Chapter 167
0167
(Author POV)
Finally, it was “show time.” Guests were seated on all three floors of the large opera house, while presenters, members of the wedding party, and a few other important guests waited in rooms backstage. along with their (admittedly necessary) security details.
Each backstage room was equipped with televisions that allowed the occupants to see and hear what was happening on stage. Trusted members of the Movement were operating all of the audio and visual equipment required for the event, and they were also manning each of the doors in and out of the large
facility.
Sheila was waiting in the largest backstage room. She was accompanied by her parents, Margie, Beta Robert, Nick, Jenny, Luna Jane, Alpha Randall, and her bridesmaids. Sheila was dressed in a beautiful form-fitting wedding dress that had been custom made out of lace and silk, and her neck, ears, and hair
were draped in expensive diamonds.
Despite the fact that the event was also supposed to be a memorial, almost everyone in Sheila’s room seemed focused on the upcoming nuptials and found themselves to be in a relatively upbeat mood. (The) only exception was Margie, who was in a good mood but still-like always- 98% focused on Stephanie.)
While waiting for the event to start, Sheila excitedly talked to her parents and sister about her plans for
her new pup and the new life that she expected to have as Luna of the West Mountain Pack.
Meanwhile, James was waiting in a much smaller room, and the mood around him was much more
subdued. He was accompanied by Dr. Hyder and a few trusted members of the Movement including Joey
and Jessica. Despite being told everything was fine and was being handled, James insisted on
repeatedly going over their action plan again and again. In his mind, doing so was absolutely critical to
ensure that no detail was missed that could derail the success of their plan.
Unfortunately, James would soon learn that no plan was perfect. Several events would take place that were beyond anyone’s control. One of those events was named “Stephanie.”
Yes, they knew she might come. They had planned for that. What they had not planned on was Stephanie causing a loud and public scene. They had assumed that-after faking her own death- Stephanie would linger quietly in the background, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. Unfortunately, this bellef was premised on a false assumption as the Movement and others would soon learn, Stephanie had NOT faked her own death… or at least she had not done so intentionally. Nor was Sheila the
ultimate culprit.
At exactly two o’clock, Alpha Randall took the stage to welcome everyone to the elaborate affair. The traditional memorial speeches began soon thereafter.
Forty-five minutes later, Sheila’s older sister encouraged her to go to the stage to get a better view of the event. Sheila did not need to be told twice; this was a day that she had been dreaming of for years. She quickly snuck onto the stage, hiding behind the red curtain that currently hid the wedding arch from the audience. She moved the curtain just slightly so that she could peek out. Awe-struck, she stayed and
continued to watch.
Meanwhile, Stephanie had just arrived. She had gone to the pack as planned, but found that almost
everyone was gone. Placing her suitcase on the bed in her old room, she found the invitation to the wedding memorial waiting for her. She was immediately enraged, and quickly headed to the opera house
to stop the event.
Dressed in blue jeans, a sweatshirt, and a black bob wig-her normal traveling attire when trying to hide her identity- she made her way there, not even bothering to properly park her car. The security guards did not bother to question her until she got close to the stage, but at that point, Nick’s mate and Sheila’s older sister Jenny-who must have recognized Stephanie despite her outfit- told the guards to let her
through. 2
Stephanie was so blinded by her anger towards Sheila that she did not question why Jenny seemed
unsurprised that she was alive and well. Instead, Stephanie simply demanded that Jenny show her where
Sheila was. Jenny ushered Stephanie to the stage and then stepped back.
Separately, Jenny mind-linked members of the Movement to let them know that the plans had just changed. She asked that sound be cut to the front-stage microphones and that all of the back-stage microphones-where Sheila and Stephanie now faced each other- be turned on. Finally, she begged
that no one be allowed to intervene until further order. 1
Receiving confirmation from members of the Movement -and a few choice curse words from James- Jenny sat down in a nearby chair. She was close enough to see everything play out in real time, but far enough to not be in the way. Jenny smiled as she watched her two long-term enemies angrily glare at each other, and she prayed that the drama and revenge would be just as sweet as she had dreamed.
Soon, the sound of two she-wolves yelling and cursing at each other filled the opera house. As the alpha and beta couples listened, they and everyone else- found themselves frozen in place. They could not have intervened even if they wanted to; they were too shocked by the sound of the voice that they had not heard in over six years, and shocked too by the revelations that were quickly coming out during the course of the she-wolves’ argument.
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