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Trinity
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The slightly French accented voice brought the conversation to a screeching halt. We all seemingly turned in unison, toward the man who had spoken. There were a dozen people in long black cloaks standing at the far edge of the yard, just under the cover of the trees near the driveway. Their scents were masked by the mass amount of guests as well as the trees. But there still seemed to be something off about their smell.
"We seem to have new guests." Reece's voice was calm and welcoming but I could also detect a certain amount of anger and leadership mixed in as well. "Who might we have the pleasure of meeting with today?"
"Greetings to you, I am Gabriel Abadie, the Watcher from the Sentinelle, it is a pleasure to meet you, the Consort to the Goddess."
"Can you explain a little more please? I have never heard of the Sentinelle, and I am most definitely not the consort to the Goddess."
"Have you not married her this very day?" The man asked as he walked forward, the others followed after him.
Seeing these unknown group of people walk forward all of my guards rose from their seats and speedily moved to stand around Reece and myself. Even Emmalee, Dietrich, Rawlynne, and Jackson joined the guards protecting us. The group stopped when they were a little more than halfway to us.
"We mean you no harm. I am sincerely sorry for any concern our sudden arrival may have caused."
"What exactly are you after?" Noah demanded as he stood beside Reece, taking his Beta role seriously.
"As I have already stated, I am the Watcher, the highest authority within the Sentinelle."
"What is the Sentinelle?" I asked the man.
"In short, the job of the Sentinelle has been to wait, and search, for you." He looked at me with an intense look.
"Me?" I looked around nervously. "Why?"
"You stay away from my wife." Reece stepped in front of me protectively.
"Again, we are not here to cause harm." Gabriel told him. "We are an organization who has been looking for the next incarnation of the Moon Goddess." These words sent a shock through the entire wedding. "You, Trinity Gray, are the new incarnation of the Goddess. This is her second reincarnation since she lived two thousand years ago."
"I think you might be mistaken, I cannot be the Goddess." I denied.
"What reasons do you have to believe we are wrong?" Another member of the group asked as he finally spoke up. "We Seekers search the world for the Goddess, we know that you are the one we have been looking for." This man's voice was not quite as accented as Gabriel's.
"What reasons do you have for thinking she is?" Reece demanded.
"Consort, there are many reasons. We know that she has been goddess blessed with a mark much more special than anyone who has ever been mate marked before. We know that she has powers beyond that of any normal wolf. She is a special being, brought about to make great changes and lead the wolves as the new Goddess and the Luna Queen." At these words the dozen men and women that had approached us knelt to the ground, kneeling before me as if I truly were a queen.
A hush fell over everyone present. All I could see as I looked around those closest to me were wide eyed stares and mouths gaping open.
"How do you know all of that?" Reece asked the group that called themselves Sentinelle."
"Our organization has been around since the days of the original Goddess. We have been tasked with passing along the information the Goddess herself shared with her children. It is our job to awaken the power that is within the Goddess Incarnate." Garbriel sounded so sincere as he spoke.
"Awaken it how?" Carter demanded.
"Through training and enlightenment. We must pass on the knowledge we have kept ready and waiting for her, and help her forge on ahead. We are honored to be in your presence Goddess, and we within the Sentinelle are here to serve as your loyal subjects. We will be the first to join the ranks of your Goddess Guard."
"Goddess Guard?" I was so confused, seriously what the hell is going on here?
"Your personal army, my Goddess, my Queen, we are yours to command."
"This needs further discussion." Reece growled. "Gabriel was it?" The man lifted his head and nodded as he looked at my mate. "Please, kindly take your leave for now. We would like to finish with our festivities here. Could you please come back tomorrow?"
"Yes, Consort, we will be back anytime you would like. I am sure that Queen Trinity knows exactly how to summon us." He smiled in my direction as he stood up. "Until tomorrow." He nodded his head and the twelve looming figures turned and took their leave.
"Reece, you're not seriously going to listen to this are you?" Noah questioned in an angry tone.
"Drop it for now Noah, I want to enjoy my wedding day." Reece looked weary and tired after the day's events.
I wanted to bring things back to the main focus for the day, even though I couldn't get the thought of those people out of my head.
