“Wake up.” Lola sang after fixing herself.
Cali grumbled and promised her death, and Rachel sat up with a smile stretching her arms.
“Is it time?” Rachel asked.
“Yes,” I said, “But your duty is done. I’m married and we have photos, so..”
“No, no I’ll come. I want to be there. For a bit at least.” She amended.
“Let’s do it.” Cali groaned and rolled out of bed, not bothering to check her hair or makeup before leading us out.
I met Caspien at the entrance to the massive hall we rented. Even the packhouse with all its rooms and ballrooms wasn’t big enough for the number of people invited. “Ready?” I asked him.
“With you? I’m ready for anything.” He held out his hand and the dim light bounced off his gold wedding band. My stomach flipped every time I saw it on him.
“Can I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Caspien Dracos.” A muffled voice sounded.
Caspien rolled his eyes. “You’re not taking my first name, I asked them not to do that.” He grumbled.
“It’s okay, let’s not let it ruin tonight,” I said only to him. I didn’t care if they fucked up all the names.
I was his and he was mine and we were us and that was all that mattered.
We walked into deafening cheers and applause. My eyes adjusted to the brightness, but the number of people shocked me. I almost forgot to walk forward but Caspien gracefully led me.
We smiled and waved to people, thanking them for coming.
Finally, we were through most of the throng and found our wedding party, parents, and kids, waiting for us.
“I’ll take Emmett to the play place,” Caspien said.
“Loreli is already there,” Holden mentioned, “And Lilith is with the dads, Grace is off bossing someone around.”
“I’ll come with you.” I told Caspien and took Emmett’s hand in mine, “You did so well today, thank you for making our day special.”
“I’m just happy you’re finally a Dracos, Mama.” My heart tugged and I swear Caspien’s breath caught.
The crowd was lighter here, most of them already at their seats or milling around the dance floor. Even though we were only here for a few minutes, I was already glad of the extra breathing room. I don’t think I would ever get used to the crowds. I took a step back when my eyes met Hugos.
I wasn’t expecting them here even though we extended the invitation to all of them.
Goddess, they were all here.
“Hugo, Natalie,” Caspien greeted them, cooly, “Alpha Nolan, Camilla,” He nodded at them about to walk away.
A little head peered out behind Camilla’s dress, “Mommy, I’m thirsty,” He tugged at her dress.
“Sorry,” Camilla apologized for him, “It’s been a long day.”
“If you’re comfortable with it, we have an area set up for the kids,” I offered.
Camilla glanced down at her son for a moment; worry seemed to cross her face.
“I can show him,” Emmett offered, “Loreli is already there, and there’s cake,” he exclaimed.
“No cake before dinner,” Caspien put his hand on Emmett’s shoulder, and Emmett frowned, “Okay, maybe a few bites.” Caspien amended and Emmett rewarded him with a smile.
“Emmett, this is Alpha Nolan and his mate Camilla from The Blue Ridge Pack, the pack that me and grandma and grandpa are from,” I knelt down, explaining.
Emmett took a step towards Nolan and extended his hand, “Alpha Nolan.”
Nolan wrapped his hand around Emmetts, his eyes wide. I didn’t understand why he was reacting this way until it clicked that this was the first time that Nolan was meeting someone that in another life could have been his son. I shuddered thinking about that. “I’m Emmett,” Emmett looked at the little boy.
“I’m Theo,” the boy said.
Emmet stepped back, looking up at Caspien with a wide smile, “This is my dad; he’s the strongest wolf ever. We live in the clouds and let me paint my room blue.”
“I like red,” Theo said.
Hugo took a step forward, looking at me in question. I nodded once.
“Hi, Emmett is it? My name is Hugo, and this is my mate, Natalie. It’s really nice to meet you.” His voice sounded almost revenant, and Emmett smiled brightly.
“Nice to meet you.” He reached out for his hand. Caspien had been teaching him, and he picked it up quickly, starting to shake Cali and Holden’s hands every time they walked into our apartment.
“Hi.” Natalie swallowed, “You are absolutely adorable.”
“Okay, thank you.” Emmett nodded not sure about all the attention.
“Do you want to play?” Emmett turned his attention back to Theo. “Mommy can I? Please please please.” Theo clutched at Camilla’s dress.
“Okay, I’ll walk you there.” She patted his head, and Emmett led the way.
I watched as he directed them to the kid’s area, heavily staffed with sitters and filled with games and food. The benefit of having an early ceremony was that we could start the reception early and it wouldn’t have to turn into an impossibly long night. Those were getting harder to recover from, even with the help of our parents. Catching up on sleep with a few-month-old took days.
Nolan wandered off with a vacant faraway look without saying a word. No one else seemed to notice his absence.
“Thank you for letting us meet him,” Hugo said, “We didn’t mean to ambush you; we’re here to support you, and uh-” He looked around nervously. “To apologize.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” He was a good Alpha, Natalie was a bit of a b.itch to me at times, but it wasn’t entirely their fault how Nolan turned out.
I got lucky with Emmett. Part of it was how we raised him, but from the start, he was such a curious and sweet boy.
“I feel like I do need to though, we do,” He grasped Natalies’ hand, who was looking down. “I regret what happened and wish we would have known sooner, maybe we could have..” He trailed off.
“I appreciate that, I do. No matter what, Nolan and I both ended up where we needed to be. You let your son make his own choices, and I know Nolan well enough to know that when he makes a decision, he isn’t easily swayed.” He was a stubborn a.ss and rarely listened to the opinions of others around him.
“There really isn’t anything you could have done, and I am so glad you didn’t intervene.”I went on; Caspien squeezed my hand, “I am incomparably happy, and this was meant to be.” I met Hugo’s eyes, and he gave me a genuine smile.
“Good.” He let out a deep breath, “We’re happy for you and thank you for inviting us.”
“Of course, you’re welcome anytime,” I said.
Camilla came up and frowned, looking around for who I could only assume was Nolan.
“They’re settled in the kids’ area,” She said to me, offering a shy smile. “That’s a great idea, by the way. Your jumpsuit is lovey. Did you get married in it?” She asked. I was surprised there wasn’t a hint of disdain or venom in her voice. “Wow.” Comillo’s eyes widened.
“Uh, no, actually.”
“I can show you.” Caspien cut in, pulling a photo from Goddess knew where.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.