I was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of designing the gift after Andie had so lovingly stated it's importance. What if I totally fucked it up, I'm a guy, an Alpha, I don't know a damn thing about jewelry.
Fuck! I was beginning to sweat under the pressure but then I heard Mr. Nelson say" Oh, what a lovely idea. Let's look in this tray." As he pulled the a tray from the middle of the stack and pushed the others to the side."Perhaps it will give you some inspiration, Alpha. I have a lot of beautiful pieces in here that can be worn everyday even with the most casual outfits. And a lot of them can be personalized in no time." He murmured, as he opened the tray.
Then I felt it a tinge of excitement through the bond. " Sweetheart, do you see something that you like?"I ask, hoping like hell that something had caught her eye and I would be off the hook for designing a piece of jewelry for my future daughter in law.
"I do." She beamed.
"Oh wonderful! which piece, Luna." Mr. Nelson exclaimed excitedly, turning the tray around for Andie to get a better look.
" I actually see a couple of things that might be perfect for what we're looking for. Can I take a look at this piece here and this one here." Andie murmured, pointing out what looked like to short necklaces.
" Of course, Luna. Excellent choices." Mr. Nelson uttered, handing Andie what looked like a long tennis bracelet or a short choker necklace.
I really wasn't sure what it was until Mr. Nelson began explaining the craftsmanship he had put into the piece. " Ah, this is an excellent choice, Luna. It will be perfect for the ceremony a little sparkle to catch the light just in case you're gown has a slit up the side. It's also fun enough to wear as an everyday accessory with any outfit such as a lovely sundress or even to the beach. I made this petit tennis anklet from some of the finest diamonds available. It's four carats of flawless crystal clear diamonds set in platinum. And the best part is with my exclusive design the links can be added or removed by just clicking a tiny leaver on the back of each link to ensure the perfect fit. So there will no worries about weather it will fit you or your daughter in law in the future." Mr. Nelson pointed out handing the diamond ankle bracelet over to Andie to inspect.
" I like it,what do you think?" Andie ask, shoving the little ankle bracelet towards me.
" It's beautiful ,sweetheart. I believe it's perfect for you to enjoy now and to gift to our daughter in law in the future." I said honestly, and may I add relieved that I didn't have to design a piece of jewelry for a girl I won't be meeting for at least another twenty years or so.
"We'll take it."Andie chirped, handing the ankle bracelet back to Mr. Nelson for him to place in a little velvet box along side the ring we picked out.
" Do you see anything else you like, sweetheart?" I ask, jotting my chin towards the tray of jewelry before Mr. Nelson put it away.
" I see a lot of things I like but I believe we need to find you a ring also, right? Didn't your mom say that we need rings for the ceremony as in plural." Andie pointed out.
" Sweetheart, I've had my ring for the ceremony every since I was twelve years old. The day I was able to shift is the day my ring was gifted to me from my dad. It's big and bold almost like a super bowl ring made from platinum with a four carat center stone and twenty one side diamonds. It has our family crest on it. It's also an exact replica of my father's ring and all my grandpa's rings all the way back to King Edward my Lycan ancestor. The only other ring I will get is my wedding band when we actually get married. And Mr. Nelson will make both of our wedding bands from old mined gold that is in a vault at the pack house. The gold that will be used for our wedding bands was minded on our pack land by great grandpa James . It's the same gold that has been used to make everyone's wedding bands in my family every since we have lived here in Alaska." I explained, what has been a tradition in my family every since we have been established here in Alaska.
" So, I guess we're done for now until we bring the gold back to design our wedding bands." Andie said, a bit wistfully.
Which I didn't waste the opportunity to suggest what I truly wanted." That's right ,sweetheart. But I would gladly run back to the Pack house and get the gold. If you ask your dad to sing the consent form for us to get married."I said, pulling her into my arms and boldly placing a whisper light kiss right on her neck where my mark will be the very night of our wedding.
Her cute little cheeks turned pink as playfully slapped at my chest and hissed " Zack " glancing up shyly at Mr.Nelson.
Who grinned with a dismissive wave of his hand." Ah, young love, don't be shy Luna. It's good for our people to see that our Alpha is devoted to you."
" Well I guess he's definitely devoted,"she giggled, jotting her chin towards the two velvet boxes in front of us." I have a few pieces of jewelry but nothing like this." She said, reminding me that I wanted to buy her a bracelet and a belly button ring to represent the Starlight Pack.
I already had a design in mind I just needed to ask if Mr. Nelson if he could make it the way I wanted. But I will do that at a later date because I want them to be a surprise for Andie's birthday.
" I guess since we're not starting on wedding bands just yet. Here's your paperwork for all your purchases today." Mr. Nelson said, handing me one of the thick papers he was holding . " Now this one is your GIA certificate with all the information about your center diamond."He said, then handed over two more thick papers. "Now these are the appraisal for your ring and the lovely anklet Luna Miranda chose. Now these are the papers you will present to your insurance company to have these two pieces added to your policy. And this is your total for today which covers a life time of cleaning and yearly inspections to keep all your settings in top condition. Just make sure you bring them in every year so that I can replace or rebuild anything that has become worn down or weakened before you lose one of those beautiful stones." He said politely, handing me a bill for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
But I couldn't complain one bit because the bill was actually thirty thousand dollars under the appraised value for the two items.
