The Alpha & Beta's Regret
The Alpha & Beta’s Regret – Chapter 172

Rafe POV

Rafe was standing in the packs ballroom it was not dressed up for a mating ball like it normally was when they had a planned event with other packs coming. But both he and Jack were wearing suits and Luci was standing between them as their Luna.

She was wearing a long soft cream coloured dress, hed bought her a dress last night when shed been out swimming with Silla, and sent an omega at first light to go pick it up and bring it back, along with many other things he and Jack had shopped for. Wanted her to have something nice to wear.

He wanted her to look beautiful even though it was not her Luna Ceremony, and that he knew was going to be big and sparkly. Hed already thought about it, as had Jack. They now had a whole month to work on that and they’d decided roughly on the plan. That everyone who had come to help them and offer aid had already been emailed a save the date, he’d done that today.

He was prepping for the most important day of all their lives. Luci’s formal introduction to the pack, and a celebration of the full blessing they had been granted from the moon goddess herself. He was hoping, being summer, that the night of the next full moon would be clear and Selena would get to see everything

Now, as he stood and looked at her with her long blonde hair all curled on the bottom, and out hanging loose down her back, he didn’t think they could have picked out a better dress for her, than the one he and Jack had chosen. It was an A-line dress with a square neckline with thin cordlike spaghetti straps, its bodice was cream silk then overlaid with a beautiful soft white lace, fitted her perfectly. It fell all the way to the floor in a soft white flowing silken slip, with a split up one side of her leg, and had many layers of sheer cream chiffon over the top. That all flicked and flared out when she walked, she looked so very elegant as she stood here with them tonight.

There mark on her for all to see, and it looked amazing on her, a beautiful silver filigree adorned not just her Mark Spot but half of her lovely neck as well. Rafe leaned over and kissed her temple softly, smiled down at her when she looked up at him. But he’d just wanted to k**s her and nothing more, they had told her she looked beautiful and they had meant it.

Even the boys had stared up at her, all dressed up and with make-up on, not that she needed it at all. Addison and both his and Jack’s mothers had insisted on it. Those three women had been fussing about her all afternoon, as though it was her Luna Ceremony. He knew Luci had tried to stop them, told them it wasn’t at all necessary, that she didn’t need anything.

That had just made all three of their mother’s stare right at her with their hands on their h**s, all of them were her mother’s now and they were not having a bar of her not getting all dressed up and shown off to the pack formally for this, the first full moon since she had gotten back.

They had been sitting watching, only needed to shave and put suits on but had enjoyed watching their mother’s fuss over her, wanted Luci, Kali and Alari to all be spoiled and that was what she had been getting. Luci had looked to both he and Jack for help and they had simply smiled at her, were not going to step in and ask Addi, Diana and Florance to leave it alone. They wanted to show her off their beautiful Mate to the pack, in the dress they’d picked for her.

He’d already given her Piper’s envelope and not Piper as a Luna, but as Piper Harper, Wedding Dress Designer. It was an offer to make time in her human and wolfen world schedule to make Luci her perfect Luna’s Gown. In that envelope had been several pieces of paper; a list of questions about the style of the dress, materials and colours Luci would like, as she needed to get to work on it right away.

Both he and Jack had been allowed to read it, and both of them had touched Mermaid style and shed just chuckled softly and nodded at them, didn’t seem to mind that, that was what they wanted. Though that was all they were going to know about the dress, had told her not to tell them anything else at all, they wanted to be surprised by her Luna Dress.

They were now all standing together, looking over their impromptu mating ball. Addi was back at the house with the boys, and many of their new pack members were here, Nadia had pulled her staff into cook up a storm and they were all getting tomorrow off as an added bonus for helping on such short notice.

He was looking around the ball room, the moon setting was still an hour away, and spied Allen with his three Mates and whistled low, for once those three women were not dressed in their coven robes. Were in fact all wearing different dresses, of different colours. Likely this was their actual style of clothing he thought as he looked them over.

Hannah was in a dark purple dress that fell to the floor, it was a one shoulder silk dress with a crescent moon embellishment on the shoulder. And her hair was out and splayed about her fell to her shoulder blades.

Aaylian was wearing a deep maroon coloured cocktail dress, it was strapless and had crystal embellishments over the bodice, sparkled like the stars in the sky he thought absently, surprised him that it only came to mid-thigh showed off her long legs. Her hair was also out though it fell to her waist, he noted.

