The Scarlet Witch

Chapter Four - The Reception and Wedding Night

Everyone was moved into the main dining room of the pack house. Like the main hall, the room is simply decorated with white lilies, tables covered with white tablecloth. Most of the guests were all seated in their assigned seats while others were walking around making small talk. Dimitri was standing beside a table where some of his pack members were seated. The conversation was a casual one, talking about training schedules and future goals to move up in the pack now that there is an official alpha family and not just an alpha. Dimitri was half paying attention to the conversation, as every now and then his gaze would wander to the other side of the room where his wife was. The idea of a wife felt almost natural to him. He now has a wife, and for the past three years he has had to cope with the reality that he will never have a fated mate. It was a surreal feeling, but one that left him feeling almost at peace.

Dimitri watched as, across the room, his wife, Amaranth, was having what looked like a very lively conversation with an older woman, whom he knew as the Supreme of a local coven, her son, and another woman who he assumed was the son’s partner. The conversation consisted of lots of hugs and smiles. Every time he saw his wife smile, his breath hitched. He could instantly tell that these three people were important in his wife’s life, and hoped that the relationship she had with them could get even better once she was no longer living in the Midnight Moon Pack. In one of the moments where he let his gaze wander towards his wife, he watched as she gently touched the woman’s stomach, both of them smiling brightly. He couldn’t help but to think about that being their future, the future of their union.

Dinner was announced, prompting everyone to their seats. Dimitri made his way towards Amaranth, offering his hand. With a shy smile, she took his hand and together the newly weds walked towards the raised table, with seating for four. Their seating arrangement was the one thing that Dimitri made sure was one that he wanted. Especially after seeing the original seating plan, with the alpha and luna of the Midnight Moon Pack along with their daughter seated at the raised table. Both Dimitri and his grandfather found issues with how it would look. The three of them seated there when the event was a wedding and neither the bride nor the groom had any public relation to the head family of the pack. So, instead the four seats at the raised table were for Amaranth and Dimitri, with Dimitri’s beta, Cody, to his left and Dimitri’s sister, Sophia, to Amaranth’s right. At a table in front of theirs, on even ground with all of the other tables in the room, sat Alpha Michael and Luna April, their daughter Melanie, Beta Simon and his son Jacob, and Alpha Damon.

As they took their seats, Amaranth couldn’t help but to feel surprised at how comfortable she felt with her husband. Husband. It was weird to think about, having a husband. But she was happy that she at least was not having that gut feeling that he was someone who could possibly hurt her. She didn’t get the feeling that she needed to run and be as far away or be as invisible as possible. She offered a shy smile towards the man whom she assumed was Dimitri’s beta and Sophia, who she learned just a little while ago, was Dimitri’s younger sister. The bubbly girl did not waste any time talking to her new sister-in-law, excited that they were both 22 years old and how she had an amazing wedding gift for her. Amaranth could tell that she was going to like Sophia, it seemed like it was almost impossible not to like her.

Dinner was being served and more small talk commenced. Amaranth made herself busy with eating, making note of the several dirty side eyes that she was getting from Melanie. It was not a secret that Melanie was upset about the fact that it was Amaranth’s hand that was offered for the pact and not hers. Though Amaranth didn’t really understand the agreement herself, the only thing that she could say when pressed by the spoiled girl was to just deal with it. Dimitri and Cody were talking in whispers. As Amaranth finished eating, Sophia cleared her throat, gaining her attention.

“I am not sure if it is too early to say something like this as you two haven’t even been married for 24 hours yet. But I am really happy that my brother has you. I think that the two of you are going to be an amazing alpha and luna”, Sophia beamed.

“Thank you, but I am not too sure about how good of a luna I am going to be. I know little to nothing about how a pack is supposed to be run”, Amaranth was a little taken aback by what Sophia said.

“You shouldn’t underestimate yourself! I’ve seen how you interacted with some of the members of the Midnight Moon pack tonight. You, for sure, have the grace of a strong, level-headed and humble luna, the type of luna that every pack needs. And I’m sure that if you ever need any help you can go to my grandfather or even my mother once the two of you meet.”

“Well, thank you again. And I am kind of excited about meeting your mom. My mother used to talk about yours a lot. She went to the main palace a handful of times for work.”

“Really?! I can’t wait to tell her that!” Sophia smiled brightly.

