HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!
Hello humans, this is my gift to everyone as Alpha Mates recently won the Fiction Awards for Best Werewolf book. It was all thanks to you guys voting so hard so I wanted to give you guys a gift in the only way I could imagine.
I hope you enjoy and once again, thank you so much.
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Julian's P.O.V
I let my eyes chase my reflection in the mirror, studying every inch of the tailor-made tuxedo that caged my racing heart within it.
It was white, just like I wanted, with black lining the edges of the lapels, like marks drawing you home from the sea of white. The material felt soft against my fingertips, soft and perfect as I palmed the vest, trying to smooth out non-existent creases.
Rarely did I style my hair, but today I did. The front strands were tied back in a neat bun while the rest of my hair caressed my shoulders now in loose curls that Emitt had done for me. My features stood out like this, my jaw seeming harder, sharper. The two single golden locks that had escaped the bun now cradling my face, the only thing keeping me from feeling exposed. My eyes seemed brighter in the mirror, somehow looking bluer against the white tux and blonde hair.
I smile softly at my reflection, unable to keep it from growing as the weight of what was happening settled inside of me.
I was getting married today.
It seemed surreal, like a fantasy I'd allowed myself to dream up for too long and didn't want to leave. Marriage was always Aiden's thing, from my earliest memories I knew it was what he wanted.
He always wanted a wedding, a big and beautiful wedding where he would have everyone he knew witness the greatest day of his life. Even through all the years of mutual hatred, he'd spoken about how he wanted to watch as the love of his life walked down the aisle, towards him and once they reached him - he'd never let them go.
I never imagined I'd want so desperately to be that person, most werewolves didn't really partake in the act of marriage, there was seldom the need for weddings when the bond covered it already. I was always like that, happy with just the bond and nothing more.
But then Aiden had a ring and the most beautiful proposal falling from his lips and suddenly it was everything I ever wanted.
"Julian, it's time." I turn at the sound of my Beckett's voice, heart immediately picking up at his words.
With his hair slicked back, he wore a dark, grey suit I knew Emitt was matching as well. He was with Aiden, his best man today as Beckett was mine - there was no other person suited for the role.
"None of that panicking," Beckett says leaving the door to close as he steps into the room, approaching me with an easy smile that always said; everything is going to be okay. "I can hear your heart trying to kill itself from here, it's a day to be excited for not to worry."
"I'm nervous," I explain, tugging at the ends of my suit to busy my hands. "Not worried, just nervous."
"Well that's natural, I would be worried if you weren't," Beckett jokes with a chuckle that easied my worries some. "But there's absolutely no need to be. You and Aiden are mates, there's nothing that'll ever change that."
I nod at his words, trying to let myself fall under their spell.
"Thanks, Beckett," I voice as I look up at him, my spirit filling with happiness at the sight of him. "Thanks for being here, for helping, for being my friend... for always being my friend, thank you."
"Thanks for letting me," He replies with eyes full of understanding to match the waves of love spreading from him while offers his arm. "Now are you ready to go marry the love of your life?"
"Yes," I reply with a growing smile, because I was.
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"Julian," Aiden calls making me immediately close my eyes, a feeling of nausea and anger coating my skin at the sound of his disgusting voice. "Julian, I know you're up here... I could smell your stench from a mile away."
Why Goddess, why? Why do you make me suffer?
Maybe if I stayed quiet he'd go away, if I just pretended not to hear that stupid child he'd go back downstairs to our parents or find a room to wait in until they were ready to go home. Or better yet, he'd die there.
"The smell is getting stronger so I must be getting closer," He calls, his voice coming closer. "There you are,"
I open my eyes and sigh, not bothering to look at Aiden and burn my eyes at the sight of him. Instead, I refocus my attention on the stars that light up the night. The sky was full tonight, bright and dazzling with hundreds of thousands of burning balls of light that twinkled and shimmered from above.
I came here often, the spot on the roof just outside my bedroom window. I found myself here on nights when I wanted to stare at my favorite part of this universe or when I just wanted some peace and quiet.
