Chapter 6- In the Spotlight

Eli POV:

It's Lua's birthday today and she's 7 weeks pregnant. The past two weeks have been chaotic with change. Lua is adjusting amazingly and I can't believe how she has been able to get through it all. I'm a fucking Alpha and I have been struggling more than she has. I am throwing her an extravagant party with thousands of guests. All the Alphas and their spouses will be attending along with all their Betas. Everyone in the entire U.S. who has power will be there. She surprisingly accepted the party and has already memorized all the guests and their position. I have a selfish reason for this party she doesn't know about. Everyone is going to be closely monitored during the party. I need to know who the possible threats to my family are. I can handle the average Joe coming after us, but if any of these Alphas or Betas have a problem with her wolf, I need to know now so that I can figure out how to take them down before they plan anything. As custom once both mates are of age and find each other, we will publicly mark each other. It's a strange custom when I think of it, but it proves that we are in fact mates. If a Werewolf marks someone who isn't their mate, the mark disappears instantly. Not everyone is lucky to meet their mate so when one does, especially an Alpha, it's it's big deal. Lua has been a focus of the press and it makes me uncomfortable. She's so willing to respond to reporters, answer personal questions, all to be understood and liked. She definitely has thousands of admirers, even amongst the humans and other supernatural territories, as I have hired a special media specialist to keep tabs on what people are saying about her. I admit I've been a little obsessed, but it's the only way I know how to protect her. If I can end a problem before it starts, I will. The party is about to start and Lua looks stunning in her navy blue gown. I had a make-up stylist and hairdresser come as a surprise. Lua's bump has doubled in size in only two weeks and she has been struggling with everyday tasks. She never complains and is so stubborn she pushes through it and tries to make it seem like she isn't struggling at all.

"Look at you Lu. You're absolutely stunning. No one's going to be able to keep their eyes off you, and I just might end up in a fight!"

"Haha so funny Eli. But thank you. I'm in love with my look today. Even though my bump is ginormous in this dress, I still feel gorgeous and proud. I'm 21 today! With my mate by my side and a little pup inside. I'm so grateful to the goddess. You look so handsome in that tux and we match perfectly. I took some peeks at the pictures we took earlier and God are they gorgeous. We really compliment each other so well!"

"Couldn't agree more babe. I feel so blessed as well. Ready to go to the stadium?"

Lua nods and takes my arm. We had to the car and I can't help but keep myself aware about everything around us. I never had the need to feel paranoid before, but something shifted in my head when I tried to shield Lua from the shooter at the restaurant. I laid on top of her frozen, unable to process fast enough. I never want to be unprepared like that again. It was a huge blow to my confidence. I'm Alpha Elias. I should have been able to protect my family. it's not that I don't believe Lua should be capable of protecting herself or others, it's that I froze. It was a life or death situation and I did nothing. Yeah that's never happening again and I will make sure of it. We finally get to the stadium just on time. I had the field converted into a huge dance floor with tables. Lua and I will be in the dead middle. I've hired a witch to cast a protection spell around us and my security so if anyone was stupid enough to do anything, we would be protected against attack. and have the upper hand. We make our way to our seat with everyone cheering and clapping as we do. Lua sits down right away as her feet are killing her and I grab the microphone off the table.

"Thank you all for being here to celebrate Lua's birthday and to help us fulfill our mate recognition custom. We're so excited to enjoy this night together. Lua is obviously.... and gorgeously pregnant so we will not be able to make too many rounds around the stadium to greet everyone. If we happen to miss anyone feel free to come to us."

Lua struggles to stand up on her own so I quickly help her and she takes the microphone from me.

"Thank you all again for being here. It's so nice that you all came to celebrate my birthday and our mate recognition ceremony. I'll apologize in advance if I'm not able to greet you all personally. This pregnancy has been a bit difficult as of lately. I do look forward to getting to know all of you though, and hope you enjoy the party!"