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they continued eating the meal, which had now moved onto dessert. Shortly after, the reception went on with people dancing. Amaranth shared dances with Matthew, her god-brother Ryan, and Beta Simon.

“May I also have a dance with the bride?” Alpha Michael said after approaching Amaranth and Beta Simon towards the end of their dance.

“Sure”, Amaranth said, surprised that her father even wanted to dance with her, in front of everyone. Surprised that Luna April was okay with them dancing, as she hadn’t seen him dance with her or Melanie.

The two got into position, hand in hand, slowly swaying to the beat of the song. The dance was slightly awkward, with Alpha Michael not bothering to make up for their height difference, he towered over her, making her both look and feel small; which was something that he was very good at. They silently swayed for the first few beats, allowing Amaranth to get a bit, though not very much, more comfortable with the positioning and form of their dance. Suddenly, Alpha Michael’s grip on her hand got extremely tight, prompting her to bring her attention to him.

“Be sure to make Alpha Dimitri very happy tonight. I need this agreement to go well and succeed. Even if it means that I have to depend on you to make that happen.” He sneered at her, his voice was quiet enough for the other pairs around them dancing not to hear, but loud, or more so domineering, enough that it brought back the memory of the last time he ordered her to keep an Alpha company for an evening. His remark filled her with anxiety, but also brought the question back to her that she had been wondering about since it was announced three months ago. Why have this agreement? What exactly was Alpha Michael getting from it?

The song ends shortly after Alpha Michael showed his daughter his true intentions behind wanting to dance with her. The two stepped away from each other, with Amaranth trying her best not to move away from the alpha too quickly, not wanting to pick up on the tension between them.

Though, there was someone who did. Alpha Dimitri was talking to his grandfather about the trip that he had to leave for the following day, making sure that they were on the same page on the arrangements that needed to be made for his wife's arrival at the Scarlet Moon Pack. He had his attention split between his grandfather and his wife, the whole time she was dancing with her father. The slightly subtle quick movement was not lost on him, he knew something happened during that dance that made his wife uncomfortable and it infuriated him. He couldn't wait for the night to be over, for the sun to rise and for his wife to no longer be in this environment, one that has and still causes her so much more stress.

***

After two more hours of dancing, drinking, and small talk, the wedding reception was finally at its end. Amaranth was by the bar, giving hugs and saying goodbye to Margaret, Ryan and his wife Valerie. Seeing them was one of the few good things that came out of this wedding. She watched as they left, a feeling of melancholy already creeping into her heart even with them still in her line of sight. She wondered if now, she would be able to see them more often, especially with Valerie being pregnant and expressing her want for Amaranth to be involved in all of the baby-related events. She really hopes that she can. She had already had six years of her time with them taken away from her, with babies on the way she really wanted to make up for all of that lost time.

Amaranth was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Dimitri slowly approaching her. He had just got done saying his goodbyes to Sophia, Alpha Damon, with only a simple "see you soon" to Cody. He was a bit hesitant to go with Amaranth to their room for the evening. The interaction between her and Alpha Michael was still at the front of his mind. He could tell that whatever was said wasn't good. Part of him wanted to ask her about it, but the other part of him knew that was probably a subject that would cause her to be upset, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

After giving her a moment to herself, Dimitri finally came up next to Amaranth, lightly tapping her shoulder. She quickly turned, almost jerking away from his touch, tensing up but relaxing when she realized that it was just him. Seeing her relax gave him a sense of relief. He couldn't help but to be fearful that she might be afraid of him.

"Are you ready to call it a night?", Dimitri asked.

"Um, Y-Yes, I'm ready", Amaranth answered anxiously. Her hesitation and anxiety made Dimitri a bit nervous. But he pushed those feelings to the side, grabbing hold of her hand and beginning to walk to his guest room. This was another topic that led to disagreements between Dimitri, his grandfather, and Alpha Michael and Luna April. The Alpha and Luna of the Midnight Moon Pack expressed that they did not want Amaranth staying at the pack house, even for one night. It took bringing up how others would look at the newly weds not staying in the pack house after having their wedding there for them to fold and allow it.

The two walked in a comfortable silence, so comfortable that again Amaranth was surprised. But even though she was comfortable with Dimitri, what her father ordered her to do came back to mind as they walked the short walk to Dimitri's room. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get control over her anxiety. Her mind was racing, to a point where everything was a blur. She didn't even notice when they arrived to the room, let alone when they walked in or when she sat down on the bed.

