Mission Avoidance

W is for Wedding

Wendy has been so excited to hear news of Eliza's wedding. Cameron was in her microbiology class and they just clicked. In a brother and sister kind of way, of course.

He was pretty reserved but very appealing in a nerdy kind of way. His brown hair had that constant tousled look, his brown eyes have a hint of burgundy, almost like cherry wood. He was painfully shy but Wendy decided to give him a nice gentle push to boost his confidence.

It was Ava's birthday party that weekend when Cameron finally said he was free. Wendy pounced on the opportunity and dragged him with her to introduce to the girls. In her mind, she found the perfect guy for Eliza. They were yin and yang. Ever since she was little, she could almost always tell by intuition which couple was gonna work and which ones go bust.

The rest of their circle already had significant others save for Eliza and Wendy. Even Cheska, their "baby sister" , was engaged to a human. He was nice enough but there was something off about him. Wendy decided not to say anything since she saw how Joey doted on her friend. He wouldn't be her first choice but it wasn't her life.

That night, she was hoping her hunch about Eliza and Cameron was right. From the looks of it, they had fallen hard for each other on first sight. Almost magical and too cliche but special nonetheless. For Wendy, it was a little victory and she was excited for her friend.

They have decided to hold their wedding in Eliza's grandparents' hometown in Central Philippines. Bohol has been a diving mecca and the marine diversity is among the most unique. Wendy chuckled to herself thinking of how romantic it was. If it was anybody else, it would make practical sense, but for Eliza who declared that she wanted a Las Vegas wedding and a week-long Bachelorette party, the change in plans is huge.

Wendy is almost jealous thinking about it all. She wished she could find a mate like Eliza. Someone who treasured her too much that would go to almost extreme lengths to make her happy, plan the cheesiest, corniest, surprise just to make her smile and then give up his "ideal" something just to make her happy.

She sent a little prayer to the moon goddess that night. She really hoped to meet her mate soon. She watched her parents and grandparents all lovey dovey and craved that special bond for herself.

Her siblings and her have not found their significant others yet. Although, she has a sneaking suspicion that her workaholic brothers never spared that much time to look for mates since they were too busy running the pack and the family business.

Like a spark of inspiration, she decided to drag her brothers with her to the other side of the world for Eliza's wedding. They have not visited their own grandparents recently and they were retired there. Siquijor Island, not too far from Bohol.

She made up her mind and went to their mother's office for support. She knew she'd get some resistance at the idea so they formulated a winning plan together.

Her mom was more than willing and made plans with her amidst giggles as if she was a lovelorn teenager and not the mother of grown wolves. The Grands were from her father's side of the family but they were closer to her mom.

They had agreed to play out a little drama of being concerned for her safety and therefore needed her brothers to travel with her. They also threw in a little guilt trip about the elders and how they needed some treats they can't easily get in the islands.

Wendy was pretty sure her brothers saw through their bull. They relented anyway after much eye rolling. They can never really say no to their mom and the islands always held a special place in their hearts.

They had frequently visited their grandfather's childhood home when they were young. Grandpa Felipe attended University in the UK and that's where he met their Grandma Cornelia. Being from different cultures was never an issue since they were both wolves and Grandpa came from a very respectable line.

Despite not spending a lot of time in the islands, his grandparents still maintained a plantation where their dad took them yearly. His parents wanted their pups to know their roots and to have a relationship with that side of the family. And boy, what a big family it was.

Wendy was humming to herself happily thinking of her childhood crush while she was packing for their trip. The last she had heard, he was training at the human military academy even though he was fae. She knew they can never be since his kind never took partners from a different race but a girl can still hope.

Meanwhile, the two brothers were working out logistics to accommodate their 3 week break. Of course, they had their parents to help run the pack in their absence and had very competent employees in their company but this was still a first for both of them to be gone at thesame time.

They started planning for contingencies, knowing all along that their mother, grandmother and maybe their 101 Aunts were going to set them both up for an endless line of blind dates.

It wasn't that they were averse to meeting women, rather, they would just rather meet their mates and consider it a done deal. Less hassle and less drama that way.

There have been one too many unpleasant situations the brothers had to sort out both in the pack and in the company involving jealousy, betrayal and the whole bundle of yuck that made them try to distance themselves from any casual involvement.

They weren't monks by any stretch of the imagination but they preferred to keep it discreet and very clear that it would be a one time deal.

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Will took a deep breath of the salty island air as he disembarked from the yacht. His grandparents had their own little private pier at their estate for convenience.

Wyatt, the younger of the twins, followed shortly. He was still groggy from staying awake stubbornly. The boat captain, Paul,

is one of their distant Uncles and is a retired merchant marine. Wyatt enjoyed his tales from his younger years marauding around the world and they were busy catching up.

Both men didn't even bother to check on their sister. She has been on videochat with her squad for the past few hours. Their little group has been together since their university days and now that everyone is scattered around the globe, it was tricky to match timezones. The ladies made it work and maintained their friendship through constant messaging and their almost daily videochats.

One would wonder how any of them maintained a relationship outside of their circle since it seemed like it was hard for just any outsider to be given the time of the day. All eight of the ladies were from supernatural lineage and were gifted with beauty and intelligence beyond what most people could even imagine.

Will listened to his sister's cackle and sighed. His eyes rolling heaven ward and in that brief moment, he wished he did not have supernatural hearing. While they were all grown and of legal age, he still didn't feel comfortable listening to his sister and her friends talking about bedroom matters.

His brother, Wyatt, flashed him a naughty grin, knowing they both heard the details of what could possibly be the most hard-core audio porn the girls were describing. While they all look so reserved and almost prudish in public, their private lives were a different matter entirely.

The brothers pretended to not be interested but they were hanging on to every word. They have not met any of the girls in person but they were assured they'd all come gather for Eliza's wedding. They both felt a little envious of these girls' men. It sounded like they were all in committed long term relationships save for Wendy but gush about their loves like they were the best thing since sliced bread.

It must be the mate bond.. Now more than ever, both men wished they could meet their fated one. To have someone to feel such deep connection to, a love so overpowering from the other half of one's soul, a sacred gift of the unbreakable bond from the God's themselves.

Of course, through time, a lot of the younger ones opted not to wait and take a chosen mate instead of waiting to meet their destined one. It just wasn't for their family. Watching how their elders have stayed married and blissfully in love like the textbook "happily-ever-after", the three siblings swore they would not be together with anybody else save for their fated mates.

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Grandpa Felipe was well into his seventies but could pass for a 40yo. He could still hold his own with the pack warriors and even established a little village martial arts school. He personally taught the local kids hand to hand combat techniques and Escrima Kali, a Filipino martial art.

Both genders were welcome to train, although there were differences in specialization. Grandma Cornelia herself was a tiny slip of a girl but her speed was ungodly.

Wendy was no exception to training. They all weren't. When they stayed with the grandparents, they were treated as regular pack members. Train, eat and work rotations with everybody. Will and Wyatt assisted Grandpa Felipe with training the youngest ones in Jujitsu while Wendy got drafted into the kitchen to help make sweets.

Eliza's family were prominent businessmen and it came as no surprise to the siblings that their grandparents actually knew of each other and became good friends through the years. After all, their grand daughters were very close.

It was this very friendship that prompted the marathon sweets cooking. In a few days, the Salvatore family will head to Engkanto to attend the festivities and present the newlyweds with one of their wedding presents from the family.