#Chapter 36: Ties That Bind

ELENA Weddings were supposed to be joyful. Uplifting. Not nerve-wracking and vaguely horrifying. I adjusted Aiden’s little bow tie for the third time as he stood in the staging room just off the chapel’s main aisle, looking far too calm for someone about to be paraded in front of a hundred people. Meanwhile, I was a wreck. I hadn’t attended a wedding since my own to Derek six years ago, and the memories of that day… Needless to say I wasn’t exactly a wedding person anymore, if I ever had been one. Dawn had assured me that Derek—nor anyone from Silverclaw—had been invited. Dawn’s small pack was an ancient ally of Moonstone and they had no love for Silverclaw. And while I knew he wouldn’t be here, I still didn’t relish time spent in big social situations and gatherings like this one. I ran my fingers nervously over the scar on my eyebrow. “Does this thing make my neck look weird?” Aiden asked, tugging at the tie and bringing me back to the present. “No. You look perfect