Chapter 184 The Royal Mating Dress
“…Who’s him?”
Emma glanced at her. “You know him?”
“Elara let out a quiet breath. “That’s my uncle, he’s my mother’s elder sibling. He rarely shows up.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “My mother once told me he never wanted her to mate with my father.”
Emma looked back at him, finally understanding the cold look he’d been giving her.
“Okay,” she murmured. “Now I get why he keeps looking at you like that.”
“Do you know why he didn’t want Mother to mate with Father?” Emma asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, already turning away. “And I’m not interested.”
Bernard came back and beckoned them. They followed him to the top counter. After a few minutes of waiting in the queue, they found themselves in the amazing elevator. The elevator began to lift them to the one hundred and twentieth floor. It was faster than all the elevators Emma had ever seen. However, she was a bit thrown off by the size of the elevator. It was smaller than what she expected. That explained the queue.
The top view was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen in her life. They spent one hour looking at the city and its fascinating views. Every corner of the terrace roof gave her a different view of the city and it was so beautiful. Elara and she began to take pictures from different angles.
“Alpha’s mate, do not forget why we are here,” Bernard said with a slight bow. Elara pulled him in and began to smooch him. He grabbed her waist and responded aggressively.
Emma quickly grabbed her device and took as many pictures as she could. She walked towards Bernard and whispered into his ears too.
“Bernard, do not forget why we are here.” They pulled away and grinned loudly.
They used the elevator again and stepped off at the level that would lead them to Nicole Spose’s Bridal boutique. The shop was a very big shop with high-end industrial machines.
A lady at the front desk who had been informed about their coming recognized them the moment they walked into the reception.
“Welcome to Nicole Spose’s Bridal boutique,” she curtsied a bit for her.
“Thank you,” she waved at the receptionist.
“Where did you guys go?” a voice said behind them.
“Starlit! You are here already. How long have you been waiting?” She asked, moving towards him.
“I arrived here five minutes ago.”
“Alright,”
“Moon, Prince Brandon, you will wait behind me while I take them inside.”
“Why?” Brandon asked.
“Mrs Frostbane, do you want your mate to come with you?” The pretty young she-wolf asked.
“No, he’s not qualified to be here,” Elara responded and the young receptionist grinned.
“I know. The majority of ladies that visit here do not allow their mates to see their mating ensembles before the mating ceremony,” she smiled again.
“Moonheart, would you want me to see?” Brandon asked. She smiled and shook her head.
“You will see it on our mating day,” she said, kissed his lips, and followed the she-wolf to the showchamber.
“Welcome to my boutique!” a she-wolf said excitedly. Emma figured she was the chief executive officer of the company because she saw her picture on the website last moonfall when she chatted up with one of their customer services.
“Thank you.”
“I’m Nicole,”
“Emma,”
“Welcome, Emma,” she said and gestured to them. They were welcomed like high lunas. A seat was offered to them. She looked around the showchamber and could not believe her eyes. The bridal shop had the largest selection of bridal shower and mating dresses and a wide variety of different mating veils. However, none of the gorgeous gowns matched the design they had in their catalog.
They called Nicole’s attention to their catalog and pointed at the gown Emma chose. She took the catalog from her.
“It will be ready in the next thirty minutes,” she grinned. Elara and Emma exchanged glances.
“Our automated SewBot needs just the picture,” she grinned as she looked at the gown. Elara and Emma walked around the showchamber and picked the right ensembles.
Thirty minutes later, she saw a robot walking majestically towards them as though it was walking down the aisle, wearing the exact gown she chose and the exact veil. The robot fixed its eyes on her. Its face beamed with smiles and the gorgeous gown which was designed with diamonds glittered as the robot walked. The classic silhouette incorporated into the gown could not be described. Its whimsy was top-notch.
It stopped right in front of them and began to wave its right hand. She quickly threw her hands around Elara and began to cry. She lifted her face and looked at the robot waving at them again and continued crying.
“Emma, what is it,” Elara asked with a calm tone.
“This mating gown just reminded me of what Theresa told me the day Mr. Richard came to take me away.
“What did she tell you?”
“I was standing in front of our house, waiting for Mr. Richard to ignite the engine when Theresa approached me and said.
“Emma, are you aware that Lunara’s royal mating comes up in December?”
