Page 70 of Charmed By Apollo

“Show off,” Apollo said with a grin.

Geri, who’d landed inches away, nose-to-nose from her mate, chuckled. “You didn’t flinch at all. I could have barreled into you.”

“But I knew you wouldn’t.”

A warmth filled her chest at the emotions that flooded her through the bond she shared with him—trust, belief, and utter faith. Even after all these months, the love and emotions they shared still managed to amaze her.

Apollo leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, then with a wave of his hand, dressed Geri in a shirt and pair of shorts. “Did you have a good run?” He handed over her mobile phone.

“Mm-hmm,” she said before tiptoeing for another kiss.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t believe this day was finally here. She was excited.

But at the same time, it filled her with sadness.

Sensing her emotions, he said, “It’s only a year. It’ll go by in a flash.”

“For you immortals, maybe.”

“And soon, you,” he reminded her.

Though it had taken months, the other gods and goddesses of Olympus agreed to let Geri eat the golden apple of immortality. However, they did have one stipulation: that she live in Olympus for an entire year, without leaving. While the council agreed that their mating was proof enough that she and Apollo had to be together, they wanted to make sure she understood the culture of Olympus, as well as what it meant to be an immortal, a wife, and mate to a god and share in his power.

Geri agreed, of course, but that meant she couldn’t go to the plant shop in New York, her pack in Alaska, or even visit Grannie in The Underworld.

“You can roam around in your wolf form whenever you like on my—I mean, our estate,” he said. “And Persephone and Demeter can always visit you. You’ll love it, I promise.”

“I know I will.” Taking his hand, she turned it and cupped her chin with it, giving his wrist a nuzzle so she could take in his comforting scent. “You’ll be there, so I know I’ll love it.”

“Do you want to go run some more?” he offered. “We still have a few hours before the mating ceremony.”

Since Geri would not be able to leave Olympus for a year once she ate the apple, they decided to do their mating ceremony and wedding in Alaska, which would also give her an opportunity to spend time with her brother and pack. The mating ceremony was basically a formal event where the pack recognized the mating bond between two people. It was similar to a wedding, and most couples did both to make things official with the human authorities, though that wasn’t a requirement. They did, however, need it to be official so Geri would be allowed to go to Olympus and eat the golden apple of immortality.

And so, they arrived in Anchorage a week ago to prepare for the ceremony, wedding, and reception, all of which would be done in pack territory. Today was the big day, and many of their guests started arriving that morning.

“So, did you have fun at your bachelor party last night?” Geri teased.

Apollo winced. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Geri stifled the urge to giggle. Since he was mated to her, he was now “officially” part of the pack even though he wasn’t a shifter, and it seemed the males had been having a little too much fun hazing Apollo. They’d been playing pranks on him, including one that had him stuck inside an outhouse for a whole afternoon. When Geri asked why he didn’t use his magic to get out, he said he didn’t want the guys to call him a pussy.

“There was no hanky-panky,” he said.

“I know.” She trusted him completely, of course, plus she would have immediately felt guilt from him. More than likely, the guys had taken him to one of their local dive bars in the city and probably tried to get him into trouble.

“And your brother was there, so I wasn’t about to piss off someone who could tear me limb from limb.”

“Cade was there?” It was hard to believe her straightlaced, serious Alpha went to a wild bachelor party.

“He’s still a dude,” Apollo reminded her. “Though I think he did it more to keep us out of trouble.”

“Yeah, sounds about right,” she said. “Anyway, we should head back. We have more guests arriving, plus I have to check on preparations.”

“Alright, we should check on our guests. But don’t worry about the preparations and stuff. Artemis said she’ll take care of it.”

And that’s what Geri was worried about.

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