BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 147 – 21st
LUCY…
Tomorrow was supposed to be a happy day, but my heart felt heavy the moment I woke up today.
I will be twenty-one, and I have no idea how I will celebrate it.
I told Adan I didn’t want a big party, but I’m starting to regret it. I had never celebrated my birthdays since my parents d*ied, and the two years I spent in the orphanage didn’t make up for it as I gave them a false date of birth. So, I never get any cakes and birthday wishes anymore on my real birthday.
I miss Mom and how she would always try to give me the best birthday, even with just a simple cake and food. And how d*iego would always make an effort to return home to us on that day. He never failed. He kept showing up until he could no longer do it.
I wished I opted for a big celebration so the empty space in my heart that only my parents could fill would be temporarily filled with the people I loved.
But it’s too late to change my mind.
At least Adan invited me for a late dinner tonight. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I washed my face. I knew I could fix my features and no one would know I’d been crying, but Adan would feel it for sure.
I should stop pitying myself. I had the best mate, the best pup, the best in-laws, and a whole pack who loved me. I had what most females didn’t have.
But I couldn’t help it. I only had eleven years with my parents, and my only hope was to see them again one day, on the Moon. But Hades and his deal with Adan were telling me I would never see them again. This was something I couldn’t come to terms with.
I knew they would understand that I would be choosing Adan, but I wished I didn’t have to choose. ‘Are you ready? Should I come and pick you up?’ Adan’s voice dug into my head. I told him to prepare for tonight in another room so I could have the suite all to myself.
I blew my nose before I answered him. ‘Almost, give me ten minutes more.’
‘I’ll give you twenty minutes. The reservation is at eight o’clock, so we have time.’
‘Thank you. I can’t wait to see you…’
‘Me too, my s*e*xy bunny.’
I chuckled softly and splashed my face with water again before drying it off with a towel. I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror as my eyes slowly returned to normal. No more puffy eyes.
I have Adan. And Aiden. And now I have a new family.
I smiled despite the ache in my heart. I was sure Mom and d*iego were happy for me.
I looked at the make-up kit I took out earlier and scrunched up my nose. I’d been lazy lately, constantly using my power to fix myself, and I suppose that will be the case tonight as I spent my time crying instead of fixing myself.
I shrugged my shoulders before flicking my fingers. My face was now fully made up, I just needed my dress.
I walked out of the bathroom n@ked, towards the newly built walk-in closet, and picked up the evening dress I chose for tonight. It was a cla*s*sic black evening dress with thin straps and a sweetheart neckline. I could have opted for a colorful one, but Adan was used to me dressing up in this shade most of the time, and I was comfortable with black.
I pulled the dress over my chest and stood up in front of a full-length mirror, and instead of putting it on manually, I twirled my body around, and by the time my front turned to the mirror again, I was already clad in my evening gown.
I winked at myself, satisfied with how I looked. If only I had a daughter too, then dressing up like this would be fun. I took a red lipstick and applied a little more on my lips before I went to pick up a black stiletto and a matching pouch.
‘I’m ready when you are,’ I sent Adan a mindlink as I walked out of the closet, only to stop in my tracks when I saw him leaning against the wall just beside the bedroom door. His eyes raked my body up and down, and his hand was on his jaw as his lips twitched into a smirk. He looked so delicious in a formal, fitted grey shirt and formal black pants that, if we hadn’t had reservations at the restaurant, I might have asked him to stay home and give me a daughter instead.
I spread my arms open and raised my eyebrows. ” Do I look okay?”
“Perfect. As always… But something is missing.” He pushed his body off the wall and walked toward me. My eyes followed his movement, letting myself be immersed in his perfection.
This Alpha used to be just a dream that I kept aiming to reach. Having Adan was the biggest blessing in my life, everything just fell into place with him beside me.
He took something out of his pocket before he laid his palm in front of me. My eyes darted to the black box in his hand. “Happy birthday, my Luna. Open it. I!
“It’s not my birthday yet.”
“Then it means you will still get a gift tomorrow.”
I smiled at him before carefully opening it.
A gold locket necklace.
I bit my bottom lip as I opened the locket, only for my eyes to water. I was expecting a picture of the three of us, only to be surprised to see Mom, d*iego, and my picture inside.
