by R. E. Butler
"The hierarchy thing, was it scary?"
"I was near the bottom, so yeah. At least when we all first shifted, the ones in my age group were fighting for rank. I think it was worse because they never understood that I didn't care about rank, that I just wanted to live my life and be myself. I had to leave to spread my wings, to find my heart."
"I think Ethan and Eryx clipped your wings pretty good." She laughed and Callie joined in. Lisa would probably never be her best friend, she was more like the aunt she was supposed to be, but Lisa loved Callie because Lisa loved Rhett and Rhett loved his family, and Callie felt the same way about her.
Two weeks ago she indulged in a Brazilian wax and the boys had been thrilled. It hurt like hell, but a few pain relievers before and after helped, and in the end it was worth it to not have to shave. Since the first time she shaved for them, they'd liked it enough to request it. So while the wax was painful, a few under-carriage nicks bothered her more, not to mention that eventually she wouldn’t be able to see that area as the babies grew bigger.
They walked into the day spa and were greeted immediately by a woman with great skin. "Oh, the future Mrs. Fallon! And Mrs. Fallon!" She gushed at both of them and ushered them right into the back. She walked backwards, holding a clipboard. "Now, you're both getting our Supreme Spa Special." Callie shrugged and looked at Lisa. They'd had nothing to do with the reservation; it was all on the boys. The only thing she knew for sure was that two of the estheticians were going to follow them to the chapel to do their hair and makeup. Felicity, as the woman had identified herself, swung her hand into a room that had two massage tables, soft music, scented candles, and two women in pastel golf shirts and beige slacks. They looked like those Swedish bikini models, with big boobs, ultra blonde hair, and beautiful faces.
"Helene and Dawn will handle your massages, and then you'll be getting facials, manicures and pedicures. Do you know how you want your nails?"
They both answered, “French," and she smiled. "Of course. For your special day. You can change in the back, and we'll take it from here."
Their clothes folded, they met the girls at the tables and Callie apparently got Dawn. Dawn stretched a towel over Callie's waist and asked what scent of oil she preferred, and she thought for a moment before answering, "Do you have anything with honey?"
"I have honeysuckle, if that would work?" She turned from the long counter with a brown glass bottle and Callie said it would be perfect. Dawn started at her neck and she closed her eyes with sigh. Her mind drifted to the coming honeymoon. The only thing she knew was that they were going away for a week. The boys had even gone so far as to pack her bag for her, so she didn't have a clue what they had planned.
After their muscles were turned to butter under skillful hands, they sat next to each other on padded, comfortable chairs wearing luxurious fluffy robes. One woman sat on a stool at her feet and began to tend to them, another sat on her right and started on her nails, and a third stood by her head and reclined the seat enough to do her facial. It made the whole experience even better knowing that the boys had planned it for her. She could picture Ethan at the computer, looking over the spa services and asking Eryx what they should pick for her. Her stomach twisted pleasantly at thoughts of them and she knew she'd get to see them soon enough.
Buffed and polished to perfection, they got dressed and headed to the chapel. Their two makeup artists, Holly and Belle, were in their 30s, and spent their weekends doing bridal parties.
They entered through the side of the chapel and moved down a long hallway to the bridal chambers. It was a two room suite with a full bath, plenty of couches and chairs, and a refrigerator. Their bags were hanging in the closet and their things were spread out in front of two vanities. They’d spent all yesterday morning making sure they had everything ready.
Her stomach growled and Holly remarked that most brides were too nervous to eat. Callie laughed, “Well, the babies aren’t, that’s for sure.”
Lisa opened the refrigerator and pulled out two plates and arranged them on the vanities for them. Both plates had fresh fruit and veggies and chunks of cheese and crackers. She sipped on hot tea while Belle started on her hair.
When Callie was finished with her light lunch, she brushed her teeth and then it was makeup time, dress time, and hair finishing and veil attaching. The veil clipped with a rhinestone clip at the back of her head where Belle gathered twists of hair and pinned them back. Her hair fell in thick curls to her shoulder blades, shiny and radiant.
