Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) (25 page)

everything with. I realized at that moment how truly blessed I was to be surrounded by such great women who’ve enriched my life so tremendously.

I found myself unconsciously rubbing my stomach and the babies that lay hidden there. I gasped at the sudden awareness of my action and

turned to meet my mother’s curious gaze. I smiled, hoping to cover up my mistake. She smiled back, and it was a very pleasing smile. Did she

know? Yes, I think so, and in that brief moment we shared a feeling of total happiness between us.

Once the music started, Ashley and I both took an arm of her father, Russel , her on his left, and I on his right, as he escorted us down the

aisle toward the gazebo where our dashing men awaited us. Our bridesmaids were lined up to the left of the gazebo, Stacy, Delaney, Missy, Tara,

and Tosha, and to the right were Levi’s best men, Joseph, Eli, Josh, Toby, and Hector.

I couldn’t seem to wrap my brain around how many people were present. I spotted some kids from school. Selena and Jessie Domingo

were sitting three rows from the front, Selena was crying. Chase and Razz were there, giving me thumbs up. Even some of our teachers were

present, and some of them were crying.

Am I missing something? Did they convert this wedding into a funeral without my knowledge?
The tears were al forgotten, however, once I

spotted my dashing knight, standing inside the gazebo, hands overlapped, and face beaming. He was wearing the same tux as our first wedding,

but he looked even more delicious, if that were even possible.

Russel deposited us at the foot of the gazebo steps, kissed my hand and Ashley’s cheek, and turned to join her mother seated in the front

row. Our men took our hands and gently pul ed us into position alongside them as Pastor Frazier began.

The ceremony was short but sweet, and soon we were walking down the aisle, Ashley and Josh first. After al , this was real y al about them.

Our wedding was just for pretense purposes.

The party lasted for hours. We ate in the park under canopies, and afterwards we danced on a dance floor setup under tents, protecting us

from the sun and heat.

The wedding singer had the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard, but when I found out her name was Lana, I went to painstaking extremes to

steer Levi clear of her. He got the biggest kick out of it. He loved it when I was jealous, but that was only because he didn’t know what I was ful y capable of if need be.

Jordan interrupted our dance. “Levi! I think there’s about to be a fight! You’d better come!”

What we found confused us. Tosha was trying to hold Grandmammy back with al her strength as she tried to strangle Mr. Bones, of al

people.

“What’s going on here?” Levi demanded.

“Leroy, you need to do some’m about that skinny, old man walkin’ pass my room last night yel in’, ‘The wise woman builds her house, but

with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down’. I’m gonna be tearin’ some’m of his down if he don’t steer clear!”

“Calm down, Grandmammy. Mr. Bones is this true?”

He nodded, but said, “A fool gives ful vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

“I know that fool didn’t just cal me a fool! I’l show you a fool!” Grandmammy said, struggling again.

Hector instantly stepped in to take Tosha’s place. It’s a good thing too. I’m not so sure Tosha could’ve held Grandmammy back much longer.

Levi looked at Mr. Bones. “You know, you could help me out here.”

He nodded, but said, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”

Uh oh
. We al held our breath.

“Wait! Wait!” Grandmammy yel ed. “What did you just cal me? Did you cal me…..beautiful?” Her face was suddenly beaming. “Mr. Bones,

would you like to dance?”

He smiled but said nothing as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like the crisis had passed—for the moment, but with Grandmammy you never knew what was

coming next. I knew she didn’t mean to cause trouble. She was stil trying to find her place in the pack, and she would.

Once al the drama was settled, the realization that Raven was missing dawned on me. But Raven’s absence couldn’t be helped. We tried to

plan it for evening but there were too many factors involved. Raven said he understood and I knew he meant it. Somehow I pictured him not al that

excited about seeing Levi and I marrying anyway. But I was stil a little sad nonetheless, but not enough to ruin my day.

