by Robin Roseau
"Before we can bless this union of two women," Gia said. "We must hear your pledge to your duties to the pack. Michaela, you are omega fox, and you will remain omega fox, although I wonder perhaps whether that is truly necessary."
I smiled.
"However, you are Alpha-to-be, and soon you will be Alpha, to stand beside Lara, neither in front of her nor behind her, but at her side. And so, we ask you, will you accept your duties? Will you fight with the pack? Will you protect our young, and our old, and our weak? Will you offer aid to those in need, and guidance to all? Will you be our friend, or mentor, our leader? Will you be our alpha?"
I glanced over at Lara. She was smiling expectantly. I faced Gia but raised my voice so it would carry to all, as best I could.
"The duties you list are the duties of everyone here," I said. "We all protect the pack. We all offer our gifts of strength or wisdom or knowledge. That is what it means to be pack. And these duties I do wholeheartedly vow to fulfill."
I glanced at Lara. "For this next part, I believe that less than one day ago, I suggested perhaps I should be made aware of any particular customs I may need to know prior to needing to know them."
"Oh shit," said Angel.
I reached behind me and squeezed her hand.
"And so, I will say this. I will stand beside Lara. But any authority I hold is due to my position as a teacher of our young, as an adult of the pack, or as granted by the alpha. I will stand beside Lara as Alpha, if that is what she wishes, and what you wish, for as long as she wishes and as long as we share our days. Any authority I wield, I wield because it is Lara's wish."
I turned to Gia. "I do not know if what I offered is what you have asked."
"It is," she said. "Thank you, Michaela, omega fox and Alpha-to-be."
It was Rory's turn. "Lara, you perform your duties as Alpha as well as all of us could possibly hope. You give us your strength and your guidance. You lead us in directions perhaps others may not have chosen, but they are the right directions. We follow you as Alpha not because you are strongest, or because you are wisest, but because you are best of all of us to lead us."
I squeezed her hand.
"But now you have new duties, duties that are unfamiliar to you. And so we must ask you, will you ask Michaela to stand beside you? Will you guide her as she learns her new duties? Will you share with her your thoughts and your reasons? Will you accept her guidance and her wisdom? Will you vow to help Michaela become the best Alpha she possibly can?"
"I will!" she said firmly. She pulled me against her.
"Enforcers!" said Gia.
"Pack leaders!" said Rory.
"Will you bless this joining?" Gia asked them.
All the enforcers, including Gia and Elisabeth, and all the council members raised their noses and howled.
When the howling was over, Gia and Rory sat down. Francesca and Vivian stood up and took their places.
"It is tradition," Vivian said, "for this next part to be officiated by the alpha or a senior male member of the council. Due to the somewhat unusual aspects of this joining, we have chosen a somewhat unusual pair to officiate."
"I hope you will all accept us," Francesca said with a smile. "Michaela and Lara, you have expressed your desire to wed, if not in the eyes of the foolish human authorities, at least in the eyes of all present here."
"You have each prepared vows you wish to offer," Vivian said. "It is traditional for the bride to begin. Frequently it is found her vows are lengthy and moving, and listening to her recite her vows gives the male a chance to become exceedingly nervous and to try to make up something longer than, 'I want to marry you'."
I laughed at that, and I wasn't alone.
"But today we have two brides," Francesca said. "And so we have no tradition to respect."
"So we ask, Michaela, omega fox, Alpha-to-be, do you wish to offer your vows first, or do you rather hear your mate's?"
I looked at Lara. She smiled at me, not offering a clue what she wanted. "I believe I would prefer to go first," I said. "If Lara agrees."
"I do," she said.
We turned directly to face each other, and Lara took both my hands in hers.
"Lara, I love you with all my heart. And I have much to promise you. I am not only marrying Lara, the woman who stands before me, but I am also marrying Lara, alpha to these wolves sitting here today. And so my vows are not only to you, but also to them."
She smiled at me.
I took my hands from hers and turned to face the assembled wolves, walking slowly back and forth in front of them. "I have lived in your extended territory for nine years. I would, from time to time, come to greet some of you on the streets near my home. In other times and other places, I was given much reason to distrust wolves, and I approached all chance encounters with you with the greatest of caution and a healthy amount of terror."
I looked around and looked at Lara. "A year ago I had my first conversation with a wolf that was not based on ill will. Lara came to my doorstep, along with four other large wolves-"
"I was on your grass next to your house!" she said. "Just to clarify."
I laughed. "Fine. You came to my home, and you invited yourself into my life. I was at the time, unwilling to accept your invitation." I turned to face the audience. "Lara can be very firm in her position, and for that I am deeply grateful. That day marked the day that my life turned, and I will never forget."
I walked to the other side of the stage and stood there for a moment.
"You have all invited me into your pack and have shared your customs. And now I am invited to become Lara's wife and, surprisingly, a leader to all of you. And so, I have promises to make."
I returned to Lara. "Lara, you are the love of my life, the love I never thought I could ever have. You are my greatest friend, my love, my protection, my strength. You are where I turn for safety, for comfort, for joy, for pleasure. I love you. I love you. I love you. I am your mate, and now I am to be your wife, and so I make these promises to you."
