Rite of Submission - Rite 1

59: Romulus & Remus

                Neither of us had slept, having spent the rest of the night talking as we lay on the bed together. It was weird to have him still fully clothed, lying over the covers while I was naked under them. But it had been the most intimate night we'd spent together. He laced his fingers through mine, kissing the back of my hand, "Are you still sure you want to do this? It's not too late to change your mind."

I shook my head, "I'm not going to change my mind, no matter how many times you ask." I gave his hand a light squeeze. "Maybe you just want me to back out because you're having second thoughts now."

"There isn't a force on earth that could change my mind. But, we will have to get out of bed first," he grumbled. The first ceremony was supposed to happen right at sunrise. "You take the first shower while I grab what you'll need." Neither of us moved though, if it had been any other day, we might have gotten away with it, but weeks of planning had gone into this one day, and hours more of last minute changes. The schedule he had to follow that was laid out almost minute by minute to allow time enough for all his Alpha duties.

One of us had to be the first to move, and it clearly wasn't going to be him, even if he was the one that actually had to be there. I let myself enjoy one last kiss before I wiggled out of his embrace. I sat on the edge of the bed to tuck the sheet into place around me before I stood up. "When are we going to be able to tell Sophie?"

"We'll find time," he climbed off the other side of the bed, scrubbing his hands over his face, "I might prioritize finding time for us get a nap first." I turned and frowned at him, "We can tell her at breakfast, I promise."

Nodding, more to myself than him, I stood up and made my way to the bathroom. I needed to jump into a pool of coffee, but a shower would have to do. Seeing all of my things were right where I left them, made me smile while I showered and washed my hair. I was starting to get the jitters, just like I used to the day before a big test. This whole day was about to be the biggest test of my life. There was no time to dwell on it though.

Dmitri slipped into the shower behind me as I finished rinsing out my hair. His arms wrapped around my waist, and we leaned into each other for a moment. "Everything you need is in the box on the bed," he whispered in my ear, leaving a soft kiss on my neck before letting his arms drop. "I'll be out to as soon as I can."

I stepped out of the shower without looking back at him, "Just don't take too long." I'd felt his arousal before he'd let go of me, and I could feel him watching me as I walked away. Grabbing a towel to dry off with, but not wrapping it around me, I left him to shower alone.

There was a large white garment box waiting for me on the bed. I held my breath as I lifted back the lid, and folded over the tissue paper inside. A stark white mask stared back at me atop a pile of white velvet. I'd known what was going to happen, but now it was starting to feel too real. I couldn't bring myself to touch it yet. I decided to comb out my hair. Tangle free, it was easier to twist it up and pin to the back of my head in a figure eight, to keep it all hidden under the hood.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he smirked, leaning against the door frame. "I thought you'd be dressed already."

"Well if you'd like to grab me a pair of scissors, I can literally cut off what takes me so long," I teased.

He raised his hands in mock surrender, "I knew I was going to regret agreeing to wait until tomorrow."

Forcing my hands to be steady, I lifted the mask out of the box and set it aside to get to the fabric beneath it. When it was clear that I wasn't going to banter with him, he disappeared into the closet. I was still fumbling with the garment when he walked out, fully dressed in a black suit, with a cloak and jacket tossed over his arm. "I can't figure this damn thing out," I complained as he watched me with an amused smile.