Chapter 35
Saturday morning, the entire lodge was thrust into a state of chaos.
“What is all that banging?” I grumbled from beneath Abraham’s massive arm.
He pulled me closer and kissed the side of my head. “They’re getting ready for the party.”
Oh, yeah.
I groaned and slumped further beneath the covers, praying for just a few more minutes of sleep.
Abraham chuckled and pulled me on top of his body. “You tired, baby?”
Even in my half-dead state, that word sent a thrill through my body. I nodded sleepily. “Someone kept me up all night,” I mumbled.
He laughed again, the sound rumbling through his chest and into mine. “I couldn’t help myself. You smelled so good, and I missed you so much.”
I melted further into his arms. Would I complain about a man not being able to get enough of me?
Never.
Especially this man.
Or, let’s be honest, only this man.
“And I know you enjoyed yourself. Three times, to be exact,” he breathed against my skin.
My face heated, and I had to squeeze my legs together as the memory of the night before came rushing back with startling clarity. “I know exactly how many times I enjoyed myself,” I huffed.
He laughed again and pulled me tighter. “Are you ready for today?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I’m a little worried I’ll say or do something stupid in front of your alpha friends.”
He rubbed his nose against mine. “You’ll be perfect.”
I didn’t know if I believed him, but there wasn’t much I could do at this point. There were a hundred werewolves on their way here, and it was my job to greet them and make sure they had a good time.
I’ll admit, I’d be much more comfortable in a courtroom of a hundred people than a party, but I guess I’d have to adapt.
Abraham kissed my forehead before sliding out from underneath me and getting up from the bed. He stood gloriously on display and I took my time ogling him.
His body was lean and muscular, but not in the way that you’d get from hours at the gym. He was a blue-collar worker and his body was his greatest tool. It had been sculpted and honed from hours and hours of hard labor. His skin was golden colored, but darker where the sun beat down on him regularly. I think they called it a farmer’s tan, but it would forever be known to me as a construction worker’s tan.
He was beautiful.
“You enjoyin’ the show?” Abraham said in a rough voice.
I trailed my eyes up his body until I met his heated gaze. “Sure am,” I said with a cheeky grin.
His smile turned feral as he leaned over and scooped me up off the bed.
“Abraham! What are you doing?”
He hefted me higher in his arms and took off for the bathroom. “I’m about to do somethin’ about that look you were just givin’ me.”
I bit my lip to hide my smile. “What look?”
He grunted and set me down on the bathroom counter. Grasping my chin, he tipped it until I was looking in his eyes again. They were a molten dark blue and made heat rush to the apex of my thighs.
“That one,” he grunted. “Right there. That look is what’s gonna get you in trouble.”
I let my smile go this time. “I think I like that kind of trouble.”
We spent a lot of time in that shower, getting dirty before getting clean again.
A couple times.
When we were finally sated, we pulled on clothes, so we could head down for breakfast. I wasn’t too concerned with what I was wearing at this point because Evey had promised/threatened to dress me for the party later. Honestly, I was glad about that. I had enough to worry about; I didn’t need to add what to wear to that list.
We stepped into the kitchen and found it in a kind of organized turmoil. I wasn’t sure if that phrase made sense or not, but it was the only description I could come up with.
My pack mates were scurrying around the kitchen, some making food, some rearranging furniture, some decorating, and some just trying to stay out of the way.
The staff must have worked through the night because each counter was piled high with trays, platters, and pots of food. The scents of all the different dishes swelled together and made my stomach rumble. I lifted one corner of aluminum foil on the dish closest to me.
“Ah ah ah!” Ms. Elsie cried from across the room. “Those are for later!”
I snatched my hand back and smiled at the elderly lady. “I was just taking a peek!”
She eyed me seriously and turned back to whatever she was cooking on the stove. “Breakfast’s on the table if you two are hungry. Then you’ll wanna’ hurry up outside and make sure they’re settin’ things up the way you want.” She threw a look over her shoulder at us. “Thought we’d be seein’ you two earlier in the day than this.”
My face heated, but Abraham wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “We were busy sharpening the pencil.”