"I promise there will be joy. I promise there will be sorrow." I moved away from her. "I promise there will be disagreements and misunderstandings. There will be fights and heated words." I returned to face Lara. "And to you, Lara, and only to you, I promise there will be the most amazing make-up sex after the fights are over."
That earned a smile from her and laughter from others.
I turned to them. "To all of you, I promise you will most certainly know there has been fabulous make-up sex."
That earned me more howling, and I felt my ears pop again.
"Oh hell," I said. "Knock it off, you guys." I walked over to Angel. I couldn't hear anything again, so I concentrated, healed my ears one after another, then asked, "Are they bleeding?"
"Not this time," she said after checking.
I turned to the wolves. "I don't mind if you blow my eardrums out doing that, but just understand you're making this take longer, and now I forgot where I was."
They laughed.
"You were talking about make-up sex," Lara said. "I'm looking forward to that."
"Right. I am not wolf. I will never be wolf. And there are things about being wolf that a fox can never understand." I crossed over to stand in front of Angel when I said that. "I promise to try. I will expect all of you to understand, I may not understand. But I will try. And when I do not understand, I will still try to remember you all love me."
And Angel began to cry.
"I promise you friendship." I hugged her and stepped away, then I looked at Gia, Scarlett and others. "I promise you playfulness. I promise you surprises and unpredictability, unpredictable unpredictability."
I walked back to stand in front of Lara, and I took her hands.
"Lara, I love you with every fiber of my being. I promise you my body. I promise you my heart. And these are yours, and only yours. I promise you that I am yours, and only yours. But I also promise you friendship, and I promise you my love, but these, you must share."
<
br /> I turned around and hugged Angel and then grabbed Elisabeth and hugged her.
I took a breath. "I am almost done. Do we need an intermission? You could all howl and pop my ears again, but if you do, I might need food before I can heal them."
"I think we're fine so far," Francesca said. "But if Lara intends to be as eloquent as you have been, we may need a short bathroom break."
She got the laughter she was expecting.
"Lara," I said. "I promise to be your mate, your wife. I promise to raise your pups, our pups, to be big and strong, and to help teach them what it means to be wolf. And I hope you will understand when I also teach them a little what it means to be fox."
And that was when I saw her first tear.
"Lara, I love you, and I promise to be your mate, your wife, from this day until I have given you my very last breath."
And then I was done.
I heard a sniffle from behind me, and then Angel's hand on my back.
Lara was smiling, and the love and adoration was clear.
"Before we ask Lara to offer her vows," Vivian said, "I would like to speak on behalf of the pack. Michaela, thank you for your promises. I do not believe they were expected. They are certainly valued."
I nodded to her.
Then Francesca said, "Lara, Alpha, do you wish to offer your vows?"
"I do," she said. She spoke clearly with just a small hitch in her voice, in a tone meant to carry. "My vows are to you, Michaela. Any vows I have for the pack have been given long ago. And so, my vows may be somewhat shorter than yours, but they are certainly as heartfelt."
I nodded.
"Michaela, Little Fox. I love you." She smiled down to me, and I moved closer to her. "I fell in love with you that first day we met, that day I bungled so amazingly badly. You were so beautiful, and you never backed down. I couldn't believe your spirit, and your fox was beyond stunning. I went home that day, worried about what we had discussed, but worried more about one thing. Could I convince you to love me? It seemed impossible."
I wiped a tear away.
"In the year since, you have surpassed all expectations I could have had. You have proven to be fierce and loyal, filled with fire and spirit that cannot possibly all be contained in this small, delicate package. I love you so much I cannot think straight when we are apart. I desire you so much I cannot think straight when we are together."
That's when she wiped a tear away.
"Michaela, I promise to be your mate, your wife. I promise to be your protection and your safe haven. I promise to love and cherish you. I promise to give you my heart and my body. I promise, as much as I am able, to share my thoughts and yes, even my feelings."
I smiled at that.
"I promise to teach you to be wolf while remembering you are fox. I promise there will be misunderstandings and disagreements. I promise there will be fights. And I promise to make you scream my name so loudly the entire pack knows when we have made up."
"Stealing my lines, Lara?" I asked her with a chuckle.
"Hush, you," she said. "Yes."
I laughed.
"I promise to give us pups, and to raise them together. I promise to hold you at my side, but I promise to protect you. I promise to over-protect you, and I promise to fight you every step of the way when you come out from behind my protection."
"Hey," I said quietly.
"And I promise that you will win, at least some of the time."
I laughed.
"I promise to hold you close but let you run free. I promise to be your mate, your wife, from this day until the final beat of my heart."
We each wiped away our tears. She looked down at me and I up at her, looking so damned sexy in her tuxedo, her strength raw and overwhelming.
I didn't hear when Vivian started talking. I was too lost in Lara's eyes, and I couldn't stop thinking about giving my body to her tonight, sharing her body with me.
"Hey," said Francesca. "You two!" She waved her hand between us, breaking our gaze.
We turned to face her. "Sorry," I said. "Did you say something?"
