Chapter 130 - Stop what you’re doing

HADRIAN

The wooden seats are placed in the middle of the square. There’s a path that splits the seats into two groups. Flowers line the path and lead to a metal wire archway that is decorated with more flowers. White, lavender and soft yellow color the scene. The floral scent is abundant and wafts in a cloud around the square.

Graciella and I are lurking in the alley next to the diner. We’re hidden in the shadows and obscured from the eyes of the people around us.

I lean against the wall with crossed arms and watch the people setting up. The alley has a perfect view of the square. Two werewolves watching the set-up of a human wedding, it seems like a joke.

“Humans do things so differently,” Graciella says as we watch the scene before us unfold. She has one hand perched against the wall on the other side of the alley. She’s leaning forward and there’s curiosity in her demeanor.

I sometimes forget how foreign these things must be for her. I have spent months with Emma and even I feel out of my depth here. We have never witnessed a wedding before.

*Is this how Emma felt whenever there was a banquet or gala in the palace?* I find a new level of appreciation for her. She handles the unknown so well. She makes it look so easy.

“They do.” My voice is barely a whisper, but I know Graciella can hear me.

Nero has his senses perched on everything around us. He’s learning new things as well while keeping an eye out for everyone around.

There’s a cohesive synchronicity between the people setting up the altar where the ceremony will take place. Everyone has offered their help and picked up the things that need to be done. There’s a sense of community within Aldea.

“How do they know who to choose?” Graciella asks. The concept of how humans choose their mate is foreign to her. It is to me too sometimes.

“They don’t,” I say with a shrug.

I keep my eyes on the scene of humans before us. A woman is carrying a few chairs to the square and her husband jogs toward her to help. She gives him an affectionate smile and there’s pride in the swell of his chest.

“They fall in love,” I explain. I’ve observed this couple before. They fight sometimes, but they come back to each other every time.

Humans don’t have a goddess guiding them to their perfect mate. They have to make that judgment themselves. They have to keep choosing each other year after year.

“When do they know?” There’s genuine curiosity in Graciella. There’s no judgment like many werewolves have of humans.

Emma is helping as well. She’s standing beside the archway. I watch how she fills the arch with more flowers. She carries a bunch of white flowers in one arm and places every single one with care and precision.

“It’s when you can only think about her. You want her to be happy before your own needs.” I feel selfish for the times where I didn’t put her needs above mine. I admire that there are some humans in this world who can. I will always be driven by my instincts.

“It’s when you cannot get enough from who she is. Her compassion, her curiosity, her drive, her insight.” I think back to the moment that made me want to get closer to Emma before I knew she was my mate.

I regret fighting with Emma. I let my hurt consume me and it has only driven me away from her. I was angry that she would accept to go with Dex, but as a result of my anger, I put a wedge between us. I should take a page out of the book from the humans. They fight sometimes but also choose to stay together. I promise myself that I will choose Emma over any challenges we might face.

“Emma is like that, she could be a great Luna,” Graciella whispers.

Emma puckers her brows in concentration. Her dedication is clear in even this small task. She doesn’t even notice me watching her.

“She will be,” I say.

The unease is clear when Graciella starts to fidget. I have little patience for this kind of behavior because it stems from their unwillingness to speak their truth.

They are influenced by their need to succumb to the throne. It makes them submissive and it’s the reason why my father can demand anything from anyone.

“Just say what you want to say.” The words come out harder than they should. I only like it when it's Emma fidgeting and it’s only when she’s nervous. She usually has no trouble speaking her truth.

“Do you ever wish that your mate wasn’t human?”

“No.” I grimace at the idea. I chose Emma even before I knew she was fated to me. At first, it was because I had accepted my responsibility, but I fell too quickly for her to ever wish things were different.

“I wouldn’t have experienced falling in love.” If I knew Emma was my fated mate from the beginning, I would’ve marked and mated her right away. I would’ve trusted the judgment of the Moon Goddess.

Graciella chews on her lip. “Would she be happy in Sanguinem? These are her people. Isn’t it selfish to take her away from here then?”

I grumble. “Probably.” My instinct is in a constant battle with what I feel for Emma. It roars in my mind that she’s mine.

Emma places the last flower in the arch. She moves it so that the flower is visible. The sunlight catches the sparkle of the stone resting on her finger. *My ring.*

That small detail makes my heart pound faster and I straighten from the wall. My chest hits the stream of sunlight pouring into the alley.

Her gaze is drawn our way and locks with mine. Her blue eyes don’t have the usual storm in them. The gray is more prominent, creating sad, rainy clouds over the vibrance. *My mate is sad.*

“I’m going to leave now,” Graciella says somewhere in the background, but my attention is locked on Emma.

There is uncertainty in the steps she takes toward me. The pull between us is strong and like magnets, it draws us together. Resisting it is hard and futile.

I hold an arm out for her and she is quick to come to me. She jumps into my arms and fills the hollow space in my chest. I pull us further into the alley and back into the shadows.

“I’m sorry I stayed away,” I say and wrap my arms tight around her waist. I let my head fall onto her shoulder. She’s soft in my arms and I fear that I might crush her. The weariness in my muscles disappears the moment she falls into my embrace.

Her arms and legs are locked around my waist and neck. The force she exerts is startling. “I missed you.”

“You’re wearing my ring,” I whisper in her hair. I run my hand through her soft smooth hair that is spun like silk. “What changed?”

Emma nuzzles her nose in my neck. “My own insecurities, I guess.”

I pull back and hold her head by strangling my fingers in her hair. “Your insecurities? For what?”

She casts her eyes down and a flush starts at her chest and neck. “It’s stupid.”

Something is still bothering her and I need to know. “Tell me.”

She bites on her bottom lip and it hurts to watch her cause pain to the delicate flesh. “You never told me that you love me.”

“What?” I tilt her chin up to make her show me her eyes, but she draws away from me.

“You always tell me that I’m your mate.” She whispers.

I’m confused by what she’s trying to say. “You are.”

She finally lifts her gaze to me and her blue spheres are shaking with uncertainty. “But you never tell me that you love me being your mate.”

I blink when I grasp what she’s saying. “Because it’s so obvious.” I hold her chin and keep her gaze locked on mine. I want her to see my sincerity. “I love you. More than my own life.”

Her lips mash with mine when she climbs higher up my torso. Her eagerness surprises me and I move my hands beneath her thighs to support her. Her fingers run through my hair and her nails scratch over my scalp. Her hunger is unmistakable and I find myself groaning in response.

“Emma,” I warn. We're outside in an alley, anyone could walk by.

“We can do it quickly.” She whispers against my mouth. The lust is heavy in her voice. The need is as critical as mine.

“Fuck.” If she wants to mate in an alley than I won’t deny her. Not that my brain is functioning right now with all the blood rapidly streaming downward. Emma is wearing a dress and slipping inside her is just too easy. I unbutton my jeans with one hand and hold her with the other.

*“Beta is coming,”* Nero says in my mind.

“Stop what you're doing.” He calls from the entrance of the alley and his voice is laced with panic.