Chapter 42 42.Wedding Day
Tabitha’s POV
Mom stands in the center with her bouquet raised high. A cheer ripples through the crowd as the women push closer. I step into the back of the group, trying not to get elbowed.
“Ready?” Mom calls out, smiling wide.
“Yes!” several women shout back.
She tosses the bouquet into the air. For a moment it spins above us before it tips toward Melanie. She lifts her hands and catches it with ease. Applause breaks out. A few women groan in defeat, but most of them laugh and clap for her. Melanie beams as her friends surround her.
I head back to my seat. Arthur leans in. “Knew she’d catch it. My sister always gets what she wants.”
The host claps his hands together. “Now it’s the gentlemen’s turn. Let’s see who catches the garter.”
Emery stands near the stage with a grin that takes over his whole face. “Come on, you cowards. Get in there,” he says, waving the men forward.
The Aldair brothers drag their feet but join the group. Evren steps in last. Emery winks and flicks the garter high into the air. It sails across the room and drops right by Evren’s foot.
Laughter breaks out.
“Well, look at that,” someone hoots. “First Melanie with the bouquet, now Evren with the garter!”
“That’s a sign if I see one. Maybe they’re the next couple to get married!” another voice from the crowd teases.
“I have to agree. They do make a good couple,” Alpha Emery agrees from their table. My mom is also grinning beside him.
More cheers follow. Melanie hides her face behind the bouquet, her cheeks flushed red. Her friends squeal and tease her. I inadvertently grip my champagne glass a bit too tight. I thought it might break.
Evren bends to pick up the garter, but his expression hardens. He says nothing, only returns to the table and drops into his seat. His eyes lift across the table and catch mine. My chest tightens, and I look away before he can read anything on my face.
Arthur leans closer with a grin. “They look good together, don’t they? The future of the Crystal Ridge Pack and the Stormblood Pack looks promising if you ask me.”
Promising? “What do you mean by that?”
“You don’t know? Melanie is engaged to Evren. Their marriage is supposed to seal the alliance between our families.”
“Engaged?” I blink at him, trying to keep my face even. I definitely didn’t know about that. My eyes drift back to Evren again. Melanie is whispering something to him but his eyes are on me. Why is he looking at me like that when his fiancee is talking to him?
Look at her, not me! You are engaged. Stop pulling me into this. I set my face into a calm mask. I give him nothing. I will not give him anything tonight.
“Yeah… well, there hasn’t been an official engagement announcement yet. But it’s practically set. The elders already agreed, and Alpha Emery and my father are the ones pushing it forward. It is only a matter of timing now. An announcement will come soon enough. Maybe after this wedding, when the families gather again,” Arthur explains.
An official announcement soon…
I fight the urge to find Evren’s eyes once again. Too many thoughts crowd my head right now, and I can’t hold onto a single one long enough to make sense of it. And staring at Evren who is sitting beside his supposed fiancee isn’t helping me one bit.
The lights dim a little as the orchestra shifts the music into something slower and sweeter. My mother beams as she rises from her chair, and Alpha Emery takes her hand. The room claps softly as the two of them walk to the center of the dance floor. She has changed into a different gown since the reception. Now, she’s wearing a cream-colored strapless flowy dress that cascades down her knee. She looks gorgeous and youthful. They smile at each other like there’s no one else here, their movements so natural it makes my chest ache. She looks so happy.
As the newlywed couple enjoy their first dance, other guests also begin to follow. Some of them are laughing as they pair off. The dance floor swells with swaying figures in no time.
Arthur pushes back his chair and turns to me with a smile. “Would you like to dance?” he offers while extending his hand. He looks like a perfect gentleman from a regency book.
“Me?” I choke out a surprised reply.
“Yes, you.” He grins and winks. “I promise I won’t step on your toes.”
I hesitate, but his hand stays there. And he is just too nice to decline. He’s been nice to me, so it wouldn’t hurt to dance with him, right? At least that’s what I whisper to myself when I nod and place my hand in his.
“Okay…” I smile at him.
Clearly, not everyone thinks this is a good idea because I can definitely feel my stepbrothers gazes, so sharp I think they’re about to pierce a hole at the back of my skull. But I try to ignore them. Arthur guides me onto the floor, his hand settling politely at my waist as we find the rhythm of the music. His steps are effortlessly graceful that it’s so easy to follow his lead.
He leans closer with a grin. “Tell me the truth. Do you think Reed will pull out a gun and shoot me right now?”
“What?” I frown.
Arthur tilts his chin toward our table. I follow his gaze and find Reed still in his seat with his jaw set and his eyes fixed on us. He looks ready to tear someone apart. Jace sits beside him with another glass in hand and an expression just as sour.
Goodness, they look like they’re trying to start a fight. They might as well slap a sign on their foreheads that say: ‘I hate Arthur Beckett’
“Ignore them,” I say dryly. “They are allergic to fun.”
Arthur laughs as he turns me in a slow circle. “Protective bunch, aren’t they? I never thought I’d see them act that way. They usually don’t care much about the things and people around them.”
“I know… it surprised me too.”
They’ve started acting possessive over me ever since we found out that the four of us are mates. And I still haven’t decided yet if it’s for better or worse.
We move with the music while other couples drift around us. Arthur’s steps stay careful and he never presses too close. For a moment I almost let myself relax.
“Your stepbrothers must take their brotherly role very seriously, then,” he notes.
I almost snort at that. Brotherly? There’s nothing sibling-like in the way we’ve been interacting these past few weeks. And I’d be stupid to try reasoning with my own actions, let alone theirs. I’m not even sure if they’re the only ones to blame for this strange relationship between us. As if being mated to your four stepbrothers wasn’t twisted enough, most of them have to be either engaged or tied to other women in one way or another, whether by choice or obligation. That only makes everything messier. It confuses the lines even more—because they shouldn’t be so fixated on who I spend time with, like Arthur, and I shouldn’t feel that sharp bitterness whenever I’m reminded they belong, at least on paper, to someone else. And yet, here we are, none of us able to disguise the possessiveness clawing at the edges of whatever this thing is.
My eyes flick toward the table again. Reed, Jace, and Luca are watching me, their stares heavy enough to pin me in place. Beside them, Evren barely glances up, too caught in whatever Melanie is whispering in his ear. See that? That’s not how brothers are supposed to look at their sister. They gawk at me like a pack of wolves who are preparing to pounce on their prey.
I blink in surprise when Reed pushes back his chair and stands. For a moment I think he’s coming toward me, but instead he crosses to the other side of the table. He stops in front of a girl I recognize almost immediately—Elsie Sharpe, daughter of Eliott Sharpe, Alpha of the Deathclaw Pack. The elders on the table cheer as soon as Reed takes Elsie to the dance floor.
Huh. I guess he can’t just sit and watch, he has to snag whoever’s closest if it means getting his turn on the dance floor.