Lua sits back down again and I signal for the DJ to start playing music. Dinner will be served in an hour, so we have some time to walk around and make chit chat. I have a mind link open between just Kai, security, and myself. I make sure everyone's in their positions. Security's job is to blend in and listen to what everyone's talking about. If anyone dares speak I'll of my mate, they'll let me know so I can do further investigating. I have some vampires here as well disguised as werewolves. The witch has them under an aura spell. Their sole job is to try to spark up conversations about Lua's wolf to see if anyone takes the bait. I'm happy with how everything is running so far. Lua and I walk around arm in arm making small talk right until dinner is served. We eat and I smile as I slyly watch Lua devour her food with such pleasure. I knew she's been craving chicken parm the last few days so I added it to the menu last minute. As everyone pretty much finishes their meals and Lua sits back in her chair massaging her bump, numerous people have come to our table to talk to us. Lua is having a ball being the center of attention though she doesn't like to admit it. I on the other hand am analyzing everyone who gets remotely close to her. I make sure they aren't trying to slip anything into her drink or make any move against her. My wolf is on edge ready to shift at any moment. I was too focused on getting Intel and Lua was realizing something was off so I had no choice but to make everyone report to Kai and kick myself out of the mindlink. This was in fact her birthday and I haven't really been mentally present for her. I hate to put all the work on Kai but he has all my tryst and I'll give him a great bonus on this job.

Lua Pov:

Eli has been strange all day. He's here physically but not really here mentally. I've been so busy talking with everyone that I haven't had time to go somewhere private with him and find out what's wrong. I've never had a birthday party before. My birthday was just another reason for my parents to train me harder as each year on the run got more difficult for them. After being alone mentally for so long, being cast aside for my whole life, being seen as just a survivor, and not their daughter by my parents, I have been really enjoying all the attention. I read as many comments from my fan pages as I can. I read all the articles released about me and all the press releases talking about me. The whole world knows who I am now. All the supernaturals and even humans. Ive strangely been less anxious about it. I think I'm getting too into myself. But how can I not when I've been in the spotlight for two weeks and most of the attention has been positive? It's almost time for us to mark each other, then show off our marks to prove we're mates. I won't be officially 21 until 15 minutes from now, and that's when my wolf will know her mate and I'll feel an even stronger bond with Elias. As we're talking to Alpha Jonah of New York and his wife Thais, the dj announces it's time for the marking ceremony to begin. Everyone cheers and as we walk to our private room that's been set up for the ceremony, everyone we pass by wishes us good luck. We have to wait to mark each other until after my wolf can recognize her mate so I have a few minutes to see what's up with Elias. We get to the room that's romantically decorated. Flower petals spread across the bed and floor, candles on the windowsill. What a strange custom. Everyone knows while we're gone for this hour we'll be fucking just next door then we have to go out there presentable and prove we're mates. I sit on the bed and motion for Elias to join me.

"Eli, I've been selfish lately. I've been caught up in what everyone thinks of me, prepping for Baby Z, fixing up the house. I haven't really been keeping up with you like I should have. Are you ok? It seems like you're mentally checked out today. What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong I promise Lu. I have been checked out a bit with pack responsibilities and training from the handbook you wrote for us. I'm still shook up by my response to the shooting and I just want you and Baby Z safe. I haven't minded that you were focused on other parts of your life because it allowed me to focus on training and planning for the worst case scenario. it's like you got stronger after the shooting and I got weaker."

"OH Elias. I told you that you can't blame yourself for your reaction at the shooting. The reaction you had is what any person would have without training! My parents were paranoid and trained me for every possible scenario. They were borderline crazy. I promise I'm going to do better as your mate. I'm going to be there for you"

"You are there for me Lua. By taking care of the house, the baby, and your mental happiness it left me room to focus on myself as well. You haven't done anything that needs apologizing for. I just didn't want to share my anxiety with you until I had it under control. I grew up so privileged. I never went through a hard time. Everything was handed to me on a silver platter until I overthrew my father and took over the pack. Even then I had the packs respect, support, and help so it wasn't too much of a struggle. This is the first time I've even had anxiety in my life so it has been tough for me to even try being honest about it to you or anyone. Not even Kai knows."