My mate knew me too well.
“Where did you get it?” I asked, and my eyes locked with his.
“I will tell you later, but for now, let me put it on you.” He took the locket from my hand and moved to stand behind me.
I slid my hair to the side and waited until he was able to place it around my neck. “Thankyou…”
He spun my body around, hands on my waist, as he stared me in the eyes. “Happy 2ist birthday, Lucy. I don’t know how to make birthday wishes… but I’ll try.”
“It’s not my birthday yet…” I chuckled softly, but what I was trying to do was stop my eyes from watering.
“I know. But I want to be the first one to greet you and the first one to give you a birthday wish.”
“Sounds fair. I want that too…”
“Happy birthday, Lucy.” He cupped my hands in between his and brought them to his mouth. “I know you hated Lucien, for what he did to your mother, but let me be selfish and say I am happy you’re here. Without you, I don’t know what my world would be.”
“Don’t make me cry…” I tried to smile as my eyes burned.
“You’re the best thing that happened to me. I know I haven’t said sorry for the deal I made with Hades. I ’m sorry if it hurts you, but I want a lifetime with you, and having that deal was my only guarantee I could take you home with me. I have done many things in my life that I regret, but not that one. Not that one.” His eyes were turning red, but I could see the sincerity in them. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat if I needed to. So I’m sorry. But we have a lifetime, a long one, and I will find a way to take our souls back. I will do everything, I promise you that.” “We, Adan. We. We will find a way. Together.” Tears streamed down my face as I removed my hands from his and cupped his face. “I will probably sell my soul and my body to save you if I need to… so there is no need to apologize. I understand.”
“Thank you. I need to hear that.”
“And now that you know I’m not blaming you for it, where is your birthday wish for me?” I tried to lighten up the atmosphere as I wiped the tears about to fall from his eyes with my fingers.
“I wish a lifetime of happiness for you. And I wish that I could give you that. I hope that all your wishes come true. Finally, I wish and hope you will continue to love me in this lifetime, in the next, and wherever fate may take us.
I nodded my head and smiled warmly at him.
“I s*cked at giving wishes, right? The last part was more for me than you.” He chuckled.
I shook my head as tears trickled down my face again. “It’s the best one I have. And for the last one, you don’t need to wish for that. Because I am certain that I will never stop loving you, Adan, not in this life or the next. I’ve been yours since the moment I saw you at the feast, or perhaps even before that when you expressed a desire to be mated with a demon. It’s already written in the stars – nothing and no one can change that.”
Adan took me to the same place where we had our first dinner, and although we went to many different restaurants for our weekly dates, this place held a special place in my heart because of everything that happened in the gazebo that night.
I smiled as I took his hand in mine, and he helped me out of the car. My eyes darted to the pathway leading to the outside garden where the private gazebo was before I leaned my body closer to him. ” Are we dining under the same gazebo?”
“Do you want to? I thought we should take a private room inside instead.”
“Great then. Then I don’t need to use any illusions if we get a little frisky again tonight.” I winked at him as we walked hand in hand toward the restaurant entrance, where we were met by the receptionist.
“Reservations for Lucy Robinson,” Adan stated.
“Of course, Alpha, you don’t need to remind us. We have the room for you and Luna Lucy.”
“I’m just pretending we are normal people.” He answered him in a happy tone, and I couldn’t help but swoon over the big change in his demeanor with the people around him — too far from the Alpha Stone I’d been with who scowled and growled all the time.
“Got it, Mr. Robinson. This way please.”
We ended at the far end of the restaurant and stopped at the last wooden double door, which I thought was for big engagements and events.
“Luna Lucy,” I turned to my side and saw a female handing me a bouquet of different colored roses.
“Thank you,” I smiled at her as I took it from her, my eyes gazing at Adan’s I sniffed the roses before picking up the small card.
“Happy Birthday,” Adan kissed my temple, and the two receptionists with us greeted me the same way and handed me another bouquet, this time from the restaurant.
Adan knew how to make me happy, making sure I got to experience things I had never experienced before.
But if I thought that was all, it wasn’t.
The moment the door opened, my mouth dropped at the crowd waiting for us. Every important person in my life was present, standing around at the presidential table, waiting for us to arrive.