Alpha Queen [1] ✓

xlix

On the second Saturday of September, on the heels of my nineteenth birthday, we held one giant feast. We invited everyone we could think of—though it was kind of overwhelming seeing everyone we knew in a room together. There were my best friends Tasha and Milla, Ares's sister Claire who I hadn't seen in a long time, his best friend Edric Stormlock and his family.

Even my parents, who had never cared to visit us even once since I'd decided to move here, came to the castle for the first time. They were actually one of the first guests to arrive along with the Stormlocks.

"It's much more. . . modern than I was expecting." Mom admitted as we gave them a tour of the castle.

"Yeah it looks completely different." Edric said behind her. "Ares, did you buy a brand new castle or something?"

He shrugged and I wondered what he meant by that. "Did it look different before?"

"Very. The outside looks more or less the same, though it looks like Ares hired a landscaper because last time I was here, the weeds were growing weeds themselves, but the inside looks completely new. You went all out with new furniture, new lights, new decor. Trying to impress your mate, huh?" He was teasing. I'd met Edric, his parents and his younger sister Lydia at the Alpha Ball last summer. Edric was the complete opposite of Ares so I wondered how they became best friends.

"I'm pretty sure my brother had the entire castle redone before Alex got here." Claire added on.

"Yeah that sounds like something he would do." He looked at Ares and Ares actually smiled.

The small group of us walked through the kitchens and dining hall where everyone was preparing for the big feast. Our best hunters managed to track down eight deer, five turkeys, and a bunch of ducks and rabbits just for this occasion. They prepared a few vegetarian options for me that consisted of spring vegetable risotto, pumpkin soup, and a baked bean casserole. I remembered when I first came here and they only offered me plain pasta and salad. Look how far they'd come. We also took out our best decades-aged wine from the cellar.

We continued our rounds outside to the training grounds where Marvel was teaching the pups self-defense.

"You look good." Mom commented next to me.

"Thanks. I feel good."

Claire helped me pick out my dress, which was a long, black satin gown with a square neck and lace up back. We opted for pearl bow sandals with a slight heel and just a touch of mascara and lip gloss. She also helped curl my hair and magically twist it into a messy updo. To top off the look, I wore the Trueblood family ruby necklace as well as the diamond bracelet Claire had gifted me last Christmas.

Claire, Dad, and the Stormlocks followed Ares up front while Mom and I made up the tail of the group.

"How has the pregnancy been for you?" Mom asked me randomly. "Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?"

"Every day. Blake drove to the closest pharmacy and he bought out almost the entire store." I chuckled, distinctly remembering how many trips to the car they had to make.

"I know the last time we saw each other Dad and I were a bit harsh and maybe it seemed that we weren't happy for you," Mom was saying, "But we are. We are very happy for you and Ares, we are very proud of what you both have accomplished so far, and we can't wait to meet our grandchildren."

I wanted to cry. It was a big change from what they last said. It seemed they didn't want to accept our marriage or pregnancy. Given, things were moving fast but sometimes life happened in unexpected ways outside of anyone's control.