All Chapters of Marriage First, Mate Second: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Chapter 51: Beyond my control **Amber’s POV“What do you think of this dress? Do you think Elliot will like it?” Sophie twirls in the shop mirror as I regard the pale blue dress that goes wonderfully well with Sophie’s azure eyes and blonde hair. The contours of the dress emphasize her tiny waist, and the length is demure yet stylish at just above the knee. She is incandescent. “I think he will love whatever you wear, but I KNOW you look absolutely stunning. The question is, do YOU like it? I mean, Elliot isn’t going to be the one wearing it. Unless of course, that’s the plan. And if so, I take it back. The cut is fine, but he can’t pull off that color. Maybe something in black would be more appropriate for the occasion.” I’m joking about the dress, but not about the rest of the sentiment. I just want Sophie to be comfortable at her own engagement party. She is always putting the needs of others before herself, and in my opinion, her own engagement party is not

**Amber’s POV “We need to act now. Our men are in position. We don’t want to use force unless absolutely necessary. The goal here is to get Elliot out alive with minimal bloodshed.” “Minimal bloodshed?” Sophie pales at the mention of shedding blood. We have been friends for so long that I can feel her fear. I hug her to steady her.“Yes, minimal. Hopefully none at all. But we can’t count on that. We don’t know this pack. I thought I did, but clearly I was mistaken if they were willing to abduct my Beta, matter what the purpose. We need to be prepared.” “I’ll go in first. Amber and Sophie, you follow me. August you come in last. There will be four of us, which is good. But we don’t know how many we’re facing. Or why we’re facing them, for that matter.” “Let’s do this,” I tell them, heading up to the door and giving the knocker three hard raps. The knocker is surprisingly whimsical. It’s carved in the shape of a wolf’s head with a ring through its nose

**Amber’s POV “Did you have a restful night’s sleep?” Grant is so kind that I don’t want to potentially shock him by telling him exactly how I spent my evening. Which mostly entailed worshiping the love of my life in that wonderful clawfoot bathtub. So I just smile and tell him the truth. Most of the truth.“Yes, it was absolutely lovely, thank you so very much! I love your guest quarters!” He is wise and does not ask for more. Instead, we focus on the road and we continue our way to Hope.As we pull up to the cottage, I recognize the flower beds out front. They appear to be exactly the same as when I was a little girl. Pink, purple and yellow blossoms cascade in a riot of color by the white picket fence. And the little white, fluffy dog running around in the front yard looks familiar to me. “Argus! By the Goddess that’s Argus!” Apparently, the little guy can hear his name even from my position in the car, and he looks toward us. Before I even th

**Amber’s POV “I will never allow you to become a target. I will kill anyone who tries to harm you or my children. I will rip them apart with my bare hands!” “I greatly appreciate that my love, I do. But do you think you could calm down for just a moment? Let’s think logically about this.” I have no doubt that my husband would absolutely do exactly as he promises if danger presented itself. However, it might be better if he wasn’t quite as emphatic about it just this minute. “I am thinking logically,” he tells me, gripping the steering wheel with such force that I actually start to worry he will break it in half while he drives. Ironic, considering that he is pledging to keep me safe while doing it. “I’m thinking about how logically, I’m going to systematically hunt down and kill anyone who dares threaten you or our children!” “Well, at least you’ve got a plan.” He looks at me, considering what I’ve said. Then he bursts out laughing. His grip

**Amber’s POV“Sophie! What’s happened? Are you ok?” We find Sophie sitting down on a bench, with Elliot beside her. She’s very pale, and Elliot looks utterly terrified. “She just got dizzy and had to sit down,” Elliot explains, “But sitting down doesn’t seem to be helping.” “Don’t speak about me as if I’m not here Elliot, I’ll be ok.” Sophie hates it when anyone makes a fuss over her. And normally I respect her decision not to talk about herself. But not when it comes to her health.“Ok, I don’t mean to belabor the obvious here, but, you’re pregnant. Bad pun unintended” “Ha- ha. Yes, what’s your point?” “My point is, if you’re not feeling well, we need to make sure you and your baby are ok. I’m not saying this to worry you. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. To either of you.” I am proud of Sophie for speaking her mind more frequently these days. However, this is not an ideal time for her to decide that she doesn’t need hel