Chapter:- 7

Wedding Day:

(Emma's thought)

The pastor's name was Anth—Father Anth, who, despite his old age, was eager to wed the couple. He had known both pups ever since they were born; he had run into them when they used to play with mud and saw how genuinely kind they were. Little did he know, then, that he would one day marry them and bond them with each other.

Not only did the whole town know about the wedding—in fact, the whole country and possibly the entire world were aware of today's celebration. The ceremony was to be performed outside, on the balcony of a tall, graceful building, so everyone who wanted to come could see it. The building itself was more like an old castle, made out of stone and decorated along the outside walls with fresh, colorful flowers and shiny banners announcing the celebration.

The balcony was large enough to seat the pastor, the grooms, the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, and the parents of the grooms. All four parents of both men had attended, which had struck some controversy in the beginning—and how can they not? Every Alpha and Omega inside the country wants' Emma James and Lucus Madden.

On the streets in front of and behind the building, there were people. Thousands upon thousands of people had come to celebrate the special day. And though the majority was Omega, there were some brave Alphas and Betas who had come to finally see the open marriage of their kind—these Alphas were the people who were not screaming along with the crowds but smiling quietly on the sides.

The mothers had reluctantly given in, telling their pups that it was their wedding day and it should be as they wanted it to be. Now, as the two mothers looked out from the balcony to the sunny streets that were radiating happiness, they both knew this was the right decision. To have thousands of people supporting them—the feeling was overwhelming.

As it came to be, it was a beautiful day for an outside wedding: not too hot, not too cold, the sun was shining down, all the plants and trees were in full bloom, and birds sang overhead. Never had there been a nicer day of weather in the country—the clear blue skies were practically unheard of. Today, however, was perfect.

The plan for the beginning of the ceremony was for the flower girl (who had transformed into a beautiful young lady), followed by the four bridesmaids and three groomsmen, to walk down the path in front of the building to the entrance. Once inside, the wedding party would rush upstairs four flights to the balcony, where they would reappear. This had been much argued over, what with the bridesmaids' flowing dresses and the groomsmen's expensive black suits. In the end, however, it was decided that this was the best way to proceed down the aisle but also be able to be atop the balcony while the vows were being said.

The choice of the wedding party was quite obvious—who else to choose as groomsmen but their fellow bandmates? And who else but their close cousins to choose as bridesmaids?—no one, of course. The choice of best man was far too difficult, as was the choice of maid of honor, so they concluded that everyone was allowed to make a speech. As for the flower girl, she had been promised by her "Uncle" at a young age one day by a hotel pool that she would be in his wedding, no matter who he married. He had stayed true to his word, smiling as he watched her gracefully walk down the aisle in her pale pink, flowing dress.

The bridesmaids were looking equally beautiful as well, in their shorter pastel dresses, holding white bouquets in their hands as they drifted down the aisle, genuine smiles on their made-up faces. The groomsmen, though trying, could not keep a straight face and were grinning like idiots the whole way down. They had waited for this day forever and probably could not wait until their individual speeches and toasts at the reception—something both the grooms were half dreading and half looking forward to.

Music sang down the streets, projected by speakers from a large organ that was inside the building. The Omega walked slowly down the aisle, arm in arm with her beaming mother. Once she saw the Alpha waiting for her at the end of the aisle, who was looking dashing in his black suit, she felt her heart speed up and skip a beat. She tightened her grip on her mother, who squeezed her arm encouragingly. The Alpha at the end of the aisle does not look very happy, but he still tries to smile.

Seeing that her partner did not look the least bit nervous, the Omega cleared her throat as she continued down the aisle with her mother. She had made sure that no cameras or media were to be anywhere near the actual ceremony—despite the small cameras that were projecting her wedding throughout television screens all over the world, she wanted it to at least feel private. As she looked forward to her soon-to-be Alpha, she tried not to think about how her every move was being recorded; what if she tripped? Or sneezed, or something? Another encouraging squeeze from her mother, however, willed her to proceed on. As long as she looked right into her future Alpha, she thought, then she could only think about reaching those eyes. That's all that matters.

Once at the end of the aisle, her mother let go, and the Omega with the Alpha took her hand. His hand is so Cold.

Emma looks at her Alpha, but she can't read his eyes. His eyes look so dull and sad.

After the cheering of the crowd had quieted to a hum, Father Anth raised his hands, signaling for the people to quiet. Moments later, everything was still, except for birds singing and the rustling of a slight breeze. The pastor opened his small book to the page of wedding vows, cleared his throat, and began the wedding vows.

"My friends," he began, projecting his voice throughout all television sets with a warm smile on his face. "We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to recognize the worth and beauty of marital love, and to send our best wishes to the words that shall unite these two men in happiness and in love." Father paused to wait for the loud cheering of the crowds to quiet down. After a few seconds, he continued and turned to the smaller boy.

"Emma James, will you have this man be your lawfully wedded Alpha?"

Emma smiled and looked into the shining emerald eyes of the Alpha across from her. An image popped into her mind for only a second—their future.

They will be happy with each other; Emma is sure the Alpha will warm up once they are bonded. And then their story will begin. She will first try to be friends with the Alpha. Even this arrangement made by their parents, Emma, will make sure that they will be happy with each other without any doubt.

"I do," said Louis. "I do, I do, I do," she hummed under her breath, causing her family to giggle. The pastor gave them a funny look; he obviously had not heard Emma. He shrugged and continued.

"Will you love and comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, and keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Emma, her small hand enclosed in that Alpha's almost-husband's larger hand.

The pastor smiled and turned to the Alpha, who looked lost, like he was fighting with himself. "Lucus Madden, will you have this man be your lawfully wedded Omega?"

"Yes--oh! I mean, I do," he mumbled, stumbling on his words in nervousness. This made Emma smile at the Alpha's cute, worried face. She gave Lucus hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Will you love and comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, and keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?" recited by the pastor.

"That means no running away with the ladies," whispered Alex jokingly from Lucus side, remembering all the times Lucus had been accused of being a womanizer. Silly tabloids—Lucus had been Moni the whole time.

"I do," said Lucus, rolling his eyes. But couldn't help but smile as the Alpha rolled his eyes.

"Now, repeat after me," he said, turning to face Emma. "I am Emma James."

"I am Emma James," said Emma, her voice wavering a bit from nerves.

"Take you, Alpha Lucus..."

"Take you, Alpha Lucus," continued Emma, now smiling.

"To be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live."

Emma blushed as she said the words. "To be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live."

The pastor warmly smiled as he handed Emma the ring. "You may now give your Alpha the ring."

Lucus smiled thinly as Emma slipped the large, silver ring onto his right ring finger. The pastor then turned to Lucus and repeated the vows.

"I, Lucus Madden, take you, Omega Emma," began Lucus with the same smile. "To be my lawfully wedded wide, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live." He then took Emma's small hand in his and slipped the smaller, more petite silver ring onto Emma's right ring finger. It fit perfectly.

The pastor flipped to the next page in his book and began to conclude the ceremony, his voice echoing throughout the streets. "Lucus Madden and Emma James, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in ceremony and have promised your commitment to each other by these vows, the joining of your hands, and the giving of these rings, by the authority vested in me by the town of Goodness, I now pronounce you as mates."

"I now happily present to you Mrs. Emma James Madden and Mr. Lucus Madden. You may kiss the bride," said Father Anth, as Lucus dipped Emma down and kissed her.

To Emma, all the cheering of the deafening crowds, all the cameras flashing, and all the music playing didn't matter. It was just he

r and her Alpha. Her and her soul mate, her lover, and her husband Her future.