The Silent Alpha novel Chapter 93

***Natalia***

My heart flutters as I wait for my cue to walk down the aisle, knowing that in a few short minutes, I will officially be Zane’s wife.

"Talia," Gwen murmurs, carrying a small gift box in her hands.

"Vanessa had this delivered for you.Toran says she couldn’t make it, but she wanted you to know that she’s happy for you."

I take the box from her hand, and stare at it for a moment, not knowing how to feel about her absence.I had thought long and hard about sending an invitation to my sister and finally decided I would leave the choice up to her.

There is a small note attached to the box and I read it to myself.

To my dear sister, I know it is not much, but I hope you and your daughter love it as much as you and I did.

With love, Nessa.

Untie the ribbon and remove the lid, tears filling my eyes as I look inside.

"What is it?" Gwen asks, pulling a handkerchief from her dress pocket.I pull out the small music box with two little cats sitting on the lid and crank the knob until the song, "Memories," begins to play and I watch the little cats dance around the lid through my tears.

"When I was little, my mother had this exact music box.She would play it for us to go to sleep every night," I smile as I wipe my tears.

"She used to tell us a story of the two little cats on the lid," I giggle.

"They were sisters named Natalia and Vanessa and they loved each other very much." I stare at the box in disbelief.

"It broke years ago.The music wouldn’t play anymore and I was devastated because I had always dreamt of playing it for my own children." I shake my head as I wipe my tears.

"I can’t believe she found it."

"That’s a lovely gift," Gwen murmurs, helping me to carefully wipe my tears.

"But now we must keep you sane for your wedding." nod at her and fight to compose myself, carefully putting the music box back in its box and powdering my face.

"Okay, my lovely," Gwen sighs, cradling little Quoia in her arms and grabbing a small basket of flower petals.

My beautiful Maid of Honor wears a forest green dress with a flowing skirt to accentuate her cute baby bump, and her fiery red hair is tamed within a romantic braid and flowers.

"Are you ready, Talia?" She asks and I give her a bright smile.

"You look beautiful. He is so lucky to have you," she smiles in return.

"Dakota, are you ready?" she giggles at the dancing pup.

He grins back at her, holding up an empty pillow in his hand.

"Kota, where are the rings?" Gwen asks in restrained panic.

"They kept falling off when I danced," Kota explains as he breaks into a silly dance.

"So! put them in my socks," he grins, Gwen and I both sighing in relief as he rolls his pants up past his ankles where two lumps stick out from his socks.

"Okay, but you need to put them on the pillow so you can give them to Daddy," Gwen chuckles, getting into position to make her entrance.

"Good luck," she whispers as she steps out from behind the curtain with Sequoia in her arms.

Oohs and awws erupt from the crowd as Gwen walks down the aisle with my baby, sprinkling little petals on the floor as she makes her way to the altar to join the rest of the bridal party.

"Okay, you’re next," I tell the pup, Kota very excitedly breaking out into another dance.

"How do I look?" I ask, stepping back and spinning for him.

My dress is an off the shoulder ball gown with puffy sleeves and pretty flowers decorating the bodice and my hair is curled and braided with tiny hair jewels in it.

"You look like a princess, Mommy," Kota smiles proudly.

"And are you, my handsome prince?" I ask, the little boy shaking his head.

"No, I’m a wolf," he howls, the music picking up in the background.

"Okay, Kota, time to go," I instruct him and he hurriedly gets into position with the empty pillow.

He’s happily skipping out from behind the curtain before I can tell him to put the rings back on the pillow.I pull the curtain back enough to watch as Kota skips down the aisle, the crowd giggling as the little boy waves hello to everyone.

When he reaches the middle of the aisle, Kota breaks into a } full sprint, racing right into his father’s arms.

My handsome .

Mate scoops up the little boy and kisses his forehead, a million butterflies fluttering in my belly at the beauty of their II love.

Zane whispers something in Kota’s ear and the little boy pulls up his pants to grab the two rings from inside his sock.

The crowd bursts into laughter as Kota proudly hands the rings to his Dad who gives him a high five for completing his mission.

