Chapter 12: Chapter 12

ADDISON

After breakfast, we all piled into Slade’s SUV. It was a bit bigger than I thought we needed, but I appreciated the gesture. The outlets were in town, which was about an hour away.

On the drive, we sang along to the radio and joked and talked. Hannah and Olivia grilled me on what I wanted my dress to be like.

There weren’t really any rules about what to wear to the Luna Ceremony, except that the dress had to be white. After browsing through a few shops, we came out with a few trinkets and fun items.

But nothing in the way of a dress for the ceremony. “Addie!” Olivia’s face lit up. “Look, a wedding shop! Let’s go in.”

I tried to protest, but my friends were having none of it.

“Just think, Addie,” Hannah reasoned, “you need a white dress for the Luna Ceremony. And a wedding dress shop is ~full~ of white dresses!”

There was no arguing that. It was fairly sound logic. So in we went.

The shop was bright and shiny. Beautiful dresses were on display, and the lights in the shop danced off all the crystals of the chandeliers and the beading on the dresses.

It was beautiful, but I was wary. I didn’t want Slade to think I was getting a wedding dress for our day. That would really put him off.

The girls browsed and sorted through racks of dresses. Thankfully, they had a formal wear section, and I made my way over there. I tried on a few different dresses but none that I really liked.

Then Olivia came around the corner of the wedding dress sale rack. Music to my ears. My mom would be proud of the budget-friendly finds we were trying for.

Looking at the dress on the hanger, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it.

But I tried it on to please my friends. As I walked out, they both gasped.

“What? Is it really that bad?” I asked them, a little worried to look in the mirror now.

I turned around and stood for a moment in shock. It was absolutely beautiful. The dress was a floor-length satin dress.

It had a simple A-line silhouette that hugged my body but was still flowy enough to move around in. It had a wide, scoop neck that almost left my shoulders.

The three-quarter-length lace sleeves buttoned in the back just below my neck, leaving almost my whole back open.

“Oh my gosh, Addison!” Hannah beamed. “There’s no way we are buying any other dress. You look stunning!”

“Are you sure it’s not too much?” I was concerned I might be a bit overdressed.

“Nonsense!” Olivia finally found her words. “It’s a Luna Ceremony! You can’t ever overdress for one of those. This is the one.”

“Definitely,” Hannah chimed in, nodding her head slowly.

“Okay,” I said cautiously, but really, I loved it so much.

After finding my dress, we found a little café and had lunch outside at a table. Talking and laughing, we really were enjoying ourselves. I had missed having days like this.

With my mom, I had fun like this all the time. Even with some of my old friends from my pack. I was glad I had found Hannah and Olivia.

I got up to throw the trash away. As I came back to the table, Hannah looked over. “A little more window shopping and then head home? I’m beat.”

Olivia and I nodded in agreement and made our way around the outlets. We had all found some cute tops and sweaters for the coming fall and agreed that it was a successful trip.

As we pulled the car up, I was a bit nervous. Slade had been nice to me today. I wasn’t sure if he meant it.

As we walked in and set down our things, we heard the dinner bell, which was great because I was famished. As I grabbed a plate, I felt eyes on me.

I turned to the side to see Slade standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He walked up to me, and I offered him a plate. He was warm to me, and we talked for a minute. I enjoyed that.

Although we didn’t sit together, I could sense him looking at me once in a while. After everyone had left, something switched after I asked if he wanted to walk up with me.

He withdrew again, and I could feel it. Disappointed, I grabbed my bags and carried them up to my room. I was hoping we were starting to at least become friendly. But he shut me out again.

I dropped my bags and sighed when I realized his keys were still in my purse.

~“Perfect,”~ my wolf said, earning an eye roll from me.

After hanging my dress and changing into some yoga pants and a tank top, I headed down to his office. Throwing my hair up into a messy topknot, I gripped the keys and knocked on the door.

“Alpha?” I said quietly as I opened the door. He was lying on the couch, not working like he said he needed to. I gave a quick confused stare and then spoke again. “Alpha…” Nothing.

“Slade?”