CHAPTER 28 – EMBRACING FATE

LARA’S POV

“Hey, Scarlet, wake up or you would be late. You can’t afford to be” I shook Scarlet who was still sleeping by this time.

She grumbled and removed my hands and went back to sleep again.

I had warned her the night before that if she should remain awake for as long as she did, she would find it difficult to wake up today but she had refused to listen and had gone on with her chat into the night.

These past few days had been a very challenging one for her and watching her fight through it as a warrior gave me some sort of comfort. It was as if today would never come, but it is finally here.

“Come on dear, you sure do not want some other person from the mansion to come here and wake you up, right?” I asked.

She rubbed her hands on her face and blinked a few times. “What again, Lara? I have barely closed my eyes to sleep and now you want me to get up” she grumbled.

“See you have been asleep for over three hours and if you don’t wake up now, I think beta Tim would come here himself to get you out of your mat,” I said.

At the mention of her father’s name, she jumped out of the mat. “My father, where?” she trembled.

“Take it easy, dear, he is not here with us” I replied.

At least now I have gotten her to stand up and now she could begin her preparations without getting into trouble with anyone.

SCARLET’S POV

“My father, where?” I jumped out from my mat at once and looked around the room for a sign of my father.

What could have made him come and look for me himself? I thought. I must be in great trouble today, I began to quiver.

“Take it easy, dear, he is not here with us” Lara answered.

“What?” I murmured. “You just told me that my father was here to look for me”

“No, that is not what I said. I only said that he would come here himself to make you wake up if you refuse to get up” she replied.

“And why do you want me up early so badly? It is barely even morning and I still want some more sleep” I asked.

“What?” she exclaimed.

Her exclamation brought me to the reality of what today is.

“Oh, I see” I sighed and sat on my old armchair.

Today is my marriage and it will be held this morning. I have totally forgotten about it. Now the sleep was completely gone from my eyes and I better get ready before anyone comes looking for me.

“Today is your marriage to alpha Jake. You don’t want to be late” she said.

“Yes, I remember now. And thanks for getting me to wake up” I murmured.

“I warned you about this in the night but you insisted on being awake all through the night. Now you have to get ready before anyone comes here looking for you” she said.

“Yes, I have to” I replied.

Now I wished I had listened to her yesterday night and had gotten some more sleep.

“And I am here to help you get ready” she added.

“Thanks for everything, Lara” I replied.

She took hold of my hand and dragged me up. When I got up, she led me away.

*

LARA’S POV

I have never done this before, getting a bride ready for her marriage. But today I am doing it with Scarlet and even though it was not the kind of marriage that we have both dreamt of, I still intend to make sure that she glows and looks just as beautiful as she ought to be.

“I know you are going to love this, my luna. Okay, I agree that is not what you have always dreamt of, but I am trying my best to make it worth it” I said to Scarlet.

She looked at herself in the mirror but appeared indifferent to the way she was looking. “It is beautiful, Lara, but I already told you that you do not have to go through all of these” she replied.

“But we have to. You would be meeting your mate for the first time today and you don’t want to appear like some cleaner to him” I said.

“Not my mate, Lara, alpha Jake is not my mate. I would prefer you use husband instead” she corrected.

“Sorry, my luna, I meant to say your husband, alpha Jake” I corrected myself.

“How is it, my luna? You are looking stunning” I asked her.

“Fine” she murmured without looking at herself in the mirror.

“Fine, just fine? But you didn’t even see yourself” I cried.

“Are you done?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Yes, I am” I replied.

She took a look at the mirror and turned to me. “Thanks so much, Lara. I do appreciate your effort” she said.

“But I think you have to wear some smile, alpha Jake may not be as bad as they paint him to be. And you may never know him until you meet him” I said.

“If he is not as they made him appear, then he must be far worse than they speak of him” she replied.

“You have to be positive. You are going to be a luna and not just an ordinary girl in a mansion. You will have so many people attend to you and things would be done just the way you want them to. It will be nothing like this place, over there the only person that would be above you would be your husband, the alpha of Black Moon Pack” I tried to pacify her.

What I was saying might not be the entire truth, but it is not far from the truth. Black Moon would be nothing like here, she would be their luna and they would abide by her biddings.

“I don’t know much about marriage, Lara, but I know that the happiness of every woman in marriage is not the authority she wades over others, but it is the love that she gets from her husband” she replied.

“I know, my luna, and that is why I am requesting that you should wear a smile today. This is the first time that you would be seeing him and you might want to make a good first impression on him” I persuaded.

“I will do what you ask for, Lara, I will be at my best,” she responded.

“You are needed at the mansion right now” an omega entered and informed us.

“Okay” I responded and the omega walked away.

“Are we ready to go?” she asked.

“We are done, my luna, we can leave now” I replied.

I took her hand and led her up and then we walked out.

*

When we entered the hall, we saw that the guests had arrived and Scarlet’s family members were all seated.

Beta Tim walked up to us and took Scarlet’s hand. He led her down the aisle while I walked behind them, holding her veil.

I looked around the hall for a sign of alpha Jake but he was nowhere in sight. Even the minister for the marriage has not arrived yet.

Beta Tim led us to sit beside ma Patricia in anticipation of the arrival of the groom.

“And why are they not here yet?” ma Patricia whispered to beta Tim.

“He promised to be here before now and I wonder what is delaying him. I think we just have to wait a little longer” he whispered in response.

I looked at Scarlet and she looked back at me. The two of us wish for the same thing, which was that the groom never shows up.

She was very nervous as we wait, looking back at the sound of any approaching footstep.

“He cannot keep us standing, father, who does he think he is?” Hedrick said as soon as he walked up to his father.

“Hold on, son, let us just assume that something unavoidable is keeping him from being here now” beta Tim replied.

“And who cares what is keeping him. What does he take us for?” Hedrick yelled.

“Please calm down, son, maybe you should go back to your seat, and let’s give him a little more time” beta Tim said.

At beta Tim’s request, Hedrick walked back in anger.

There was a noise outside and we all stood up and turn to the door. the noise continued for some time until the door swung open and a young man hurried in.

“Is that alpha Jake?” Scarlet whispered to me in a trembling voice.

“That can’t be so. There is no way he would come in this way, alone” I replied.

The young man made his way to Sam and asked. “Please where is beta Tim?”

Sam stared at the young man and was deciding what to do with him. When he could not come up with an idea, he pointed to his father and the young man came over to beta Tim.

“Hello sir, I have a message for you from alpha Jake” the young man announced.