Charlie and Ella 7

Ella POV:
And just like that, life was turned on its head again instead of fighting with his mother over whether or not we should be together. I was now in lessons to become the next Luna being trained on how to run a pack how to be a leader, how to make sure everything was prepared for everybody, and be resourceful.

We were planning my wedding and all these foreign dignitaries felt welcome and respected in this glorious place. I felt like a sheep in wolf's clothing, So fragile compared to all of these important wolves from all over the world coming.

Alpha Donathan was a respected man who had the golden bloodline in his family. Their eldest son's wedding could be nothing short of impressive.

I did my best to voice my opinions, but his mother had many opinions and it was hard to get mine in compared to hers. Everything was so specific in her mind and I wondered if someday I’d become like that too have every little detail planned out because that was what was expected of me. It was how I had to support so many people to protect my reputation.

She knew what flowers we had to get down to where they should be, how they should be arranged, and what ribbons should be wrapped around them so that we could impress people not just impress them, but respect them.

She knew what food we had to get, what people would like, and what they wouldn’t like. What would be an insult? How we should have our utensils if there should be cake or not?

I envied her strengths, and her certainty with every choice that she made. I’ve only had ever felt that way once and it was when I married her son now I was sad to do it all over again, such a short amount of time, and I felt myself completely unsteady. He was off with his brother and his father as well making sure that all the preparations to keep so many people safe were ready.

His father was also grooming him heavily now to take over the rule of alpha. I think he wanted more time with his son before things changed. It was very common after a man took over as alpha for his parents to go off and see the world travel and do all the things that they couldn’t do because they had so many responsibilities.

Wolves love to travel, but the alphas couldn’t, they had a duty to their pack to protect it. That was why they take their time after they’ve passed over the rains and why they often don’t spend time with their children once they’re done. They’re too busy and enjoying themselves.

Didn’t know exactly when we’d be taking over, but I knew that now he had a wife it was highly expected of him to become the leader very soon. I could see it weighing on him when you come to bed at night, he looked as if he’d been holding up the world all day.

I wondered if you looked like that every night for the rest of our lives until it was our turn to go on trips. This wasn’t exactly the life. I thought I’d be. I thought I’d be at home with my people traveling all around the country whenever I wanted to with a man who was free to do what he wanted and not tied down by these responsibilities. It wasn’t my choice. I didn’t see, all that went into it.

I was suddenly somebody’s wife and I had to find a way to support him. I did my best to make things easy. I didn’t fight with his mother when she said what she wanted because I figured she knew it was best, she had many more years of experience on me. It didn't really matter too. I’d had the wedding. I wanted underneath the stars in front of him just us two no one could take that away from me.

Luckily, where the few hiccups came, the beta seemed to be on my side when I could tell she didn’t have a particularly strong opinion of the Luna. I couldn’t ask why, though I was tempted. Luna was trying to put my parents at a separate table other than the table so that we could pay respect to some very large pack from Europe that was coming. The beta stepped in and simply said “How would your parents have felt if they were at a different table than you on your binding Day?”

Luna Eva got real quiet and stepped away from the table for a moment claiming that she was hungry. I wish I was as brave as the beta when it came to her, but I still knew she was his mother. I didn’t want to upset her, let alone my husband.

Every night when he came into bed, I did my best to rub his shoulders. Tell him that he was doing a good job. Ask him about his day. My mother once told me that a woman’s job was to be her husband‘s peace. I didn’t know entirely what that meant, but I remember seeing her do this every once in a while when my father got too tired or had a rough day with the Warriors.

I wish I knew if it was working or not, but what I didn’t know is once he was done he was able to sleep, if I could sleep beside him that was all I needed.

The wedding was coming closer and closer and with every day the Luna seemed to become more frustrated and frantic over these tiny little details that I didn’t even think mattered, but they started to worry me too. What about the arrangements? Where should the dancing be if it was too close to the table and somebody spilled wine on some important alpha from some European pack that I couldn’t even pronounce.

Thankfully, that was when Annette showed up. She came a week before the ceremony so that she could help me. More so her mother, but I don’t think she knew that.

She exited the car, hugging Charlie tightly. She whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t pick up, but he chuckled deeply. It was the first time I’d heard him laugh since we started this whole thing.

She came over to me and embraced me fiercely, “ I needed more since the day Cea joined us,” she grinned. “ but a little heads up would’ve been nice,” she winked at me.

The Luna came forward and hugged her daughter. This time there wasn’t much joy in Annette’s grasp. I felt for her the way her mother had behaved was inexcusable.

“ Where is Christian?” her mother looked around expectantly. “ Where is James?”

“They're with Grayson at our pack. It didn’t feel right, leaving it undefended,” she told her mother and quickly moved away.

“I beg your pardon, where’s my son?” The Luna almost streaked, and the alpha stepped in. I saw her shrink back a little bit.

“A perfectly respectable choice, our son is helping his new alpha just as I would expect of him,” Alpha Jonathan insisted. I could see the threat lying underneath his words he dared his wife to disagree and to say something bad about Grayson just as she wanted to.

It was no secret. I know that the alpha had threatened to leave the Luna if she didn’t obey his command to stop, causing trouble with her children and to start respecting their choices. I’m sure that’s why the beta had turned so much against her. It seemed that many people in this pack respected their alphabet to their cores. It also seemed that they didn’t hold the Luna in the same regard, and I wondered if her years of placing motherhood over duty had anything to do with it.

Annette looped her arm through mine and we made our way into the house. I felt myself unclench a little bit with her by my side. I still felt this bundle of nerves surrounding the big day but surely with her here it would be alright.