Call of The Forest

Chapter 7

The bright sun woke me, and as I stretched and sat up, I momentarily wondered where I was.

And then I remembered I had fallen asleep on the yacht with Riven.

Judging from my surroundings, we had left the dock and were currently somewhere surrounded by nothing but the ocean.

Slipping my heels off, I looked over to the railing and looked over at the glistening blue water.

"Good, you're up."

I smiled as Riven joined me, his shirt off, "It's beautiful out here."

He hummed, "It is. My dream is to one day live on the ocean."

I chuckled, "So dogs really do like water, huh?"

"Can you swim?"

"Yeah, why-"

He lifted me and threw me into the water without a word.

I gasped as I came up for air, glaring at him chuckling at me, "Do you have any idea how much this dress cost?! Oh my god."

He laughed again and dived in.

"What if there are sharks?"

He paddled closer to me, "City girl afraid of the ocean?" I glared at him as he pulled me closer, "Don't worry, big bad Alpha will protect you."

"Wow, that was cheesy!" I kissed him lightly on the lips, "But I like it."

"So, can I take you to dinner tonight? On a date."

"Ooh, you're asking me on an actual date? You must be getting serious."

His face lost all signs of playfulness as he spoke, "You have no idea how serious I am about you."

"Well then, how could I possibly turn down a date with you? Just don't throw me into the sea again."

"Deal."

We swam back to the yacht and climbed back on. He wrapped a large fuzzy towel around my shoulders, "You can get changed in the cabin, I have a few shirts here."

I nodded and made my way downstairs into the luxurious cabin. It even had an indoor pool and a small jacuzzi.

My family were rich, but never this rich.

I opted for one of his black dress shirts, which came to my thigh when buttoned, leaving a few top buttons undone to flaunt my white lace bra.

Making my way back up to the deck, I found Riven on one of the loungers,

His eyes travelled up my body, "You look good in my shirt."

I could feel the blush creeping up onto my cheeks as I took a seat close to him, his hand resting on my thigh.

"It's taken me so many years, and I have never found my mate. I finally found her and she's human. Life's idea of a cruel joke."

"You left out the bit about me being your daughter's friend."

"Ah yes, that too."

"You know, if it wasn't for the bit where I'd turn into a werewolf, I'd probably be with you by now."

He seemed to be studying my eyes for a sign of dishonesty, "So you do feel it."

I nodded, "I guess I felt it the moment I saw you when I arrived."

"Beth doesn't think our life is for you."

"Well, she might have a point. I have no idea what being a werewolf is even- Oh my God! Cassy and Merlin's wedding!"

Riven shrugged, "That's only tonight. Moonlit ceremony in full wolf form."

"But you asked me on a date? Shouldn't you be there for the ceremony?"

He shrugged again, "Beth is my Beta for a reason, she can handle it," he looked down at his hand on my thigh, "Unless you feel up to going to the ceremony as my date?"

"I'll be the only human there, won't it be weird?"

"Lowe doesn't change and I assume Beth will bring her now that she knows."

"While we are on that topic, could we talk about Beth for a second?"

He looked up, "Okay, I probably won't like it, but sure, go ahead."

"Maybe you should allow her to see Lowe's dad? I mean, if he is her mate, you probably shouldn't get in between that."

"He isn't right for her!"

"And a lot of people wouldn't think that I'm right for you. If she thinks she can be happy with him, let her try. She is an adult after all," I took his hand in mine, "Please, Riven, it would mean so much to me."

He sighed, "Fine. I won't pretend to be happy about it, but I'll allow it if it's what she wants."

"Thank you."

***

Not having the slightest idea of what one wears to a werewolf wedding, I decided on a simple green flowy dress which had a slightly tighter bust than the rest of the dress, seeing as the wedding was held in the forest, I wore sandals.

I left my hair down with the right side slightly up, held in place with a large daisy clip.

Giving myself a final once over in the mirror, I walked out and was shocked to see Riven in a black suit.

"Wow, won't that suit get ruined when you change?"

He shrugged, "I'm in human form tonight, Beth's idea."

"Because of me?"

He pulled me closer, an arm around my waist, "I should match my beautiful date."

Beth walked into the room, "Oh, ew! Not in front of me, you guys."

We reluctantly pulled apart, chuckling.

At the ceremony there were beautiful tea lights alongside the ground, everyone aside from Lowe, Riven and I were in wolf form.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Riven stood close to my side, an arm around my waist holding me tightly to his side.

"Ours will be better," he whispered into my ear.

I smiled but when I caught Jesse's wolf form glaring at me alongside his mom's, it dropped.

Why was he angry? Wasn't he into Beth?

Riven glanced down at me and followed my gaze, shooting the mother and son duo a deadly glare, causing them both to take their eyes from me.

I sighed, even if Beth wasn't completely against Riven and me, the others would be.

The other wolves had been very friendly towards me, but that was probably just because they were respectful -or fearful- of their Alpha.

Could I give up so much and live my life surrounded by disapproval? Hadn't that been part of what I resented about my own family?

Was Riven worth it?

I glanced up at Riven and he smiled down at me.

I sighed as I turned back to the ceremony; he was so worth it.

I sat next to Riven at the bonfire, all the others had changed back into human form.

I had Riven's jacket on and leaned against him, his arm around my shoulders.

Beth came over and sat down next to us, "So, what did you think, Harley?"

"It was beautiful."

Riven cleared his throat, "Beth, Harley and I had a chat about you and the Omega. If you still feel he is your mate, I will no longer stand in your way."

Beth's eyes lit up, "Really?" she glanced at me, "You managed to get through to him, huh."

I shrugged, a small smile on my lips.

Beth hugged her father, "Thank you, Dad."

"Thank Harley, I still don't like this at all."

Beth looked over to where Lowe danced with the other wolf kids, "She's going to be so happy, dad. I didn't want this life for her, but I guess we can't hide from it."

"I will hold a meeting with the leader of the Crescent soon to discuss everything. We will need to lift the ban on our border for the two of you to meet safely. Beth, I know you are my Beta but you will not be there for the meeting. I will take a small group with me."

Beth waved her hands, "Whatever it takes, dad."

"I'll go with you too." The words escaped my mouth without thought.

Beth raised her brows at me.

Riven looked down at me with a frown on his face, "You want to go with me? Into a meeting with the second most feared pack there is?"

I nodded, "Yes, I want to go with you."

"It probably won't be safe, Harley, they are dangerous," Beth added.

I shrugged, "I don't care, if Riven is going, I want to be at his side."

Beth's eyes widened, "Already speaking like a Luna."

Riven sighed, "Harley, I'd prefer you didn't come with me."

I sat up, glaring at him, "If you want me to decide if I'm going to be with you or not, I need to experience the whole wolf vibe, I can't make up my mind strictly on the nice side, I need to see the bad too."

Beth nudged her father, "She has a point."

Riven scowled, "Fine. But I'm not going to pretend to like this."

I rolled my eyes, "Well, if you want me as your mate, you are going to have to get used to the fact that I will not take orders. And I will not sit on the sidelines."

Beth chuckled, "Dad has his hands full with you."

Riven sighed, "You're going to turn me grey," he kissed the top of my head, "But I wouldn't have it any other way."