“Stop it,” Carter growls at me. “You’ll ruin your tie.”
I stifle the whine that threatens to make its way up my throat and force myself to be still, gripping my hands in front of me. I’ve never been this antsy in my life, and it doesn’t help that all our friends and family are here, watching me make a fool of myself. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. The last thing I need is to wolf out in the middle of our wedding ceremony, and if I’m not careful, that’s exactly what will happen.
The witch officiant behind us clears her throat then signals to someone, and the first strings of music start to play, a friend of Emma’s on the cello, rendering this forest scene even more ethereal.
Emma and my mom have outdone themselves in setting up our wedding venue. We decided to get married right here on our property, in a clearing not far from our house, because Emma said this is where she has felt the happiest. Now there are rows of chairs set up, enough for all our family members and friends from other packs, as well as the supernatural community from Clearwater, for Emma’s coworkers and some friends she’d met studying at the University of Maine. We’d decided to postpone this wedding for a year to let Emma get ahead with her studies, and she’s been working so diligently on her degree, all while working part-time at a vet clinic in town.
We’ve also respected her wishes to finish her degree before having babies, a decision that was hard forallof us, including Emma—but so right for our family. We’d visited with a local charms witch to get her a contraceptive necklace, the only thing strong enough to keep her from getting pregnant, and she’s been wearing it ever since, a beautiful silver-and-moonstone pendant.
The music swells, and all the hairs on my neck stand up in anticipation.
This is it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. I can’t believe it’s actually?—
Emma comes into view, and my thoughts scatter. She’s beautiful in a long white gown that molds to her upper body, then flares down, all the way to the ground. She walks toward us, and I see the tip of a silver sneaker peeking out from under the hem. She’s been conflicted about not wearing heels, but getting married in the forest does have its drawbacks. Seems like she found the perfect solution, because her outfit looksstunning.
But everything pales in comparison to the pure joy shining on her face when I meet her gaze. She’s smiling, but there’s nothing serene or calm about it—her grin stretches her cheeks, her eyes are wet with tears, and she almost runs down the aisle toward us, makingthe guests laugh.
“Fuck, she’s beautiful,” I murmur, the words falling out of my mouth before I can stop myself.
The supernatural guests, the ones with better-than-human hearing, roar with laughter at this, while the rest of the crowd exchange puzzled glances. We’d opted for everyone to remain human-shaped tonight so we wouldn’t have to out ourselves as werewolves to anyone who isn’t quite ready to hear the truth, and I’m regretting this decision now because it’s getting harder and harder to remain in my human form when I feel like bursting out of my skin.
I glance right, at Carter, to see how he’s doing, and find him staring straight at Emma, his lips parted, his eyes glinting gold. He looks great in a charcoal-gray tux, his short hair freshly trimmed, the perfect image of an alpha. I’m so proud to be marrying him today.
To my left, Sebastian makes a choked sound, then leaps forward, rushing toward Emma. Gasps, then applause and whoops rise from the crowd. He wraps her in his arms, then kisses her soundly right there in the middle of the aisle.
“Godsdamnit,” Carter mutters, but he’s grinning, too, unable to begrudge Sebastian this outburst of affection.
Emma clings to Sebastian’s arm as he leads her all the way to us. She gives her wedding bouquet to her friend, Arielle, to hold, then joins us in front of the crowd. Carter takes her face between his palms and kisses her forehead, and she closes her eyes for a moment, her hands clutched in the lapels of his jacket. Then she turns to me, expression so full of love, my heart feels like bursting.
“Hey, honey,” I murmur, pitching my voice low just for her. I take her hands and kiss her knuckles, keeping my gaze on her face. “You look wonderful.”
“So do you,” she whispers back. “I’m so happy to be with you.”
I squeeze her fingers, and with that, we all turn toward the officiant, who smiles at us and begins the ceremony.
We’ve opted for a simple one that omits any mention of werewolves, which is also the reason why we’re not sharing wedding vows with everyone right now—we wouldn’t be able to say everything we want with so many humans present.
It seems like mere minutes pass before the elderly witch asks me to repeat the words of the wedding oath after her.
I turn toward my three mates and recite, “I, Troy Bennett, take you, Emma, Carter, and Sebastian, as my mates, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better and for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until the day I die.”
Something warm grows in my chest the moment I say the words out loud, and I smile at them, catching each of their gazes to confirm the truth of what I’m saying. And when the three of them repeat those same vows back to me, my throat closes up, so much so that I have to swallow several times before I’m able to pull myself together. Glancing toward the front aisle, I see my mom crying silently into her handkerchief, her grin radiant. She’d been worried about me in the past, but now, she knows I’ll be happy with my mates forever.
When the officiant offers us the satin cushion with four wedding rings resting on it, my fingers tremble from all the emotion. But Carter is shaking, too, so I guess this is normal when marrying the loves of your life.
We agreed on the exchange of rings beforehand, so I know to grab Sebastian’s ring from the cushion. They each take one as well, and I go first, taking Sebastian’s left hand and looking him in the eyes. He grins up at me, his hazel eyes wet with happy tears, and lets me slip the platinum ring onto his finger.
Then he puts the ring on Carter, muttering, “Alpha,” as he does it.
Carter lets out a low growl, and I know he’ll get Sebastian back for this word—because being called that always makes him hot. His scent blooms in the air, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek and think of doing yearly taxes before I can be sure I won’t get hard in front of all the guests, including my mother.
Yeah, Sebastian will pay for this, and I’ll enjoy it so much.
When Carter takes Emma’s ring from the cushion, a hush falls on the crowd. It’s an oval-shaped diamond with small stones worked into the band itself, and we’ve had it imbued with protection spells that will last a lifetime. Her hand fits so well in Carter’s. He lifts it, and the ring sliding home feels like the culmination of everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
But it’s not the end—because Emma takes the last ring from the cushion and turns to me. She gazes up at me with so much love and affection, I lose focus of everything else but her and our mates, crowding around us. The world falls away, my entire being devoted to these three people. Emma grins, her expression turning impish, as if she’s anticipating our wedding night already.
Then she puts the ring on my finger. The cool metal fits perfectly. As it settles against my skin, so does the realization that this is real, that I got everything I ever wanted.