I tried to escape to here tonight because when mother and father had their closest friends over, it usually meant bringing one particular failed attempt at a son with them.
"Go away Aiden," I breathe out as I skim through the various constellations, ticking off the ones I learned this week.
"But then how would I be able to annoy you?" He asks innocently, the shuffling that followed telling me he wasn't leaving but coming to join me.
"Just go find a corner to die in, free me of your presence and revolting scent." I try but the idiot was already climbing through the window. "There's not enough room for two of us."
"That's perfect, I can blame pushing you off on you slipping." He replies wearing a bright smile we both knew to be fake as he wiggles into the tiny space beside me.
I growl tightly in the back of my throat before giving him a rough shove, I'd hoped would send him tumbled over the edge and to his death. It didn't. Instead, his shoulder was pressed to mine and I knew I'd have to shower again when they left to get his odor off of me.
"Why are you here?" I voice looking at him, but Aiden's eyes were on the stars, their dark hue reflecting the shimmering stars perfectly.
"I was bored, bothering you is always entertaining." He replies with a shrug.
I roll my eyes and look up to the galaxies again.
Aiden and I hadn't gotten in a physical fight in about a week, which was maybe a record for us and I had no wish to get into one on the roof. Not because I couldn't take, I knew now that I could, his still swollen eye was a testimony to that. I run my fingers through my hair, the shorted strands the trigger to the rage I'd released upon Aiden last Monday.
So I wasn't afraid of him anymore, no, I just didn't want to taint one of my favorite places with a bad memory, though I guess it was already being tainted with his wretched presence.
"Why do you like stars so much?" Aiden asks after a moment of silence. "You're always watching them, like fucking always. It's creepy. You watch them so much you'd swear they'd disappear one day."
"I just like them," I reply mindlessly as I let my eyes survey the sky.
"Just like them?" He repeats clearly unsatisfied with my answer, well tough for him I was unsatisfied with his existence. "You just like to stare at stars, no reason as to why?"
"None," I reply because there was no way I was sharing with Aiden Calderon why I loved stars. Knowing him he'd find a way to rid the world of them just so I couldn't see them anymore.
"Well you're boring," He replies with clear disappointment.
"And you're revolting." I shoot back but Aiden only laughs.
"If I'm revolting them you're repulsive."
"Look at you," I coo as I turn my head to look at him. "You haven't only learned a new word, you're using in a sentence and in a real-life situation too. I bet your mom will be so proud of you."
"I pray for your death at night," Aiden replies with only a small hint of agitation in his tone.
I turn away from him with a snort knowing I'd won that one and give my attention back to where it was needed.
"They're like jewels in the sky," I reveal, speaking before I could think better of it. "Beautiful and precious, glorious and unattainable, something you want to touch but never can... they're priceless. That's why I love them so much."
"I don't know why I expected a normal answer from you." He breathes out as if disappointed.
"I don't know why I expected you to die by now." I shoot back.
"Dad and mom were talking about you today," He reveals turning his head to look at me, but I keep my attention on the sky.
"Oh," I reply dully. "Thanks for sharing information I didn't need or request."
"They were talking about how you'd be alpha." He continues, his voice lacking the usual rage and anger it always held. "They said without Oliver, you'd be next in line and you'll have to be the next alpha."
"So I've been told," I reply, my interesting refusing to be peaked.
"You'll be a shit alpha." He says making my teeth grind.
"I can't imagine I'll be any worse than you," I combat with a smile. "If you're bringing it up, clearly you're worried I'll be bigger and better than you in any way."
"You can dream," He replies with a fake laugh. "I'm going to make my pack great."
"You're going to run it into the ground."
"I hate you,"
"You were the one who came up here, I never asked for the company."
"I came because dad said it's not good for you to be alone now, with Oliver being ya know..." His words trail off but I don't fill them in. "Then I come up to find you about to jump."
"I wasn't about to jump!" I protest sitting up with a frown.
"Yeah sure," He dismisses, looking past me and up at the sky. "Do you think we'll have mates?"
"What?" I ask in surprise, the question throwing me off completely.
