Delilah and Riley by Melissa Nichols (best sci fi novels of all time TXT) 📕

Riley’s eyes then filled with triumph and supreme delight and when it came to be his turn, his words were proud and strong. “I do.”

I didn’t catch the first part of the last message, but I did hear “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” And then Riley was kissing me. One of his arms circled my shoulders and the other grabbed my waist while both of mine went around his neck once I realized what had happened.

The kiss was tame, but it contained everything. Joy, happiness and every other synonym under the sun was expressed and received in that kiss. I wished the kiss would never end, but sooner than I would have liked, Riley lifted his head and we looked at the crowd and the guests descended upon us. Mother and other women flocked around me, while Father and the men circled Riley, both parties threatening to rip us apart. To keep that from happening, Riley and I kept our hands clasped tightly and, whenever possible, I was pulled to Riley’s side. Then the reception began. We stayed in the building, but the food was brought out, the chairs re-arranged, the, music started and then Riley was pulling out to the dance floor for the customary dance. Ironic as it was, the first song was a slow dance and we slipped into position easily. Riley put one arm around my waist and the other hand grasped mine to the side. I put my head on his chest, an arm on his shoulder and let him lead. From there, I didn’t have to think. I have been dancing since I was a child, practice for this very moment, and everything was habit now.

After last night, the atmosphere around us had changed from tense and angry to relaxed and filled with friendliness.  It made dancing so much easier and less awkward but I was still reluctant to let him go when the song ended. Then we made our way to our table, holding hands the whole time, and when we got there, we cuddled together a little and watched the next two dances take place, still holding hands.

When everything ended for the night, Riley pulled me back onto the dance floor for the final number, another slow song, and during the whole thing I could not get my mind off how much another song resembled Riley and myself. This is Not My Idea from the movie The Swan Princess, which was one of the movies Mother had required I watch only because the two main characters were betrothed, seemed to fit us perfectly. The main characters, Odette and Derek, have hated each other even before they met and as the song progresses, they age and they start to fall in love unknowingly. But when the final part plays, everything falls into place. That’s what’s happened with Riley and myself. Mutual hatred at the beginning and now both absolutely in love with no trace of hatred or anger anywhere.

After the final number, Riley and I made our way to the stage, accompanied by the red-furred wolf and my maid of honor, Theresa, for the closing speeches. Riley was the first to speak, grabbing the microphone a boy held out to him.

“May I have your attention, please.” He stated and the room quickly grew quiet. “I’d like to thank you all for attending this wedding ceremony, for all of your support and help setting up. It really means a lot to Delilah and myself, to have you all here to help us celebrate. And I wish we could stay longer, to have even more fun together, but we have planes to catch in a few hours so I’d like to bid you all thank you for coming, farewell and happy hunting!” Riley closed his speech and passed the mic to his Beta and best man, then Riley took my hand and tugged me off the stage and to our table. Riley held out my chair for me and slid me closer to the table as I sat down before he got himself settled.

“Riley and Delilah, I’m so happy you two have married. I know you will do wonders for each other and you will both be so much happier because of it. Riley, I have seen you grow up from the time you were just a little kid, seen all of your worse days and your better days. Delilah, I haven’t known you for very long, but I have seen enough. I know you will give Riley far more better days than bad and I can’t be happier for you both. Delilah, I think of Riley as my son in all but blood and I’m very happy to say welcome to the family.”

After the speech, my eyes blurred with tears. My hands clamped harder to Riley’s and my ears were deafened by the round of applause that ensued. Riley’s other hand grasped mine and we looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to the stage to find Theresa already holding the mic.

“I’m not sure I can top Devon’s breathtaking speech, but I find myself completely out of words. Riley, I’ve known Delilah since we were very little and never have I seen her glow like this” At this point, I slumped a little and I felt my cheeks heat up. Riley tugged on my hand and put his arm around my shoulder “and I know I have you to thank. So, I’d like to extend to you my personal welcome to our family. And Delilah, I’m so glad you’ve finally found someone who has made you truly happy.” She then put the mic back on its perch and floated off the stage, coming to sit on my other side. When she sat down, we hugged and then Mother and Father took the stage. I didn’t really pay attention. Their opinions have never really mattered to me and they sure as hell didn’t now.