Giannah stood in a soft pink babydoll style dress, with white piping around the lines of the dress, and little flowers along the hemline. Her hair was also long and on display like her sisters. Noticed they were all still barefoot, but they looked stunning as they stood there with Allen.

He’d never seen any skin showing on them other than their backs before. Didn’t even know they had other clothes to wear. And they were all wearing a single pendant on a thin gold chain, it was a crescent moon and he just knew that it sparkled brilliantly because it was made of diamonds.

Likely a gift from Allen. He did know the man shopped for his mates, likely had a house full of gifts from him. They’d just never seen the witch’s wear them.

Allen himself wore a simple grey suit but his striped tie, Rafe noted, had all three colours of his Mates’ dresses. The man looked very happy, over there with his Mates chatting to pack members. Hannah and her sisters were also interacting and smiling at the pack members; that was new as well.

“Well, look at that.” He murmured to Jack and Luci, smiling himself. They did look lovely, and just like regular pack members, if they weren’t standing there with Allen it was likely many would be wondering who they were at first.

Though they did look similar to each other, and all had dark red hair.

“A sight for everyone to see.” Jack stated, and it truly was.

Rafe’s eyes moved further about the room, he saw lan walking about in a simple but elegant blue suit, with a light purple dress shirt under it open at the colour. He was talking to the new pack members that were here. There were only about 2 dozen that had come tonight. Zoe and Lidia were both here, but Rhyse herself had opted to stay in her room, didn’t want a bar of another Mate, he couldn’t blame the girl; she had a lot of trauma and needed time.

Likely a lot of it from what he’d heard,

she was over a

hundred and had been taken by Garry at 18.

Several of the new family’s from the Bloodless Moon were here as well had children that were 18 or older but still in the family unit and unmated. They were all sitting together at a couple of tables next to each other, knew each other and were comfortable in each others presence, and this being a new pack and only having arrived yesterday, they were still settling in.

He watched as lan sat himself down over there with the new pack members, was chatting with them all, the perfect gentleman that he was, had poured wine for those that wanted it and made sure the platters of food on the table were kept full.

He had told Rafe and Jack to enjoy the night with Luci, he would stick to the new members in the pack and if they scented out a mate he would be right there to step in if it was needed. Knew they all had trauma of some sort and he didn’t want them to feel obligated to accept a new mate on the spot.

Not that anyone from this actual pack would rush a Mate, they were all raised to believe in the Goddess Gifted Mate Bond, but also raised to believe that nothing about a mate bond needed to be rushed. That sometimes slow and steady was the right way to get to know your new Mate, to put one’s best foot forward and show your new Mate you were patient and respected their choice if they wanted to wait.

He saw Alpha Austin sitting at a table with Alpha Sloan, Conner and Eliza along with his father and mother and the old Alpha Unit and their Mates. Three seats were still available for him, Jack and Luci to sit down when they were ready to.

Everything seemed in order here within the ballroom, so he motioned for them to all go over and sit down, they had stood and looked over the pack for a good half an hour, there were no issues and this was not particularly a full formal occasion and there was no dedicated seating.

Everyone was free to mingle with whoever they wanted and sit wherever. Which they were doing.

Austin was 200 and unmated, he sat comfortably leaned back in his chair a glass of white wine in his hand, dressed as immaculately as always in his three piece suite of Wolfen Council colours; of dark blue. His long black dreadlocks were tied back neatly and looked every bit the pure blooded Alpha Male that he was, and Rafe had seen many of his she wolves eye him off since he had gotten here. Not that he had thought the man had entertained any of them.

Sloan was sitting right next to him, 500 and unmated, he wondered how they coped with being unmated for so long, did they think they were mate-less or did they actually believe they had to wait for their Mates to come along.

He’d likely have doubts at that age, most likely wood.

Sloan was wearing a long black and white silk dress, that hugged every inch of her, she had her hair loosely swept up in a hair clip and her long black hair was draped around over one shoulder. She sat there comfortably chatting away with all here as was Austin.

Both of them seemed relaxed and at ease, they’d been unmated for so long that there was no nervousness or anxious desire on display anymore, where the full moon and its setting was concerned. Rafe realised that neither of them actually expected to replace their Goddess Gifted here tonight, but he hoped that at least one of them would.