"Come on Julian, it wasn't a hard question. I'll say it again, a little slower this time so pay attention." He teases with one of his stupid smirks. "Do you think we, as in you and me, will have mates?"
"Why wouldn't we?" I ask instead of falling victim to his annoyances.
"Just wondering, I can't imagine what poor girl will have to spend their entire life with you." He sighs out with fake sadness. "Poor thing."
"I have no problems imagining the wretched beast meant to be yours," I shoot back with curled fists. "They'll be just as ugly and stupid as you are."
"Soft spot?" Aiden replies with a raised brow. "Look at you getting all worked up, mates make you excited huh."
"Shut up," I grumble before lying back down.
We don't talk after that, nothing more needing to be said to reinforce just how much the other's presence was not appreciated. It was weird, sitting here and not trying to hurt Aiden, but I wasn't in the mood... not tonight.
"I'm going to do the whole marriage thing," Aiden says making me close my eyes and groan.
"Aiden, I don't care what you're going to do unless it involves your death."
"I'm going to throw the biggest wedding of the year," He continues, eyes focused on the sky as if he could see it right there. "It's going to be fucking amazing, bigger than the biggest wedding there can be. I'm going to have every alpha from all the greatest packs come, I'll have them all see what an amazing alpha looks like and his luna too. She'll be perfect, just fucking perfect and she'll come down the aisle, smiling and crying and I'll be waiting - waiting to take her forever."
"If you live to see the day," I jab but Aiden ignores it.
"It'll be everything and more... it'll be fucking perfect." He promises before looking back at me. "And you'll be crying in a corner wishing it was you."
"I wouldn't bet on it."
"You're right," He replies with a thoughtful look. "I wouldn't have a rodent in my wedding."
Before I could reply, Aiden's parents were calling for him and he was moving quickly to get off the roof. I sigh in relief to be rid of the annoying pest, stretching out once the space clears.
"By the way, I really like what you've done with your hair Jewels, the short hair suits you."
I shoot Aiden a death glare but he was already gone, his laughter the only thing remaining as he walked away leaving me with rage and a small flicker in my chest as I turn back to look at the jewels in the sky.
He called me... jewels
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I squeeze my fingers down on Beckett's arm, holding on tight as the two large doors open revealing the massive arena overflowing with people.
In front of us, Levi walked down the aisle laying flower petals down, creating a beautiful path for us to follow. His little suit making me want to just go pick him up and hug him tight, he looked so adorable
The sunlight adorned the space with natural light that broke through the arched ceiling, the glass windows lined by curved and spiraling green vines that rode up the pillars and glass.
White roses sprouted from them, draping the space in an arena of soft beauty that took my breath away. They trailed the outer edges of each row of people, and there were so many people.
The entire pack, members from other packs, every alpha from all the greatest packs...
They stood, turning to face me while all I could see was the man who stood at the altar, waiting for me.
Everything faded away then. Every person in this hall faded to nothing in my mind, all except the man who was staring right back at me. Those dark brown eyes, so close to black shimmered with light gold as I made my way to him, heart fluttering in that way it always did when I saw him.
That way it did when he kissed me for the first time, when he told me he loved me, when he looked at me in the morning when I woke up and in the night when I went to bed. My heart fluttered in that way it did when he called me Jewels for the first time.
It fluttered and hammered and raced at the sight of my mate, beautiful and perfect as he tracked my every move. A soft smile resting on his lips despite the way tears escaped his eyes, the sight making me smile gently because I knew I wasn't far behind him.
I move mindlessly as Beckett leads me forward, my thoughts still stalled on the man who I'd come to love and adore, this man who'd I'd known since the moment I was born. And now as I walked to him with blurred eyes, images of him flashed before my eyes.
Ones of him when we were kids and he still had freckles, others of him when we were in middle school and he lost his front tooth, ones of him as a teen where he grew into his features. Everything came flooding in, like watching him grow all over again until he was the man he was now.
The man who stood before me with dark eyes full of tears in an all-black suit that combatted mine but was exactly the same, the man who watched me climb the two stairs to him. The one who turned to face me now with a shaky smile and racing heart that thumped in tune with my own.
