Alphas Choice

S I X T Y - F O U R

Gabriel carried me through the backyard and into the packhouse. Everything was set up for the ceremony, and it was, thankfully, a beautiful day today. I looked around in awe of what everyone accomplished on such short notice. All these plans only came into place two days ago. He carried me through the packhouse past his office and turned down a hallway I've never been down before. We passed one door that smelled like Eli. That must be his office.

"Where are we going, Gabriel?"

"I have a surprise for you." He murmured in my ear. He stopped at the end of the short hallway. "This was my mother's, and this room hasn't been used in decades. Everyone pitched in to help me fix it up for you." He smiled, setting me down. "I hope you like it."

He put his hand over my eyes and opened the door, walking me in. I could smell earth and that new smell when you get new furniture or rugs. It had a clean smell and something else I couldn't place, like old books, maybe? Now I was really curious. He moved his hand and stepped back so I could look around.

I was in a large room, the back side was all glass windows and plants hung from the ceiling in front of it. There was a large wooden desk neatly arranged and had a bow on top, two chairs sat in front of it. Along one side of the room, there was a long green velvet couch, a coffee table, and two gold chairs facing it. The other wall was covered in book shelves, and as I walked closer, I recognized these were my books from the castle. Including a shelf full of textbooks and medical books I've accumulated. I ran my fingers across the small table and chair set that was in the corner, perfect for sitting and having a coffee. There were more plants all around the room and a soft cream colored rug covering the hardwood floors. I turned to face Gabriel, he had a look on his face that looked worried, would he think I wouldn't like this?

"Is this an office for me?" I asked quietly. He nodded, not looking away. "Thank you, baby." I said, looking around again. "I love it!"

He looked so relieved as I walked over to hug him. He rubbed his hands up and down my back. They all went through so much trouble for me, I looked up at him and brought my hands up to hold his face.

"Thank you so much baby, this is all so beautiful and thoughtful. I've never had an office before." I said grinning, he bent down to gently kiss me.

"I'm glad you like it." He whispered and pulled me up to kiss me again. "Would you care to have lunch with me, Luna?" His eyes were sparkling.

"I would love to." I smiled.

He set me down, and I held my hand out to him. He grabbed it and kissed it before pulling me to the kitchen. The kitchen was packed, but everyone seemed to be at a station doing what they needed to. I recognized wolves from the castle, and the extra help must have arrived. Anna had her chef jacket on and was walking around, making sure everything was going well. They were all whipping up lunch.

"Hi Anna, how is everything going?" I asked, walking up to her.

"It is all going great. The wolves sent from the castle are doing an amazing job like our staff here. Tonight should go off without a hitch! Lunch will be ready in five minutes." She smiled.

"We can not wait for everything! Thank you again for doing all of this, I know planning and prep is a lot of work when there are a lot of mouths to feed. How did the cakes turn out? Did you any crack or sink? I was worried about the set I had to take out first, I should have been down here last night..."

"Not a single crack, all of them look smooth and perfect, no need for apologies they are all done and in the fridge and that is one less thing to worry about. So thank you." She bowed deeply, and we let her get back to work.

"Let's go for a walk around the grounds, then lunch will be ready when we come back." I said, looking up at Gabriel.

He nodded and led me out through the dining hall to the glass doors. All the chairs were set up in rows, and a few wolves were rolling fabric down the center aisle. The archway was decorated on the platform where we would stand during the ceremony. I thanked any wolf I found for their help, I wanted them to feel appreciated if I could. We had made a loop around the building and came in to grab some lunch that was being set out buffet style.