A Mother Before A Mate
Chapter 30

I wake up, and Lexi is still sleeping beside me. The clock says 6:57 am. I never slept this late before Lex came along, but it's like everything about her calms me. I pull her closer to me and snuggle in from behind her. She stirs a little but doesn't wake up. I hold her close, and just take advantage of this moment. It seems like our lives are so busy, I don't get as much time like this as I'd like. I feel like I'm always craving her.

Today is the big day. I can't believe how quickly my life has changed, and how drastically. I hear Molly talking, and the clock says 7:18. I get up and slip some track pants and a t-shirt on. I turn off the monitor on Lexi's end table so we don't wake her up. When I open Molly's door, her face lights up when she sees me, "Daddee!" It puts a smile on my face every time I hear her call me Daddy.

"Good Morning, little bunny. Did you sleep well?" I ask. She nods, and then stands up and gets to the edge of the bed with her arms open, waiting for me to grab her.

When I get close enough, "Jump!" I encourage her, and she jumps off the bed and into my arms. Her little laugh fills the room. "Shunshine!" She reminds me. I hold her close and sing you are my sunshine to her. I change her diaper and get her all dressed, and then we head downstairs.

"Do you want some bacon and eggs, Molly?"

"Grin cheese, peas," she smiles. She is so cute.

"You had to use the 'please, didn't you? Daddy doesn't know how to make that, but I'll try," I explain. I grab my phone and google it. I found a recipe and looked at the comments, and it was basically all snarky comments about "Who doesn't know how to make a grilled cheese?" Assholes!

It does look pretty simple. Pro-tip, low and slow, it says. Okay. Once I have a few cooking, I get some watermelon out for Molly to eat and her sippy cup of milk. Lexi was saying how tired she was last night, so I'll let her sleep. I've got a grilled cheese prepped, and wrapped, so it will just take a few minutes for me to cook it when she comes down. I get a bowl of mixed fruit put aside for her as well.

After Molly and I are done, we go to the backyard. I get some clean water in Molly's water table for her, and then sit and answer some work emails. I also had some progress pictures sent from Gema. They look amazing so far. I'm so excited to surprise Lexi. "Bubbows Daddee, peas?" Molly's at my knee, trying to crawl up.

"You want bubbles?"

"Bubbows!" And I can't help but chuckle at her excitement.

"Let's go to the shed and get your bubble machine."

I carry her over and we replace the bubble machine. I set it up for her, and sit and watch her chase bubbles excitedly around the yard. I love how the smallest thing can bring such joy to a child. I hear the back door open, and Lexi comes out wearing one of my t-shirts, and some shorts barely peeking out from my shirt. Her hair is a little messier than it usually is, but she looks sexy.

"Hey! You didn't wake me! It's 9:30," she gapes.

I chuckle and motion her to come over and sit on my lap. "You were so tired last night, I figured you could use the extra sleep."

She sits sideways on me, with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair.

"How long have you guys been up?" She asks.

"Molly woke up around 7:30."

I hold her close and place kisses on her neck and cheek. If I had my way, I would spend far more time kissing her and her body. I'm not sure if she even notices she does this, but she leans into me, and my kisses and I love it.

"It was so quiet in the house when I woke up, I was wondering what was going on. Thank you for letting me sleep in. That was very sweet of you," she says and then nestles her face into my neck.

"You don't need to thank me for waking up with our girl," I remind her.

"I'm grateful though, so I'll say thank you when I want to," She adds with a smile, and give me a kiss.

"Mama!"

"I'll let you girls get your cuddle in, and I'll get you breakfast, and a coffee."

"You don't have to do that, I'll get something in a bit."

"I want to," I give her a kiss, and stand up, still holding Lexi in my arms. I sit her in the chair I was sitting in, "You look hot in my shirt, by the way," I add before I head inside.

After breakfast, Lexi and I lay on the couch together, and we put paw patrol on for Molly, and she plays with her toys while she watches it. "Your family is going to be here In a few hours, we should go and pick up the wedding bands. We don't have time to lie on the couch," I remind her

"Shhh!" She says, and then she kisses me. No other woman would be procrastinating ring shopping on their wedding day so they can make out on the couch in their PJ's.

"I really like you," she states while smiling at me.

"Like? How about love?" I question.

"Well, of course. I love you... so much, it's ridiculous, but liking is sweeter than loving sometimes, especially as the years go by. You can love someone and dislike them."

I understand what she's getting at. Liking the person that you love doesn't always go hand in hand. She pauses, and I see her smile, and her eyes look a little glossy. "My parents would always tell each other that they loved each other, but when one of them would say they liked the other, they would light up. It was like the ultimate compliment. They really liked each other a lot too," she chuckles. "They were grossing Lev and I out all the time, making out on the couch, and flirting with each other nonstop. You'd never think that they had been together 22 years," she chuckles.

