Page 110 of The Omega

“And did he?” Fallon pressed for more details.

Jesse zipped up his bag and I thought that was the end until a Cheshire grin spread across his face. “Oh, he’s clean alright. And also a little dirty.”

Catcalls and whistles filled the room.

I smiled at my own reflection as Aspen stepped up beside me.

“You don’t owe that show anything,” she whispered as she took my hand in hers. “This is your day. Your life. Your story.”

I held her hand tighter, pouring all the love and magic in my heart into the touch. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Anytime.” She winked.

“Five minutes!” someone called.

After a flutter of kisses and hugs and well-wishes with some last-minute lipstick touch-ups, I went outside.

The cicadas were a background noise as the early summer wildflowers blossomed in the heat. But dusk was falling and the air was less sticky when the breeze rippled through the mountains.

We’d gone for a traditional folk-style venue with wood arches and lace white trim. Everything was simple and rustic and beautiful.

The perfect Appalachian wedding.

There he is!

Standing at the top of the walking path that would lead to the ceremony was Alpha Journey looking very dapper in his suit.

I picked up the hem of my gown and hurried toward him, bare feet barely touching the earth.

The rapid fire of cameras and sound teams moving around didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought they would.

But Journey was nervous.

“Look at you.” I whistled, kissing his rough cheek as I sent him a wave of calming energy. “You clean up nice.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, tugging at his collar.

“Don’t stretch out your shirt,” one of the camera team warned.

Journey growled.

I laughed, knowing I was going to love all these pictures.

“You look real pretty too,” Journey spoke from the corner of his mouth as the camera crews prodded and poked and posed us for photos.

“Thank you for giving me away,” I whispered.

“Thank you for asking me to,” he whispered back.

And suddenly I was eight years old again, watching as he sat patiently on the porch step, waiting for me to come out of hiding when my mom had disappeared on a bender, with a bar of chocolate in his hand. “Come on, pup. You need to eat something. We’ll go look for your mom after you do.”

“Okay, you two. The music is starting. We need you at the top of the hill.” We were ushered to the next point.

Journey smiled down at me as he offered his arm. Tears shone in his eyes behind the years of wrinkles and scars.

Remember the cat will kill us if we cry.

I took Journey’s arm, looking below the hill to where the path widened out. There at the end, under the tall wooden arch, stood the Omega priestess along with my handsome mates.