi tub was as huge as the CalKing bed and the room also boasted a walk-in Fibonacci shower where water streamed from so many different angles.
“So you’ve seen the bathhouse is fit for a goddess like yourself,” I purred in Chasity’s ear.
“I can’t wait to soak in that tub!” She exclaimed excitedly.
“I have enough milk and honey onboard for you to use instead of water if you’re interested? You can be my little Cleopatra!” I suggested.
Chasity giggled.
“And you’ll be my Mark Antony?” She asked, looking up at me with her doe eyes.
I nodded mindlessly.
“Of course,” I said, finding my voice again.
“Who will Alex and Felix be?” She asked.
“Not in this fantasy,” I said quickly.
She burst into laughter.
“Aww,” she cooed, feeling sorry for them.
I caved.
“All right, Felix can be your head palace guard and Alex can be your advisor,” I said, picturing Felix dressed in armour and scowling while Alex counted gold with an abacus.
I had no idea if any of that was historically accurate but this was my fantasy. I had poetic license.
“This is the indoor pool, Goddess Chasity,” I said, my voice echoing in the huge, high-ceilinged room.
The water looked so inviting. I loved the glowing blue of an indoor pool even more than the dazzling blue of an outdoor one. I planned to teach Chasity to swim in the indoor pool. She had conquered the bath tub. It was time for swimming lessons in a controlled environment. None of us felt comfortable letting go of her even for a second in the big bad sea. The waves were too unpredictable. Far less in the vast expanse of ocean we would sail through.
“I’ll teach you to swim ok, Goddess. You’ll take your power back one stroke at a time,” I whispered.
“I love you, Calix,” she whispered back.
“I love you, Chasity,” I said, kissing her forehead.
I showed her the formal dining room and the indoor kitchen, informing her that there was another chef’s kitchen with a bar on-deck that was more scenic for brunch time. She was amazed by the library and the theatre. I knew how much she loved quiet activities like that: cosying up and reading, cuddling in front of movies. Alex and I were thinking of getting an art room for Felix to sketch and paint another portrait of Chasity but this time, she would model for it. I grinned to myself, envisioning her modelling for us.
There were several other bedrooms and bathrooms. Some of them were smaller masters and some were guest rooms. I elected to forgo showing her all of those as my brothers and I needed to go over what we were gonna say when we proposed to her. My heart started to race every time I thought about asking her to marry me. Even though I was completely sure about it being the right move, it was still nerve wracking so I could only imagine how Felix felt. He was still unsure about this. He was not used to rejection. None of us were actually. Felix tried to play tough but I knew he would be heartbroken if this did not result in an instant happily ever after.
I took Chasity back to the master bedroom we intended to share and gently placed her on her feet.
“Get all dressed up for dinner ok, Goddess,” I said, kissing her forehead.
She smiled sweetly at me as I exited the room. My brothers and I would get dressed in other rooms to give her some alone time.
I met my elder brothers on the deck at the bar counter. Felix was already two shots in.
“Enough,” said Alex, cutting him off.
“Two measly shots,” said Felix incredulously.
“You need to be in control of your wolf, remember? This is a big moment for him. He might wanna grab control and handle it,” said Alex gently.
Felix frowned.
“You’re gonna do great,” I said encouragingly.
“What’re we going to say?” Asked Felix, trying to sneakily signal to the bartender onboard so he would pour another shot.
“What do you want her to know?” I asked him, swinging a little on my barstool.
“That I love her,” said Felix.
“We all do,” agreed Alex, making notes.
“That I wouldn’t want anyone else regardless of what she may think or of what happened in the past,” continued Felix.
Alex was now drawing a brainstorming diagram.
“That I don’t want to ever be apart,” said Felix.
Alex and I nodded.
“That it’s not just a selfish thing. Like I’m not doing this just for me, it’s for her too! I can protect her, provide for her, I know I can make her happy, if I get the chance, if she gives me…us the chance,” finished Felix. “Is that goofy?” He asked.
“That’s honest and reassuring and I couldn’t have said it better myself,” I said. “It’s from the heart.”
Felix smiled, hope blossoming in his eyes.
“Should we add anything else?” Asked Alex, nervously tapping his pen on his notebook.
