The Stephens' Estate had always looked large in the town; even without being in it, everyone in town could see that it was large. In the plans in her hand, Sam could see that it was small and could get deceived into thinking it was a small area. Yet, the moment that everyone who was participating in the search went in through the wide, double gates, they all rolled to a stop.Anyone who had thought that it would be a small job was now having second thoughts, Sam herself included. The few people who seemed undaunted were the Elders and Alpha Amal, who had taken no notice of everyone else's apprehension. He had walked forward before realizing that Sam was not beside him, and he stretched out his arm for her to take, and although she was afraid, she did so, following his lead. Over the expanse of the Stephens' family estate, everyone went, taking on the posts that they had said they would. Before their arrival, Elder Caleb had split the everyone onto parties was and allocated areas

The next morning, Alpha Amal and Sam did something unusual, and went down the stairs to have breakfast in the dining area. She suspected that it was because they had a guest, but she could not be sure. Sometimes Alpha Amal just enjoyed spontaneity, and she knew that the other servants truly enjoyed setting up for grand meals, so it was honestly no surprise when the long table was covered with a lacy white table cloth, with placemats and a full cutlery service. On their way down the stairs, they saw Charity, who was on the side of the stairs, winking. Right as Sam passed her, the silly girl said, “ouuu, fancy!” and there up spirit fingers. It made her laugh, and Sam had to fight for her composure. She looked over at Alpha Amal who had heard Charity too, and there was a small, barely noticeable smile on his face. Oh, Charity, thought Sam. The girl was a clown and would get her in trouble one day, but not today. The dining hall was adjacent to the mansion's open floor, and already

Alpha Amal's POV.He had just gotten married to the woman of my dreams, and he had gotten my mother back. It was foolish of the kidnappers to have simply dipped off my mother in broad daylight, and from all inclinations, they had been foolish enough to send representatives. He wanted to go straight to the dungeons to interrogate them, but the reception was being held in his mansion and it would be disrespectful of him to leave his newly married wife alone in the reception to interrogate a terrorist. Besides that, his mother was safe with his grandmother, avoiding her husband like the plague, and he wondered what that was about. He had a reception to attend to, so he pushed all of that to the back of his mind and wrapped his arm around Sam. He could not begin to explain how long he had wanted to be able to do that - just hold her in public.She looked radiant bedside him in that blue dress. She was matching his eyes, and when he had helped her zip up her dress, he had almost peeled th

Sam snapped awake and recounted the events of the last day. She and Alpha Amal had gotten married, and she pulled her head back so she could take a glance at the ring on her finger to make sure it was still there. To her pleasure, it was, the rubies glinting in the morning light. They were back in his bed, and if memory serves her right, she and Alpha Amal had left his grandmother's wing shortly after his mother had recounted her experience with the kidnappers. Sam was sorry that any of that had happened, but she and Alpha Amal had been talking about getting married for quite some time, and this was the perfect avenue for it. At least now his mother was back, and they did not have the worries of that looking over their heads. Beside her, Alpha Amal laid, his forehead wrinkled with thought. He was asleep, and she wondered if he was having a bad dream that was somehow related to what had happened to his mother. It was all she could think about before his fingers started trailing acros

She knew that she would have suggested it if Alpha Amal hadn't, but Sam was honestly too tired to go into town that morning. It wasn't like she was the one who would drive or who would do all the meet and greets and have all those meetings, but Sam really didn't feel up to any of it. Besides, the pack guard had homes on the edge of town, and she did not know if she felt up to seeing so many people at once.Still, she had known Alpha Amal for too long to believe that he would let it go or postpone it. In the moment, he felt like a dog after a bone, and he would not rest until he had finally caught the people who had kidnapped his mother. They were not dressed appropriately for the end of spring, especially because the weather was getting more humid. Sam pointed this out, so they both went up the stairs to change into different clothes. Sam changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, discarding her previous long sleeved shirt and sweatpants. Alpha Amal did the exact same thing, foreg