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“Kaspian, Taiyo, and I are proud to officially introduce you to our chosen Omega, the Cinderella of this story and the Darling of our hearts, put your hands together for Maddie!”
There’s a moment of brief, stunned silence, but then to my surprise, a roaring cheer breaks out from the crowd as Wolf takes my hand and raises it into the air like I’m a fighter who’s won the world’s greatest match. In a way, I suppose that’s exactly what I am, so I tighten my grip on his fingers and smile wider than ever before, allowing my relief and my love for them to break free.
Eat your heart out, Clara! Bet you’re not going to pull my scholarship now, are you, Hartigan?
As much as I’m gleeful about having defied the odds, though, it’s not a patch on how it feels to be publicly claimed by my Alphas. When Wolf lowers our joined hands but keeps speaking into the microphone, I frown, giving him a questioning look.
I thought we were leaving after he made the announcement?
He grins as he shakes his head at me. “You know, before the Trials started, I didn’t think much about the tradition we had to take part in.”
Gasps ring out across the room—and the world, no doubt—but Wolf simply rolls his eyes good-naturedly before he turns back to me. “What? Everybody knows it’s true. We were skeptics, you were a skeptic. Everybody was a skeptic, and why not? It’s an ancient rite of passage forced upon every third generation to prevent the likelihood of inbreeding among the Royals by bringing in fresh blood.”
If I had a sip of anything in my mouth, I’d have spewed it all over him right about now, but Wolf isn’t known for keeping his mouth shut. Between the three, he’s the straight-talker. Kaspian is the diplomat, and Tai is more famous for shutting up—which I intend to work on.
“However,” Wolf continues as he wraps an arm around my waist and draws me closer. “I must admit that the twist of fate that brought Maddie here instead of somebody else has turned me into a believer. I love you, Mads, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Before I know what’s happening, he seals his mouth over mine and kisses me hard, even dipping me back until my hair is likely brushing the ground before he finally lets me go.The entire world just saw that. Holy shit.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the magnitude of it all when Wolf surprises me again by handing the mic over to Tai. The earl takes it easily, obviously having known it was coming—unlike some of us—and steps forward to take my hand out of Wolf’s.
“Maddison Darling, you are a force to be reckoned with,” he begins, his voice soft but sure as those warm brown eyes catch on mine. “No words have yet been invented that are adequate for me to describe how much I love you, but I do. I’ve been waiting for you since long before I knew you existed for real, and I can’t believe we’ve finally found you. In front of our families and a few billion of our closest friends, I choose you, Maddie. Now and forever.”
Tears prick at the backs of my eyes, but Tai kisses my lids gently, his lips lingering on my skin before he pulls away and hands the microphone over to Kaz. The prince’s long fingers close around it and he brings it to his lips, but unlike the other two, he doesn’t take my hand or step closer.
“Wolfgang might not have believed in the Trials,” he starts easily, speaking more casually than he usually does in public. “I wish I could say I didn’t agree with him before, but I did.”
A ripple of surprise passes through the crowd and Kaz smirks. “Yes, I know. No one expected me to admit that, but I’m all about being true to myself these days. Traditions are meant to evolve over time, and this one didn’t. That bothered me. Until now, that is.”
He looks at the crowd and then straight into the closest camera. “See, in the past, the Omegas who were selected came from powerful, influential families who were seen as having something to offer to the crown. That will not be the case going forward. I’ve come to understand the importance of traditions such as this, but the monarchy will no longer stagnate. We will evolve, transform, and hopefully soon, my pack and I will give you lots of little royals to fawn over.”
Way to break the tension with a joke, but jeez. If that’s not anup yours, you’re not in control anymoreto his mother, then I don’t know what is.
Finally, Kaz turns to me. “Thank you for putting up with me, Maddie. I wish I could say I’ll be less stubborn from now on, but that’s probably not true. Just remember that while I’m being stubborn, I’m also loving you.”
He holds out his hand to me and I take it. When he tugs me into him, I catch another glimpse of the queen. Her lips are pursed so tight, they might permanently fuse together.Although, that may not be a bad thing.
Since we’re on live TV, though, she has to accept the choice they made. She can’t have a tantrum about it—especially not after what Kaz just said. He hands the microphone back to the stunned announcer, who recovers as Kaz claims my mouth with his own for all the world to see.
“Well, there you have it, everybody. Your chosen Omega, Maddison Darling!”
EPILOGUE
M A D D I E
“This has been a crazy month, huh?”Antonio says from the chair beside mine. The makeup artist gives him a warning look, but he shrugs as he smirks at her. “What? I won’t make her talk or cry. It was a rhetorical question. I’ll catch up with her without her having to speak to me at all.”
The hair stylist behind me gives him a sharp look in turn. “She can’t nod or shake her head either, so you’re on your own, I’m afraid.”
“Yay.” He lifts his hands and shakes them around a little. “Can you believe it’s been a month since the Final Ceremony and I’m still getting requests to be interviewed about what happened behind the scenes?”
He sniffs. “I haven’t told them anything about the queen having her knickers in a knot about you, though. The money they’ve offered me hasn’t been enough to betray you.”
The makeup artist pulls her sponge away from my face, and I take the opportunity to arch an eyebrow at him. “Are you saying that you’ll tell the truth if they offer you more?”
Humor sparkles in his dark eyes as he lifts one shoulder and slowly drops it again. “I don’t know. Francis and I still have our own Bonding Ceremony coming up andsomeonehas to pay for it. Not all of us have the Royals footing the bill for our I-do’s.”
“Oh, please. Your parents can afford it,” Casey interjects from his other side, and I raise my fist to bump hers. I don’t say what I’m really thinking. That most Omegas don’t even get an official bonding ceremony with all the pomp and finery. Most are just happy to bond into a pack who love them. I know that if it weren’t a royal requirement to go through with the traditional ceremony, I’d rather do this just the four of us.