"You look..." His words fall short as he shakes his head gently, his eyes trailing over me once more. "Julian, you're gorgeous."
Aiden reaches his hands out and I take them without a second thought, reveling in the feeling of electricity that rocketed through me from our fingertips, spreading through my entire body and filling me with warmth. The reminder one I'd never tire of, the reminder that this man was mine and I was his, that we were mates and nothing could ever take that away from us.
"You're one to talk," I reply making him smile widely.
I never thought I'd see the day - Alex voices sounded uncharacteristically emotional. You getting married, and the bride at that.
I am not the bride
You're wearing a white suit, you just got walked down the aisle and you're on the right of the elder - Alex breaks down, I glance up at the elder.
Someone had to walk the aisle and what does me being on the right have to do with anything? - I query not willing to back down without a fight.
The bride is always on the right, always
Because you've been to so many weddings.
"Friends and family, welcome and thank you for being here on such a momentous occasion." The elder begins, her soft smile reaching everyone. "We are gathered here today to witness the joining of our alphas as they venture down this new path of their lives as partners, but beyond that, as mates.
Marriage is commitment different than a bond, marriage is a promise to one another to be there through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad. Marriage is a new environment in which you can share your lives together, face the world together and work together.
Like the bond between you as mates, marriage is not easy and requires care and love. For it to be the success it promises to be, you will need courage, patience, strength and in most cases, a sense of humor."
Laughs echo through the large hall at that one, I smile at Aiden and he gives my hand a squeeze.
"So, let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other all over again." The elder continues, his eyes falling between us. "Let it be a beautiful and wonderful thing you nurture for the rest of your lives."
I let the words sink in, the weight of them, not a strain but comforting to consider. Aiden's smile doesn't waver for a moment, only growing as the elder's words carried us to our vows.
I reach in my pocket for my written vows but stop the moment my fingers brush them. Aiden frowns gently, panic racing through the link at my hesitation but it wasn't for reasons he thought. I wasn't second-guessing anything.
I'd worked on my vows from the day Aiden had proposed. I wanted, no needed, them to be absolutely perfect because Aiden deserved that much. It was hard, to achieve perfection and I still didn't think I'd gotten it, not completely.
But Aiden's and my's relationship wasn't perfect, far from it. Our bond and life were full of bumps, trails, and fuck-ups that appeared even in our happiest moments, so the vows couldn't be perfect because we weren't.
They could only be real and raw because that's what Aiden and I were.
Wilson Trouve - I
"Aiden, you are... you're special." I begin as I pull my fingers from my pocket, slipping them back into his palm and squeezing tight. I meet his eyes and relish in the feeling of rightness that spread through me. "You've always been special, from the day we were born you were special. You have this thing about you, it's like a trap, one that makes everyone love you even when they want to hate you. I thought I was the only person immune to it, for my whole life I was, then we found out we were mates and you caught me too. At first, I thought it was a curse, to be paired with you for life... but now I know, it's a blessing. Aiden... I love you, I love you more than life itself and more than words can ever express. You have filled my life with joy, with happiness and now we're building a family together and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. We will have problems, we'll fight and yell, but we'll get through it... we always do. You're the reason I am who I am today, you've made me strong and adventurous, brave and loving... they're pieces of you in all of me, pieces I'll treasure forever and ever... just as I'll treasure you, my mate and my heart... I'll treasure you Aiden, forever."
Aiden's eyes were streaming with tears, glowing a soft hue of red that was dazzling with gold I saw in him even when he couldn't. I slip my hand from his to wipe at them, releasing a chocked chuckle when my own tears began to fall but they weren't tears of mourning or sorrow, these were full of joy and happiness.
"What are you trying to kill me?" Aiden asks through sniffs, the words making me along with everyone else who heard it laugh helplessly.
Aiden wipes at his face with the back of his hands before gripping my hand firmly once more, looking me straight in the eyes with a look of determination I knew all too well.