"I guess that explains why you're so affectionate," I point out.

"Am I?"

"Yeah! You don't care who's around, it doesn't stop you from holding me, kissing me, looking at me like you're totally in love with me. I love it. You kiss me in front of Molly too, which I didn't know if you would, but you did right away. It makes sense that you grew up with affectionate parents. Mine were not. You've seen them; they talk nicely to each other, and I don't think I ever remember them arguing, but they are not the type to show affection in front of anyone. I've maybe seen them hug a handful of times, and maybe a quick peck on occasion. "I admit.

"Well, I wouldn't have kissed you in front of Mol if you were a rando. I guess I didn't realize that their relationship affected how I am as a mate. You know, it grossed us out growing up, but if I'm being totally honest, part of me liked it. Our house always felt so safe and full of love," she smiles.

"I wish I could have met them," I confess.

"Ugh, me too. They would have... LIKED you," she smiles, at her use of like instead of love.

"Well, duh! Everyone likes me!" I joke.

"Hey, you're just as affectionate as I am," she points out.

"Yeah, I'm a possessive Alpha. I want everyone to know you're mine." I admit, but she raises an eyebrow.

"You're Dad's an Alpha, and you're affectionate in front of everyone. Don't blame this on possessiveness. Maybe you just... like me," she beams, and I replace myself laughing.

"I do like you. I'm in like with you," I gush. She nods and smiles as she pulls me into a kiss. I want to lie here and just kiss and hold her all day. I love every minute with her, but I know we're on a timeline.

"Okay, let's go get ready, or we won't have rings to wear," I remind her.

She whines, but finally hears my plea and we get ready.

We finally made it to the jewelry store, and we picked out some wedding bands. Lexi has tiny fingers, so hers needed to be sized smaller. We paid a hefty rush fee, and they said they could have it done in 90 minutes for us, so the 3 of us went to lunch while we waited in town. It was 2:30 when we finally made it back home. Molly fell asleep on the way back home, so I put her in her bed. When I came downstairs, Lexi's friends and Lev were pulling in.

Lexi's Point of view

"They're here," I squeal and Jack laughs. I run outside and eagerly hug everyone. I missed them so much. After getting reacquainted with everyone, I invite them inside. Everyone was complimenting our home.

"Why don't we get a drink, and go in the backyard, so we don't wake Molly," I suggest. Sometimes we can get loud. Jack and I get everyone something to drink and we sit out back. It's such a beautiful day.

Jack pulled my chair as close as he could to his, so he could rest a hand on my leg. He always wants me close, and he always has to be touching me, which I love.

"Look at this, it's a perfect oasis," Grace says.

"It's Molly's happy place these days. Jack got it all set up right away when we got here with the sandbox and everything. She loves it back here," I admit, and give Jack an appreciative smile.

"So how is the transition?" Lev asks.

"It's been great. She doesn't seem to have had a difficult time. What do you think babe?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, it's like this is how we've always lived. She loves Jack, and it has been a really smooth transition. It definitely helped that Jack went above and beyond to welcome her. He had a dream bedroom done up for her. You'll have to see it after. It's so beautiful and she loves it, and then she has this backyard with all this fun stuff. So she's been living her best life," I chuckle and rub his hand that's still on my leg.

"Aww that's sweet," Cora says.

"Jack's the sweetest," I gush.

Everyone rolls their eyes except Jack. He just smiles, and leans over and gives me a little kiss.

"I like you," he says, and I smile so broadly. "I like you too!" I giggle.

"Shouldn't we be at 'love' if you two are getting married?" Jos asks.

"Liking is better than Love sometimes," Lev responds, and smiles. "I actually forgot about that until now," he admits.

We hang outside, and after an hour Molly wakes up and I run up to grab her. She didn't sleep long, so I hope she's not cranky. I sing her song to her, and she's extra snuggly and... cranky. I know everyone is going to be excited to see her, so it kinda sucks. I head outside, and everyone's saying hi to her, and she just ignores them.

"She didn't get much sleep, so she's kinda cranky," I warn them.

"Daddee," she whines, and her arms open up to Jack.

"Come here, little bunny," he says. He grabs her and holds her close. She relaxes in his arms, resting her head on his chest while he rubs her back. I wanted this so badly for her, and I'm so happy she has it. She feels safe and comforted in his arms like she can with no one else. I take my eyes off of the beautiful sight of my child and my mate, and I notice all of my friends, and Lev are wide-eyed staring at them. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing. It's just weird to see," Lev answers.

"It's great, but it's just surprising to see it happen so fast. They look like father and daughter," he says with surprise.

"We are," Jack rebuts gently.

"It's really sweet, I'm really happy for you all. Molly deserved a Dad, and it makes me so happy that she has a really good one now," Grace smiles. "Thank you, Grace!" Jack smiles.