I was relieved to have the wedding behind me. I loved being able to share my wedding day with Josh and Ashley, but I was anxious to get on

with my life and real y enjoy being a wife in public, and in front of my mom. More importantly, I could enjoy being pregnant, and eventual y I’d be able to share that with her as wel .

Like Levi promised me, we spent the fol owing week on our honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina. We couldn’t real y have a honeymoon

the first time around due to school…..and my mother.

We stayed in this lovely Victorian Bed & Breakfast. I instantly fel in love with the place. For one thing, they had these ginormous claw foot

tubs in al the bedrooms. It made me want to move there and start a B & B myself.

For the most part we stayed in bed, or the tub, the whole week. When we did venture out, we toured the sights and sat in the rocking chairs

on the cozy front porch, drinking gourmet coffee and eating homemade cookies.

We stayed up late and talked for hours about everything from his duties as alpha to names for our babies. Of course we couldn’t agree. I

watched with felicity as he spoke of our future with our baby boys. He painted a lovely picture of utter bliss, and at his words, I al owed hope to spring forth life. He took my hand in his and rubbed it with excitement as he talked about how he’d teach them al he knows of virtues, such as

honor, loyalty, respect, and kindness. He’d teach them how to love and cherish a woman some day and to keep God the center of the relationship.

I smiled as I studied him, so relaxed and at ease. The weight of his world was temporarily off his shoulders, and he was enjoying himself

completely without any interruptions. I fel in love with him al over again. We had sil y conversations about our favorite things. I hadn’t realized until that moment that I didn’t even know his favorite color. I knew his heart and soul but not the little things. Of course, he knew mine.

In the early morning of the third day, I felt Levi lift me in his arms and carry me out the door and to the car. I slowly woke as I recognized where we were headed. I took a deep breath of contentment as my eyes quickly settled on the ocean. I giggled as Levi lifted my in his arms, carrying me

from the car to the shore.

“I’m awake now, husband.”

He smirked. “Yes, I know.”

He shuffled through the sand a little way before sitting me on my feet, only to plop down, pul ing me down in front of him. I snuggled close

against his chest as he planted kisses on my neck and ear. He pointed to the horizon just as the sun began to peek. It was breathtaking, in lovely

swirls of pink and yel ow. I couldn’t resist as I jumped to my feet, lifting my gown as I ran into the surf up to my knees, splashing around like a child seeing the beach for the first time. Oh how I missed the ocean. I hadn’t been since my father died when I was 14. I glanced back to Levi and

laughed as I noted the camera in his hands. He’d been snapping off pictures of his bride frolicking like a child in the surf. He was amused.

Suddenly I stopped, frozen by the loving gaze in his eyes. I could make it out clearly even from our distance, and it stopped my heart. I felt

warmth spread throughout my entire body causing my face to flush. I thought I saw a flash of yel ow in his eyes, but I could’ve been mistaken. As I stood in the cool surf, frozen by the intensity of his piercing gaze, I felt a strange force pul ing me forward. One by one, my feet began to move—one step, then two as I inched out of the surf and toward the shore. Did Levi understand what was happening? It only took a few moments to realize that Levi was the draw. There was a magnetic force coming from him—drawing me in like a fish on a line. And there was no fighting it—nor did I want

to. It was a moment so powerful it was hard to neither deny— nor forget. There was such an energy surging through me as I stopped in front of him,

gazing down at him in awe.
He is the magnet now, and I am the steel.
In a flash I was on my back, laying in the sand, with Levi towering over me, his lips doing amazing things to mine. I was at peace knowing we were alone on the beach and that Levi could hear long before anyone

approached. He made love to me on the beach that morning and from that moment on I never quite felt the same. It was as if unknowingly he

passed something to me—a power—an authority, something I didn’t possess before then. It was a defining moment in my new life as wife, mother-

to-be, and alpha female.

