"It feels good to use my skills for something that matters," Maple said, watching her reflection as Celeste applied the finishing touches to her makeup. "Ben jokes that we've gone from treasure hunters to treasure guardians, but honestly, I've never felt more purposeful."
The woman looking back at her from the ornate mirror hardly resembled the practical archaeologist who had trespassed on Trigg Corporation land three months ago. This version of herself glowed with confidence and happiness, her green eyes bright with anticipation, and her skin luminous with the kind of contentment that came from finding exactly where you belonged.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Gerri Wilder swept into the room like a tiny tornado in a brilliant emerald pantsuit. Her white bob was perfectly styled despite her dramatic entrance, and her eyes sparkled with that mysterious combination of mischief and wisdom that made her so formidable.
"Well, well, well," Gerri announced, her voice carrying that familiar note of supreme satisfaction. "Look at what finally happened—the most stubborn dragon Alpha in North America finally admitting that fate knows what it's doing."
Maple couldn't help but grin as the legendary matchmaker approached, her heels clicking against the stone floor like exclamation points. "Gerri! I'm so glad you could make it. Though I have to ask—did you know this would happen when you brought me to meet Bram that first day?"
Gerri's smile turned positively wicked. "Honey, I've been in this business long enough to recognize a cosmic love story when I see one brewing. That man spent three centuries building walls around his heart, and you demolished them in about three days. Of course I knew."
She circled Maple with an appraising eye, taking in every detail of the bridal ensemble. "You look every inch the Alphafemale you were always meant to be. This town, this territory, hell—the entire hidden world of dragons is lucky to have you."
"The work she and Ben have been doing has been remarkable," her mother said, beaming with maternal pride. "It's like watching her finally step into her true calling."
"Speaking of calling," Gerri said, her eyes flashing gold with amusement, "I do believe there's a certain dragon Alpha downstairs who's about five minutes away from shifting forms and flying up to this window to collect his bride. I think the man's patience has reached its absolute limit."
As if summoned by her words, Maple felt a wave of barely controlled anticipation and possessive hunger flood through the mate bond. Rune's emotions were so intense they made her knees almost buckle—desire, love, and an almost feral need to make her officially his in every way.
"Oh my," Maple breathed, pressing a hand to her chest where his dragon mark rested beneath the silk bodice. "He really is losing it down there, isn't he?"
Before anyone could answer, Ben appeared in the doorway, looking handsome in his black tuxedo despite the slightly panicked expression on his face. His usually calm demeanor was nowhere to be found as he gestured urgently toward the gardens.
"We need to get this show on the road right now," he announced without preamble. "Because your future husband is pacing around down there like a caged predator, and I'm pretty sure I just saw his eyes flash gold."
The room erupted in laughter, but Maple could feel the truth of Ben's words through her bond with Rune. Her Alpha was hanging onto his control by the thinnest of threads, his need to complete their union in every possible way overwhelming his usually disciplined nature.
Ben stepped forward and offered his arm with a formal bow that was only slightly undermined by his amused expression."Are you ready to become the wife of the biggest billionaire in the country?"
Maple looked around the room at the faces of the people who had become her chosen family. "I'm ready to become the wife of the love of my life," she said, linking her arm through Ben's.
The simple correction carried profound meaning. Rune's wealth, his power, his ancient heritage—none of that mattered nearly as much as the man who had learned to love without reservation, who had chosen vulnerability over isolation, who made her feel cherished and protected and completely herself all at once.
"I'm really happy for you, Maple," Ben said quietly as they prepared to leave the room. "After watching you chase dragon fantasies for five years, seeing you actually find your dragon... well, I'm just glad I could be along for this crazy beautiful ride."
As they moved toward the door, Maple's heart raced with anticipation. Through the completed mate bond, she could feel Rune's barely leashed hunger, his overwhelming need to see her, to claim her as his wife in front of their entire community. The ancient clearing in his gardens awaited, the same sacred space where he had first surrendered to their bond, and where she had first understood that she was never letting this magnificent man go.
"Let's go make me a dragon's wife," she said with a radiant smile.
They left the room together, Ben's steady presence grounding her as they moved through the mansion's ancient corridors toward the gardens where her future waited. Behind them, the other women followed in a rustling parade of silk and laughter, but all Maple could focus on was the pull of the mate bond drawing her inexorably toward the man who had become her everything.
The moment Ben's steady arm guided her through the mansion's back doors and into the gardens, Maple felt her composure fracture like glass. Her heart raced as they approached the ancient clearing where two hundred clan members waited in reverent silence. The late afternoon sun filtered through the canyon walls, casting everything in golden light that made the gathered dragons look ethereal and otherworldly.
This is really happening,she thought, her grip tightening on Ben's arm.I'm about to marry a five-hundred-year-old dragon.
The panic must have bled through their bond because suddenly she felt Rune's emotions crash into hers—his own nerves spiking dangerously before transforming into something warm and steadying. Without conscious thought, she sent back her own wave of love and reassurance, feeling their connection pulse with shared comfort.
A smile tugged at her lips despite her racing pulse. Even now, even when he was probably fighting his own battle with pre-wedding jitters, Rune knew exactly how to ground her when the world felt too overwhelming.
"You good?" Ben murmured, adjusting his pace as they moved down the flower-lined pathway.
"Never better," she whispered back, and meant it.
The makeshift aisle stretched before them, bordered by wild desert blooms and ancient stone markers that had witnessed dragon ceremonies for centuries. But Maple's eyes found only one thing—the devastatingly handsome man waiting at the end of the path beneath an archway of twisted juniper branches.
Rune stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his black suit fitted perfectly to his powerful frame. His dark hair caught the golden light, and when their gazes locked across the distance, the burning intensity in his blue eyes sent liquid heat flooding through her. He looked like barely leashed powerwrapped in civilized clothing, like a predator who'd learned to wear a tuxedo but hadn't forgotten what he was underneath.
Mine,her heart whispered with fierce possessiveness.