"Do you need help with unzipping the dress? So that you can change into pajamas?" Dimitri asked, his voice bringing her back to reality.

"Oh no, I got into this dress by myself. I think I'll be able to manage getting out of it." She responded with a shy smile.

He returned the smile, turning and walking into the bathroom. He paused for a moment and turned back to look at her, "I'm gonna change in here, just let me know when you're all changed and I'll come out then".

After he closed the door, Amaranth looked around the room. She found a simple white night gown lying on the bed and wondered who thought to provide her with something to sleep in. She quickly got to work, taking off her wedding dress, heels, and the pins out of her hair. She then took off her stockings and bra, slipping on the night gown. She got a quick look at herself in the mirror attached to the dresser, making sure that her hair wasn't standing up awkwardly. She then went to take the seat on the bed that she had earlier. Taking a few deep breathes, she called out that she had changed, prompting Dimitri to come out of the bathroom, dressed in pajama pants and a t-shirt.

Amaranth was happy to see that he was completely dressed. But as he approached her, her anxiety came back like a smack in the face. It was as if, for her, things were moving in slow motion. She zoned out again, what her father said to her replaying in her mind on repeat, memories from the last time her father told her to make a guest happy coming to mind. The way that man looked at her, the way he had touched her, what he made her watch when he realized she wasn't going to give him what he truly wanted from her.

It wasn't until she felt hands on either side of her face that she came back to reality. She didn't know when she started crying. Dimitri brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping some of her tears away. He had a similar look of fear on his face, his from not knowing what had triggered her to have a full-on panic attack when he reentered the room.

"Hey, are you okay?" He whispered, not wanting to startle her. She sniffled as she tried to catch her breath. She was still trembling. Dimitri removed his right hand from her face, bringing it down to her arm and rubbing it.

"I don't know what happened, but we aren't going to be doing anything that you don't want to do. If you simply want to sleep, then that's it. We turn off the lights and go to bed. It's been a long day with lots of emotions, you must be exhausted." Dimitri continued to whisper to Amaranth, slowly bringing her to her feet.

"I needed you to vocalize what you want."

"Sleep, I-I want to sleep", Amaranth said, her voice barely a whisper, Dimitri needing to use his enhanced hearing to catch what she said.

He nodded, guiding her closer to the top of the bed. He pulled the comforter back and allowed her to get into the bed, putting the comforter back on top of her and tucking her in a bit. Amaranth rested her head on the pillow, taking in more deep breathes. Dimitri walked towards the light switch, flipping it, walking back towards his side of the bed in the dark. He got into bed as Amaranth was shifting to lay on her side. The two lay there in silence, both once again lost in thought. Dimitri wondered if it was something that he did that upset her, or maybe it stemmed from the conversation that she had with her father. Maybe it was just the situation as a whole, being married off to someone who she clearly doesn't remember ever meeting. Amaranth wondered how long her panic attack lasted, if it would affect how he saw her. If her father will be upset with how their night ended, what was in store for her come morning.

Soon sleep came over the two. At five in the morning, an alarm went off, waking up Dimitri. He looked over to see his wife, now sleeping on her back with her face turned away from him. He got out of bed quietly, headed to the bathroom to wash up, then to the closet to get ready for the day. It was six o' clock when he was packed and ready, bringing his suitcase to the door. He walked over to the bed along Amaranth's side. Looking over her, he leaned down and planted a light kiss on her forehead. She let out a sigh and he smiled to himself before turning around and heading out the door.

Amaranth woke up to the sun shining in her face. She felt... light. A feeling she didn't expect to have while inside the pack house. It took her a few moments to realize that she was the only person in bed. She got up and walked around the room, heading to the closet and noticing it was void of any articles of clothing. He's gone, she thought. Hearing the door open, she turned to see Melanie and Luna April standing at the door.

"It seems that you have overstayed your visit here in the pack house. I think you should hurry up and head back to your cottage." Luna April said, not trying to hide how upset she was that Amaranth even spent the night in her home.

"Where is Alpha Dimitri?" Amaranth asked.

"He was scheduled to leave early this morning. I guess even he couldn't wait to get away from you", Melanie answered, with an evil smirk. The mother and daughter turned and left.

He's gone, she thought. Where did he go? Why didn't he tell me? When will he be back, if ever?

She got herself ready and headed home, every now and again on the walk looking down at the ring on her left ring finger.