by Robin Roseau
"All right," said Angel. "Time for you to get dressed. Do you want to be blindfolded before or after everyone sees-"
"Before."
She laughed. Bailey and Maia did the blindfold, careful not to smudge my face or disturb my hair more than necessary. "We'll fix any damage later," Maia said.
They stood me up and steadied me, and I allowed them to remove my clothes.
There was silence for a good ten seconds, then Michele finally said, "You girls did a good job with her. Lara is going to be pleased."
I'm sure I blushed.
They helped me step into my dress. It was completely sleeveless but laced up the back. They adjusted everything as necessary and tightened the dress, fitting me perfectly. Someone held my arms the entire time, and when I tried to feel the dress, they wouldn't let me.
"Angel," I said then they were done. "Um-"
"It's padded where it needs to be," she said. "I'm going to grope you now." And she did, cupping each breast firmly.
"Hey!" I said.
"Can't feel them," she said. "Lara isn't going to guess."
"Thank you," I said.
I could feel the weight of the dress, and as I shifted, I felt the long train. I stepped into my shoes. They primped me for another moment, and then declared me ready.
"We have mirrors set up downstairs," Gia said. "We'll help you down the stairs. Lara is waiting for you there. She wants to see you when you see the dress for the first time, then Elisabeth will take her away again. Several of us will wait with you downstairs until it's time to go."
"All right." They gave me one final sip of my lemonade. Bailey adjusted my lips and said, "No more now, the next thing to touch your lips should be Lara's lips."
I nodded.
They kept hold of my arms, and I realized it was Gia now on one side, Angel on the other. We stepped out of the room and paused at the top of the stairs. "We're coming," Angel said. I took a big breath and, with my train slithering along behind me, let Angel and Gia escort me down the stairs.
We paused three quarters to the bottom, and I heard Lara's intake of breath.
"Oh my god," said Elisabeth under her breath, presumably to Lara. "You lucky dog you."
I couldn't help but smile.
Angel tugged on my arm gently, and they led me the rest of the way down the stairs. We came to a stop, and I could hear Lara's heartbeat directly in front of me.
"No touching!" Angel said. "You may look, you may not touch."
Lara chuckled. Then she walked around me once, stepping over the train.
Someone was taking pictures, lots of pictures.
Angel pulled my arm again, and I was led a short distance.
"There are mirrors in front of you," she said.
Gia stepped away, and then Bailey stepped into her place and said quietly, "Don't worry if you cry. I'll fix any damage, but if you can avoid flat out sobs, that would be great."
The camera was still going, and I heard Lara moving to a position in front of me, Elisabeth with her. Everyone else moved in that direction as well, and I realized they all wanted to watch my expression.
"I need to adjust the train," Scarlett said. "Sophia, will you help?"
I felt them adjust the train, pushing it around, and the dress relaxed when it wasn't pulled backwards quite so much. They tugged on the dress a little more, smoothing things around, and then declared me ready.
"Close your eyes," Lara said. I nodded. "Remove the blindfold." Bailey removed the blindfold carefully, causing as little damage to my hair as she could. Maia stepped up behind me and fluffed my hair, then declared me good. They both stepped away, and I was left with only Angel holding my right hand.
"Open," said Lara.
I opened my eyes to find myself looking straight into a full-length mirror. There were two more mirrors set at angles. Lara was standing between the center one and the one on the right with Elisabeth looking over her shoulder. I was looking into the mirror, but my eyes immediately went to Lara instead, and I stared at her, not myself.
She looked beyond stunning. She was dressed in a medium grey tuxedo in a form-fitting cut, with a white blouse, opened quite a ways down. I could see a hint of each firm breast. Her strong, amazing figure was carefully accented, and I gulped.
This was the woman who wanted to marry me. My knees grew weak looking at her, and Angel steadied me.
I smiled at Lara then turned to the mirror. I stared at my reflection. I was wearing the simple dress I had loved, with straight, clean lines and only the most tasteful of decoration. My small breasts were lifted. My shoulders were bare, with my hair cascading over them. The dress ended at my ankles, and there was no train.
