[[Wedding]]

[survivesitall]

Christmas Eve had seemed the perfect time to get married. Elena loved Christmas, a holiday she'd only come to celebrate as an adult and part of the Pack. This would be her first away from them; away from all of the effort Jeremy would go to, making sure Stonehaven was absolutely perfect. Here it was just Clayton and her, her hand drifting to her already curving belly at that thought. It would be their last Christmas alone, that was definite. But without the Pack, without Jeremy, it had made sense to them both that they try and make it as much a celebration as they could.

They'd decided to have the wedding at the house, clearing out the living room to make room for their friends. A crackling fire gave the room warmth, and the tree they had felled together stood proudly in the corner, covered with little lights but nothing else in the way of decoration. On the mantle there was a snow globe with two wolves in it, their only other Christmas decoration and a recent acquisition.

Elena wore the same dress that she'd worn to Hermione's wedding. Beaded and off-white, it didn't fit as well as it had then. By their count she was ten weeks pregnant, but already she looked closer to four months. She didn't care about that, she would have been happy getting married in jeans. The celebrant spoke of simple things; committment and love. Elena knew that they had that already. She knew that in the nearly thirteen years since they'd first come together they'd been through more than most couples could ever dream of. Being turned into a wolf, kidnapping, magic attacks, killer mutts... The list went on and on and that didn't include the things that they'd done together.

When she said I do she could feel the tears welling, and for once she didn't care about that either. She'd grown up needing to be strong and tough, and finally she could let another side of herself show. The side that was scared for what they were getting into, but loved Clayton completely and wouldn't want to have her life without him.

She kissed him and heard the cheers of their friends. It was done. They were now Mr and Mrs Danvers.

Comments

[modern_alpha]

It was just like Lord Maccon's pack at his wedding, all of them changing shape and circling around their alpha and his new bride, singing their joy. It seemed right that at least one howler present to sing.

"That was lovely," Biffy assured him, sitting down across from the wolf and wishing his change could come easily enough for him to communicate properly.

[triskehale]

This a new wolf, one that Derek hasn't met yet, and he eyes him warily as he sits down. His experiences with meeting new wolves in Darrow have all gone well, but he's had enough bad experiences to make him a bit cautious. This one seems friendly enough and Derek flicks his tail, leaning in a bit to sniff and familiarize himself with his scent.

He nods in agreement and looks at Clayton and Elena with longing that's evident even on this face. Someday he'd like to have something like what they have. It just isn't going to happen for him, he doesn't think.

There isn't any easy way to communicate in this form so he reaches down to grip the strap of his pack in his teeth, tugging it free so that it falls to the ground. He pats his paw against the ground twice, hoping it conveys wait here well enough, and trots off to find a private place to change.

A few minutes later he comes back over in jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot with messy hair, and lowers himself back down to the man.

"I'm Derek," he tells him, and his voice is rough from misuse.

[modern_alpha]

Well goodness. Biffy wasn't sure where to start, be it with the man's impressive physique or with his absolutely appalling outfit. Really, he was well aware that shifting could do horrors to one's wardrobe, but really this was a wedding. He was barefoot. Barefoot!

Rather than voice such critiques, Biffy simply rose to his feet to meet the man's eyes properly. "Biffy."

[triskehale]

It doesn't even occur to Derek that his outfit could be seen as disrespectful. He was raised in a small pack who ran around naked all the time, so he doesn't think much of being barefoot. The man in front of him is dressed nicely and Derek can't help the way he raises an eyebrow at his name, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"Good to meet you," Derek says gruffly, holding out his hand for a shake. His eyes flicker red for a moment because he's been on his own in the woods for quite some time now and being around so many other wolves is a little overwhelming, but he blinks and they're just hazel again. "Been here long?"

[modern_alpha]

Having spent all of his life with an eye to fashion and working as a personal shopper now, Biffy spent far more time fixated on a person's dress than was strictly necessary. It did not distract him from the way the man's eyebrow rose at his name. It was not uncommon and he was, himself, aware that it was hardly an imposing name for a werewolf but he kept it. The nickname had been his first gift from Lord Akeldama and he refused to part with that facet of his identity.

"A few weeks only," he said. The flash of red filled Biffy with a brief, odd desire. Had it lasted any longer, he would have bowed his head in instinct, exposing the back of his neck in a show of abeyance.

[triskehale]

Derek notices the uptick in the other wolf's heart when his eyes flash, and it makes the animal, alpha part of him want to exert his power, make the other wolf bare his neck and obey, sink his teeth in and claim. His gums itch with the urge to drop his fangs, and his eyes glow bright red as he tries to get himself in control. He's been an alpha without a pack for far too long, embracing his animal side and living wild, so it takes him a moment.

This wolf isn't his beta, and he has no right to try and make him his, but he finds himself craving that power, that pack connection. He takes a breath in through his mouth and swallows hard, blinking slowly. Between one blink and the next his eyes go from red to hazel, but he's still exuding power, and alpha.

God, he really has been in the woods too long. He clears his throat and tries to ignore the tension. "A little over a year and a half for me. How are you settling in?"

[modern_alpha]

It prickles at Biffy, the need to obey an alpha, but it scrapes at him. Alpha this wolf may be, but they are not of the same pack and he is not Lord Maccon. Resolutely, he remains upright, smile fixed politely.

"I'm managing, I would say. I've found an employment and friends."

[triskehale]

Derek truly isn't intending to exert his power over the other wolf, and part of him wants to apologize but he's an alpha. He can't really help it. All he can do is push the wolf aside as best he can.

"That's good," Derek tells him. The way Biffy speaks makes Derek think he may have come from another time, and it makes him curious. "Where did you come from? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

[modern_alpha]

Regardless, Biffy still felt defensive. If he were in wolf shape and any kind of fighter, he might have sought to assert his strength and the strength of his own alpha. Odd how that was the most pride he'd had in being part of the Woolsey Pack when most of his own packmates didn't quite know what to do with a vampire's dandy turned wolf.

"London," he said. "1873."

[triskehale]

"Huh. Must have been quite the culture shock." Derek straightens up a little, reacting to the tension coming off of Biffy. He really doesn't want any trouble, and he does his best to tamp down on his instincts. "But hey, electricity."

[modern_alpha]

"Indeed," Biffy agreed, readily taking the opportunity to achieve an at-least temporary calm. "There had been much hope for its potential in my time but I doubt any of us could have envisioned this."