Janice gifts her a pair of friendship bracelets, which she made herself and a beautiful journal, where she made the soft cover herself. It’s a very personal gift, which Flora is particularly happy about. She is always so grateful for everything someone does for her. Her credo is that as long as there is genuine effort behind it, she will cherish any gift. Trixie gives her some mysterious seeds from her own realm, while Samuel hands her a rare encyclopedia about werewolves and lycans. Jace made something really personal for her, and hands her a children’s book. “What is this?” Flora asks, curiously looking through it before she starts laughing. “I can’t believe you!” she exclaims.
“What type of book is it?” Janice peeks over her shoulder, reciting, “Adventures of the Princess and the Two Princes.”
“That’s what we were roleplaying when we were little kids,” Flora explains. “I will read this for my children one day!”
“It’s not the only thing I got for you,” Jace says, glancing at me.
“Jace and I restored some furniture Hazel still had in her shed. You know, for her future projects. We thought you would maybe like to have them.” I pause. “And then there is something else. Geneva and I did something…”
“Your mate really went all out,” Geneva says, amused. “I was getting envious of all his plans.”
“Me too,” Emilia chuckles.
I pull out a scroll, laying it out in front of Flora. “On it, you see the layout of a garden. We will make it adjacent to my mom’s. I know you love flowers and gardening, so I thought I would make the layout for you, and then have you choose plants to your liking. Geneva knows more about these things, so this is our joint gift.”
Flora stares at us, before she grabs my face and peppers me with kisses. “Goddess, get a room!” Vincent calls towards us.
“No, not until we have celebrated properly,” Janice intervenes. “They can have all the fun later.”
The others are not used to her making dirty jokes, especially not Samuel and Geneva, so we can’t help but burst into laughter at the funny situation.
It was Flora’s wish to just have a chilled garden party, so we do exactly that, playing some board games, while Vincent promises he will cook a barbecue later that evening. While everyone is distracted, and Flora and I sit together, Geneva and Emilia approach us again.
“Flora, we wanted to give you this in private,” Emilia says, pulling forward a neatly wrapped dress. “This is what Hazel wanted to give to you on this day.”
“What is this?” Flora asks, carefully unwrapping the dress. “This is…” she pauses. “Goddess, this is stunning.”
“It was your mother’s wedding dress,” Geneva explains. “Hazel kept it after she passed away.”
“It’s beautiful,” I say quietly, while looking at the intricate lavender fabric.
“Hazel was the one who sewed it back then,” Geneva explains. “And she wanted to adapt the dress for your Luna Ceremony, so you could wear something from both her and her mom.”
Flora has tears in her eyes while she hugs the dress to her chest. Geneva gently hugs her.
“Can I really wear this for my Luna Ceremony? Isn’t it too… too much?” Flora asks.
“Not at all,” I reassure her. “Wear whatever you want!”
“Then I want to wear it!” Flora sobs quietly. “It’s a part of Mom and Grandma.”
“Hazel said that Silverlake does not have a typical luna color,” Emilia says. “She wanted you to start your own tradition.”
Flora takes a shaky breath. “I will.”
“We’d better get this fitted and altered to your liking soon,” Geneva says softly.
“You really think Elden and I will have our Alpha and Luna Ceremony so soon?”
“It’s not just the Alpha and Luna Ceremony. In your case, it will be like an inauguration ceremony. A royal lycan heir takes over a pack with his fated mate. That’s a big deal, and not like a usual Alpha Ceremony,” she pauses. “And Samuel is pushing for it to happen fast.”
“I didn’t think he would do that,” I admit.
“He is a difficult man, who might be living by old-fashioned values,” Geneva says. “But he always wants to do right. And he is deeply disappointed in your father. Silverlake belongs toyou. And Samuel would rather die than not see it happen.” She pauses. “I hope you two are ready.”
We both exchange a look. “Not really.” Flora chuckles. “But we will still take over.”
“Exactly,” I agree.