"Julian Heil, you are my everything," He begins upon releasing a deep breath, he'd barely begun and yet his words had me coming apart within seconds as I held his trembling hands in mine. "You make me want to be a better man, to be the best alpha, father and husband I can be; all for you. I'll do anything for you and that's a promise, for as many years we have together, I belong to you. I won't let anything hurt you, I'll make you happier than you could ever dream of being because you deserve that Julian. You deserve to be loved and cherished, adored and worshipped in a way I promise to do every day of my life because you're a good person Julian. You're good, intrinsically good in a way that consumes me every time I look at you because nothing in this world can be as good, as beautiful, as you are. A piece of me always knew that, even through all the hatred, I think a piece of me always knew... knew that you were like the stars in the sky, something beautiful and precious." My breath catches as flickers of a memory come to life from his words. "Glorious and unattainable, someone always too far, too good to touch... you're priceless Julian... you are my Jewel in the sky... my Jewels."
I was sobbing now, I knew I was and yet I couldn't stop the onslaught of tears for the life of me. No matter how hard I tried to make them stop, to make me stop, to calm down... I couldn't. Not when every inch of me felt ablaze with love and desire for the man in front of me, the man who I'd given my heart to and now he'd given his to me.
Aiden... my mate, my treasure and heart my soul and body... my Aiden...
My mind couldn't follow along with the rest of the elder's words that followed, simply refused to because everything was all too much and not nearly enough. I felt stripped down and bare yet somehow more complete than I'd ever felt in my entire life. I just wanted to be with him, to take him away and lie in his arms forever and ever because he was my mate and my heart yearned for him.
I yearned for him.
Levi came with the rings, his eyes slightly red and puffy while he rose the small pillow that held our matching rings on it. Aiden picks mine up, giving Levi a quick wink before reaching for my shaking hand.
I let him slip it on I bite my lip to stop the cries from escaping anymore, this was too perfect to be real and yet I knew it was. So I tried to reel myself enough to do the same for him, holding Aiden's large palm in mine while my other hand slipped the gold band onto his ring finger.
Aiden pulled at my hand, pressing a kiss to the ringed finger before the elder could finish the ceremony. It didn't matter then to me, the words he still had to say or the ceremony that was supposed to follow, Aiden mattered to me and in this moment, where I felt so raw and undeniably happy, I just wanted to be in his arms.
So I let him pull me to him as he wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed him soft, familiar, warm lips to mine, drowning me in a sea of love and warmth. Shockwaves split through me, electrifying my entire body and bringing every nerve ending to life as my mate claimed me in the purest way he could.
"I pronounce you, man and husband," The elder finishes through a small laugh.
Cheers and hollers fill the hall as the entire pack and all the guests shout and scream their excitement while I held onto my mate and kissed him with everything I had. When he pulled away a small whimper escaped, drowned out by the cheers but Aiden heard it, prompting that stupid smirk I loved to pull at his lips.
"Ladies and gentlemen," The elder calls admits the celebrations. "Aiden Heil and Julian Calderon."
The names ring on with the celebrations, through the crowd and raining decorations, happiness bouncing off every inch of the room and raising to the ceiling, floating away to reach every able ear and even Goddess herself.
Aiden was mine and I was his, in every single way.
"Julian Calderon," Aiden breathes against my lips, his smile wide and infectious. "I must admit, that sounds absolutely delicious."
"I bet it does, Mr. Heil," I reply with a giggle that he swallows with another kiss that made my brain go blank. "Forever yours," I promise once we part.
"Forever Mine," He repeats, his eyes flicking up to meet mine. "And I am, eternally yours."
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I actually cried... like an entire river, just cried my heart out for my two babies omfg I MISSED THEM
Thoughts?????????
... my heart is like JEWELS. I loved writing about child Julian and Aiden, lmfao they realllly hated each other like damn.
Anyways, I hoped you guys enjoyed this new year's gift, hopefully it's a nice way to leave 2019 and enter the new year.
Once again, thank you so much for all the love and support shown to Alpha Mates, I promised this gift whether I won the award or not because I am so grateful to you all for being with me for so long. Thank you.
Happy New Year, let's make 2020 our bitch.
Until next time,
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Humansssssssss
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