“I hope we can do some fun things together once we get the business going,” Cally mentioned.
“Once we get rid of these troublemakers, there’ll be time to spend together.”
Cally hoped that would happen soon.She knew her mate meant what he said, but what if it took a long time to get rid of those troublemakers?Would that hurt their relationship like her mother had said it could?This needed to be dealt with so they could move forward.Cally also wanted to take him home with her so that he could meet her family.She couldn't meet his parents because they were traveling the world, and he had no one else besides his pack.Since she was staying with the pack, she met new members every day.Cally was now the pack bitch, but she didn’t know much about the position.
They’d jumped into the new business, and she’d learned nothing about what she should be doing.
“Is there someone who has been taking care of the pack bitch duties?”Cally wondered.
“Yes, Portia is your second, and she’s done what’s needed since my parents left.When we get the business going, we'll take a break, and when we come back, she will show you what it is that you need to know and what duties you oversee.”
“Is she aware of that?”
“She's always known that eventually those duties will be given to my mate,” Carlos admitted.
“This is not someone who thought they could become your mate, is it?”
“What?Absolutely not.Portia is my cousin on my mother's side.”
“She's family, and you haven't introduced us yet?”Cally asked.
“You've met her, but not formally.She's the housekeeper.She’ll be able to help you when you start your position as pack bitch.”
“I think you should have introduced me to her as your cousin first.”
Cally tried to remember what the housekeeper looked like, but she hadn't seen much of her.She was one of those people who hid in the background and stayed quiet.That was why it was hard to remember her, but she thought she looked around thirty, and she had the same dark, good looks as Carlos.Their mating hadn't been anything like what she would have expected it to be.There had not been a ceremony of any kind and no gathering of family and friends.No honeymoon either, or she was afraid there might not be, because too many things kept happening.
Her phone rang, so she answered it.“Cally?”
“Ariel?”
“Yes, it’s me.I wanted to talk to you about your wedding, which we've been planning.We'll do it on a Sunday in two weeks.Since you're already mated, I thought we would do it quickly.A ceremony is important, and I think you'll feel better once it's complete.”
Cally thought about it; maybe that was part of what was missing in the relationship.She didn't have that feeling of being tied to him because they had never gone through a marriage or any other kind of ceremony.Things had been like they had just moved in together and we're having sex often, but there were no other ties that bind.Whatever she thought, it didn't really matter because Ariel was going to descend upon them, and the wedding was going to happen.She smiled at the thought because she was sure that Carlos had never met Ariel, and he wouldn't know what to make of her.Few people ever knew what to make of her cousin when she swooped in and took over.
She had a cousin who was a wedding planner, and she was sure that was the one who would be taking all this over, and there wouldn't be a thing for her to do except look beautiful and be ready to say I do.Everything would be handled for the groom as well.The exception to all the preparation would be the reception, since Bea didn't handle that.That was because the wedding was usually planned and paid for by the bride’s family, while the reception was usually handled by the groom's people.Bea always said there was too much family to deal with at once, so she handled the wedding and let others handle the reception.
Cally knew that weddings could bring out the best and the worst in families.Bea had told stories that were so shocking they were almost unbelievable, but she knew they had to be true.To deal with one of those, then must deal with more to handle a reception, would be too much for anyone.The only exception she had ever made was for their family, and while it hadn't been as bad as it could have been, it had still been difficult for her.Bea was one of the cousins she knew especially well because they were close in age and had hung out a lot when they were younger.She would be coming in early to make sure that the plans worked out perfectly, and Cally was looking forward to seeing her.
She had to admit that she was worried that the Councilman out there was probably looking for a replacement for her.Bea would fit the bill perfectly since she was smart, beautiful, and capable.As a replacement, she would be even better than the original, since she knew how to handle people and dress appropriately for any event.Her cousin would make the perfect politician’s match.The guy should have researched her family better before he decided to do so.Cally was a better match for Carlos because of the business he was going into and because he was a pack alpha, and she had some skills that might be useful there.It was true she had yet to see exactly what a pack bitch did, but she had seen some of the things that Ariel did, and she thought she could handle those.It wasn't like she didn't have a second that could assist, even though she'd not met her yet, and she wasn't sure how things would go.
“What was all that about?”Her mate asked.
“That was Ariel.She's stepping in.”
“Stepping in?That doesn't sound good.Should I be worried?”
“Maybe,” Cally said with a grin.
“Explain.”
“She feels like we should have already had some kind of ceremony, so she's coming in two weeks, and we will have a wedding on Sunday.Ariel has set up a wedding planner, and she will come a week early.Congratulations.”
“Doesn't she realize how busy we are and what we have going on here?”He asked.
“She does.Ariel has decided that we should be putting our relationship first, and since we haven’t, she's going to do it for us.I hope you have extra room because we will be getting a lot of guests.”
From what she could see, her mate was struggling with anger, confusion, respect, and a sense of lack of control.Maybe the white wolf stepping in had been exactly the right thing, but he didn't feel that way yet.A ceremony didn't seem to mean much to him because he had already gotten what he wanted.Cally wasn't sure what to think of all of this.