Finally, the music changes tempo and the guests all begin to rise from their seats and turn to face me.

My heart begins to race in my chest and Devina purrs happily as I pull back the curtain to make my entrance.

Several faces smile upon seeing me, but the only face I care to see is Zane’s as I walk slowly down the candlelit aisle.

The moonlight illuminates the handsome features of his face, and I see trails of tears glistening on his cheeks.

Afraid I may burst into tears, I look up at the night sky, a million stars watching over me as I walk towards my soulmate.

At the altar, Gwen, Celina, Nikki, and Nadia stand in as my bridesmaids and to Zane's right, stands Agnes as his Best Ma’am with Tylen, Evan, and Micah as his groomsmen.

Dakota stands in the center of the altar, smiling from ear to ear at me and bouncing on his toes with excitement.

In the front row, Rionna and Toran smile proudly at me, Rionna holding Sequoia in her arms.

Zane steps off the altar and holds out his hand to me to help me up.

Sparks tingle up and down my arms as he interlocks our fingers, and I gently wipe the tears on his cheeks with my thumbs.

"Hi," I whisper, Zane’s lips curling into a smile.

"H-hi," he murmurs, lifting my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles.He leads me to the center of the altar, where Aurora awaits to officiate our union.I hardly hear a word she says as I gaze back at my mate and the cool sensation of the ring sliding down my finger jolts me awake.

Zane chuckles to himself when he realizes I haven’t been paying attention.I take the ring from Aurora and slide it onto Zane’s finger, my mate smiling back at me with joy.

"By the power vested in me by the State of California and by our dear Moon Goddess, I now pronounce you, husband and wife," Aurora proclaims, the crowd holding their silence.

"Zane, you may now kiss your bride."

He cups my cheeks in his hands and leans forward, our lips meeting for the first time as wolf and wife before our pack, His soothing scent of sage and bergamot fills my nostrils, and the rapid beating of my heart slows down as peace finally washes over me.

A smile curls on my lips as I pull away, and Aurora takes Kota by the hand and presents him to Zane.

The little boy looks up in confusion at Zane, who gets down on his knees to speak to him.

"H-Hi K-Kota," Zane whispers, Dakota grinning back at him sheepishly.

"Hi Daddy," Kota replies, cupping Zane’s face in his hands.

"K-Kota, I-I have to tell y-you something okay?" Zane asks, the pup nodding his head.

"I-I know I-I haven’t been part of y-your life for very long, but finding y-you in that bush w-was the best thing t-that ever happened to m-me," Zane murmurs, Kota smiling in agreement.

"Today, I-I’m making a p-promise to y-your mom that I-I a-always love her...but I-I’m also making a p-promise to y-you too.I-I p-promise that y-you'll always be my son, K-Kota, no matter what anyone says," He says, Kota’s bottom lip quivering as tears spill onto his cheeks.

"Oh, baby, don’t cry," Zane murmurs, wrapping his arms around the crying pup.

"Y-your mine too now. I-I’ll always be y-your daddy, K-Kota, and I'll do my best to be y-your superhero. I-I love y-you so much K-Kota. So, so much."

Kota can only nod his head as he cries and I struggle to hold back my own tears as my son embraces the only father he’s ever known.

Finally, after years of being on our own, Kota and I have a wonderful husband and father, and our family is now complete.

Gwen takes out a handkerchief and very carefully wipes away my tears while Rionna steps on to the altar to hand me my daughter.

Zane lifts Kota in his arms and helps wipe away his tears and, as a family, we face the Kingdom.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Aurora announces to the crowd.

"It is my honor to present to you for the first time, Zane and Natalia Ramos and their children, Sequoia and Dakota Ramos. May Moon Goddess always watch over them and may their pack always be prosperous."

***Zane***

After the ceremony, it is customary for our wolves to meet in wolf form as newlyweds so Talia and I are led away to separate tents set up in the adjacent woods for a private meeting..

Grayson appears to have the zoomies, sprinting back and forth in the depths of my mind with excitement and I feel myself getting crossed eyed just trying to keep up.

