“Dad?” He came toward us slowly, looking like he was holding his breath.Tobias, what the fuck did you do?
I wanted your family to see you get married.Maybe making it a surprise hadn’t been the smartest move.
“Kyle, it’s so wonderful to see you!” Hillary practically shoved me out of the way to hug Kyle, and Jim grabbed him as soon as Hillary let him go.
For a minute or so, Kyle, his parents, and his sister all talked at once. Stuart stood back looking bored. I was beginning to get a sense of why Kyle didn’t like him.
“How did you guys know this was happening?” Kyle gestured around us. “I was in charge of the invitations.”
“That didn’t mean Tobias couldn’t get in touch.” Hillary frowned. “Like you could have. We’ve missed you, Kyle. I’m glad Tobias reached out.”
“Yeah.”I wish I could say the same, but…
We’ll talk about it later. I’m sorry.I didn’t have much more to say than that.We can sort it out afterward.
We’ll have to.He forced a smile and started chatting with hisfamily again.
Fortunately, the music we’d chosen started playing, with Jon, Peacekeeper of Boston North, running the sound system. Even though Kyle had been all about tradition for most of the wedding, the song he’d chosen for our walk to the gazebo where Garrett Saucier awaited was anything but traditional: A pop song about a club where drag queens and strippers mingled. Because Kyle.
All of the guests started moving toward their seats. Michael brought Kyle’s niblings back to us, and Amy and Stuart took charge of getting them to the right places. Suzannah and Kirk led us up the aisle between the two sections of folding chairs that had been placed along with the rest of the furniture and decorations.
“Thank you all for being here,” Garrett said when we were all in place. “Marriage is not a commitment one makes on a whim. Today, Tobias Rogan and Kyle Slidell will make that commitment to each other, after two years together, forged in fire and grown in joy and sorrow. They will be joined legally, but also in spirit. Tobias, you have something to say to Kyle?”
“Yes.” I’d had to think carefully about how to phrase the vows, knowing that his human family might be present. It hadn’t been easy, but I’d finally found the words to say what I meant without giving anything away. “Kyle, when we met, I didn’t believe we could be together. In one night, everything changed, and I realized you were the one I was meant to be with for the rest of my life, however long that might be. We’re no longer who we were that night two years ago, but you’ve stayed by my side through everything, even when I tried to push you away. I love you, and I want you to be my husband until the end.”
“Aww,” someone in the seats whispered. Everyone laughed.
“Kyle, you have something to say to Tobias?” Garrett asked.
“Yes.” Kyle took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “The first time I saw you, Tobias, I knew you were supposed to be in my life. I didn’t know how. I sure didn’t know the way things would go down. But we’re here now. We’ve survived everything. I’ve pushed you away, and you stuck with me. We’ve managed to stay right where we belong even when we’ve been thousands of miles away. I don’t know who I’d be if I hadn’t met you, and I’mglad I don’t have to find out. I love you.”
This time, no one made a sound. I was a little irked by that.
“Tobias and Kyle will not be exchanging rings,” Garrett said. “They chose to give each other the rings they now wear when they got engaged. But they will exchange promises.” He looked at me. “Tobias Rogan, do you take Kyle Slidell to be your lawful husband, to cherish, to hold, and to care for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” I said. Something in my heart gave way, and I had to swallow hard to keep from bursting into tears.
This was happening. I’d claimed Kyle as my mate nearly as soon as I recognized him. I’d declared him in front of Zane and everyone attending the Northeast Region’s gathering two Septembers prior. But this felt different, and as Garrett repeated the question to Kyle, and Kyle spoke those two words, the feeling grew into something huge and powerful.
Kyle was mine. From now until one of us ended, he was mine. And nothing was going to change that.
“I now declare, by the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that Tobias Rogan and Kyle Slidell are husbands.” He grinned. “Kiss if you want, don’t if not, but I’d guarantee that’s what everyone’s waiting to see.”
I grabbed Kyle and yanked him against me. Our lips met, and that power grew. We made each other stronger. Better. And now everyone would know it.
The guests cheered, and someone—I suspected Michael—made a gagging sound. To the accompaniment of laughter, Kyle and I joined hands.
“This day has been a long time coming,” I said, feeling the goofy smile on my face and not caring how goofy it actually looked. “We are pleased and honored to have shared it with you. Food will be served shortly, and Kyle has been ordered not to smash the cake in my face.” That got a laugh, as I’d hoped it would. “Stay as long as you’re able, and thank you so much for being here.”
One thing about werewolves, we knew how to throw parties.The reception had a blend of music that I suspected Kyle of putting together to get on my nerves, but the guests seemed to enjoy it. People danced. Ate. Chatted. At one point, I caught a glimpse of Xavier and Ren dancing together to a slow song, around the corner of the house so they were out of sight of most of the guests. I pretended I didn’t see them. Whoever they were to each other, and however they chose to handle it, was their business.
Kyle spent some of the time with his family, and I caught him giving me looks that were somewhere between gratitude and anger. We would definitely be having a discussion later. But for now, he seemed happy to see them, and I was glad I’d invited them.
Silas, Quinn, and Malachi were the first to leave, around midafternoon, since Silas had to get back to running Canada. Kyle and I both hugged Quinn goodbye and stuck with handshakes for Silas and Malachi, along with agreements to host and visit them again soon. I didn’t want Quinn to leave now any more than I had back at the turn of the year, but being my guard wasn’t his life anymore. He had Malachi and his younger siblings, though the siblings still lived in Manitoba and Quinn had only been able to see them once in person since Silas lifted the restriction on them knowing what Quinn was. He would be going to school. Becoming the doctor he’d wanted to be for years, even if he was going about it in a different way.
He didn’t belong with me anymore, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t miss him.
Over the next few hours, others left, with the arkhons needing to get back to their regions and others needing to get home to prepare for Monday. Justin and Tareth left on the early side so they could get Chal home to sleep in his own crib; apparently he hadn’t been impressed with the travel crib they’d had him in the night before.
