Chapter 34: Luther
Three months later
“Everything has to be perfect!” My mom shouts at the tailor, who makes quick work of scurrying off and making himself busy. “If he doesn’t look absolutely perfect, it will throw everything off. You may think I’m being dramatic, and maybe I am, but my only son does not get married twice, and my grandchildren will look back on this wedding like it's a legend they can retell and rewatch over and over! If it’s not perfect, it’s not worthy!”
“Mom, it’s alright, it’s going to be fine,” I say, trying to calm her. “I already look perfect, but Chrissy would take me if I stood at the altar in sweatpants, and you know it.”
My three-piece suit is a dark blue, the shirt underneath is pale blue, and the tie matches the suit. Under the tie knot is a pin that looks like a star, each sharp section a flawless diamond. The wristcuff buttons match as well, and there's even a matching emblem on the underside of my dress shoes. Mother says it is the guiding star that accompanies the moon every night before any other star touches the sky. The star will lure his Luna, or the moon, to her greatest desire every night.
“This isnt about that! This is about appearances, this is about lore! You two are the richest people in Seattle, and you’re getting married. We rented out the arena. So, you have any idea what the scope of this wedding even is, my son?”
“I thought it was about marrying my fated mate, but now im wondering if this is all for you and not for her and me,” I say it with a smile as I set my hands on her shoulders, “Please, calm down?”
“No one understands the mother’s passion when her baby is getting married!” she huffs, shrugging my hands off and throwing hers around animatedly. “It’s about true love, the fated love of millionaires who found each other in the least likely of ways! It's about representing our pack and introducing the new Luna officially.” Then, under her breath, “And maybe a little about me.”
“Mom, we both love you so much, and we are doing everything you have painstakingly planned for us. We are grateful, and we both know that everything will go on without a hitch.”
She takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes. “I’m supposed to be the calm and collected one; you're supposed to be the nervous wreck.”
“I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life,” I tell her honestly. “I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Christina Grey as my wife.”
“Christina Grey-Richards,” she corrects me, tapping the tip of my nose with her finger.
“Right, she had to hyphenate for her company.” Much to my dismay.
“She’s become very good at handling the company matters that have come her way, but im thankful for her father’s assistant who stayed on to keep everything running smoothly. They do say it's the assistants doing all the heavy lifting for the CEO’s anyway.”
“I don’t have an assistant,” I say, my tone cocky on purpose.
“You, my son, are an overachiever,” she compliments me, rightly so, “but you're an idiot. You will need an assistant, especially if I’m ever going to have grandchildren.”
I frown at her in the mirror while I adjust my nearly finished suit, tailored to perfection, no matter what Mother thinks about it. Or me, for that matter.
“Consider hiring Emma; she has a lot of experience, and she knows how hard it is to be pregnant and working.”
“I will consider considering it, Mother,” I grumble. I don't need an assistant, and she knows it.
“Oh, and another thing to consider is talking that Luna of yours out of her birth control. She has a very human way of thinking, and that's not her fault, but she needs to produce heirs now.”
“We will produce heirs when she’s ready.” This meddling woman…
“I was already pregnant with you when I married your father,” she says whistfully. “I truly believe we were pregnant that first night we met and mated. We just knew instantly, it was as if we were married already and had been for decades. Oh, how I miss that man!”
“We all miss him,” Bane says as he closes the door to the dressing room behind him. “He was a great man, a legendary Alpha.” He is also dressed in a suit for the wedding, the colors matching mine in an almost annoying way. Thank you, mother.
“He was everything I aspire to be,” I agree. “I will never forget the night of the accident. To think a car accident would be what took my father away after everything he went through. Everything he faced.”
Mother and Bane make agreeing noises, their eyes downcast in sadness.
“He would be so proud of you, Luther,” Mom says. “And he would have loved Chrissy as well,” she smiles sadly at me and wipes a tear from her cheek. “I can imagine how Chissy must feel losing her father so recently.”
I nod at Bane in thanks; he agreed to walk her down the aisle. The best man and the best of men all in one.
“Are you almost ready for your bachelor party?” Bane asks, changing the subject expertly.
Mom rolls her eyes but smiles, waving at us in frustration. “You boys better not get yourselves killed!”
“Oh come on mom it’s just a hunt! We will get a stag or boar and come home sated and with a meal for the wedding.” Bane whines.
Mom raises an eyebrow at him.
“He’s right, you know, it’s just for the feast after all.”
Bane and I share conspiratorial smiles and nod in decision. We were ready, and it was going to be far too much fun. We start stripping right there, both of us already mapping the nearest sewer entrance in our heads.
Not only were we hunting for the feast, but for the wedding present for my Love. Rabbit fur hat, gloves, and shawl. And depending on the number of tasty, delicious rabbits we find, we can make a set for mom, too.
But the real target was a secret. The real target was a grizzly bear that wandered down from Canada and had been terrorizing citizens. We could chase it off, or we could defeat it and
I could have a handsome new throw rug. Either way, what a bachelor party it would be.