Chapter 299

Chapter 299: Full House

Weeks passed after the party in the woods. Enzo and I realistically had all of the time in the world to

plan our wedding, but neither of us wanted to wait. We planned to have the wedding on New Year’s

Eve, which only gave us a few weeks to plan, but with the help of our friends and my father, it was

possible.

My father hired the best seamstress in the entire werewolf realm to make me a custom wedding gown

that was perfectly fitted to my body. When I first saw how the finished product looked on me, I cried

huge crocodile tears. Lori and Jessica cried, too, and the three of us hugged tightly. 1

The wedding was to be held in my father’s mansion. A few days beforehand, Enzo and I went to the

werewolf realm along with our friends, and all of us spent those days in the mansion. My father was

happy to have the company, and my friends were excited to roam the halls of a royal castle while we

prepared for the wedding.

But something was missing. Something huge, and something that I couldn’t bring myself to look past.

My mom – my adoptive mom – and my brother weren’t here. They were still in Europe with my aunt,

and I wasn’t able to get a hold of them no matter how hard I tried. And now it was the morning of my

wedding, the morning of New Year’s Eve, and I gave up entirely on trying to call my mom. Call after call

went to voicemail, and she hadn’t answered any of my letters. Maybe she got too caught up in taking

care of Taylor, or maybe she was scared of me now that my wolf had emerged. Either way, I just hoped

that they were both safe.

Thankfully, during those few weeks my father’s troops had successfully dredged out all of the

Crescents they could find. The rest of the Crescents scattered. My father found Lewis and Ronan’s

father conspiring together, and put both of them in prison in the werewolf realm. Enzo made sure to

have a special hand in torturing Lewis for information. So, thankfully, I knew that my mom and my

brother hadn’t been hurt by the Crescents, because the Crescents were now nothing more than a few

tiny factions of rebels who were in hiding. 1

Maybe they really did just want nothing to do with me anymore. So long as they were both healthy and

safe, I figured that I could live with that, 1

On the morning of my wedding, however, I felt my heart sink more and more when I should have been

excited. Even as Lori and Jessica, my maids of honor, helped me put on my dress, I had to blink back

tears because the woman who raised me wasn’t there to see it. As I put my veil on, I wished that she

was there to put it on for me, and to hug me and tell me that she was proud of her little girl. I wished

that I was crying tears of joy instead of tears of sadness.

Suddenly, Jessica took my hand with a smile. Now that I was fully dressed, with my hair in perfect black

curls cascading down my back and a delicate necklace around my neck, I really did look like a bride.

We looked in the mirror for a few moments, neither of us speaking, as we held each other’s hands.

But then, Jessica turned to me and smiled even wider. “Come outside,” she said, tugging me along by

my hand toward the door. “And close your eyes.”

“Why?” I asked, but I closed my eyes anyway while Lori held my shoulders firmly and helped guide me.

“It’s a surprise,” Lori said. I could hear her smile through my closed eyes.” Trust us. You’ll love it.”

I furrowed my brow, but did as they asked. All of the wedding preparations were done by now, and I

was fully dressed and couldn’t see Enzo now before the ceremony, so unless they were planning on

breaking tradition or surprising me with some small gift, I was a bit confused. I felt them guide me out

into the chilly air, then carefully led me down the steps. Once we were at the bottom, I heard the sound

of footsteps approaching.

“Okay,” Jessica said, letting go of my hand. “Open your eyes.”

I slowly cracked my eyes open. As I squinted against the light, two forms approached. Once they came

into view, my jaw dropped.

“Mom? Taylor?” I whispered, my voice shaking.

In front of me stood my mother and my brother, both dressed for a wedding in a tuxedo and a dress.

My mom had tears in her eyes, and Taylor was smiling, standing straighter and looking healthier than

the last time I had seen him.

A sob caught in my throat as I rushed forward and threw my arms around both of them, pulling them in

close.

For a long time, the three of us just held each other, crying and laughing. When we finally pulled away,

my mother held me at arm’s length and looked me up and down.

“You make a beautiful bride,” she whispered, wiping her tears away with one hand.

“You’re still a dork, though,” Taylor chimed in, to which I responded by punching him gently on the arm

and laughing.

“Mom,” I said, dabbing away my own tears with a handkerchief, “What happened? How did you get

here? I’ve been trying to call you nonstop-“

“I know, honey,” my mom interjected with an apologetic look. “And I’m sorry. But this was supposed to

be a surprise. Your father asked me not to talk to you until now.”

My eyes widened as my mom spoke. “You… You talked to my biological dad?” I whispered.

My mom nodded and a slow smile began to spread across her lips. There was a new brightness to her

face, although whether it was from living in Europe or the fact that it was her daughter’s wedding day, I

couldn’t be entirely sure.

Suddenly, Taylor spoke up. “He’s invited us to come live here, with him,” he blurted out with a wide grin.

Taylor’s words made my eyes widen even further. “He- What?” I stammered incredulously.

My mom nodded vigorously. “Your father is even lovelier than I imagined,” she said, sounding almost a

little sheepish. “He said that Taylor and I could live here as long as we want, and he even has a witch

who might be able to help lift your brother’s curse. I think he’s lonely.”

I thought back to my sister’s funeral, and nodded slowly. Of course he was lonely; he had lost his wife,

his second wife, and his daughter. And despite what the Luna and Selena both did when they were

alive, I was certain that it was still heartbreaking.

At least Selena wasn’t in control of her actions when she did those horrible things.

But even so, this was a huge mansion for a single man and his servants. And although I didn’t want to

read into it too much, the way that my mother’s eyes sparkled when she talked about my dad made me

wonder if there was something else there between them…

Or at least, maybe there could be something between the two of them.

I supposed that I wouldn’t mind that so much. But more than anything, I was happier than ever to have

my mom and my brother here by my side on my wedding day.