My mouth popped open as my face heated even more painfully. “Oh my God, not you too!” I wailed and turned into his chest that was vibrating with laughter.
“I know all about you two plowin’ the bean field.”
“Make it stop,” I murmured into Abraham’s chest.
He laughed harder and congratulated Ms. Elsie on her euphemism.
“I’ve been around a long time, Abey, I’ve got more than a few tricks up my sleeve,” she said.
I pulled away from Abraham to face the room. “Let’s save them for another day, huh?”
They both laughed at me again, and I abandoned the conversation in favor of filling a plate. If those two wanted to swap crazy sex sayings, they were welcome to it.
Abraham joined me a few minutes later. He filled his plate before heaping another huge spoonful of eggs onto mine. When I eyed him questioningly, he shrugged and took a seat beside me. “You need to eat. You lose too much weight when we’re apart.”
The eggs turned to ash in my mouth as I was reminded of how this was a part time relationship. I couldn’t be with him during the week because I insisted on keeping my job and my apartment in Raleigh.
And he was right. I had lost weight in the last month. Every time I was away from him, my appetite shriveled up and died. I barely choked down any food during the week, but I made up for it on the weekends. Especially with Ms. Elsie’s home-cooked meals.
I thanked Abraham, and we ate in companionable silence while the rest of the room fluttered around us. When we were done, we took care of our own dishes, knowing that the kitchen staff had enough on their plates today. After that, Abraham grabbed my hand, and we walked out the sliding glass doors onto the back patio to survey what everyone had been working on all day.
The backyard had been transformed. It was as simple as that.
The wooden patio we stood on was set up with as many tables as it could fit and each one had a crisp white tablecloth draped over it and garlands of flowers lining the edges. Those garlands were also wound around the posts of the patio and all the way down the staircase.
Out on the grass, there had to be more than two dozen picnic tables spread out across the backyard. They, too, were covered in crisp linen, but these were a pale mint green. The same strings of flowers decorated all the tables down there as well. Large pots of tall displays of flowers and plants were spread throughout the space, making the backyard look more like a beautiful garden than a plain grassy yard.
Above the tables was a large white tent also dripping with foliage.
Nearby, the fire pit was set up, wider than usual with tons of chairs and stumps and rocks set around the perimeter for the eventual bonfire they’d light.
And apparently jump over.
“You’re really going to jump over a bonfire?” I asked Abraham as he led me down the stairs and out onto the grass.
“Of course. You’re gonna do it too.”
I stopped walking to face him. “No, I don’t think that I am.”
He sighed and turned to me, cupping my face with his big hand. “Baby, you have to. It’s a rite of passage as a wolf. We’ve all done it dozens of times. I promise, if there was the slightest chance you could get hurt, I wouldn’t let you do it. But you’ll be fine. You’re strong enough to jump right over the flame with no problem.”
A rite of passage?
Was it really that important?
I just thought it was a dumb thing that werewolves did because they’re daredevils with little regard for their safety.
Apparently, I was wrong.
“So, it’s really a big deal.”
Abraham shrugged and slid his hand around the side of my neck until he could thread his fingers through the hair at the back of my head. “It is.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. “And I promise, you’ll love it,” he whispered against my mouth.
And when he put it like that, who was I to argue?
I nodded shakily, Abraham’s presence sending my brain cells into a frenzy. How this man still managed to scramble my wits was beyond me.
We walked around the party space, making small suggestions to those working on it. To be honest, I didn’t have much to say. I thought they’d done a beautiful job, certain that I couldn’t have done any better.
“Ellie! I need you!” Evey called from near the lodge’s backdoor.
I sighed and turned to Abraham. “Looks like my torture is about to begin.” When he looked confused, I elaborated. “I agreed to let your sister get me ready for the party.”
He chuckled and shot a glance at the sister in question. “She’s pretty fierce for being so small, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “And tenacious. She finally wore me down after a week of trying to convince me to let her give me a makeover.”
He laughed again and kissed my head. “Better not keep her waiting.”
“Ellie! I need you now!”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Wish me luck.”
