Violet basked in Ashton's attention, and she looked around.
"Is everyone who matters here?" Violet asked no one in particular.
"I believe so," Talia responded without removing her eyes from Damon, who was feeding her.
"I don't see uncle Axel and aunt Yasmin."
"They said they will co, but with the ti difference, it's hard to say when. You know how they are. They might co in the morning or next week depending on how much ti Yasmin takes to style her hair."
Violet didn't respond. She didn't care about Axel and Yasmin in particular, but she wanted to see if Valeria and Edgar will co. For Violet, it was only two days since they left the Midnight Guardians pack, but Valeria had two months to think about accepting her fate as not the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack.
Violet snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a piece of perfectly grilled at hovering on a fork in front of her face. It was Ashton feeding her, and she liked it very much.
Violet grabbed another fork and poked a piece of at for Ashton.
"Together," she said, and they opened their mouths at the sa ti to accept each other's offerings.
Ashton chewed with gusto. This was an indication to everyone that they would treat each other as equals, and he wouldn't want it any other way.
People on the right stirred, and Violet looked that way to see Axel and Yasmin at the door, making their way into the garden. The row of people behind them were Moonrider kids, with the oldest ones first.
And it was not just them, but g, Kai, Tyler, Sandy, and many other ranked mbers from the Midnight Guardians pack. They were spilling into the garden and filling up any available spots.
Regular pack mbers ca earlier, but the ranked ones waited to accompany Axel and Yasmin; they were just proxies, but Talia insisted they should be treated with the respect a real Alpha and Luna would have.
Violet kept an eye on the female behind Yasmin.
"Don't," Ashton said to Violet.
"What?"
"I want your attention to ."
"You have it."
"It didn't look like it."
"I am perfectly capable of multitasking," Violet said in her defense.
"Then make all your tasks about ," Ashton responded with a straight face.
Violet's shoulders shook, and then she burst into laughter. She couldn't believe he was so cheeky. And handso. And hers.
Valeria plastered a smile on her face and kept walking after her parents. They went to greet their hosts first.
"We won't take too much of your ti, as we already congratulated the newly mated couple," Axel said.
"Don't worry about formalities," Talia said. "We are family." She glanced to the side and saw that Zina was already instructing Ogas to set up a table for the Moonrider family. Grown-ups and teens should have their places. The little ones can run around with other kids in their designated area where they had kid-friendly food and drinks and several responsible grownups watching them.
Talia gestured to Zina and spoke to Axel and Yasmin, "Enjoy food and drinks, and we will catch up later. We have a double-Alpha ceremony to plan."
"Without us?" Violet asked.
Talia shook her head. "So things need to happen even if you don't like it. We expect you will give us a rough tiline for when you will step up as the Alpha. Shaman Gideon will calculate the best day for the ceremony."
"What's the rush?" Violet asked.
"We are not going to make you rush into this, but Ash is of age and overdue to take his role as the Alpha, and our people are eager to see you step up. Now that you found your mate, there is nothing to hold you back."
Violet suspected there was more to it, but she didn't want to ask for clarification in front of people. She will talk to her mother. Later.
Valeria sat at the table with her parents and Edgar.
"You can at least pretend you are happy," Edgar said in a low voice to Valeria.
Edgar pushed a plate with food in front of her. "Eat, Val. I recomnd that you co up with an amazing toast for our cousin, or people will think you don't approve of Vi having a mate or you don't approve of her being our Alpha. Either of those will paint you in a bad light."
Valeria rolled her eyes. Edgar was off. Well, mostly off.
Valeria was bitter that Violet humiliated her the last ti they t in front of the whole pack, and now Valeria needed to show up cheerful like the incident didn't happen.
She understood the hierarchy and the consequences of defying it, but she felt wronged and bullied, and everyone telling her to suck it up was not helping. Damn it! It's not like she had anything else to do. It was about studying and training, and she was great at both, but they ca with a bitter aftertaste at the thought that it was all done so she could be Violet's second.
The pinnacle of Valeria's existence would be the role of Violet's proxy, or maybe Violet's Beta in the Midnight Guardians pack, and both of those ant that Violet was above her. It was like the whole life she was in Violet's shadow, and it was suffocating.
Valeria was pushing the at on her plate, and it looked delicious, but she didn't feel like it.
There was only one thing she would eat no matter what.
Valeria checked her purse and frowned when she saw she had run out.
She nudged Edgar. "Give so dried apricots." Those were his favorite snacks also.
Edgar cocked an eyebrow at her. "What makes you think I have them on ?"
Valeria scrunched her nose. "If it's not you, why do I sll them?"
Edgar sniffed the air. "I can sll many things, but apricots are not one of them." Everything slled of grilled at, but now that she ntioned it, he could pick up a faint scent of apricots also. Did he imagine it? Or was he sensing Valeria's craving through their twin bond?
"Let go and check."
Edgar stood up and walked away in search of apricots. He was going to check the grills and tables where side dishes were served. If there were none at the party, they should have so in the kitchen.
Edgar totally missed that his sister was frozen when he left the table.
Axel's brows ca together in concern when he saw that Valeria was not moving. "Val, sweetie, are you feeling unwell?"
She didn't answer.
"Yasmin," Axel called. "Sothing is wrong with Val."
Yasmin's lips stretched into a smile. "There is nothing wrong, Axel." She put her hand over her mouth when she realized where Valeria was looking. Or, to be more precise, at WHOM she was looking.
Valeria stood up in slow motion and walked through the people toward the door and the striking young man standing frozen on the terrace and staring back at her.
"Oh, no!" Axel shouted while clutching his chest. That was his firstborn, and she was about to leave the nest!
Due to Valeria's high position, Axel assud that her mate would co to live with them, but considering the identity of her mate, maybe she would go with him.
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