So I took my paperwork and ask " Do you prefer a bank draft or my card."
"Ether is fine, which ever one is more convenient for you." He murmured, leaving the option up to me.
So I dug my debit card out of my wallet and handed it over. Just to hear my phone ring the minute he ran my card through the card reader. Which I already expected would happen. Skyler has all of our accounts under tight security.
He has put one girl in charge of watching just our families accounts twenty four hours a day. The computer in her office even sends an alert to her cell phone if anyone makes a purchase over five thousand dollars on the weekend or during the night.
" Hey, Mika" I answered nonchalantly.
" Zack did you just make a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar purchase." Mika asked frantically.
" Yes, it's for Andie's ring so don't panic."
" Oh my goddess, bring her by the office I want to see it." Mika squealed into the phone.
"Okay, we'll come bye when we leave here." I promised and ended the call.
"Sorry for the interruption." I apologized to Mr. Nelson who was trying to handing me my card back and a receipt.
" No problem, Here's your card and your receipt." He said politely.
Then as we were walking out the door he shouted, "Now don't forget to bring your jewelry back every year so that I can keep it in good shape for you."
" Yes sir,I'll make sure to remind him." Andie shouted back.
I chuckled and draped my arm around her shoulder and couldn't resist teasing her just a little bit. " You know, when a man buys an engagement ring for a woman he usually gets a kiss."
Her beautiful blue eyes shot up to meet mine. Then her throat bobbed and she licked her lips." Th.. that's right.. but, isn't that only if the guy proposes to the girl." She said shyly, then her scent spiked with desire.
Fuck! My mind started spinning and my heart skipped a beat. Did my girl really want a kiss? I wondered.
I had to swallowed the lump of nervousness in my throat at the thought. But I tried to play it cool and reached through the bond to feel her emotions. "Oh, so my girl requires a proposal" I hummed, contemplating my next move.
I really, really wanted to kiss her but if she wasn't ready I wasn't going to do it. So I quickly scanning through her emotions I could clearly detect nervousness, anticipation, and, some curiosity. Fuck! My girl's ready. I almost shouted out loud.
Then I heard her say " Yeah, I think I do."
Which gave me an idea, and even though my heart was about to jump out of my chest at the thought of kissing my girl. I played it cool and nonchalantly ask " So you do you want me down on one knee with flavors in my hand, perhaps by the ocean in the moonlight. Or would you prefer in a nice restaurant over a candle lit dinner?"
She giggled and swatted at my arm then as I opened the truck door for her to get in she said . " Silly, it doesn't matter where you propose." Leaving me to figure this one out on my own.
Well if it doesn't matter, then this should be easier then I thought it would be. So with that in mind I jumped into Skyler's truck and headed on over to Johnson's Federal Bank and trust.
Where I strutted right into to Mika's office with Andie pulled close to my side. Then as I closed the door behind us Mika's head shot up from her computer. " Goddess Zack, you scared the crap out of me." She barker, fanning her hand over her chest.
Mika this is Andie, Andie this is Mika" I introduced ignoring Mika's dramatics.
Mika, squealed " Oh goddess, let me see that ring." Then she looked confused when I handed her the velvet box. "What the hell, why aren't you wearing this gorgeous thing ." She ask, glancing at the ring then back up at Andie.
"Because I need to propose." I said seriously
Which made Mika cackle like Skyler finally spluttering out " Really?"
" What's so damn funny about that?" I ask, with a touch of annoyance in my voice.
" Nothing." She fucking laughed again. " It's just strange to hear a wolf say they're going to propose to their fated mate. I don't think I have ever heard of that before."She said, shaking her head.
" Oh, but it happens more than you think." I stated, and to prove my point,I ask. " What do you think wolves do if there mate is human? They court them the same way that humans do and I'm pretty sure they propose to them the same way humans do also ."
" You know you're righ" Mika agreed "I never thought about it like that. I'm sure wolves with human mates really need to be careful not to scare them to death. Or wind up in jail for being accused of stalking." She laughed again " Can you imagine being human and some stranger walks up to you in the mall and just starts kissing you like a lover."
" So now you get it. When your mate can't feel the bond you have to take a different approach. And I want Andie to feel special and know how much I love her." I explained, just to see Mika go googly eyed as she gazed at Andie and me.
" Aww, that's so romantic." She finally muttered, then shoved a stack of papers towards us with a sigh. "Okay Romeo, I need you and Juliet to sign this forms."
" Forms?" Andie questioned, spinning her head around to look at me.
" Yes, sweetheart we might as well put your name on all of my accounts and the pack house account while we're here. It will save us time and we won't have to come back after your Luna Ceremony."