Page 122 of Simon

It was important to her father, and now, we were supposedly important figures because one day, we would be ‘souls that others looked up to’.

From a goat to a faun to a king?

The start of a kingdom?

I let out a huff, and Lucy pressed both of her hands to my face and squeezed. “You are going to be great. I can feel you stressing. We have many years to practice this stuff, okay, little faun?” she whispered.

I felt myself grow hard in my pouch and placed both my hands in front of me so it wouldn’t peek out. I didn’t need to have everyone staring at it if I was to be a leader one day.

“Okay, everyone out!” Calliope pranced inside the tent and grabbed my hand. “The bride needs to put on the dress, and I need to put all the flowers in the groom’s hair!”

I groaned and followed Calliope out of the tent. I looked one last time at my mate, who smiled and waved before I left her for the final time.

Never again did I want to be separated from her.

I stood at the front of a restless crowd, as I shifted from hoof to hoof. The scent of anticipation and a mixture of food and excitement filled the air.

To one side, I saw the regal figures of the king and queen, along with the rest of the shifters. A deep scowl etched the king's face, his brows furrowed menacingly. His eyebrow ring sparkled in the setting light sources. I found it difficult to tell if he was looking at me or if that was just his usual expression. I found it impossible to tear my eyes away from him, as his piercing stare seemed capable of obliterating me in an instant.

The queen’s sharp gaze caught his attention, causing her to grip his arm tightly. Her face contorted into a frown, and in response, his features softened. With a gentle nudge, his nose nuzzled against her shoulder, seeming to bring a sense of calmness to his body.

I swallowed heavily, feeling the dryness in my throat, and looked over to the other side of the crowd. The sight before me was overwhelming, a vast sea of orcs, their towering figures filling the space.

The air was thick with their presence, a distinct musky smell mixing with the scent of sweat and mead. Gods, they drank a lot.

Amidst the crowd, Thorn sat beside Ellie, the monster baby nestled on her lap. Thorn’s arms were crossed tightly, his glare piercing through me like a dagger. I could hear the faint murmur of voices and shuffling footsteps blending together into a low hum.

In a bold gesture, Thorn raises two fingers, pointing them directly at his eyes before directing them towards me, intensifying the palpable hostility. My heart pounded in my chest, and I instinctively stomped my hoof back on the small platform, which vibrated beneath me.

Valpar, sitting beside him, banged him on the head with his fist and shook his head. “Leave the fucker alone.”

Thorn grunted in annoyance, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

His lip curled up into a snarl.

Valpar smiled and tried to cover up his laughter.

While Valpar and I did not get along much, he knew how much his mate and I meant to each other. How much I was a friend to her for the years she was alone. He would do nothing to intentionally harm me. If he did, I would suspect it would be a brotherly sort of harm.

I grimaced.

As I turned my gaze towards the chair adjacent to him, my eyes registered the absence of Sugha’s presence. A perplexed expression furrowed my brow briefly, but I swiftly dismissed it as music filled my ears.

Rune stood up straight beside me, his once-tan robes darkened to a richer brown to match the bark of trees around us. The crowd, that was standing in the back due to the lack of chairs, parted. I waited to see if my mate was on the other side.

It wasn’t my mate who appeared first, instead it was Calliope. She wore a wispy flowered dress, carried a basket in her hand, and she threw flower petals down the aisle. Valpar stood and watched her, a possessive growl resonating over the crowd.

Calliope ignored him and continued to throw petals all over the ground, dusting the walkway for my mate. Once she finished, she hopped into Valpar’s lap, and he quickly wrapped her up inhis arms, a heated conversation beginning with how he didn’t like everyone watching what was his dancing down the aisle.

My lip twitched into a smile; the music restarted, and I noticed my Lucy was standing at the far end of the crowd. My breath caught in my throat when I took in her form.

My mate gracefully held an enormous bouquet of vibrant wildflowers that matched the colorful blossoms woven through my intricately braided hair. As I gazed at her, I noticed every detail: the way her dress flowed with the gentle breeze, the light material covering her breasts, and the way it hugged her soft body. It glowed softly when the light sources hit the material, making her shine brighter than anyone around her.

Her father stood proudly by her side, their eyes locked on each other for a moment as he patted her arm that was linked with his, only for her to look back at me. While a sea of curious eyes wandered, the crowd’s whispers were like the breeze. Amidst the gathering, her gaze found mine, drawing me in with its intensity, as if we were the only two souls in the world.

Flower petals fell from the trees, dancing around her and her father. She was a sight to behold, her hair done up similar to mine, a braid down her back and most of all, a flower crown around her horns. I couldn’t stop taking her in, not sure where to focus first. She was far too good for a soul like me.

I was a faun who didn’t have the strongest looking body, didn’t have the fiercest growl, a male that was still finding himself—yet she still looked at me.

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