"Well it definitely has been an eventful day, huh." I chuckled lightly. "We've had a wedding, two matings, and an unexpected arrival. This wedding will definitely be hard to top." I plastered on a fake smile that had been practiced for years, no one could see my true feelings, except perhaps Reece who was looking at me with concern filled eyes.
Believe it or not, we did manage to get the wedding going again. Once the excitement of that little interruption settled back down we moved onto my first dance with Reece as a married couple. The dance floor, which had previously had a few couples taking advantage of it was cleared so that everyone in attendance could watch our dance.
Reece took my hand and helped me to my feet. He unclasped my cape and slid it off of shoulders. Now that I was free of the long train he pulled me along with him to the dance floor. Tugging me close to him, he wrapped his left arm around my waist while holding onto my right hand with his. I could see the love and heat filled desire in his eyes.
The song started slow, but just at the beginning, 'Always Remember Us This Way' by Lady Gaga began to play. Reece led me around the floor, holding me tight with a clear reluctance to let me go.
Just as the song really got going he whispered into my ear.
"Remember the first time we danced together?" I could practically hear the smile in his voice. I blushed at his words because I did remember, and it was also the night of another first.
"I remember." I spoke with my face buried in his chest to hide my embarrassment.
"I never told you this, but I was already head over heels in love with you by then." His deep, rumbling voice brought goosebumps to my arms as I shivered from the vibrations of his words moving through me.
"I never told you, but I was madly in love with you then too."
"I can never describe to you, or anyone, how happy I am that I got to be your first and now last of everything. Your first dance, your first kiss, your first time, everything. When I met you, it was like I became a new man. The old me didn't exist anymore, and this new me experienced so many firsts with you as well. I will never be able to thank the Goddess enough for bringing us together." I looked him in the eyes as he spoke.
The words of the song had faded into the background. I could only vaguely tell that there was music still playing. I could only hear, only see, only feel Reece. Everything else in the world seemed to fade away entirely. The familiar tingle on my lips was back, the one I felt when I truly wanted to kiss this man. Reece noticed the desire in my eyes as well. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. Soft and gentle, yet so full of tender love. What I felt for him more than doubled with that kiss alone. It was quick and chaste, but the kiss had my heart racing like no other kiss I had ever had.
I hadn't truly noticed that the music had stopped, I only noticed the song was over when the applause began to thunder around us. The sound of the hands clapping brought me back to reality. Reece ran his hands along my arms until he reached my hands, which he bent and kissed the backs of before leading me off the dance floor.
After our first dance it was time mother/son and father/daughter dances. I watched as Reece walked over to Lila who had a beautiful smile on her face. He hugged his mother and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. Taking her hands he led her to the dance floor.
While I watched, Dad came up to me.
"May I have this dance?" He asked, making me smile broadly.
"I thought you'd never ask." I giggled at him. Dad led me to the dance floor as well and took my right hand to guide me through the steps.
"If it wasn't for you, Trinity, I never would have been able to walk a daughter down the aisle or have a dance with her." He had tears in his eyes as he spoke. "I still can't believe you're old enough for this sometimes. But you're an amazing woman, I'd like to hope that I had something to do with that." His smile was dazzling right then.
"You and Mom have everything to do with it." I leaned forward and put my cheek against his chest. I heard the slight sniffling coming from above me and knew that he couldn't contain the tears in his eyes any longer.
"I love you Trinity." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight as we stepped and swayed around the floor.
When the song was over, I had one more person I wanted to dance with. I took Grandfather's hand and asked him to dance with me. I know this gave me one dance more than Reece, but I know this one was just as important to him as it was me. Grandfather had missed out on so much.
The song 'I Loved Her First' by Heartland began playing. I didn't know if the song had any special meaning to Grandfather, but I knew it was perfect to play here, because my grandfather had loved me before I was born. And aside from Dad, who then was just going to be an uncle, Grandfather was the first father figure who loved me. I knew now that he was strict only to keep me safe my whole life, and for that I would be eternally grateful. And as the song played on, I saw the love in his eyes glistening with the tears he could no longer hold back.
"I love you Grandfather." I smiled at him as I hugged him tight.