“Yeah, we need to apologise again,” I insisted. “I know we have already. Many times. But she deserves to hear it again.”
Alex nodded eagerly as he added that to his list.
“We need to oversee the decorations,” he mumbled. “The table setting, the menu, the music.”
“Music?” Asked Felix.
“The String Quartet,” said Alex. “I just want to make sure they know their cues. I want a particular song to be playing when we start the proposal.”
“Which song?” I asked.
I had let Alex pick the music since he was such a huge fan of classical music.
“All I Ask Of You,” said Alex excitedly.
“From Phantom of the Opera?” I asked.
I loved that play. It was a favourite of the whole family. Alex grinned. I remembered seeing it from our private box at the opera house further North from our pack lands. All the Northern Alphas had private boxes from which they viewed the operas. Human operas were very popular in the North of Wolf Country.
“I wanted I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys,” grumbled Felix.
“What? No way!” Said Alex, paling at the very thought. “That’s a breakup song!”
Felix snickered.
“I’m kidding, Alexa,” said Felix, shoving Alex playfully.
Alex rolled his eyes.
“Alexa, play I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys,” instructed Felix.
The song actually started playing. I had forgotten we had added some smart home features to the yacht. The chef and bartender began to sing along passionately.
“Alexa, pause music,” said Alex, making the guys behind the bar freeze mid-lip-sync.
They began seeing to dinner again like nothing had happened.
“Ok, let’s compromise on the song?” Suggested Alex.
“No,” said Felix. “The song you chose is…perfect,” said Felix, smiling. “And I’m sure it’ll be beautiful on string quartet.”
Alex looked shocked at Felix’s compliment but he smiled nonetheless. Alex took a deep breath.
“Let’s get dressed, and then we’ll practice our speech?” Said Alex.
Felix
I had never gotten ready so fast in my life. I stumbled out of one of the bedrooms to find Alex already pacing the hallway. Did he have access to time travel or something? How the fuck did he get ready faster than me? Did his grey sweatpants and tee shirt from earlier rip away to reveal a tuxedo underneath like a reverse stripper?
“I composed our ideas into a speech,” he said breathlessly, showing me cue cards for each of us.
“Nah, I’m winging it,” I declared.
Alex looked at me with wide eyes but did not fret.
“I’m not,” he said decisively, going over his cards.
Calix walked out to meet us. My wolf and my brothers were all that was keeping me together. She had to say yes. She had to say yes. I kept repeating it like a mantra. She was my Baby and I needed her like air.
We went out to the deck and the night sky was dotted with silver stars. There were fairy lights strung all over the dining area on deck. The dining table was set for fine dining and the string quartet was already playing another love song in the meantime. I had to hand it to Alex: the ambience was pretty impressive.
I looked out at the ocean. It seemed bottomless in the dark of night. My stomach churned as I recalled Chasity plunging into the icy dark water. I snapped out of it, stumbling back from the railing. Calix and Alex grabbed me.
“It’s ok,” said Alex immediately, trying to spin me around to face him.
“I can’t do this,” I blurted out, pulling away from him.
“Yes, you can,” said Calix, grabbing me by the shoulders and looking me dead in the eyes. “But only if you really want to?” He added, his expression softening.
I wanted to propose but I knew I deserved a no. I was about to say something when I heard the sound of Chasity’s heels against the deck. I smelled her roses and honeysuckle scent as the wind tossed her curls back and forth. I turned around and every coherent thought fled my mind. My wolf and I were dumbfounded. Chasity was a vision of loveliness in a white gown that sparkled in the moonlight, making the material look silver. The dress had a thigh-high slit that was making my mouth water.
I fidgeted nervously as she slowly walked towards us. She neared me first and my heart almost leapt out of my chest. Even in heels she still had to tiptoe a little to reach me for a kiss. I kissed her slowly and softly, trying to pour all the tender love I had for her in that kiss. She seemed surprised for some reason but she gave me a coy little smile before stepping over to Calix.
Calix
Goddess Chasity looked like a billion dollars in that dress. I could not wipe the huge grin off of my face. I cupped her face and she cupped mine as our lips met. I let all my desire for her spill over into our steamy kiss as we clung to each other until we were both breathless. Chasity was blushing as we parted.