There were chuckles. Vivian sighed. "I'm not repeating all that. If you want to hear it, you can watch the video later. Michaela, do you want to marry Lara?"
"Yes."
"Lara, do you want to marry Michaela?"
"Yes."
"Great. I now-" I didn't hear the rest, because Lara had me in her arms, kissing me, and all I could hear was her heart pounding, pounding for me, and mine responding. She folded me into her arms and kissed me and kissed me.
I noticed when the howling started, but I didn't care. I only noticed because there was pain in my ears, and then the pain was gone and I couldn't hear anything, but then Angel was crowding behind me holding cloth over each of my ears.
Lara didn't release me until Angel and Elisabeth pulled us apart. Elisabeth's mouth was moving, but I didn't hear anything.
Then Lara looked at me, and she frowned. I tried shrugging away from Angel, but Lara grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to say something.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I can't hear you." I couldn't hear myself either.
Lara tried to talk. I sighed. "Are they done doing this? I'm getting tired of healing my ears, and now I'm hungry from all the healing." I turned to the wolves, and they weren't howling. Angel was scurrying around behind me, trying to hold the material over my ears. I wondered how bad the bleeding had been.
"All right, all of you! Knock it off. If you have more howling to do, get it out of your systems right now."
It looked like they were laughing, and I saw Scarlett howl once, but it was brief, and she smiled at me.
I cocked my head, and one ear popped. Then I did the other, then back and forth a little more. Sound came back. I turned back to Lara, and Angel scurried around, still behind me, and I felt like a large dog with a long tail.
"Angel, enough. It should have stopped."
She dabbed at my ears and then my shoulders.
"Can you hear me?" she asked.
"Yes."
"That was a bad one. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." I turned to the wolves. "All of you, keep it down." I smiled.
"Lara, where were we?"
"You were kissing," Vivian said. "And you were supposed to wait for permission."
Lara and I turned to face her. "Oh, well give us permission and we'll kiss again. I'm sure we can get it right this time."
She laughed. "I'm pretty sure you got it right last time. Turn around and face your pack." We did, holding hands. "The Madison weres!" she yelled. "I present Lara and Michaela, your alpha pair!"
A few noses raised to the air but Lara boomed. "Enough! No more howling!"
So they all stood and clapped instead. That was okay.
* * * *
The original plan had been for an afternoon wedding followed by a dinner reception. In spite of Lara's rank and the prestige of the event, in spite of the formal dress everyone wore, it was still an outdoor event.
Dinner changed into an open buffet. While Lara and I were greeting our well-wishers, tables were set up, chairs were moved, and a long line of food was made available off to the side. Lara and I were given a table on the stage, which we shared with our closest friends. We ate, we drank, and I met a lot of people whose names I never remembered.
I found Elisabeth. "Enforcer!" I yelled in a loud voice, gathering as much attention as I could.
She turned to me. "Yes, Alpha?"
I grinned. "We have an agreement to complete." I kept my voice loud.
"What agreement is that, Alpha?"
"Your throat. I want it. Now."
That stilled the rest of them, and suddenly there was crowding around us, a space in the center for us. "Up there!" I said, pointing to the stage. "I do not care for either of us to lie in the grass in our fine clothing."
She smiled, and I followed her to the stage.
I turned. "Where are my kidnappers?"
The six girl
s appeared. I pointed to Elisabeth. "Pick her up and place her on her back on that table. Please."
Elisabeth allowed herself to be manhandled, although it was evident the girls had an easier time lifting me than her. They set her on her back on the table, and I moved to stand over her. "Do you offer your throat?"
She lifted her chin, smiling. I bent over and kissed her throat, but she put a hand on the back of my neck before I could pull away and said quietly, "Do it right."
So I opened my mouth and settled my teeth over her throat. Then I slowly began to close my mouth, and after a moment, she whimpered. I immediately released her, then held a hand as she rose and climbed down from the table.
"Thank you, enforcer!" I said. "Our agreement has been completed."
Elisabeth hugged me, and I whispered to her, "I never want to do that again."
"You are Alpha," she said. "You have to."
"Not to you," I said.
"Yes, to me, especially to me. If a wolf offers you her throat, you must accept it, and you must do it properly." Then she squeezed me once more before releasing me, and I nodded to her.
Later, they struck the tables and set up for music, and we held a dance. Lara invited me to dance, and I had to admit, I had never danced before. She smiled and said that was all right. She pulled me into her arms and began to move with me in time to the music. I used my fox reflexes and managed to respond to what she asked, and I decided dancing was fun if I got to be held by Lara.
I got two dances with Lara before we were pulled apart and expected to dance with everyone else. I danced with all the men of the council, the male enforcers, Emanuel, Donald Lassiter, and my male students.
In a lull, I looked around and found Elisabeth. "Will you dance with me, Sister?" Elisabeth was able to lead, so that worked out. Angel could lead, too; she and Scarlett had been dancing together. When Scarlett and I danced, it was an awkward affair, but we laughed about it and ended up just holding each other and swaying to the music.
I didn't get to dance with everyone I wanted to; it grew late. Angel found me.
