The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 154

Tristan

"I want everyone to see how much I love you, how proud I am that you chose me."

Her eyes got a bit misty and she smiled that soft smile that made my heart do things.

"Really?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Really," I confirmed, taking her hand in mine. "Why? What kind of wedding do you want?"

Her whole face lit up in a way I'd never seen before and she sat up straighter, like she'd been waiting her whole life for someone to ask her this question and actually mean it.

"Okay so," she said, speaking faster now with excitement.

"My dream wedding has always been huge, like really huge, with everyone we know there and beautiful decorations and just this massive celebration where everyone can see how happy we are."

"That sounds perfect," I said, loving how animated she was getting, how her hands were moving as she talked, how her eyes were shining with possibilities.

"But here's the thing," she continued, leaning forward like she was sharing a secret.

"I've always wanted to do both ceremonies, like a proper mating ceremony at night under the full moon with the pack, all traditional and meaningful with the ancient rituals and the bonding and everything.

And then the next day we do a regular human wedding during the day so that any human friends can come and celebrate with us too."

She was practically vibrating with excitement now and I found myself grinning at how happy this was making her, at how much thought she'd clearly put into this over the years.

"That sounds amazing," I said sincerely.

"Really?" she asked, her excitement dimming slightly like she was worried I'd say no or tell her it was too much.

"Because I know it's a lot, doing two ceremonies, and it would be expensive and time consuming and we'd have to coordinate so much and make sure everyone could attend both and."

"Let's do it," I interrupted, unable to let her talk herself out of what she clearly wanted so badly.

She stopped mid sentence and stared at me like she hadn't heard correctly. "What?"

"Let's do it," I repeated, squeezing her hand. "The mating ceremony at night, the human wedding during the day, the huge celebration with everyone we know, all of it, let's do exactly what you want, every single detail."

"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper now like she was afraid if she spoke too loud I'd change my mind.

"You're not just saying that to make me happy?"

"I'm completely serious," I said, using my free hand to cup her face. "I told you I want the world to know I'm marrying you, what better way than to have two ceremonies and invite everyone we know?

We'll do the traditional mating ceremony for the pack, honor our heritage and our wolves, and then we'll do the human wedding for everyone else, show the whole world that you're mine and I'm yours."

"Tristan," she breathed, and tears were forming in her eyes now, spilling over and running down her cheeks.

I wiped them away with my thumb. "Why are you crying?" I asked confused.

"Because I never thought I'd get this," she said, her voice breaking.

"With Daxon, anytime I mentioned wanting a big wedding he'd shut it down, said it was a waste of money, said we didn't need all that attention.

Said a small ceremony was more meaningful, but really he just didn't want people to see us together, didn't want to make that kind of public commitment."

My jaw clenched at the mention of Daxon but I forced myself to stay calm, to focus on Athena and what she needed right now.

"I'm not Daxon," I said firmly. "I want everyone to know you're mine, I want to shout it from the rooftops, I want two ceremonies and a thousand guests if that's what makes you happy."

She let out a watery laugh. "I don't need a thousand guests."

"But if you wanted them, I'd make it happen," I said.

She launched herself at me then, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me hard, I caught her and held her close, kissing her back with everything I had.

When she finally pulled back we were both breathing hard and she was smiling so wide it looked like it hurt.

"I love you so much," she said. "So much it's kind of ridiculous."

"I love you too," I said. "Now tell me everything you've imagined for these weddings."

Her eyes lit up even more if that was possible. "Really? You want to hear all of it?"

"Every detail," I confirmed.

"Okay so," she said, settling more comfortably in my lap.

"For the mating ceremony I've always pictured it in a clearing in the woods, somewhere with old trees and natural beauty.

We'd have it at night obviously under the full moon because that's traditional, and there would be torches lighting the path and maybe some flowers but nothing too elaborate because it should feel natural and connected to the earth."

I was nodding along, already able to picture it.

"The pack would form a circle around us," she continued, her hands moving as she described it.

"And we'd do the traditional vows and the blood binding and the moon blessing, I want it to be meaningful and spiritual and connect us to our heritage and our wolves."

"That sounds beautiful," I said honestly.

"And then the next day," she said, her excitement building again.

"We'd do a completely different kind of wedding, something bright and celebratory with lots of flowers and music and dancing.

Maybe in a garden or a beautiful estate somewhere, with a big reception and dinner and cake and all the traditional human wedding stuff."