You look ravishing, tonight, Goddess, I said privately in her mind, bringing a smile to her lips and deepening the blush on her cheeks. She cautiously approached Alex.
Alex
I was momentarily frozen to the spot when I saw Chasity in that dress. Her beauty was ethereal. I kissed her slowly, lingering as long as our lungs would allow. She seemed a little unsteady after. Perhaps, she was nervous too. We guided her over to her chair and pulled it out for her. We all took our seats. The aroma of the dinner being prepared wafted towards us.
“It smells amazing,” said Chasity.
We all grinned.
“The guy cooking it is a head chef at a three Michelin star restaurant. He’s amazing,” gushed Felix.
Felix? Gushing?
“You should be a chef, Felix,” said Chasity thoughtfully.
Felix actually blushed a little.
“I only wanna cook for you, my full-course meal,” he said with a wink.
Ah, that was more Felix.
The conversation was slightly stunted by everyone’s nerves. Even though the food was amazing, Chasity was hardly eating any of it. My wolf told me why. She was feeling our anxiety and it was affecting her.
“Chasity,” I said suddenly in the middle of another topic.
Felix gave me a questioning look.
She’s too anxious to eat and frankly so am I, I admitted.
I had eaten way more than my Luna Chasity but still way less than what I would usually eat.
I don’t wanna rush you guys but I don’t want Chasity to stay uncomfortable for any longer, I said cautiously.
I wanted to reveal my real concern: that letting her remain uncomfortable too long might decrease our chances of her saying yes. I wanted to have way more faith than that but Chasity was very much still healing so she was prone to mood swings here and there. I didn’t want to trigger that. Tonight needed to be all about making her feel loved and comfortable enough to become our wife. However, I didn’t want to let my overthinking scare Felix. He was scared enough as it was. I was the eldest so I always tried to spare them whatever extra stress I could. I could already see Felix fidgeting out of the corner of my eye while Calix tapped his foot nervously. Chasity was looking at me expectantly.
“Chasity,” I repeated. “We love you,” I confessed.
She knew it but I liked saying it and it bore repeating.
“Deeply!” Added Felix quickly.
Chasity grinned.
“Yes, deeply,” I agreed.
“Wholeheartedly,” added Calix, putting his hand to his heart.
Luna was trailing her eyes over each of us in turn almost as if her she-wolf was sizing us up.
“And we want to spend the rest of our lives with you,” I told her in earnest, making sure she met my eyes so she could see how much I meant it.
“We don’t ever wanna be apart,” Felix added, his voice deepening as his wolf joined him albeit peacefully.
“We’ve always dreamed of finding our mate and we were thrilled when we found out it was you,” said Calix sincerely.
“We know that we hurt you in the past,” I admitted. “But we’ve grown up. We have nothing but love for you and we want to show you that, forever.”
“Will you stay with us?” asked Felix softly.
“And make us the happiest triplets in the world?” asked Calix.
Chasity giggled.
“By becoming our wife?” I said, brandishing the light blue velvet box that held Chasity’s ring.
I opened it to reveal her three-stoned engagement ring, representative of her three alphas.
She gasped. I got up and got down on one knee in front of her, holding up the open box. Felix and Calix flanked me, also getting down on one knee each. If truth be told, we were terrified. Our Luna stared at us, her big brown eyes sparkling. She seemed to be deliberating. She was also examining the ring. I had been the one who had decided there should be three stones to represent the three of us, Calix had wanted Princess-cut diamonds for his Princess Chasity and Felix had wanted the diamonds to be light blue, a colour we all loved on her. We had picked a white gold band as it seemed to fit the light blue diamonds and the colours of our icy pack lands.
She’s not saying anything! Said Felix, panicked, across joint mind-link.
Give her a minute, I insisted.
I would give her a millennium but I just want it to not be an outright no. Even if she wants to think about it, said Felix.
Should we off her that? Some time to think about it? I wondered.
Just let her speak when she’s ready, insisted Calix.
I would listen to my baby brother on this one. We exchanged worried glances. Chasity sniffled. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Were those the happy tears of a bride about to say yes to the men of her dreams or the sorrowful ones of a girl about to let her love interests down gently?