His flight, however, couldn’t be helped, though he took a very unhappy call from both his parents about it because Lance was of the opinion it was disrespectful, and that he was trying to weasel his way out of being there at all. That he was going to claim that something came up, and so he couldn’t catch his flight. All because he was ticked off that Lance had found his Mate before him.
Jared had rolled his eyes, “I’ve bought the ticket, I simply had to rearrange things here to suit others that I had scheduled meetings with over the period you insist I’m there and so have to be away from here. Not everyone fits around your schedule. They’re not all wolfen so don’t understand. It has nothing to do with my not being happy for Lance. I’m actually very happy for him. Lessens the pressure on me to find my Mate.”
Both his parents had gone quiet with his words, and he’d smiled to himself, “Mother, father, I am one to abide by the rules you set out. I will not object to whoever is mated and has an heir first by the time they are 100. Lance has nothing to fear from me. My life is currently very busy anyway, as you both know.”
“Well son, Lance has asked that a new stipulation be added to the invitation about attendance,” his father told him.
“Oh, has he.” Jared leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Pray tell, father, what is it?”
“That no one turns up late and interrupts the ceremony. So, everyone must have arrived and be seated a full 1-hour prior to the event starting, or on the shaming post and a lashing they will receive for disrespect.”
“That is fine. I believe my flight will get in around one thirtyish, and the ceremony is at 7pm. I’m certain father, it won’t take me 4 hours to get through customs, hire a car and drive the one hour to the pack.”
“Good. That is what I want to hear. Now I have one thing to ask of you. A favor, so to speak.”
Here we go he thought to himself, “And that would be?”
“I just need you to stop and pick up a new pack member. She doesn’t drive and has no way to get out to the pack, it’ll be on your way, and take but a moment of your time.” He could hear the smile in his father’s voice and just knew this was part of his plotting.
“Fine, send me the address,” he stated, “And make sure she is ready and waiting for me to pick her up. I’m not one for standing around waiting on people, especially she-wolves that are just putting on make-up.”
“I’ll make sure she is aware of your attitude and request. Though I don’t see it being a problem, she’s not one to wear a great deal of make-up. A natural beauty, wouldn’t you say Marian?” his father asked his mother.
“Oh, yes, pretty as a picture.”
He was betting she was, and willing to climb right into his bed at his father’s request as well, just like all the others.
Wynta
She spent the last few weeks dress shopping online and in person, and took her time in choosing a dress for the occasion. She’d opted for a Halston Gown, a nice sleeveless, boat neckline, tiered skirt dress in the color royal blue, though it was an ombre style dress that faded out to just one lower corner, where it turned to a soft blue.
She’d paired it with a simple pair of royal blue one-inch pumps, something she could walk in, with relative ease. She wasn’t about to go and try walking around in a pair of stilettos and embarrass herself by wobbling all over the place.
She had, however, stood in the dress store and looked at the dress on her and smiled a little to herself. She actually did like it. Though she’d never had the inclination to spend two thousand dollars on a dress before, she thought she could wear this one, to many different things, she was going to keep it, instead of selling it. It would make for a nice new year’s dress.
Something she did know the Hayes company was holding this year, a big fancy event for its employees, something which she was expected to attend, as were all supervisors and department managers. She could wear this dress to that as well.
The store clerk had offered her a very pretty sparkling belt that shined like a million tiny crystals, and she had to admit it enhanced the dress. But she didn’t want to be drawing attention to herself, or away from the Luna, and something sparkling like that could see her be in trouble. She politely declined the sales assistant with a, “I don’t want to risk drawing attention away from the bride.”
She’d have gotten the dress in black, but it was sold out. She was aiming to just blend into the crowd. Black would have been better for that, she thought, but no such luck. She’d bought what she thought was simple and elegant, but also wouldn’t draw attention to herself. The scent of rogue was going to do that enough, unless, of course, Edward was waiting in the packhouse for her to arrive with that ceremonial blade in his hand to initiate her right away.
She wouldn’t put it past him to be waiting for her like that and that would also see no rogue scent being there to annoy the Luna or his Heir on their day. He was, she knew, looking to kill two birds with one stone, and so she’d likely be escorted right to his office. She could already see in her mind Edward was going to smile triumphantly at her.
A ‘I beat you at your own game,’ smile was going to be on his face she could well imagine.
She was back in the office busy working with her team on market research on what type of boutiques and restaurants were going to be the best for those ground floor spaces. The caf? was already leased, and the design and refurbishment was underway. But a restaurant was only successful if it was the right cuisine for the right location, and then had the best chefs and quality service.
She looked up at the sound of knuckles rapping on her office door and saw Chester the pack Gamma smile at her. She narrowed her eyes upon him, as he stepped into the room and closed the door. A private conversation it was going to be, her eyes moved to her team, who were now all looking at her. She never closed her door.
“What can I do for you, Chester?” She addressed him informally. It was how he’d told her to, years ago.
He walked over and sat himself in one of the two chairs that sat opposite her desk and looked about the room “You’ve not personalized your office very much. You’ve been here for a year now,” he commented.
She looked at the hard wood floors and her clean desk, the pinboards on the wall to her left that had marketing details for the projects she and her team were working on. The shelving behind her had only work things on it. There were no family photos or even artwork in this room. To her right was a nice-sized window that showed her the weather outside and the building across the street.
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