"It's-" I said. "Lara, it's beautiful." I looked at her. I was stunned. "You bought me the dress I wanted."
"No, I bought you the dress I wanted."
I started to cry. "It's beautiful."
"No," she said. "You are beautiful. The dress is only accentuating the woman wearing it."
"Oh Lara," I said, and then she tried to step forward, but Elisabeth grabbed her, and several women stepped between us.
"No touching," Elisabeth and Angel said together.
I laughed and looked at my reflection again. "But- There was a train. I felt it."
Gia giggled. I turned in her direction, and she was holding in her arms a large amount of wedding dress material.
I looked at Lara. "You had them trick me!"
"Yes, I did," she said, and she was smirking. "And it wasn't easy, either."
Elisabeth scoffed. "Yeah, she told the dressmaker what she wanted, and the dressmaker told her what it would cost."
I laughed.
"All right," Angel said. "Get her out of here, Elisabeth. We need to fix the damage."
"I'll see you soon, Little Fox!" Lara said as Elisabeth dragged her away.
"I love you, Lara! Thank you!"
Once she was gone, I looked at Angel. "You little sneak."
She grinned at me. "I'm learning from the expert."
Gia growled, but it was playful. She'd once been concerned I was a bad influence. I laughed.
Bailey and Maia cleaned me up a little further, primped me, and declared me ready. Gia fed me a little more chicken and a little more lemonade. Bailey frowned and fixed the damage around my mouth. "That's enough," she said.
I smiled at her. "Thank you."
Scarlett was taking photos. So was Gia.
"All right," Angel said eventually. "When we're summoned, we step outside. The ceremony is in the field."
"I can't walk in the field in these shoes," I said.
"That's taken care of," she said. "Do you think we would allow you to fall? You and I will walk together. There are two professional photographers. They will take photos as you exit the house and more as you travel down the path that is prepared. Lara is entering from another direction, and you will meet at the middle. There will be more pictures, and then the ceremony will begin."
"Who did Lara get to officiate?"
Angel paused. "We're not telling," she said. She smiled.
"All right."
I figured it would be someone from the council, perhaps Vivian or Ron Berg.
I wanted to pace, but I didn't want to pace in these heels, so I leaned on Angel and let the ladies entertain me.
"I hate waiting," I said. I bit my lip, and Bailey yelled at me then fixed the damage. "Sorry," I said in a small voice.
* * * *
It wasn't really that long of a wait. There was a knock at the front door, and then it opened. Karen stepped in. "Karen," she said as she crossed the threshold.
I turned and smiled at her. She stared at me. "You look stunning, Alpha-to-be."
"What?"
"Oh hell," said Angel. "We missed a custom already."
I looked over at her.
"Sorry," she said.
"Lara is the alpha," I said. "I am the omega."
"She is alpha," Angel said. "But soon, so are you. You are
the Alpha pair. It's not always that way; it is her decision."
"You are still omega," Gia said. "But you can not be the alpha's mate without authority. It is her authority you will wield, with her permission. We will still call you Michaela most of the time, but sometimes you are alpha."
"I understand. She and I will be talking about this."
"No you won't," Angel said. "If you really need to talk to someone, talk to Elisabeth first. This is important, and you shouldn't fight it. Lara will want you to be able to act on her behalf, and you can't do that if you have no authority. And frankly, the rest of us want to know you have that authority as well. Elisabeth can explain more, but I'm begging you. Don't fight this."
I nodded.
"It is time," Karen said. "Congratulations, Michaela."
"Thank you, Karen."
All the women except Angel and Karen filed from the room, presumably to take their places. Karen waited for a signal from outside, then nodded, and Angel led me through the door.
There was a path, a boardwalk, constructed beginning at the front steps. We stepped directly from the porch to the boardwalk, and the photographers began taking our photos. We turned left towards the field where we held so many of our outdoor activities. The boardwalk extended all the way to the middle of the field, and there was another one on the other side. They met and then they turned to my left and went to a platform.