’No, I’m not aware. No one told me,’ I responded to her.”
“We did not tell you because you were not invited. Lunara said she didn’t want to see you around the palace.”
“Why are you telling me then, I asked her?”
“You need to know you are not invited, she told me.”
“It’s okay,” Elara said as she wiped her tears.
“I didn’t know Theresa was talking about my mating that day,” she sniffed again.
“That day, you thought they were pushing you the wrong way. You never knew they were actually the driving force you needed to reach a greater potential,” Elara said as she kept wiping her face.
“Now you see why I told you to go along with whoever they matched you with,” Elara said.
She saw a white handkerchief before her and lifted her face slowly. It was the robot offering her a white handkerchief. She took it and she smiled.
“I’m Alina,” the robot introduced itself as though it were a living thing with a typical Italian accent.
“I’m Emma.”
“Nice to meet you, Emma. How do I look?” Alina asked.
“You look good,” she responded.
“Thank you, Emma.”
Nicole walked in and showed her how to wear the gown in case she wanted to try it on. Another sleek machine lifted the dress carefully, folded it, and sealed it inside a bridal bag. The rest of the mating outfits were packed into a larger bag beside it.
“We offer free makeup services for all our customers,” Nicole said with a smile. “Our makeup artist will fly to your country and help you get ready, and a dresser will be there to assist you too. Trust me, Emma, you’re going to love it.”
“Thank you so much,” Emma said softly as she rose from her seat and headed out of the showchamber.
The moment they stepped into the reception hall, Brandon caught her hand and pulled her against his chest.
“What happened?” he asked, lowering his head to look at her face.
“I was warned not to attend the mating,” she murmured, her fingers tightening slightly. “And now I’m here, picking out the same mating gown I wasn’t even allowed to see.”
“It’s okay.” A small grin tugged at his lips before he kissed her gently. His thumb brushed beneath her eyes. “They tried to turn me against you. Filled my head with lies just to keep us apart.”
“You know…” She looked down for a second before meeting his eyes again. “I wouldn’t have signed those papers if I’d known it was you.”
“Exactly why I pushed you the way I did.” A quiet chuckle slipped from him. “I knew you would’ve gone through every page and refused to sign the second you realized I was the Moon Prince.”
“Yeah.” She shook her head lightly. “You never told me you were the Moon Prince.”
Brandon let out a low laugh and tipped his head back for a second.
“And scare you away before I even had the chance to keep you?” He looked down at her again, his fingers sliding through hers. “You already looked ready to run half the time.”
Emma’s fingers tightened around his, not letting him pull away.
“I wasn’t running,” she said, lifting her chin a little. Her eyes flicked to his face, then away. “I was just… deciding if you were worth staying close to.”
A faint buzz cut through the space between them before Brandon could answer.
He glanced toward her bag and smirked. “Your device has been ringing for a while now.”
She pulled the device from her bag and glanced at the screen.
Lunara.
Brandon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What does she want now?”
“Dollars—thousands of them. No more silver.”
“Is she trying to leave the country or something?” Brandon asked.
Emma’s gaze stayed forward. “Probably. She’s tired of the pups in our pack.”
“I thought you already told her last moonfall that you weren’t in the country.”
“I did.”
“Then why has she called you eleven times?” He held his hand out, and Emma passed him the device. His thumb moved over the screen as he checked the missed calls. “And now she wants to see you too?”
Emma nodded. “I already told her no.”
Brandon’s jaw tightened. He pushed back from the chair and rose to his feet. “Something’s wrong.”
Princess Elara reached over, took the device from his hand, switched it off, and slipped it back into Emma’s handbag.
“Let’s go,” she said.
They walked out of the reception hall together.
Outside, Alina had already loaded the bridal bags into the cars.
Emma slowed near the steps.
There it was again.
That same figure.
Half-hidden near the far side of the building.
Before she could get a clear look, the figure disappeared behind a parked vehicle.
Her fingers tightened around Brandon’s sleeve. “I think some wolf’s following us.”
Brandon swept a glance across the parking lot, calm and unreadable. “Probably fans trying to take pictures. You’ve been getting attention since we arrived.”
Emma kept staring into the distance.
“No,” she said quietly.
Her grip tightened a little more.
“That wasn’t a fan.”