"We're home!" Claudia called as she and Angus arrived back at Jonathan and Sadie's home.
"Excellent." Sadie's sickly sweet voice floated from the top of the stairs. "Did you get everything done?"
"Not yet, we still have a lot of decisions to make." Claudia replied.
"Do you have a date yet?" She asked, latching on to Claudia's arm like a needy puppy.
"Not yet, but we will soon." Angus said impatiently. "Now, if you will excuse us." He took Claudia's hand and led her up the stairs. "Is she always like that?" He asked as the pair entered into the girls' bedroom.
"Unfortunately, yes." She replied, shutting the door behind them. "So, when should we have our wedding?"
"When are your siblings having their weddings?" He asked, sitting down on Savannah's bed.
"I don't know." Claudia said, getting her phone out of her handbag. "Let me send them a group text."
"Happy with the stuff we have purchased?" Hunter asked, shoving the last of the decorations into the trunk of his car.
"Very happy." Esmee replied, taking out her phone (which had just gone off). "Hey, do you have a date in mind?" She asked as she read Claudia's text.
"The date of the new moon." Hunter replied as he got into the car. "July 29th."
"Any particular reason why that date?" Esmee asked.
"It is the day of the new moon, where the 'wolfyness' of werewolves is at its lowest." He explained. "When there is a full moon, we cannot easily control ourselves, and I can tell you from experience that that is when we are at our most terrifying. I don't want you to be scared of me, or anyone else in the village."
"So July 29th it is." She replied, texting into the group chat.
"Where are you taking me?" Esmee asked after an hour.
"I thought it would be better if you met the rest of the pack earlier rather than later, so I decided to take you to Hulter."
"Okay then," She replied. I am about to meet a real life wolf pack, She thought as she stared out the window.
"You're home!" A mousy-brown haired woman called from the open plan kitchen as Esmee and Hunter entered the cabin. "Is this her?"
"Yes, Valentina, this is her. Valentina, Shilo," Hunter replied, setting down the shopping bag he was carrying. "This is Esmee, the new Luna. Esmee, these are our Betas, Shilo and Valentina." He motioned to the pair that stood before them.
"It is lovely to meet you." She greeted the pair.
"Not as lovely as it is to meet you, Esmee." Shilo replied, kissing her hand gently.
"There is my beautiful daughter-in-law." Theo's voice floated down the staircase as he appeared on the landing. "I trust my son has treated you well this morning?"
"Yes, sir." Esmee replied, blushing at the amount of attention.
"What's so exciting about her?" a strange voice asked, as a blonde bombshell of a woman emerged from the couch. "She isn't pretty, and she certainly isn't deserving of my title."
"Liera," Hunter replied just as coldly. "Just because Jason is now an elder doesn't mean you are still Luna, and you certainly don't get a say in who becomes my wife. Now, if you will excuse us, we still have many decisions to make for our wedding." He took Esmee's hand and pulled her up the stairs
"What's her deal?" Esmee asked as soon as the door to what appeared to be Hunter's office closed.
"Her mate was my predecessor." He explained, bringing her to a sofa along the left side of the door frame. "I overthrew him, as is our custom, making both elders. Now, being an elder is all well and good, except it doesn't have any political power or influence."
"Why not?"
"Because being an elder means going into retirement." He replied. "It is meant to be a role of rest, as a long serving member of the pack."
"Does one have to be a werewolf to be considered a member of the pack?" She asked shyly. Hunter straightened up from his slouch.
"Officially, yes. But in almost every Werewolf Human couple, the human is considered to be one of the pack by those who know the couple even before they are turned." He replied. "Does that alleviate your concerns?"
"Yes, it does."
"Good. If you do want to become one of us, I will allow it once you have learned all of our customs." He replied. "Shall we continue with the wedding planning?"
"Why don't we go to my place, rather than go shopping?" Fletcher asked, noticing Savannah's shaking hands.
"Sure." She replied, finishing up her breakfast.
"Are you scared about what I am?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I am." She replied honestly. "It is a bit nerve wracking knowing that you could kill me if you wanted to, and that I am going from one deadly situation to another.
"Right." He replied, setting his drink down. "If it makes you feel any safer, I don't drink human blood at all, and try to live as humanly as possible."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I don't solve things through violence, and I forbid certain acts of violence against humans. Namely, vampires are not allowed to bite humans who do not want to be bitten, regardless of whether it is to turn the human or for feeding." He replied. "The punishment for such crimes is death, in the most brutal fashion."
"Somehow, I do not feel any safer."