"As someone who's had Anxiety all her life, I know how much it sucks. It's hard to get through alone. You're the one who helped me without even knowing. When we started dating and hanging out daily, my anxiety about being around so many people lessened. And then you supporting all my decisions in coming out has helped me as well. You have to let me in Eli. It doesn't make you weak. Accepting the right help is the strongest thing you could do."

I grab his shoulder and pull him in making him lean into me. Running my fingers through his hair, I kiss him. How did I kiss this? I've been so wrapped up in myself that I couldn't see he was drowning like I used to? All of a sudden fireworks go off. Eli and I jump up a little and look out the window. It didn't take my wolf long before Elias seemed to be glowing in the room and I had butterflies in my stomach. My wolf was restless with excitement. I had the urge to be all over him taking in every scent of his. I had to touch him, if I didn't I felt like I would die. Geeze this mate bond is strong. The Elias I knew was back. He was calm and happy, smiling from ear to ear. He picks me up and hugs me. We start making out as he holds me and he slowly walks toward the bed and lays me down.

"Happy birthday Lua. I've been waiting forever for this day. I love you baby"

"I love you too. I can't believe you've been able to control yourself so well this whole time knowing! My wolf is acting psychotic!"

We giggle and start making out again. This was different than any other time. Every touch was 10x intense then it ever has been. It's like we were high off each other's scent. Every kiss felt like an orgasm. His touch? Sent my body on fire like it was 100° outside. It felt so good though. It was intense but in a good way. Down there ached for penetration like my life depended on it. I pushed him up off the bed while still kissing him and started taking off his suit and he started taking off my dress. Once fully unclothed I grab him and pull him down onto the bed with me. Since my belly was big enough to get in the way now, I laid at the edge with my legs dangling down the side of the bed. I run my hands all over him as he does the same. We soak in each other's scent and the feeling of our skin against each other. He teases me by rubbing his dick against me without penetrating. I groan and kiss him harder. He finally goes in and I get an orgasm right away but he keeps going at a fast pace, coming out each time and thrusting back in, sending me on a Rollercoaster of pure pleasure. He starts panting and I know he's close so I muster up the strength to clench as hard as I can. I'm still having my orgasm as he cums. He moves my hair out of the way and digs his fangs into my neck. It's as if he dropped a piece of ice down my back. I get this cooling sensation throughout my whole body. I feel his fangs pulsating in my neck. When he retracts them, I pull him down and dig my fangs into his neck. His body tenses then relaxes. I can feel his blood running pass my fangs. I feel his heartbeat like a vibration through them. I retract my fangs and lay beside him. We cuddle and process all the intense pleasure we just went through.

"We are officially mates now Lua. You are mine, and I am yours. There's no bond greater than a mate bond. I'm so lucky I got an amazing mate like you "

"I'm so happy you're my mate too Eli. I love you so much"

After cuddling for awhile longer we take a quick shower that helps wake us up a bit. God I was so tired I just wanted to sleep. We get dressed again and Elias helps me clip my hair back so that the mark is clearly visible. We walk back towards the party hand in hand. Once everyone sees us they erupt in cheering and clapping again. The ceremony is finally over. We sing happy birthday and cut the cake. Elias must've mind linked security because once people finished their cake, they would leave. Within 30 minutes the stadium of thousands was empty with only Elias, Kai, Juno, and our security left. I excuse myself to the bathroom just as Kai and Juno come up to us. I can't get there fast enough I feel like I'm about to explode. I waddle as fast as I can and feel such relief as I go. I start washing my hands when I hear a heavy footstep. I spin around as fast as I can but I was too late. The man had me in a chokehold before I could make a move. I held my breath instead of trying to breath so I had just enough time to mindlink the pack: HELP