Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 405: Getting Married Griffin hadn't been kidding, he really did have a huge family. They were currently seated for breakfast, and if it weren't for Griffin's reassuring presence beside her, Violet would've bolted. Everyone was staring at her.

The twins, Vivain and Blaire Hale, were eight and unmistakably took after their mother, Irene. Though they were identical in appearance, Violet could already tell them apart by their attitudes and expressions.

Vivain was the one who had barged into their room that morning and ended up reporting their sexual activity to Irene. The girl was bold, brash, and outspoken, while her twin was the literal opposite. Blaire was quiet and sensible. However, it was always the quiet ones you had to watch out for. Griffin had told her the girls were infamous for their pranks, with Blaire as the orchestrator and Vivain as the executioner.

Then there was Kaia Hale, or as Griffin liked to call her, "my number one contender for the throne." She was your typical hormonal teenager, knee-deep in that infamous rebellion phase and, as Griffin put it, "a little difficult" these days. He told her Kaia used to be incredibly sweet, and the two of them had once been inseparable but something had shifted, and that closeness had faded.

Now Kaia just liked to prove that she could do better than Griffin. And perhaps that had something to do with the fact that the Seer, Alice, had predicted Kaia would emerge with an Alpha wolf. That wasn't hard to believe, given her rapid growth-not just physically, but in strength as well-which had begun to create tension between them. Two Alphas can't rule one pack.

Normally, when one sibling possessed an Alpha wolf, the other did not, unless they were twins. No one knew what the goddess was playing at, but it was affecting their relationship. And it didn't help matters that Irene refuse to let her go to Lunaris Academy.

Still, beneath all that, Kaia was a good girl.

Then there was the last, but certainly not the least, the baby of the house, Callen Hale. He was two, maybe three years old? Violet couldn't say for sure, since werewolf children grew so fast. Still, one thing was clear: Callen was absolutely adorable. Violet had no doubt he'd be breaking hearts in the future if someone didn't keep an eye on him. He and Kaia were the only ones in the family who had inherited their fathers' ebony hair.

And yes, there were their fathers, Aeron and Arion. Unlike Arion, who had welcomed her with warmth so far, Aeron still wore that stone-faced expression, like he was two seconds away from drawing a sword and tearing her apart if she ever brought harm to his family. One thing Violet had noticed, though was the entire family had long hair.

Good. She'd want that for her baby too. Wait - what?! "Are you people going to eat or should I pluck out your eyes?" Irene subtly threatened, and just like that, everyone, and by everyone, she meant not just the children but Arion and Aeron included, dug into their food, the sound of cutlery clicking sharply against plates echoing through the room.

Violet smiled inwardly. She had to admit, she was impressed by the way Irene ran her family. She respected her husbands yet took the role of Alpha all the same. Not everyone could do that.

There were so many food on the table: spiced rice, roasted vegetables, honey-glazed meat strips, buttery rolls, grilled fish wrapped in leaf, thick stew with floating herbs, and bowls of fruit sprinkled with crystal-like sugar. Violet was trying to dish her rice from the main bowl when Griffin said, "Here." He had already served her a portion.

"Thank you," Violet smiled at him.

"Aww, aren't they so adorable," Arion swooned.

"Ugh. This is makingsick." Kaia groaned, then turned to her mother. "How long am I going to endure this?" Irene gave her a sweet, sarcastic smile. "Till eternity, darling." Kaia rolled her eyes.

Vivain, seated next to Violet, turned and said, "You are so pretty." "Aww, thank you," Violet touched her heart, pleasantly surprised.

But she shouldn't have rejoiced so soon because Vivain added, "But you're not prettier than me." She flipped her hair with all the tic flair to pass her point.

Damn. Violet was dumbfounded.

Beside her, Griffin snorted a laugh. Even the cold, hardened Aeron had a small smile tug at his lips, although it vanished almost immediately.

"Also, you have a pretty rune. Can I touch it?" Vivain was at it again.

"Dummy," her older sister and twin, Blaire, said flatly. "You don't touch a mate's rune. That's like private." Irene sighed. "Can we not, like, talk at the table?" Arion shrugged. "Well, maybe give an exception this time. It's bonding twith the latest member of the family, Violet Purple." But Aeron countered, "She's just Griffin's mate at the moment. Not a member of the family until the Cnáimhseáil Anama." "Cnáimhseáil Anama! Yeah!" Callen yelled in excitement.

Vivain joined in immediately, shouting, "Cnáimhseáil Anama!" which made Callen scream even louder with her. Violet, confused, muttered, "Cnái-what?" She couldn't even pronounce it.

Griffin leaned in and said softly, "CNAWM-shawl AH-na-ma. It's... urm..." He cleared his throat. "It's a ritual invoking the goddess's blessing." "Oh please, stop sugarcoating the words," Kaia said, clearly relishing his fumbling. Then she looked Violet deep in the eye. "It's your marriage ritual, essentially. In one word, you're getting married. Congratulations, sister-in- law." "Excuse me?" Violet shouted, shocked.

"Kaia!" Irene reprimanded her.

"What?" Kaia shrugged unapologetically. "It's the truth, isn't it?"

"Whether it's the truth or not, you knew how sensitive that is and it wasn't you place to say it, and you En know it!" "Well, the milk's been spilled." Irene glared at her. "You're grounded for the week."

"What?! No, you can't do that! I have an appointment with my friends this ve afternoon! Kaia said, horrified. "I just did," Irene declared.

Kaia turned to her fathers. "Tell her she can't do that!"

Aeron was the one who spoke. "She's your mother, and yes, we're in one' beeyes.

hundred percent support of her." Kaia shook her head as if she couldn't believe they would do that to her.

"I'm done here." She stood abruptly to leave.

"Sit," Irene commanded. "You finish your meal. Now." There was no disobeying her mother's authority, Kaia sat her ass back down.

Violet then said, "With all due respect, can anyone tellwhat is going on right now?"