The entire pack was standing in the field, and at the opposite end, mirroring my position, stood Lara and Elisabeth. I smiled at the sight of her.
Angel stepped us forward, and the pack watched us, turning back and forth to look at me and to look at Lara. I couldn't detect Angel adjusting our rate of approach, but we met Lara and Elisabeth in the middle, arriving at exactly the same time.
I had eyes for no one but Lara. She looked amazing, and I felt a tear creep into my eye.
"Hello, Little Fox," Lara said.
"Hello, my love," I replied.
Angel tugged me forward two more steps, and then she handed me off to Lara. We turned and proceeded together up the center aisle to a stage raised slightly off the ground. Angel and Elisabeth fell in behind us, stepping to flank us as we reached the stage.
Waiting for us were Kaylee and Thomas, the two youngest wolves who lived at the compound. Thomas was wearing a suit, and Kaylee was in a beautiful dress with ribbons in her hair. I glanced at Lara. She turned me around to face the pack, and I saw hundreds of smiling faces.
"Please be seated!" Thomas said, his voice pitched to carry. Together they all sat. I couldn't believe my marriage was to be officiated by two eight-year-olds, but somehow it seemed fitting at the same time. They were at the beginning of their lives, and Lara and I were at the beginning of our lives together.
Lara turned me back to face Kaylee and Thomas.
"You look beautiful, Michaela," Kaylee said very quietly, beaming up at me.
Thomas reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper. He gave one to Kaylee, and they both unfolded them. They switched them with each other. "Oops," he said quietly. Lara smiled fondly at both of them.
Thomas read from his paper. "Weddings are solemn events."
Kaylee read, "Full of serious expressions and serious priests."
After that, they each read one sentence at a time, alternating. "That's stupid." There was a pause as people chuckled. "Weddings are a celebration. Weddings are fun. Weddings should reflect the person- person-" Kaylee got stuck on the word, and Thomas helped her. "Personalities," he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. Kaylee read again, "Weddings should reflect the personalities of the people being married."
"Michaela and Lara are strong. And powerful. And smart. Especially Michaela." More chuckles. "And so we have a wedding suited to them. A wedding worthy of our Alpha. A wedding worthy of our fox." They paused and both looked straight at us, their eyes darting back and forth. "I love you," said Kaylee. "We love you," added Thomas.
Someone started the applause, perhaps for us, but I chose to believe it was for the kids. I heard movement, and I turned to see Scarlett stand up from her place in the front row on my side of the aisle. Alan stood up from his place in the front on Lara's side. They stepped forward to join us on the stage. I smiled at Scarlett, but she stepped past me and said, "Thomas, that was very good." Thomas was her little brother. She took his hand and escorted him off the stage. Alan took Kaylee, who was his little sister. We waited while the two children were handed over to their parents, then Scarlett and Alan sat back down.
Chloe Lassiter, thirteen years old, and the next oldest child living at the compound, stood up and joined us on the stage. She was holding a piece of paper, but she never looked at it.
"Lara," she said. "You are our alpha. Your choices affect all of us. Your choice of Alpha-to-be affects all of us. You have invited Michaela, omega fox, to live amongst us, to teach us, to fight for us, to protect us, to be our friend. And now you ask us to accept her leadership alongside yours."
She turned to me. "Michaela, omega fox, Alpha-to-be. You joined us only a short time ago, but already you have touched our lives in ways no one could ever have foreseen. You have been instrumental in saving us from threats to the pack not once, but twice. You have upended your life and accepted our ways, our ways that must be so strange to you. You have taught us and sheltered us. You have comforted our tears and driven away our fears."
She paused.
"I can not speak for anyone else here, I can only speak for myself, but I could not be more pleased to see you both standing here today."
Then she stepped around us and faced the assembled wolves; Lara and I turned to watch her. "I can not speak for any of you, but you can speak for yourselves."
In answer, the wolves raised their noses to the air and began to howl, softly, softer than I had ever heard a wolf howl.