Would you sit still? \snap asI undo my bowtie and unbutton my jacket.

“can’t! He yips, running yet another lap around my brain.

Too much excitement, he howls.

He continues his sprint until I finish undressing and I scold the wolf to calm down enough for the shift.

Grayson begrudgingly stops and he takes command of my body, my bones cracking and shifting into place.

Paws take the place of my hands and feet, and I sit back to let my wolf play with his mate.

He steps out into the forest, his tail eagerly swishing back and forth, and on the opposite end of the clearing, Devina’s gray wolf steps out of her tent, her blue eyes focused on Grayson.

She walks calmly to the center of the clearing, sitting on her hind legs and patiently waiting for Grayson to join her.

Grayson wastes no time to meet her, racing to her side and licking her face and her snout excitedly.

He sniffs her fur and playfully tugs on her ears, but Devina remains poised and unfazed by Grayson's pup-like excitement.

Grayson presents himself in a playful bow before her and she watches silently, tilting her head to the side in mild curiosity.

Hoping to entice her in game, Grayson sprints around the clearing and finds a nice large tree branch, which he brings back and drops at her feet.

Devina eyes the branch for a moment, then looks down at Grayson and his unwaning playfulness with an amused smile.

It seems she finally gives into his charm and she picks up the stick in her snout before taking off, Grayson chasing after her through the woods.

She’s incredibly fast and we quickly lose sight of her in the darkness.

My wolf searches for her scent when, from behind the trees, Devina pounces on us, playfully pinning us to the ground.

Grayson knocks her over and the two wolves fight for dominance, tumbling together across the forest floor.

The two wolves play for a while, rushing through trees until Devina grows tired and lays down to rest by the lake shore.

Grayson joins her, throwing himself at her feet and rolling over in surrender.

She climbs on top of him, licking his fur and grooming him, much to Grayson’s delight.

He allows himself to be cleaned by his mate, laying perfectly content at her mercy.

"So, this is married life?" Grayson sighs as Devina licks his ears.

"I can get used to this."

"I'm just glad you didn’t faint at the altar," Devina teases, Grayson grumbling under his breath.

"Aww, is my big bad Alpha afraid of a little blood?" she giggles, Grayson pouting at the slight.

"I am not?’ he huffs with indignation.

"Just didn’t know ...you could stretch that much..." he gulps nervously.

Devina climbs off of Grayson, lying on her side and shifting to Talia’s human form.

Grayson follows her example and shifts.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she murmurs, and he curls up beside her, resting his head on her chest.

"What is it?" Grayson asks.

"I was afraid," Devina whispers, Grayson peering up at her in curiosity.

"I was afraid you wouldn’t like me.It’s very hard stepping into a relationship that’s already blooming.I was afraid I wouldn’t fit in your heart-"

He crashes his lips over hers, her words hanging in the air, never to be spoken again.

"I love you," he murmurs as he pulls away.

"You were the last piece of Talia I didn’t know I needed to make me whole and every time I see you, I’m left in awe of you.I could not imagine a life without you in it, Dev."

She holds onto every word, a single tear rolling down her cheek that Grayson wipes away with his thumb.

"I will never be silent about my love for you," Grayson murmurs, kissing her again.

"And I will always keep your heart safe."

They hold each other for what seems like an eternity under the stars until our wolves relinquish our bodies back to us and I find Talia safe in my arms again.I walk my mate back to her tent, and when we both dress, we make our way to the reception, where we are greeted by friends and family as husband and wife.

Kota races into his mother’s arms and I feel tranquility fill my heart as I watch my wife dance with our pup.

Rionna brings me my daughter, and the tiny human blinks her beautiful brown eyes at me, completely oblivious to all the love in my heart for her.

Never in my wildest dream could I have hoped for a life filled with so much love, but as I stand before my pack celebrating my marriage, I finally see my own strength.

My name is Zane Ramos.I was once a broken man with no hope for a future, but I broke free from my prison.I am still healing, but I am no longer the Silent Alpha.