The Shadow of Stars

Thirty Seven

"How long are we staying here again?" I mumble to Micah as we descend the stairs, gripping so tightly onto this hand I'm shocked I don't shatter his bones. "Five minutes, was it?"

"Just follow my lead," he replies, voice so low I barely hear it. 

Barely a second passes until his parents are emerging from the heavy crowd, headed straight towards us. Rose leads the way, fitted perfectly in a soft blue gown with the Alpha a step behind her. His face is natural but his eyes glint with fury directed mainly at his son and I think I'm ready to pass out. 

"My, Athena! You look incredible," Rose exclaims, her arms extended towards me like I'm a gift from the very gods. She hugs me and pulls away, her eyes twinkling with pride as she leans in close and whispers, "We are so glad you could make it."

I try return the smile but one look at the thundering look Micah's father shoots him stops me. Micah doesn't move under the gaze, but his shoulders tighten and I shift my balance, my fingers still locked with his.

"Well someone has certainly grown up, Silas your son is taller than you." My stomach twists at hearing a deep voice. With a shaky breath, I face the Superiors of the nation as they split through the crowd, tall and glittering in jewels. 

They are more daunting than I expected them to be, if that's even possible. They were both clearly muscled and tall, the Luna Superior glittering in a floor length red gown, her beauty unparalleled. And the Alpha Superior was just as intimidating, he smiled warmly but his whole body demanded attention like authority was built intones very aura. 

My limbs lock up.

Silas, Micah's father, the Alpha, laughs and nods as the displeasure quickly melts from his face. "Indeed. They grow from pups so fast."

"Alpha, Luna," Micah acknowledges, bowing his head in a way that exposes his neck. "Please accept my apologies for our late arrival, my mate and I were caught up and didn't realise so much time had passed."

Their attention locked onto me, as if the statement permitted them to analyse every inch of my body, my expression, my fear. "Apology accepted," the Luna states, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "You are a newly mated, it is to be expected. Jayce and I once missed his entire birthday function in our first few weeks of knowing each other."

The Alpha Superior smiled fondly at the memory, pulling his mate to his side. He seemed kind, approachable even. But something in me screamed to shrink away, to disengage from any sort of contact like my body knew of the predator he really was. "We are just happy to meet the lucky girl, Athena, isn't it?"

The silence makes me balk and I glance to Micah before gulping. "Um, uh yes—yes sir, Alpha. Yes Alpha." If the goddess could impart some of her divine intervention and provide me a cliff to jump from that would be greatly appreciated.

"Well, it's so great you are here, Athena. We are all truly blessed by such a match and are excited for all the opportunities this union presents." The Alpha Superior glances at my bare neck, his gaze shifting to Micah's father momentarily before he looks back at me. 

"Father!" A young woman with chestnut hair and tall, slender legs basically runs towards us, her dress fisted in her hands as she beams. "You'll never guess who I just met."

She was younger than us by a few years and had enchanting green eyes that quickly locked onto us, a sheepish grin taking over her features. "Hazel, I was wondering where you'd run off to," the Luna Superior says. 

"Yes, my apologies, I ran into Elias and his mate—I haven't seen him since that training boot camp all those years back."

She was younger than us but as strikingly beautiful as her parents. The superior's daughter, heir to the entire damn nation. The Alpha Superior laughs, nodding towards us. "And here is another happily mated couple for you to meet," he says and her large eyes latch onto us, that smile turning utterly radiant.