Wow.

I couldn't think about anything else but Addison. I mean, I even had a hard time trying to concentrate during the ceremony itself. All I was focused on was her. She looked beyond breathtaking and I felt my throat dry yo a little when I tried talking to her.

Me! I mean, I'm an alpha. A leader. People fear me — but here I am with my foot in my mouth all because of my beautiful mate. The moon goddess really was on my side when she chose Addison to be mine. I can't picture what my life was like before her. And I don't want to.

I could feel my wolf trying to tear down the barrier in my mind and take full control. He wanted to mate and mark Addison so bad. And it didn't help that she was wearing such a tight dress that did absolutely nothing to hide her curves. Or the fact that her lips were painted that damn shade of red that I cousins stop looking at wanting to see wrapped around my—

"Man how much longer are they going to dance for?" Grayson's voice tore me away before I could finish my thoughts.

"Don't get me started," Brad groaned out. "At this rate, I'm going to have to carry Audrey back to our room because I know that her feet will hurt from those stupid heels that I already told her not to wear."

"Yeah," I swallowed hard. "I'm starting to think that Addison said yes to the ceremony just so that she could dance afterwards."

The girls were singing, well more like screaming along to the lyrics of the song playing.

All of our parents had disappeared, Addison's mom was spending the night at the pack-house along with all the other parents as well. I was going to take Addison back to my house, not wanting any of the other wolves to sense what would go on.

"Ahh!" Ivy yelled out as she tripped over her own feet and fell face-first onto the dance floor, taking Audrey and Addison down with her.

"Here we go," Grayson rolled his eyes before rushing over to help his mate up.

It was only the six of us left, everyone else had cleared out long ago. But of course, our girls wanted to stay till the end.

The whole ceremony took place outside in the large field that we used for training. A bunch of the wolves in the pack helped to set everything up, there was a small wooden stage that everything took place on, and right in front of it was the dance floor that everyone in the pack stood at to watch. There were some tables and chairs scattered off to the sides for everyone also.

I was glad that Addison's dress had long sleeves so she wouldn't be so cold. Also because it meant that less of her was showing for everyone else to see.

Brad and I were right behind him, helping to untangle the girls from each other.

"Are you ok?" I asked Addison. "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she groaned out. "Ivy was holding onto us and then she tried to do some dance move and ended up taking us down with her instead."

"In my defence," Ivy piped up. "Audrey told me that the move was impossible to do without falling so I had to prove her wrong."

"I was right!" Audrey yelled. "It is impossible because you did fall!"

I had one arm wrapped around Addison's waist, keeping her pinned against me. My wolf was already purring like a damn cat just having her close.

Audrey and Ivy were both leaning against their mates, wide smiles spread across their faces. I could feel their happiness through the special pack mind-link that we had between the five of us. It was common for those wolves that were highest in command from each pack to have a private link between each other.

"Why are you guys so happy?" Addison asked us.

"Because you girls have finally stopped dancing and now we can all go home," Grayson said. "I've been dying over there in the corner, I mean how much can one person dance?"

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet," my mate fired back. "Just you wait."

"I think I'm busy that day," Grayson rushed out. "And sick. I'm super busy and super sick that day and out of the country."

"Me too!" Brad added.

"And on that note, I think it's time for us to leave before Addison challenges you two to a dance-off," Ivy laughed. "I don't want to have to hold Gray while he cries tonight."

"Hey!" Grayson whined but Ivy just patted his cheek and didn't say anything else.

"One last hug!" Audrey announced not giving any of us a chance to leave or say no before she pulled the five of us into an awkward group hug.

My right arm was wrapped around Grayson, with Addison half-squished in between us. Brad had one arm around his mate and the other around Grayson, and Ivy somehow managed to be pushed into the center of our little group hug.

"Love you guys!" Addison called out the group as we parted ways and I lead us over to my truck to drive us the short distance back to my house. We could have walked, but my wolf didn't like the idea of making his mate walk in the cold and dark, he was worried that something would happen to her.

"Here," I said taking off my suit jacket and dripping it over Addison's arms once she was buckled in the passenger seat.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked me when I hopped into the driver's seat and started to make my way back to the house.

"Werewolf heat, princess," I smirked. "I never get the cold. The only reason I wore that jacket was because my mom threatened to stab me with that gold knife if I didn't. She's all about me dressing like an Alpha."

The rest of the short drive was in silence. But it wasn't awkward at all, it felt like home.

I opened the truck door and helped Addsion down, but didn't give her more than a second to stand up straight before I picked her up in my arms. I had one arm underneath her knees, keeping her dress down, and my other was on her back. Her arms were wound around my neck and I could feel her heart rate increase.

"My dad told me that it's tradition to carry your mate through the door to the house after the official ceremony," I explained.

"I'm pretty sure that you're only meant to do that on your wedding night when you get home," my mate rolled her beautiful eyes at me.

"I'll do it then too."

I kicked the door open with my foot, not setting Addison down until we were upstairs and inside my room. I gently dropped her onto my bed and kicked my shoes off before crawling in beside her. Her lips were slightly parted and her big blue eyes had me in a trance.

"Are you sure that you're ready?" I asked. "I don't want to pressure you into me marking you. Addison, I'll take everything as slow as you need. You're my world and I'd do anything for you." Every single word I said was true.

Addison sat up on her knees and gently grabbed my face in her hands. "Xavier," the way that she said my name had shivers going down my spine. "You're my world too, and I promise that I'm ready. You're my mate and I love you. Please," she pulled away from me and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Mark me."

That was all it took for my wolf to lose control and break the barrier in my mind. He took full control and didn't waste a single second. He pulled our mate in a deep kiss before we began to prep the area around her collarbone with feather-light kisses. I gave her one last lingering kiss before I sank my teeth into the sweet spot on her neck.

I was worried that she was going to cry out in pain, but to my surprise, she instead let out a moan that had me even more on edge somehow.

I lapped the wound on her neck pulling away to her face. "How do you feel?"

"Really, really good," she mumbled. I could smell her arousal and all I wanted to do was fully mate her, but the pack doctor said that she will most likely pass out after the marking, and judging by her droopy eyes, she was about to.

"Get some rest, princess," I said tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and helping her unzip her dress before pulling the blanket over us both. "I love you, Addsion. So, so much. You're my reason for living."

Happy Friday my loves !

I hope that you're all doing

Well and that everyone

Has the best weekend.

What did y'all think of

This chapter?

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Until next time,

G ❤️