“Is this really necessary?” I wonder aloud, biting back a wince as the beautician rips another strip from my legs. “We spent all day yesterday making me presentable.”
The other beta working on my face snaps her fingers for me to be still.
“We need to make sure your eyebrows are even!”
Jessalyn lies next to me with cucumber patches over her eyes. “You are the only person I know who would complain about a day of pampering, Si.”
Some sort of oil is being rubbed into my feet, and I try to lie back and enjoy the day as I’ve been told. My mind keeps wandering back to the club – and to Jax, his petrichor scent and those searing violet eyes.
I shiver and feel a brush on my eyes.
“Gah!” The beautician throws up her hands. “I’ll need to start again. Please stay still, Ms Michaels!”
“Sorry.” Biting my lip, I ignore Jess’s muffled laughter next to me.
Once I’ve been primped and prepped to within an inch of my life, I’m finally given a moment to myself. Walking up towards my room where I’ll be dressed, I trail my hand over the photographs lining the staircase. Images of me, Elise, my mother and father – the jigsaw pieces that make up my life are all here, set out for easy viewing.
I pause, looking at an image of my parents on their Bonding Day. Their joy is incandescent, the camera merely an observer as they stare into each other’s eyes.
My heart constricts as I think of Jax Cohen, and the pack that I’ll be presented to today.
I’m too afraid to admit out loud that Iwantthis. Like it’s going to be snatched away from me if I dare give voice to the hope coiling inside my chest.
I want what my parents had – what they still have. I want it desperately.
And if my meeting with Jax was anything to go by, I might possibly have a chance of getting it.
Finally, there’s a lick of excitement in my stomach. We’re Soul Bonded. Today will be a celebration, a meeting, a joyous reunion.
My feet fly up the stairs, pausing as I enter the bedroom to my sheepish-looking Mama and a grinning Jessalyn.
“What’s going on?” I look between them as my mother flushes lightly, wringing her hands.
“I realized, at the boutique, that you didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about any of the dresses. And today – today is special, Sienna. It’s the start of your journey, and you deserve to have something that makes you feel like a princess.”
She takes a step to the side, unzipping the long gray bag hanging over my wardrobe to reveal a dress.
Not a dress. This is a gown.
Even Jess stays silent as I raise my fingers to the very edges of the fine white gossamer lace.
“Mama,” I whisper, blinking back tears. “It’s beautiful.”
Mama sniffs wetly. “Shall we try it on? I have your other gown here just in case we need it.”
Jess balances me as I step into the dress, the lace barely a whisper against my skin. Mama does up the small pearl buttons at the back, both of them keeping me away from the mirror despite my protests.
“Just wait,” orders Jessalyn softly. “You’re perfect, Si.”
The bodice fits tightly against me, the lace flaring out into a mermaid style with a small band of lace around the top of each arm.
“I feel very exposed,” I murmur nervously.
“That’s sort of the point,” Jess reminds me. “For the scent marking.”
Nodding, I focus on tracing the delicate whirls in the lace as my mother and Jess finish up. Then finally, they draw me around to look in the mirror.
My mother bursts into tears as I take my first look. “Oh, Sienna!”
