My Forbidden Alpha

Chapter Two | Planning

    Tears of pure joy flowed freely down Willow's cheeks as she embraced her new fiance, fingers gripping at his shirt and then moving to rub the back of his head. "Rhys, I love you so much. You have no idea. This pack is my home now. You are my home. Honestly, I have never been happier," she whispered happily, giving him a kiss on the cheek before gently pressing her lips to his, a small hum of happiness coming from her. 

    Rhys gently returned the kiss before setting her back down on her feet, a small click coming from her heels hitting the wood beneath her. He pulled away after a few seconds and pulled her hand up to admire how the ring fit on her finger. "It is more beautiful than I could've ever imagined," he mused softly and smiled sheepishly when Willow laughed lightly at him. 

    Willow admired the ring as well, excitement building in her belly as she could now begin planning for their wedding. In this world, engagements were quick. A few months at most and planning would begin as soon as she stepped foot back at the pack house. "It's perfect. Exactly what I wanted," Willow breathed out softly, running her right index finger over the smooth-cut rubies. "We should get back and announce our engagement. Ryan will be so excited to get the announcement out. And Lexi will want to begin planning the wedding immediately," she continued with a huge grin on her face as she took Rhys's hands in hers and began making her way back towards the pack house with him. 

    In her mind, her wolf was ranting about her stupid decision. Willow, you know that now, if we ever find our True Mate, you will be hurting Rhys? You won't be able to deny yourself our True Mate. You are willing to hurt Rhys for what? For the chance of our home pack gaining a better standing? Are you that selfish? her wolf berated her. Willow tried her best to ignore it but she had to admit that her wolf was right. If their True Mate ever came around, Rhys would be crushed. There would be no way that she could ever deny her True Mate and she knew in her heart she would never be able to reject the one that the Moon Goddess gave her. 

    Willow tried to push those thoughts from her mind. She never really thought she would find her True Mate and Rhys was already here and in love with her. They are meant to be and nothing could convince her otherwise. 

    The two walked in a comfortable silence, hand in hand and smiles on their faces. By the time they got back to the pack house, Rhys had obviously already mindlinked with Ryan and Lexi and told them the news as the two were waiting outside for them. Ryan immediately pulled Rhys into a large bear hug, a low laugh coming from his throat as he congratulated is Beta. Lexi took Willow's hands and brought them up to her face, admiring the ring that was settled perfectly on her finger. "Oh, Willow it is beautiful! We are so happy that Rhys finally got the balls to ask you to marry him! Come, let's go inside and start planning. The boys will be dying to get a hold of Rhys and and get to talking about his bachelor party," Lexi laughed lightly and pulled Willow in the house. She shot an apologetic smile back at Rhys and followed quickly behind her Luna. 

    Not long after the two got settled up in Lexi's office, Ryan mindlinked to the entire pack, announcing Willow and Rhys's engagement. He made sure to let the pack know to give the newly engaged couple some space as they begin planning and then the mindlink was cut, leaving the two ladies to go back to planning. "Now, Willow. Obviously we will be doing something white and red to symbolize our pack but you are free to pick out a couple more colors if you wanted! I am so happy that you will be officially joining us. You can take your pack vows at your wedding to make life easier for you," Lexi began, pulling out a large binder and setting it down with a loud thunk on her white-oak table. 

    Willow's pale green eyes lit up with excitement as she slid the binder closer to her and opened it up. She saw fabric swatches of every color under the sun. "I was thinking of something like sage or just a pale green," she thought out loud and flipped to the greens. Lexi was leaned over, her head resting on Willow's shoulder as she looked at the colors with her friend. Her eyes landed on a beautiful deep green and she pointed to it, making Lexi squeal in delight. "This one. This one is the one I want. And I think that will be it on additional colors. I love white and red already and I don't want to add too much to the wedding of the Beta," she mused softly, looking over at Lexi and then laying her head against her friend's. "I'm so excited that you'll be helping me plan, Lex. Thank you for always being here for me. You have no idea how much I appreciate you," Willow whispered as she brought a hand up to play with Lexi's white-blonde hair. The Luna gave Willow a small hug and whispered a small "thank you" to Willow. 

    After a few more hours of looking at food and decor options, a sharp knock jolted the girls out of their wedding-planning world. Lexi cleared her throat and straightened up in her desk chair. "Come in!" she called, putting on a pleasant smile as she smoothed out her t-shirt. 

    After a moment, Ryan walked in with Rhys on his heels. Both men looked rather angry as they moved to stand just before the desk. Lexi and Willow's expressions immediately turned to ones of worry. It took the men a few minutes to finally find the words and then Ryan spoke up. "There's a new pack that wants to meet with us in the morning," he stated through gritted teeth. "Demanding territory and a spot in our ranks. With this nasty Alpha. Alpha Damon Black of the Bloodstone Pack," Rhys added, his eyes dark.