#Chapter 55 – Claiming

The day of the claiming dawns bright and clear. I am almost woozy with lack of sleep, having spent the whole night – as promised – tearing apart Amelia’s table cloth and making it into something new.

I caught a few hours of sleep, just before dawn, but now I’m up, showered, and ready to face the day. In the soft yellow light of morning I lift the linen dress up over my head and let it slip down over the length of my body, falling all the way to the floor.

Ultimately, I decided on a very simple pattern. My dress is almost Grecian in its drape. Its simple lines fall from my shoulders to the floor with a slight hitch at the waist, my arms left bare. I study myself in the mirror, pleased with the result. It’s simple, but it’s elegant. And I look damn good in it.

Smiling, I bustle from my room and hurry to open the door to the boys’ bedroom. “Alvin, Ian –“ I call and then stop short when I see them standing in the middle of their room, dressed in their posh little white suits, Alvin quietly straightening Ian’s tie.

“What – what are you two doing up?”

“We couldn’t wait,” Ian says, smiling at me.

“We couldn’t sleep all night, we’re so excited,” Alvin says, finishing with his brother and striking a pose for me. “How do we look.”

“You two look amazing,” I say, meaning every word of it. I stretch out my hands for them and we head down the stairs. “Now we just have to figure out how to feed you without getting lucky charm stains all over your clean clothes…”

community, of culture. The moonlight is the space

white, so much so that it almost looks like a little alpine village, covered in snow. Beautiful white orbs hang from the trees; at night, they will be lit as lanterns so that we can all celebrate under their soft

edge of the property, by the trees through which you can see my own little cottage standing cheerily by. The rest of the guests – there are tons of them – gather around us,

the ceremonial circle are those whom Victor has deemed most important to our task today, everyone dressed in white (I guess they all got the memo). I scan the faces all around us and am pleased when I see that Edgar is in the circle.

know to be Victor’s contemporaries – important faces I’ve seen on television but never, before, in person. Men who I assume I would have met as Joyce’s bride,

and a very small bow. I smile back at him. Willard is the Alpha of a very small, new, progressive, and relatively unimportant pack. Did Victor

dressed in a gorgeous white pantsuit. I was pleased when Victor told me that she would be running the ceremony – she’s important for him, politically, and I personally quite like her

Annabeth continues, her voice strong and steady. “Long separated by time, distance, and misunderstanding, they have come together today

towards Annabeth and stop when Victor stands at her right hand and Alvin and Ian stand at

I notice the circle close together behind them so that we are again united. Amelia is in the center of that group, gorgeous in her white strapless ballgown. Every inch the

ground at her feet. “you

take a few steps so that they’re

can tell that his heart is very much in his throat. “From

and flesh, the unbreakable commitment of a father to his sons.” With

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