"I always wanted to ride in one of these things but never had the money to. Or the balls to try, really. Limos are for important people."
Deke took her hand. "You ARE important, baby."
She blinked away tears and looked down at their joined hands.
"Thank you, Deke. You three are the first to ever think I was somebody. That I was worth anything. You have no idea how good that makes me feel."
I reached out and took her other hand.
"We have a good idea, sweetheart. And we will always make sure you know how important you are to us."
She gave me such a beautiful smile and then kissed us all. Settling back, she grinned at me.
"So where are we going, Ash? It's gotta be someplace fancy for this dress to fit in."
I gave her a smirk.
"Only the best for our mate tonight. I wanted to give you a romantic night. You deserve it and so much more, sweetheart."
She blushed and it was so damn cute.
"Thank you, Ash. I'm happy with anything though, really. It doesn't have to be someplace fancy. Even hitting the drive-through at McDonald's would be romantic as long as you three are with me."
The outpouring of love I felt for her was echoed by Jer and Deke. I thanked the Goddess every day for choosing such a warm, loving, and understanding mate for us. And one who was so damn sexy it drove us all crazy.
Zoey gave a gasp as we pulled up in front of For Eternity and turned to me with wide eyes.
"Is this where we're eating dinner? Here?"
I frowned a little. She sounded panicked.
"Is that ok? What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"But… but it's so expensive. And so hard to get into." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Did you misuse your position to get us in here? I know you didn't know when I was gonna be cleared by Dr. Laura."
I laughed as she kept glaring at me.
"Yes, sweetheart. I admit to using my pull as Alpha to get us a table tonight. But the owners are close friends of mine, and I was under strict orders to let them know when you were cleared because they wanted to help us celebrate our new Luna. So really, I was just doing what I was told."
She looked satisfied but then something else occurred to her that made her give me a horrified look. I gave her an exasperated look.
"Now what's wrong, Zoey?"
"They aren't giving us this meal on the house are they!?"
I shrugged.
"I have no idea. If they do, it's their decision. I didn't ask them to take care of the bill and I'm perfectly prepared to pay for it."
"Please make sure they let us pay. I know how hard it is to run a food business and I want to help support them. Please, Ash?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Now, can we go in and eat? Or is there something else you want to complain about for our first romantic date?" I laughed to show I was teasing.
Zoey blinked and looked a little pensive.
"I'm sorry, Ash. I didn't mean to ruin anything. I just… it's all so much. The limo, the expensive restaurant. It's still more than what I'm used to, and I feel like I don't deserve it."
Deke wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"You deserve it, baby. This and so much more. We're gonna spend the rest of our lives spoiling you simply because we love you and we can. So, get used to it, baby. This is who we are. And trust me, we can more than afford it."
She laughed and gave me a smile.
"I understand. Thank you again, Ash. This night has already been amazing. Now let's go eat!"
We were all laughing as the driver opened the door to let us out. Zoey wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me as I pulled her close. Deke put his hand in the small of her back and Jer grabbed her other hand and together we went into the restaurant.
As we made our way to the podium to be seated, I heard a voice ring out over the conversations around us.
"Alpha Asher!"
I turned and saw Laurie and her husband Jacques. They made their way to us, and we moved out of the line so that we didn't hold up the line while we talked.
"Hi there, Laurie. Jacques. How are you tonight?"
"We're doing great, thanks for asking, Asher." Laurie turned and gave Zoey an excited once-over. "And this is her? Our future Luna?"
Zoey's eyes went wide, and she turned red. I laughed and nodded at Laurie.
"It is. Zoey, meet Laurie Delacroix and her husband Jacques. Guys, this is Zoey. Our mate."
Laurie arched an eyebrow at me.
"So, it's true then? She's the mate of the three hottest bachelors in Silver Falls?"
Zoey swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, it seems so. Pleased to meet you."
She held her hand out to shake hands, but Laurie waved her hand away.
"Come here you lucky thing." Laurie gave Zoey a big hug which had my girl's eyes about to bug out of her head before she giggled and hugged her back.
"You managed to snag the most sought-after men in town. And managed to help get rid of the nastiest piece of human shit I've ever had the displeasure to meet. This calls for a celebration! Come! We have our private room all set up for you. Follow me."
Laurie took Zoey by her arm and started leading her away. Zoey looked over her shoulder at us and I shrugged and gave her a grin. Jacques rolled his eyes, and we followed them. I could hear Laurie and Zoey talk as we followed them across the room.
"You knew that guy Wilmington?"
"Unfortunately. His royal assholiness came in one night trying to impress some socialite chick and he seemed to think that throwing his weight around was the best way to get attention. And he got attention alright. Just not the kind he wanted. Jacques doesn't like it when people talk down to me. That guy was livid that we dared to throw him out and ban him from coming back. His poor date was so mortified. She slapped him and walked away. Coincidentally, some unknown person tried to burn down the restaurant the next day. We all knew who it was but couldn't prove it."
She cocked her head back at Deke.
"I'm surprised he didn't recognize Deacon there. When Deacon heard what happened he paid that guy a visit and made sure, with force I'm sure, that the guy wouldn't be coming around here again and would leave us alone. Never saw or heard from the jerk since."
I glanced over and saw Deke smirk as he heard what Laurie was saying.
"You recognized him, Deke? In the ballroom?"
"Unfortunately, no. That was several years ago and since he didn't make any other trouble, I forgot all about it until Laurie said that just now. Plus, he looked different then. Darker hair and he was fatter then."
"Huh… I wonder if he's been on drugs. He didn't strike me as the type who'd hit up the gym to lose the weight."
"True. Meth can do that, right, Ash? Make you lose weight and drive you crazy in withdrawals?"
"Yep. Dead on, Jer. I'm betting that's what happened. As the contracts dried up and he got so much negative attention I bet his dealer dipped out and he couldn't get another fix. It explains the insanity. It was just bad timing that he must have run out right as all the shit hit the fan."
"Oh my gosh! It's so pretty in here!"
Zoey was looking around the room in wide-eyed wonder. She turned and gave us such a happy smile that my chest puffed out in pride.
'Well done human. You have made our mate very happy.'
'She deserves nothing but the best, my friend.'
'Agreed. We will dedicate our lives to making sure our mate and pups have everything they will ever need. They will want for nothing.'
'I couldn't have said it better myself.'
Jer grinned and held her chair out for her to sit at the table.
"Wait until you taste the food, love. It's amazing here."
"How do you know that, Jer? Have you been here before?"
I noted the gleam of mischief in Laurie's eyes and got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Before Jer could say anything, she piped up, "Oh he's been here several times. Each time with a different woman though. I swear he was here just two months ago, right Jacques? Such a player."
Fuck. That look on Zoey's face made my heart hurt.