He chuckled again, and the sound warmed me as I walked back up the steps to the lodge. When I finally reached Evey, she wasted no time grabbing my hand and hauling me inside.
When we made it up to her room, she directed me to sit at her vanity while she got her makeup and hot iron ready for me.
“What did you think of the backyard?” she asked, her back still turned to me.
“It looks amazing!” I gushed.
Evey gave me a smug smile over her shoulder. “I was in charge of decorating too.”
“You did a great job! Everything looks amazing.”
She turned around and walked over with her arms full of more products than I’ve ever used in my life, let alone at one time. “So, that means you’ll trust me to get you ready and not give me lip about it?”
I should have known she’d have ulterior motives. I sighed. “You have free reign. But just remember, I’m meeting a bunch of alphas from other packs today, and I don’t want to look like a hoochie.”
Evey laughed so hard she snorted. “Girl, you are not gonna look like a hoochie when I’m done with you.”
I eyed her seriously, and she held up both hands in surrender. “How about this, I have a dress that I picked out for you, but I’ll give you two other options and you can choose between ‘em all, all right?”
I deliberated for a moment before nodding. “I accept your conditions.”
Evey laughed again and pulled out a bottle of moisturizer. “All right, that’s settled. Now, let's get your hair and makeup done first.”
Evey spent the next hour blending, and buffing, and lining, and powdering my face. I was sure I didn’t even know the name of half the things she used. She was great company though, so I didn’t even notice the time passing.
Finally, she pulled away and eyed me critically before breaking out into a wide smile. “You look perfect!” she crowed.
I smiled. “Do I get to see yet?”
Her smile fell. “Hell no. I’m not even half-done with you.”
I sighed and relaxed back into my seat as Evey picked up the hot curling wand and brandished it at me. “Now, hold still and try not to sweat your face off.”
I huffed out an exaggerated breath. “Why didn’t you do my makeup second, then?”
She waved a hand dismissively. “You’ll be fine, just sit still.”
She piled half of my hair onto my head and began lightly curling the bottom part. When she was just about done, Callie and Del came spilling into her room, both dressed and ready for the party.
“Evey, you better hurry if you need to get your own makeup done,” Del warned.
“Why? What time is it?” she called as she curled another strand of hair.
Del walked up and bumped Evey aside with one of her generous hips. “It’s already three. Everyone’s getting here in about an hour.” Evey froze with a look of terror on her face as if Del had just told her an army of undead were on their way to kill us all. What a drama queen.
“Oh my God, I need to go!” she yelled before running into her massive walk-in closet.
Del shook her head, picked up the hot iron, and continued to curl my hair. “That girl has no sense of time, I swear.”
“Callie! Can you come in here and grab the dress choices for Ellie!” Evey called from deep in her closet.
Callie obliged her and came back carrying three hangers, of clothes and laid them out on the bed in front of me. The first was a beautiful white dress with light blue flowers covering it and off the shoulder straps. The second was a long pale pink dress with same color flowers sewed along the hem and the top. The straps were thick, and they formed a V-neck that looked to be pretty modest. The last dress was actually two pieces, the top was white lace and conservative, while the bottom was a fun, voluminous skirt of tulle that would reach my knees.
Honestly, I would be happy with any of the three choices Evey had given me.
“Evey! These are all beautiful!” I called to her as Del let down the top of my hair to curl it.
Evey stuck her head out of the closet, a smile beaming across her face. “I knew you’d like ‘em. You should trust me more, Ellie, I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
I raised a brow at her. “Remember that time you tried to get me to wear a shirt as a dress?”
Evey rolled her eyes and disappeared back into her closet. “That was a dress! It’s not my fault you’re a prude.”
I gasped loudly. “I am not a prude! I just don’t like all my bits and pieces hangin’ out!”
Del snorted behind me. “Bits and pieces,” she muttered with another chuckle.
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face, and I saw it was mirrored on Evey’s when she popped her head back out and shot me a wink.
I guess this was what it would have been like to have sisters. Someone to argue with, but most importantly someone to make up with. These ladies had wormed their way into my heart without me even noticing. And as they worked together to help me get ready, I knew exactly how lucky I’d been to stumble upon this family.