Chapter 2
Pre-ceremony
The next day…
I felt heat seeping through my cheeks. When I touched it, I felt nothing other than my skin. I reluctantly opened my eyes to be blinded by the sunlight peeking through the curtains.
Next to me I noticed Tah stirring, not fully awake. Memories of last night flashed through, Harry Potter marathon… couch… bed… giggles… sleep…
“Tah. Tahliya!”, I shouted in her ears.
She shot up immediately shrieking. “What happen? What happen?”, she asked looking around.
“Oh, nothing.”, I said doing my best to maintain a straight face.
“Ok.”, she said finally relaxing.
I nodded my head not wanting to risk a laugh.
“Ah! Then why the hell did you shout?”, she shouted finally getting the situation.
That was the last straw for me. Seeing her furious face I doubled over while sitting on the bed.
“That’s not funny.”
“That was damn funny.”, I said taking deep breaths to control my laughter, when my breath was knocked out for a moment. It was when I heard the laughter, I realized what had happened.
“Now that is what is called funny. The look on your face though, priceless.”, Tah said beginning her laughing fit.
“This so calls for a fight.”, I said grabbing the nearest pillow before hitting her square on the face. She started it, now she has to face the consequence of it.
Soon both of us started a pillow fight making the room anything but clean. The room filled with our laughter once we settled down after our fight. After controlling our breath from continuous laughter, we went to get ourselves clean. I used the bathroom in my room while Tah went to the guest room which was more like her room.
Once we were fresh we went down to the kitchen. Tahliya sat at the table while I flipped pancakes.
“Do I smell pancakes?”
“Morning Uncle Dunbar!”
“Good morning dad! How was your day with uncle and mother?”
“Good morning girls! It was splendid as usual. Are you both ready for today?”, asked dad as he sat down on the head of the table. I emptied the pancakes into two plates before placing them on the table. I slumped down on the chair next to Tah.
“Yes!!”, Tah answered for both of us.
He simply nodded at that, continuing to sip on his coffee.
He had blonde hair with amber eyes. He was around 5’10 and had a fit body for an old man he was.
We both ate our breakfast while dad continued to drink his coffee, all in our own worlds. Dad, done with his coffee, cut through the silence.
“Caroline, I have something to tell you”, dad said in a serious tone.
“What is it dad?”, I asked. I am getting worried here. I mean, my dad was very well a jovial person. He became serious only when it was pack matters or if it had to do with either of his children, including Tah.
“Daniel won’t be coming for the ceremony today.” I could feel the tears prickling as dad said that.
For someone from outside, it might feel like I was overreacting, but having lost our mother, Daniel and I had always been close knit. So the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing him today bruised my heart.
“But why?! I haven’t seen him for three years already!”, I exclaimed.
“I know dear, but he has been busy lately. He is held up in extra training. Try to understand the situation.”
“Every time.”, I mumbled angrily. I know my dad would have heard it but he didn’t say anything. Daniel and I haven’t met haven’t seen each other after that one day when dad and I went to meet him in his training. He was usually just so busy with his training that we hardly got time to talk. I was so happy that I finally would get to see him again after goddess knows how many months. But he isn’t coming anymore.
“What about Noah, uncle? Is he also not coming?”, asked Tahliya with a frown on her beautiful face.
“Noah will be coming, as he is our soon to-be-alpha which requires him to find his mate soon.” This made her smile bright.
“Don’t be sad Carol, at least Noah is coming, right? Wouldn’t you like to meet him?”, asked dad.
He was right. I would love to see him, its long since I saw him.
Maybe he would have gotten more handsome, I thought giddily.
Get yourself together Carol! He is going to be someone’s mate, stop fantasizing about him. I scolded myself.
“Yeah, she would be very happy seeing him again, uncle.”, Tah said emphasizing the word ‘very’, smirking. Once again she took her chance. I shot her a dirty look making her quiet.
After we finished breakfast, dad left to tend to some business while we sat in my room with Tah with fussing over jewelry and makeup. My mind kept wandering off to different things.
“Should I wear the silver earrings or blue earring? Ah! Here we go again. Carol! Carol!!”
I snapped out of my reverie.
“Did you even bother listening to a single thing?”, Tah asked, having enough of my behavior. I felt sorry for her. This was the third time she had brought me out of my thoughts. As for her question, I smiled sheepishly at her.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
I shrugged. “Many things and one of them is Daniel. I miss him Tah, I really do. I wish I could get a chance to meet him once before I find my mate.”, I said truthfully. My voice was cracking, but I couldn’t care less.
“Carol…”
“Today, if I find my mate then I don’t know if I would ever get to meet him again.”
Only when Tah tried comforting me did I realize that I was crying.
“Carol, I understand how you feel. Don’t worry, you will see him soon. But now you should worry about something else. You heard what uncle said, right? My brother is coming.” She said the last part in a teasing tone.
“Shut up!”, I said smiling lightly. This was one of the reasons why I loved her. She knew the right words to lift my mood.
“No, I mean it, really. Think about it. It would be so much fun if you both are mates. I would be so happy. Just imagine, my best friend and my brother. Oh and your pups-“
“TAHLIYA!!”
“- I will be their aunt as well as godmother. This is so going to be fun.”, she said not bothering about my protest.
Not knowing how to shut her mouth, I hid my face in the pillow lying on the bed.
Tahliya’s laugher filled the room making me want to smack her face.
And that was exactly what I did, resuming the fight from the morning. We were having so much fun that we only stopped to realize that we had only four hours before the ceremony.