At 4, Jack had a pack member come and show all of my family and friends their guest suites in the packhouse so they can get settled and then come back over to get ready with us at 4:30. I have hair and makeup ladies showing up, and Jack had ordered a huge spread of food for everyone to snack on to tide us over; Meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit, nuts, brie, veggies and dip were perfect to pick at.

The ladies tried to insist that Jack not see me once we start to get ready, but I paid no attention. I wasn't staying away from him for hours. I could see the relief on his face when I refused their suggestion. I don't think he liked the idea of it either. All-day, I've wanted to just spend time with him, and enjoy this day. Part of the perk of doing a small no-fuss wedding is that we could enjoy the day together. Not be apart and stressed.

The girls make the guys get ready downstairs, though. They insisted Jack didn't witness me get ready and instead see the end product. I had a shower while my ladies started to get their hair and makeup done. I made sure everything was perfectly manicured, and I was ready for my wedding night. Jack hasn't told me what we're doing, but I'm guessing he found a church for us to get married in, instead of a courthouse. Maybe we'll go out to dinner afterwards with everyone.

The girls and I are getting ready in our bedroom. Me, Jos, Cora, Grace, and Becka get ready together. My Cold Moon girls seem to get along well with Becka, which is nice. One of the hair stylists works with my natural loose curl, but adds a little more, and then does a half-up braid. It looks so wispy and elegant, and she adds some white flowery hair jewelry at the back where the braids come together. It looks beautiful. My makeup is done beautifully, and it's glammed up but still has a natural look to it.

At 6 pm, we're almost all ready. The ladies even had Jack bring Molly up a little earlier so she could get her hair done, just like mine.The ladies are dressed and look amazing. Then finally it's my turn. I pull my dress out of the bag, and I smile just looking at it. It's simple, but I love it and I hope Jack will too. It has thin straps, and it is a v neckline, but it's not too plunging. It's a form-fitting dress, but it flares out a little below my hips, so it really shows off my curves.

It's sexy but also classy. When I walk out of the bathroom, all of my ladies are excitedly telling me how beautiful I look. "Jack is going to DIE," Becka giggles. We don't have to leave for another half an hour, but I insist, since we're all ready, we go down with the guys and have some champagne before we leave. All the girls start to head down, and I replace myself a little nervous all of a sudden. Not to get married, I just hope Jack likes it. Then I hear Grace. "Jack, she's coming... brace yourself!" she warns. Great, no pressure.

I walk down the stairs and Jack's at the bottom of them. He looks so hot in his perfectly tailored black tux. When he sees me, his hand moves to his chest, like he's holding his heart, "Wow!" he mumbles.

Jack's smiling like I have never seen him smile before. He stretches out his hand to escort me off the last few stairs and pulls me into a hug.

"There aren't even words to describe how stunning you look. I'm the luckiest man in the world," he tells me and the love is evident all over his face.

"Thank you, babe! I'm the lucky one... You look so good in your tux," I whisper to him. He chuckles but shakes his head, and moves in to kiss me. It's very slow and tender but we soon hear people clearing their throats. I honestly forgot they were there. I don't even break the kiss, I use my hand to shoo them towards the kitchen, and I deepen the kiss. If I want to kiss my man, I'm going to. Especially on my wedding day.

After a minute, we break apart. Heads together, we catch our breath and take this moment to just be present with each other. "I love you more than I could ever explain," Jack's husky voice cuts through our silence.

"I know. My love for you is all-consuming and unlike anything I could even begin to describe," I admit.

"I'm so excited you're going to be my wife," he whispers, with the sexiest grin.

"I know, and you're going to be my husband," I beam. Jack and I share one more hug before we head into the kitchen.

"Are we going to be able to make it to the wedding or are you two lovebirds going to have to reschedule because you can't keep your hands off of each other?" Jett teases.

"I won't be embarrassed for loving on my man," I add with a cheeky smile. My friends just smile, and Jack pulls me closer to him. We all enjoy some champagne and hang out together while we wait for the last few of our guests to show up so we can all ride in the limos together.

When Jack's Aunt Sue and cousin Bradie walk in, there's an awkwardness, and then before I know it, we hear "MATE" out of Bradie's mouth and then Joscelyn's. I can't even help it, I'm jumping about in Jack's arms. I'm so happy. Jos will be moving to Black Moon. Jack's smiling; I know he loves to see me happy.

"You're getting my top 2 female warriors," Jett groans to Jack.

Jack laughs at the tortured look on Jett's face. Jos and Bradie escape to the backyard to get better acquainted, but when Jack's parents show up, we all head out. Jack, Molly and I travel with Becka, Alex, and their little guy because Molly didn't want to be separated from her little friend, Toby.