"Two completely different experiences," I said, understanding now why she wanted both. "One for our wolves and one for our human sides."

"Exactly," she said, looking relieved that I got it. "Is that weird? Wanting both?"

"Not at all," I assured her. "It makes perfect sense, we're both human and wolf, why shouldn't our wedding reflect that?"

She smiled and kissed me again, softer this time. "You're perfect, you know that?"

"I'm really not," I said. "But I'm glad you think so."

"The only thing is," she said, and I heard hesitation creep into her voice. "Two ceremonies means twice the planning, twice the coordination, twice the stress."

"Which brings me to my one condition," I said.

Her face fell slightly. "What condition?"

"You can't be fully involved in the planning," I said gently.

"What?" she said, pulling back to look at me with confusion and hurt. "Why not? It's my wedding."

"Our wedding," I corrected. "And you can absolutely have input on everything, you can make all the big decisions about what you want.

But the actual running around and coordinating and stressing, that's what we have Sarah and Leah for, they'll love helping and they're both great at organizing."

"But," she started.

"Athena, you're pregnant with twins," I said, taking both her hands in mine.

"Mara and the doctor said you need to rest and not stress yourself out, wedding planning is incredibly stressful. I've heard Sarah talk about it when she was helping friends plan theirs, she said it nearly drove her crazy and she wasn't even the bride."

She bit her lip, clearly torn between wanting to be involved and knowing I had a point about the stress.

"I don't want to just sit back and let everyone else plan my wedding," she said quietly.

"And you won't," I promised. "You'll make every decision that matters, you'll pick the venue and the flowers and the food and the music and the decorations.

You'll choose your dresses and design the invitations and decide on the ceremony details, you'll be involved in every single choice."

"Then what will Sarah and Leah do?" she asked, still not entirely convinced.

"They'll do the legwork," I explained. "You tell them you want roses and they'll go to five different florists to find the perfect ones.

You tell them you want a garden venue and they'll research and visit locations and bring you back options, you tell them you want a specific style of dress and they'll make appointments at bridal shops and go with you to help you find it."

I could see her starting to understand, starting to see how it could work.

"So I still get to make all the choices," she said slowly. "I just don't have to do all the running around."

"Exactly," I said. "You get everything you want without the stress that could potentially harm you or the babies."

"You promise I'll still feel like it's my wedding?" she asked, and I could hear the vulnerability in her voice, could hear the fear that she'd lose control of this important day.

"I promise," I said firmly. "In fact, how about this, we make a rule that no major decision gets made without your approval. Sarah and Leah can research and present options but you have the final say on everything, deal?"

"Every decision?" she asked.

"Every single one," I confirmed. "From the napkin colors to the song for our first dance, nothing happens unless you say yes."

She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over, then slowly nodded. "Okay, deal, but I'm still picking my dresses and the flowers and the food."

"I wouldn't dream of taking that away from you," I said, relieved she was agreeing.

She was quiet again, just looking at me with this expression I couldn't quite read, her eyes were moving over my face like she was memorizing every detail.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"I'm thinking about how lucky I am," she said softly.

"That I found someone who wants to give me my dream wedding, who wants to celebrate our love with everyone we know.

Who isn't trying to make it small or quiet or hidden away, who actually wants people to know he's marrying me."

I felt my throat tighten with emotion because I knew what she wasn't saying, knew she was comparing me to Daxon again, knew that bastard had made her feel like she wasn't worth celebrating.

"You deserve your dream wedding," I said firmly. "You deserve everything you've ever wanted and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you get it.

I want everyone to know I'm marrying you because I'm proud of it, because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Tristan," she said, and her voice was thick with tears again.

"I love you," I said, pulling her close again. "And I want the whole world to know it." I repeated again, reminding her, so she doesn't forget or doubt it.

She buried her face in my neck and I felt her shoulders shake with quiet sobs, happy tears this time I thought, tears of relief and joy and maybe healing from the wounds Daxon had left.

We sat like that for a while, just holding each other, and I felt grateful for the millionth time that we'd found each other, that we'd gotten this second chance.

When she finally pulled back her eyes were red but she was smiling. "I love you so much," she said. "Thank you for understanding, for wanting this too."

"Always," I said, wiping away the remaining tears. "Now, you still haven't answered my question."

"What question?" she asked.

"When do you want to do this?" I asked. "The weddings?"