I looked at Lara. "Is that right?" I asked her.
"They are being kind to your ears."
I smiled then faced them and raised my hand, the hand Lara wasn't crushing in hers. It took a moment, but they quieted. "That was just sad," I said firmly. "Even I howl better than that." They laughed. I had a terrible howl.
I turned to Angel. "If that is the custom, I understand. But if it should be a proper howl, please show them a proper howl."
Angel grinned, lifted her nose, and began to howl at her full volume. Elisabeth joined her immediately, and the remainder of the pack added their voices.
The sound was well above what I could tolerate, and it hurt. I stood there, smiling at them and listened to them howl. The only display of my discomfort was the way I squeezed Lara's hand. If she'd been human, she would be grimacing.
And then Chloe raised her hand, and they stilled. Chloe turned to Lara and me. She said something, but I couldn't hear. Then she turned away and walked to her seat.
Lara turned me to face her. She was speaking, but I couldn't hear her. Her expression grew concerned. I shook my head 'no' once, then cocked my head left, concentrating on that ear, then right. The ringing went away, and the sounds around us came back. I smiled. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you. All fixed. Your heart is pounding, Lara."
She smiled. "You are amazing." And then she frowned.
"What?"
Karen rushed forward, pressing something into Angel's hands.
"What's wrong?"
"Look at me, Michaela," Angel said. I turned to her. "Hold still." Then she reached up both hands and pressed something against my ears.
"What are you doing?"
"Honey," Lara said from behind me. "Your ears are bleeding."
"Oh," I said. "Wow. They're fine."
Angel cleaned my ears briefly, then inspected. "You're fine. It must have stopped."
Lara turned to me and checked my ears herself. "What's my heart rate?" she asked.
"Too fast to count. Settle down." She smiled wanly. "I'm fine."
Lara turned to the assembled wolves. "Perhaps proper howls, but not quite that proper."
There was some nervous laughter.
"Let them howl," I said quietly. "I'll just heal it."
"You'll drip onto the dress."
"Oh," I said. "Can't have that, I guess. Can we move on?"
"If you promise to stop bleeding," Lara said.
"It stopped. Sheesh. Cut a bride a little leeway here." I grinned at her.
Angel nodded, and all the older teenage wolves stood up at the same time. They clustered together on the stage. I saw Scarlett run her hand along Angel's bottom as she passed her, and I grinned.
Derek spoke first. "Michaela, this part of the ceremony is for you. Lara knows all this, although it won't hurt to remind her."
Abigail said, "You have been surprised by our customs in the past. You have asked your friends to make sure you are not surprised again in the future."
Then Alan said, "We heard the bride ransom was a surprise, and we know it wasn't your fault. But man! That video is awesome!"
Everyone laughed.
"Which one?" I asked. "The one of me begging them to stop, or the later one of them wishing they had?"
There was more laughter.
"Tonight," said Ava. "We are going to discuss your duties to the pack. We will let Lara discuss any duties you have to her. From the sounds we've heard from your bedroom, we think you probably already know those."
I began to blush, and she grinned at me.
"Your duty, Alpha-to-be," said Jeremy, "is to lead us. To protect us. To fight with us. To guide us."
"Your duty," Sophia said, "is to share your strength and your wisdom."
"Your duty," said Alan, "is to make the pack a strong family."
"Your duty," said Scarlett, "is to love us. And to let us love you."
I almost started to cry. They were done, and one by one they hugged me gently before returning to their seats. I thanked each of them quietly.
Gia and Rory stood up, taking places on the stage. Gia smiled briefly at Lara and then at me. Rory grinned.
"We represent the enforcers of the pack," Gia said, "and those who work most directly to protect the strength of the pack against physical attack. We are the serious arm of the pack, and it is only right that we begin the serious part of the ceremony."
"You are not simply two women who wish to marry," Rory said. "You are to be Alpha and Alpha. It is right that you have vows to share with each other, but it is also right that you have vows you will share with us, with the pack."