"I'm not surprised." He replied, finishing the last dregs of the pigs blood. "I often worry that I am not doing enough to protect the humans the Eclipse coven do come in contact with." He leaned closer. "Please listen to my direction when it comes to interacting with vampires. I do not give such instructions to dampen your fun, but rather to protect you from vampires that are too young to control their bloodlust."
"Will being your wife come with the prerequisite of becoming a vampire?" She asked, feeling more confident.
"Not unless you want it to."
"How many are there in your coven?" She asked.
"About a hundred," He replied. "Eclipse coven is on the smaller size when compared to other covens, given our rather exacting standards for a member of the coven."
"Harry, we are home!" Fletcher called out as he and Savannah entered the penthouse apartment.
"Thank goodness, sir. I was becoming worried that something had happened." Harry replied, emerging into the entryway.
"No, we just had a much longer conversation than I had anticipated." He replied as Savannah's phone went off. "Now, if you would be so good as to bring my dear Savannah a cup of tea and a glass of water, we have many plans to make."
"Yes, sir." The assistant replied, going into the kitchen.
"Come with me." Fletcher told her, leading her down the hallway and into an office. "Welcome to my office." He said as he closed the door behind her. "Take a good look around, for you won't be able to come in here when I have guests here."
"It is beautiful." She replied, marvelling at the delicate balance of minimalism and historical opulence that adorned the room. "You have very good taste."
"Thank you, but most of this is the result of hiring a very expensive interior designer." He replied, as Harry brought the tray of drinks in.
"There we are, ma'am. One cup of English breakfast tea, with milk and sugar." He said as he took each item off the tray. "And one glass of water."
"Thank you, Harry. You may go now." Fletcher said as he took the seat opposite her as her phone went off again. "You should probably check that." She pulled her phone out.
"It's my sisters." She said, "Claudia wants to when we plan on having our wedding, and Esmee and Hunter are planning on having their wedding on the 29th of July."
"So why don't we plan to have our wedding on the 5th of August?" He suggested in response. "It would be almost exactly a week after your sister's wedding, giving you the chance to attend while getting you out of your parent's house sooner rather than later."
"That's perfect."
"I don't have a great relationship with my mother either." Peia said as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.
"Really?" Jeremy asked.
"Yup. and before you ask me why we don't get along, I will state that I do not want to discuss it. There is a reason I live with Penelope and not my mother, and that is all an almost complete stranger needs to know."
"It sucks that you don't have a better relationship with your mother, and I support your decision not to tell me anything." He replied, finishing his stack of waffles.
"Thank you. Most people I have been on dates with try to coerce me into giving up my secrets, so it is refreshing to not have to fight you to keep them."
"It's okay." He replied. "After all, I have been keeping my own secrets from people."
"Hey, we should get moving." Peia said as she got up from the table. "Don't look, but there is paparazzi on your five o'clock." She whispered.
"Alright, let's go." He replied, getting up from the table and grabbing his coat. "Let's go back to your place."
"Oh, you're back." Penelope said in a breathless, frazzled voice as the pair entered the front door. She looked disorganised, completely different from the calm and collected manager Jeremy had met the previous day.
"We are, and you are going to need to ring my personal shopper." Peia replied. "We didn't manage to get everything done."
"Very well, I will go and make the call." Penelope replied as she hurried off to another corner of the mansion.
"Is it just me, or was Penelope acting out of character?" He asked.
"It wasn't you." Peia replied. "Something is up, bigger than a mishap that she has to iron out. She has something to hide." She turned back to Jeremy. "Let's focus on getting married, then we can figure out what's going on with her together."
"Sure. Where do you want to work?" He asked.
"Follow me." She led him through a doorway at the other end of the living room, which apparently led into her bedroom. His phone buzzed for the third time since he had left the house.
"Hey, when are we going to have our wedding?" He asked as he read the texts in the group chat. "Esmee is getting married on the 29th of June, and Savannah is getting married on August 5th."
"Let me check with Penny to see what days I have off." Peia replied as she reached for the landline next to her bed.
"Penny?"
"Penelope's nickname." She explained, receiver to her ear. "Hey, what days do I have off in July and August?" She asked Penelope through the phone. "Just those two days? Okay, Jeremy and I will discuss those two dates."
"Well?" he asked as she put down the receiver.
"I only have the 10th and 11th of August off." She said, "So, which one do you want?"
"Let's do the 11th, that way you can have a day of rest before the wedding day."
"Alright, I will inform Penny while you tell your siblings." Peia replied, picking the receiver up again.
"Here's the milk." Genifer said as she put the pail of milk on the kitchen counter. "Can you sift it? Joshua and I really should get on to planning the wedding."