It was well after dark when the party finally broke up and we all headed for our destinations. My pack, the Domiscuss clan, was heading for the airport while the Lune pack was heading back home. All of my clan phased and began the trek to the airport, where several luxury jets waited. Riley and I ran side by side, pelts touching and in perfect unison for the whole exodus, short as it was. And when we stepped onto the tarmac, my breath completely escaped me. Before us, lined up neatly in several long rows, were so many luxury jets I could not count them all. But they were all identical. Blue backgrounds, red lining, bodies designed for speed as well as capacity and each baring the Domiscuss Clan’s logo, a black wolf with yellow fangs, snarling with it’s ears laid back and a bleeding cut ran across its forehead.

Behind me, the Domiscuss Pack broke up and separated to the different jets while Riley and I kept going to the one at the head of the fleet. Typical. Alphas run at the front of the pack, they sit in the highest chairs in the room and their jets are the first to take off and land at an airstrip.

“The flight will take us several hours to get home. I suggest you sleep to avoid jet lag. It can really mess a body up for a few days.”

“When will we get to your den?”

“You can just call it the castle. Its really all it is. And we’ll be in the doors at night so that’s why I suggested you sleep, so you can sleep throughout the flight and then into the morning enough to be up when the sun wakes as well. Itll help you get started on the new time schedule you’ll be on. And don’t worry-“ I had opened my mouth to ask another question. I think he predicted what I was gonna ask about. “Even though we’ll be behind closed doors tonight, I won’t touch you. I want you settled in your new home and your duties as the Alpha Female before we spend a few days in our room.”

I nodded, grateful to him for putting off the part I was dreading the most.

“And I know you hate me, associating me with the betrothal you hate, so once we have one pup, whether it lives or not, you are free to see whoever you want. You can be sure I’ll be doing the same. Remember, I wanted this match just as much as you do and I think its best for our relationship if we keep it cordial. Friendly but not touchy feely. That’s not to say if your frightened you can’t cuddle up to me or anything. I like holding you. I just mean the whole falling in love thing. Its not for me. I’d rather continue my ways like I did before.”

“I think that’s very generous of you. And if I do take a lover after you, I’ll try to keep it discreet. Oh, but how can I take a lover if we occupy the same room?”

“Once our pup is born, we’ll keep separate rooms.”

“Oh, okay. I guess that’d help.”

Yeah.”

It was quiet after that, the atmosphere now very awkward. Riley wasn’t his usual confident self. He led me onto the plane and got me settled in a seat against the wall. He sat down next to him and he handed me a small yellow pill and a bottle of water. He explained it was motion sickness. Since I’d never flown before, I didn’t know if my stomach would object or not and Riley said he didn’t want me being uncomfortable so he figured it was safer for me to take the pill. I did as he suggested and a half hour later we were going down the runway. The pill had already started taking effect and I started getting tired. Itd been a very emotional thirty-six hours and it was starting to catch up to me. I laid my head on Riley’s shoulder and fell asleep.

When I woke up again, I was in a very soft, big, warm bed. At first, I thought I was back home and I opened my eyes, expecting to see my plain white walls, white carpet and furniture, but, instead, I was welcomed by vibrant colors. The walls were a vibrant crimson, the carpet was white and the bedding was white with red trimming. The furniture was all made of a painted white wood and the handles were the same crimson red as the one on the walls. The windows, thank god, had gold black-out curtains with crimson edging. Yeesh. Riley likes his red, doesn’t he?

I stood and looked around, getting familiar with this new room, and Riley came out of the adjoining room, one towel around his waist and another in his hand, drying his hair. He stopped when he saw me.

“Good morning.” He greeted me.

“Good morning, Riley.” I looked around, trying to find something to say to continue the conversation. “I like the color scheme. The white really helps to brighten the crimson while the crimson makes a nice contrast to