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Chapter 50 : Wedding Preparations

*Lena*

Sometimes I wished I had been old enough to remember what Avondale was like before the reign of my Aunt Maeve and Uncle Troy. It was hard to imagine what the pack lands had dubbed “The City of Gold” as anything less than it was now.

Resorts and restaurants lined the public beaches from end to end of the island capital, their golden facades glimmering like gems in the sun. Palm trees hugged the sprawling tropical parks and greenbelts that wove through the neighborhoods that surrounded downtown Avondale, where the nightlife was lively and the daytime was rich with markets and entertainment.

I’d heard the stories, of course. Maeve and Troy hadn’t had the easiest time when they first came to claim Troy’s rightful territory and his pack. The Isles of Denali had been in a state of ruin and decay for decades.

But they’d done it. They brought the Isles back to life in the two decades they’d ruled as Alpha and Luna. They were beloved by their people, even if their rule had been unorthodox.

Uncle Troy, the Alpha of Poldesse, had been a pirate. Before that, he’d been an uneducated, unattended orphan running with a pack of other young boys and smuggling goods for the previous Alpha of Poldesse before he was even ten years old.

Aunt Maeve, well, she was just Maeve, and rather hard to describe. Her temper was legendary, but so was her kindness. Together, they formed a team that seemed to have been pulled straight out of the pages of some sweeping fantasy novel.

Under their rule, Avondale was paradise. Even the incredibly gigantic palace nestled atop the highest point of the island, overlooking the ocean, seemed cozy and warm. This place was filled with love.

But even as I sprawled out in the bedroom I’d spent a month in every year since I was born, the walls painted a pale pink and curtains drifting in the soft, tropical breeze, I couldn’t shake the emptiness inside my soul. I’d been here for a week and was no closer to feeling whole again. Not after Xander.

I wondered, painfully, if I’d ever feel whole again.

Aunt Maeve knew something was up. She’d been giving me that look of hers that told me she was going to find out the truth. She always did; she had her ways. Oliver and his brothers always complained about their mother’s ability to sniff out the truth and unravel their plans before they had a chance to act on whatever misfortune they were plotting.

So far, I’d successfully hidden the fact that my solemn attitude was about a man, and chalked it up to being sad about college being over. My mom was giving me space, for which I was thankful. Aunt Maeve, on the other hand….

I’m sure Maeve thought my melancholy mood had something to do with my powers, or lack thereof. It wouldn’t take long for her and my mother to find out I was just a sniveling, heartbroken, puddle of emotions… my heart shattered by a fleeting crush.

I rolled over in my bed, staring out the open window. Bright sun. Blue skies. Another picture-perfect day I’d spent wallowing in my own pity.

But then I heard heavy footsteps in the hall, and Oliver practically kicked in the door on his way in, his voice booming through my cave of self-inflicted depression.

“You’re being really lame, Lena,” he said, flopping down on the empty side of my bed. I rolled over, glaring at him before I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin.

him that, with his curly, copper blond hair, sun-kissed skin, and the sharp, angular features all of us cousins shared. While I had the delicate

was allowed to say so. We’d been raised

while the other was steel gray. His uncommon eyes were fixed on mine as

but then slid off the side of the bed, my legs stuck in the satin sheets as I sunk clumsily

go do something today. Anything–I

over the top of the mattress, reaching up to smooth the static from my hair while fixing him with a scowl. He blinked at me a few times, then shrugged, rolling off the opposite side

to be the sad one,” he continued, tapping his fingers

“I’m not sad–”

you

of a quick excuse for the fact I’d spent the

out on the beach,” he said, barely slipping out of the way before the pillow

How did he know?

the room, glancing at my ruffled reflection in the mirror before pulling a silk robe over my pajamas. I tied the robe across my middle as I padded barefoot toward the door to my

about Xander would make me feel better, despite how foolish I

the breezy hallway, then made my way toward the informal dining

***

hands, reading over the fine print of some documents pertaining to the wedding. “I often wonder if all of this is for show. The flowers, the band, the candlelit walk down the aisle…. It’ll

past her at the open doors of the terrace that wrapped around the backside of

blue eyes flashing playfully as she turned her attention

I’ve heard you say a single word

been feeling well,” I replied,

“Mhmm…”

chewed the inside of my lip as she set the papers down on the coffee table,

asked, hoping to

a moment, but then she shrugged, motioning

be back in time to greet your grandparents and whoever else shows up today.” Her face fell a little as she spoke, her brows arching as she sighed.

three daughters, their husbands, and all nine of their children were also expected to attend. George and his two sisters, Eliza and Beatrix and their parents, my great aunt Georgia, and my great Uncle Talon,

I tried to remember all of

I help in any way?” I

down before rising to her feet. She was tall, almost a head taller than me, and I had to look up at