"Have the horses been taken care of?" Bella asked, getting a strange looking sieve and a couple of gallon jars out of a cupboard.
"Yes, they have."
"Then yes, you can go." She replied, as she started pouring the milk into the jars. Genifer turned back to Joshua.
"Come with me." She said, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.
"I guess the first question we should answer is when are we going to have the wedding?" Joshua said as he closed the bedroom door behind them.
"When are your siblings getting married?" She asked, sitting down on her bed.
"Anytime between July 29th and August 11th." He replied, looking at his phone.
"All around the new moon." She replied flatly.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"There are some species of humanoids that go by the movement of the moon, rather than a calendar year." She explained.
"What do you mean, some species of humanoid?" He asked, putting his phone away and coming closer to her.
"Not everyone who appears to be human is really human." She explained. "Like Bella and I, we are Fauns."
"Wait what?" He asked, sitting down in shock.
"My sister and I are not humans. We are Fauns." She replied. "And that obscure monarchy? Yeah, the current monarch is my own mother."
"And here I was thinking my own mother was terrible."
"There is more." She said, turning to face him. "There is a prophecy. One that surrounds both you and your brothers and your sisters. One that makes it so that no one should really be getting married before the Autumn equinox, but so long as you and I don't, everything should turn out okay."
"Shit." Joshua breathed. "Does anyone else know about this?"
"Other than Braria? No."
"Braria?", He asked.
"Bella." She replied. "And my true name is Gnunia."
"Someone has to tell them." He responded, picking up his phone and opening the group chat. "How do you feel about going back to my place?"
"Can I help you?" The consultant in the outfit boutique asked.
"Yes, we need one wedding dress and one suit." Skylar replied unnaturally brightly.
"Certainly. Is there a specific budget that we would like to stick to?" The consultant asked, looking at James. He looks awfully familiar, he thought. Where do I know him from?
"Two thousand for both." He replied, looking back at the consultant's eyes. That's where I know him from, he realised as it dawned on him that he was looking at his best friend. "How are you, Christian?" He asked, making the consultant's eyes go wide.
"James?"
"So you two know each other." Skylar stated flatly. "Looks like I am not going to get much help from either of you finding my wedding dress, so I will be back." She said as she left the pair.
"Hey, I'm sorry for what happened between us." James said apologetically.
"So am I, but I forgive you." Christian replied. "So what brings you in here looking for a wedding dress?"
"My mother and stepfather thought it would be a swell idea to sell all of their children to wealthy families to become spouses for their descendants." He explained as the pair walked over to a rack of vests. "Speaking of my wedding, how do you feel about being my best man?"
"Don't you want your brothers to be your best men?" Christian asked in response.
"I do, but I don't want to become a burden on them as they are planning their own weddings." James replied.
"Okay, give me till the end of this consultation and I will give you my answer." Christian replied as Skylar came back with her arms full of dresses.
"It's a cute relationship that you guys have, but please can I have some help?" She asked, almost dropping the mountain of dresses she was carrying.
"Sure, I will go and find someone that can help you try them on." Christian replied before turning back to James. "Look after her, because she is one of the most gorgeous natural beauties I have ever seen."
"Alright, the total for your purchases today comes to $1,995.25." Christian read off the till. "Is that everything for today?"
"Yes from me." Skylar replied.
"You still haven't given me an answer." James reminded him. "About being my best man?"
"That's right. I completely forgot about that." Christian confessed. "Yes, I will be your best man."
"Perfect. Then I guess that is all." James replied.
"I will just get you both to sign here." Christian said, pushing the receipt across the table. "And then I can let you guys go." James picked up the pen he had just put on the table and scribbled his signature, before pushing both towards Skylar.
"How do I get in contact with you?" James asked. "I deleted your phone number after we fell out."
"Give me your phone, and I will add my contact again." Christian replied as James brought his phone out and opened it for him.
"Maybe it should be you two getting married." Skylar said as he handed Christian his phone.
"No, thanks. I don't want to end up dead." James retorted. "My mother already thinks that my very existence is a curse, I don't need to add fuel to that fire."
"Well, whatever your mother thinks, I want to wish you all the best." Christian said in a monotone. "I am sure that you two will go on and do great things."
"So, what day should we get married?" James asked as soon as he and Skylar reached the car, unlocking the trunk.
"I couldn't care less." She replied, fighting with the large garment bag covering her wedding dress as James's phone buzzed for the fifth time in an hour. What on earth do you guys want? He thought as he pulled it out and looked through the group chat.
"Well whatever we decide, Joshua has called an emergency meeting that we should be at." He replied, putting the phone back into his pocket. "Let's go."