Chapter 8 Aiday

The moonlight shone bright overhead, I stood in the middle of a field; then a bright red light began to shine over me, I felt a sharp pain in my heart before collapsing to the ground. At the same moment, I saw wolves appear from the woods, Jackson, in his human form, leading them, then I saw the red eyes of the vampires appear from the other side of the woods, with the King leading them. I watched them, they were silent, and then both of them raised their fists in the air before yelling, "Charge!" At that moment, they began running; Jackson shifted as he ran.

I screamed but nothing happened, the pain in me grew worse as I clutched the ground for support. My body was on fire as I turned onto my back and before I knew it, I felt my spirit leave my body...

I screamed as I woke up, my body was trembling, the door burst open and the light came on without warning; once my eyes adjusted, I saw Nick sitting in front of me with worry written on his face. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm down but couldn't shake the feeling that the dream meant something. "Are you okay?" Nick asked, I wasn't paying any attention to him until then, I simply nodded before speaking,

"Yes, just a bad dream." I tried giving him a faint smile, but he gave me a look, "I'm fine, Nick, truly." He still wasn't convinced but decided not to push me further. I looked around to find a clock, "What time is it?" I asked,

"It's three, I think." he answered, I laid back down and threw the blanket over my head which made him laugh, "Not a morning person, I imagine." I raised my hand out from underneath the blanket and gave him a thumbs down sign, again, he laughed. "Are you hungry?" I raised back up and nodded,

"Sadly," I said,

"Okay, relax and I'll be right back." Nick then left and I decided to go over to the couch since I was up. I turned on the TV and picked a movie; about thirty minutes later, Nick returned with a tray of food, he looked around before finding me on the couch. "I was going to serve you breakfast in bed, but breakfast on the couch will work too." We both laughed as he set the tray down on the table,

"Thank you," I said; he had put together a fruit bowl, sausage and bacon, and some eggs with a glass of orange juice. I began eating almost immediately. Nick smiled at my eagerness for the breakfast,

"So, we're going to the dress shop around eight, I already made the arrangements there and then you and my sister have a spa appointment at noon." I raised an eyebrow but shrugged as I sipped my juice.

Nick and I watched a couple of movies before it was time for me to get ready. I went to take a shower after giving Nick permission to pick my outfit for the day. I got in the shower and started washing my hair with my coconut-scented shampoo and conditioner; once the conditioner was in my hair, I started shaving before I washed my body. Once I was clean, I got out and wrapped a towel around my body before stepping out of the bathroom. The second I opened the door, I saw Nick run away to the closet, which made me laugh. Once I was dressed, I opened the closet door, and the poor man had his eyes covered, "You can look, Nick; I'm dressed." I chuckled, he uncovered his eyes and smiled at me,

"I have a decent taste if I do say so myself," I smirked at him as I grabbed a pair of shoes. Something's been off about him but I'm not sure what it might be, but I thought it best not to ask, especially since I'm not planning to tell him that he's my mate. I'm not sure how I'll be able to keep this hidden from him; he mentioned when I agreed to marry him that he didn't want to keep secrets but I can't help it. After braiding my hair and putting on a little makeup, Nick and I left for the dress appointment.

We pulled up to the dress shop and got out. The dresses were absolutely gorgeous and there was no way I could ever afford them. Nick noticed my expression, "Don't worry, Aiday, I'm taking care of this. And, I've already discussed it with your father, he will not have to pay a cent on the wedding." I tried to protest, but, "Don't even try arguing because your father and brothers didn't succeed in it either." I gave him a look which he gave right back, which actually turned me on. I tensed at that sudden realization and began trying to compose myself, "Let's go find a dress," I told him; before I pounce on you, I thought to myself. We went in and started looking at the dresses, I went straight to the ball gown dresses, Nick following behind me. He grabbed a dark red colored dress and held it out for me to see, I gave it one look, "It's too dark a color. I like the brighter colors rather than the darker ones." He nodded and started looking. I pulled out a few dresses but didn't care for many of them; Nick pulled out a few that looked pretty so I agreed to try them on along with a few that I actually liked.

After what felt like forever looking at dresses, I started to give up until, "Aiday, try this one, I think this one might be the best that we've found." Nick said from the other side of the door, I opened it a bit and grabbed the dress before shutting it back. Taking a moment to look at the dress, almost took my breath away; the dress itself was a teal green color with peach-colored flowers over the bodice. I put it on with help tying the back due to it having a corset back. The dress was a bit poofy but not too much and the top hugged my hips just enough to show that I did have curves, it didn't show too much of my breasts as part of it wrapped around my neck to help keep it up. I did a slight twirl in the mirror and smiled brightly before walking out to show Nick. I opened the door to see him looking at his phone, I cleared my throat,

"What do you think?" I asked, he glanced up and his breath hitched, he stood with his hands covering his mouth, his silence wasn't helpful, "You don't like it? Maybe I should try something a bit more simple..." I went to go back to the dressing room but Nick took my hand, stopping me,

"It's perfect," he said, making me blush a bit, "You look so beautiful." Nick kissed my head before twirling me around making me laugh. I went back into the dressing room to change while Nick went to pay for the dress. I met up with him at the counter with the dress, handing it to the associate,

"Alright, I'll have this shipped to the castle immediately. It'll be there within the hour." She told us, Nick smiled,

"Great, thank you. I'm sure she'll be back within the next few months to get her wedding gown." The associate smiled at me,

"Just let us know when you come so we can make sure to bring out our best dresses." She stated, I nodded,

"I'm actually thinking about wearing my mother's dress, but it would be nice to have a backup just in case Dad can't find it," I told Nick, he seemed a bit surprised,

"Oh, I didn't mean to assume, I'm sorry." I chuckled a bit, he says, sorry, a lot. We left to meet up with his sister at the spa.

The spa wasn't too far from the dress shop so we walked over to her, she smiled and hugged me, "Right on time! They have everything set up," she said, leaning in, "Even the good champagne." she whispered, Nick gave her a look,

"Mandy, surely you'll take care of her. I've got a few errands to run before tonight." Mandy laughed while looping her arm in mine,

"Relax, little brother, she's in good hands, I promise you that." Nick nodded and turned to me,

"I'll be back to pick you up when you're finished, okay?" I nodded, he smiled and went on to run his errands while we ran inside.

They were giving us the full royal treatment. We were currently sipping our champagne and getting our toes done too, Mandy looked at me and smiled, "So, how do you feel about this arrangement? From my understanding, you were only sixteen when this was thrust upon you, correct?" I nodded and sighed,

"It's nerve-racking. I thought I'd find a nice werewolf, my mate, and have the wedding I want with the man I love, but this isn't what I pictured." Mandy gave me a crooked smile,

"I understand what you mean; I didn't tell my parents that I would never marry just because I didn't want to be with someone." I looked at her curiously, "I told them that I would never marry because the person I want to be with is a woman." I was surprised when she said that, it was forbidden for a woman of the royal family to take the throne without a king,

"That's why Nick is going to take the throne instead of you?" She nodded, but perked up,

"It's not that bad, I was given leadership over the Paris vampires so Nick wouldn't have to travel so much. That's why we always have meetings either over the phone or over a video to conduct business." I nodded at her. We continued to enjoy our spa day. Once we finished up, Nick was waiting for us right outside as he promised and we all went back to the castle to start getting ready for the party tonight.