Today was the day. Today was the day. You know...that day. The day that every girl dreamed of. The day they would marry the man of their dreams in the wedding they meticulously planned for years, from the wedding dress down to what sort of napkin would be placed on the table. However, that was not the case for the curly-haired woman. While other little girls were dreaming about their special day she was reliving the horror of the latest mistreatment she received from those she should have trusted. Her chances of finding a mate was non-existent. Within her pack she would not be given that opportunity. As far as she knew, at a very young age, she would be trapped living a long and painful life â€" alone. If someone would have told her there would come a day when a man fell in love with her and actually wanted to marry her, she would have assumed it was all a malicious lie. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be where she was today: standing on a bridge, looking over a babbling brook, wearing her white wedding dress. That sounded funny in her head, her wedding dress. While the guests were arriving Raven was far too anxious to wait inside any longer. While Serafina was running through last minute items with the wedding coordinator Raven took this opportunity to find a quiet spot where she could reflect and attempt to settle her nerves. She wasn't terrified to marry Tobi. She wasn't having second thoughts. It was just...it was all such a whirlwind and she needed a moment to catch her breath and reflect.

The night before Raven hardly got any sleep. She was excited and a bit apprehensive. For over a year she had been trying to plan, what society dictated, was supposed to be her perfect day. The lupine had no idea where to begin or what exactly she would want. Tetradore had told her that she shouldn't worry about money, because he would help pay for everything. Well, to her, that meant she should find the cheapest wedding dress, bake the wedding cake herself, and do a quick ceremony in the Ark. Well, when she told him her idea he had a few choice words that he didn't put delicately. Thankfully, Serafina was willing to help drag out whatever sort of imagination Raven barely had to discover what it was she wanted for her special day. It was rather something fun for the two of them to go through. Watching those silly wedding shows did help bring some inspiration. Some of those shows also helped her learn what she did not want, thank goodness for those Gypsy wedding shows...it was so...tacky â€" and that was putting it lightly. Shopping for wedding dresses wasn't as bad as Raven thought it would be. Taking Serafina, Alexis, Isolt and Mira really helped. Each one had an idea and they were all willing to be blunt and honest with her, when they liked a dress and when they didn't like a dress. When it came to her bachelorette party...they all knew how to have fun...and they knew how far they could go to teasing her and ensuring she had fun. Raven could not believe how everything was such a high cost. Flowers, the type of paper for invitations, wedding cakes...it was just far too much, so much where Serafina refused to allow Raven to know the cost of anything anymore.

The night before the wedding she had to say goodbye to her mate, knowing that by tradition they had to be separated. It wasn't' that big of a deal. After all they had their whole lives to be together...but that still made her nervous to be away from him. While her mate and Alpha stayed at the Ark, she and her raven-haired witch stayed within a hotel next to the city arboretum. The citys' arboretum was a wonderful place to host a wedding. They would be surrounded by nature in an elegant setting. It was winter so the place was decorated tastefully, like a winter wonderland. They didn't have to pay extra for the flowers, because they would be provided for if they selected this place as their venue. After much persuasion Serafina agreed that she would sleep in the same bed as her. Little did Raven know Serafina had created a potion that was meant to make the lupine have a dreamless, deep sleep. As soon as she finished her evening tea she was out like a light, not knowing in the slightest whether Serafina truly kept her word or not, sleeping at her side.

When she woke up she was greeted with a delicious breakfast .he staff of the hotel prepared for her and her witch. All day the woman felt pampered and completely out of her element. Having people fuss over her was...odd and a bit uncomfortable. Raven liked her personal space and it was constantly being invaded by the woman they hired to do their hair and makeup. As she sat in her chair while the woman played with her hair she pondered about how her mate was doing. She wasn't quite sure if Tetradore would manage to get the deviant to wash up or even wear his tux appropriately. Raven tried explaining it all to him one time, but she felt like her words were going in one ear and out the other. However, she was eager to see him and be at his side once more. It wasn't long until it was time for the two of them to get dressed. Helping Sera zip the back of her dress up she stepped into her own wedding gown, allowing her witch friend to zip her up. Staring at her reflection in the mirror she stared at herself silently. It all just didn't seem...real. When Serafina put the veil on her that one piece seemed to really hit home, that this wasn't a dream at all. One hand would reach out to Serafina, and she would hold it quite firmly for a moment, a bit apprehensive.

With a knock on the door from the wedding coordinator the two of them walked after her, down the stairs through the foyer and out into the walkway of the gardens. As the wedding coordinator asked Serafina to tagalong and check over a few things Raven took this as her chance to walk away and allow herself a moment. Standing on the bridge she sighed softly as she stared at the water allowing the sound of the brook to comfort her, as her thoughts began to swirl. As the sun was nearly down she heard a familiar voice call out to her. Dorian was there with Serafina at his side with both their bouquets in their hands. With a nod she walked towards them giving Dorian a hug, as they conversed for a moment, the man providing her some words of encouragement to comfort those nerves. With the sun completely gone and the moon starting to rise she knew it was getting close towards that moment. Taking Dorian's arm she squeezed it tightly as he led the way towards the archway, her stomach full of fluttering butterflies. Why in the world was she this nervous? She knew she was about to marry her mate, in just a few short minutes she would be walking down the aisle where, hopefully, her spotted companion would be at the end, waiting for her.

Raven Clocksworth.