During our meals we got to know the owners of the B & B fairly wel , a lovely couple in their fifties. They said we were the most charming and

in love couple they’d ever encountered before, even saying we reminded them of a fairytale couple.
Boy, if they only knew how close they were on
that one,
Levi being a fairytale creature and all.
Me—I was just a helpless victim who fel into the right arms at the right time.
Or is that the right
arms at the wrong time? Or is that the wrong arms at the wrong time?
Either way I was completely and incandescently happy. Nothing could

extinguish my joy at that very moment in time……nothing.

“Are you al packed and ready to go?”

Except that.

I sighed. “Yes, but can’t we stay just a few more days, please?”

“Charity, I’ve already told you. We have to get back. With Josh on his honeymoon too, I can’t leave Eli in charge for very long. What if

something happened?”

“What can happen? Besides, Joseph is with him.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I want to stay too. It’s been the best experience of my life being here with you, but I feel a cal ing to get back. I just can’t

ignore it.”

I smirked mischievously, patting the bed for him to join me. “Not even for a few more hours?”

He dropped his suitcase with a loud thud and smiled. “Oh, I suppose they can manage without me for a few more hours.”

Everything was just as we left it at the Drake House, but everyone was acting like we’d been gone a year instead of a week. And as soon as

we were in the door, Joseph, Irena, Doc, Tara, Eli, and even Raven surrounded us, each one bombarding us with problems that had occurred while

we were away, pul ing us off into the dining room. But once we stepped inside, at least thirty people jumped out of hiding, and yel ed, “Welcome

back!” The room was decorated to the hilt, with food everywhere. One thing about werewolves—they’d make any excuse to celebrate.

Levi was more relieved than happy to be back. It was in his nature as alpha to want to protect his pack. That relief was evident on his

beautiful y rested face. I spotted Fang curled up in the corner of the room. I wondered why he hadn’t greeted us. That was so unlike him. Then it

dawned on me that most likely Raven had silenced him. So far, the only thing Fang barked at was Raven. He couldn’t even enter a room without

setting the dog off. Raven often used his Jedi Mind Trick to silence him.

Ashley and Josh were returning from the Outer Banks later in the week. I couldn’t wait to hear how their trip went. Of course, if I knew how to

text I would’ve already known, but oh wel .

Regardless of the fact that Ashley was moving into the Drake House once they returned, we were stil keeping our awesome apartment. It

was the perfect refuge to disappear to on the nights of the ful moon. We also decided to get together there, just the two of us, for a new tradition—

weekly girl time.

My phone rang. I looked down and recognized my mom’s number. “Hey, Mom. Yeah, we just arrived. Oh, you’re coming over?” I shot Levi a

panic look. “Of course it’s okay. I can’t wait to see you. Okay—I’l see you in about thirty minutes. I love you too.”

Levi grabbed our bags. “We better get going if we’re going to beat her there.”

I nodded as we left the room, and al our friends who’d gathered there, and headed back to the garage.

“Wow, Levi! This is a wonderful house,” my mom said in her sweet but curious voice. “How did you say you came by it again?”

“My parents gave it to me as a wedding gift. They have a house a few blocks away. This house has been in our family for a long time. It

belonged to my grandparents, once upon a time.”

“That’s lovely. It must be very special to you then?”

“Yes. I have very fond memories playing here as a child. I’m afraid we don’t have anything to offer you to drink since we just arrived back. I

apologize.”

“Nonsense. I was hoping I could treat the two of you to dinner tonight.”

“That would be nice. Don’t you think so, Charity?”

“Um, yes. That’l be great. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, and I want to hear al about Charleston.”

“Your mom seems suspicious. Are you sure she doesn’t know you’re pregnant? If I didn’t know better I’d say she was waiting for us to

confess or something.”

“I think you’re right. She did seem suspicious. I’m not total y sure if she knows. I think it’s possible, but I’m afraid to tel her. I don’t want her to be disappointed in me. She’l think we were having sex before we were married.”

“Wel , why don’t we just wait and see what happens. In another month or so we’l tel her. Having triplets is a good excuse for you to start

showing sooner.”

“That’s true. But how wil she know we’re having triplets?”