With her seed pearl earrings and necklace in place, she looked at herself in the full length mirror and her heart flopped. Who was that beauty? Oh, her!
Lisa grinned behind her. “The dress was an excellent choice, Cal, you look beautiful.”
The cut of the dress made it drape beautifully over the slightly rounded part of her belly where her babies lay.
Lisa knelt in front of her with two garters. “Does it matter which one is on which leg?”
With Belle and Holly’s help, the front of the dress was lifted up and Callie lifted one leg and said, “No, it doesn’t matter.”
After both were secured on her thighs, Lisa stood and said, “Okay, you’ve got your new, which is the dress, your old which is their grandfather’s ring.”
Callie nodded, “The garters are blue, and then, for borrowed,” she blinked and then her shoulders sagged. Cades was going to let her borrow her mother’s bracelet.
“Here.” Lisa unhooked her tennis bracelet and put it on her wrist. She had just told her this morning how Rhett had given it to her for Valentine’s Day and had saved for months for it.
“Thank you, Lisa.” She hugged her and sniffed past the tears. She didn’t want to cry and ruin her makeup before they even got a chance to see her.
There was a knock and Lisa went to answer it and let James in. He looked so handsome in his dark suit. They were all wearing matching vests and ties, a silver and hunter green pattern, and he had a perfect white rose in his lapel.
“You look just incredible, Callie. A real princess.” He smiled and his eyes got bright with unshed tears. Considering how caring and loving the cats were, she knew she wouldn’t be the only one with tears in her eyes. She gave him a hug and he kissed her cheek.
“I’m so glad you’re here for me, James. There isn’t anyone else I’d rather walk down the aisle with than you.”
“I’m honored, truly.”
The clock ticked down quickly and they were suddenly standing outside the double doors to the sanctuary of the chapel where fifty people were waiting. She smiled at Lisa from the side of the hall out of view of the doors as they opened and Rhett escorted her down the aisle where she took the place of Matron of Honor. If Cades had been with her, she would have been a bridesmaid and walked with Alek if Jason could have stood letting her touch an unmated male. The doors swung closed and Callie and James and took their place on the runner.
“Are you nervous?” He whispered.
“A little. Dreams don’t come true every day, you know.”
“They’re nervous, too, trust me. I’ve never seen Eryx fidget so much in my life.” He chuckled and she grinned. Her stomach tightened as the doors opened and everyone in the church stood up. Besides their family, the tiny church also contained the mayor and his wife, the fire chief, his wife and sister, and a few neighbors of Rhett and Lisa’s. But the only people in the world she cared about were waiting for her on either side of the minister.
As she and James walked down the aisle, her vision narrowed to their grinning faces, the twin looks of love and hope and desire that showed in the glittering depths of their eyes was all she needed to see to know that she’d found her true mates in the unlikely pairing of a rogue she-wolf and twin mountain lions. Whatever choices brought her to this place, she couldn’t have been happier than she was at this moment, and their real lives were just beginning.
Chapter 24
**Ethan**
The wedding was a blur. His wif
e, a vision in white and positively glowing with happiness, filled him with such pride that he wanted to shout from the rooftops how wonderful it felt to find love, finally.
Pastor Giselle performed the ceremony that beautifully included the three of them together in one marriage, and they’d decided ahead of time that he would get to kiss her first. Every time they were faced with something that one of them needed to take the lead on, they just worked it out. Eryx gave him a lot of leeway, too. It just showed that Eryx had a deeper tender side than anyone had known.
The small crowd in the chapel clapped for them as they walked down the aisle, and their church-acceptable-kiss, which Callie had made them practice ahead of time, gave way to a heated exchange in the foyer when the double doors closed behind them.
“We missed you so much, sweetheart,” he said into her ear, hugging her tightly before passing her to Eryx.
“I missed you, too.”
They had just moments before the doors swung open for the receiving line to adjust themselves but Callie’s flushed face and bright eyes gave it all away. She was one happy bride.
As their guests, minus their family, left for the reception at the enormous boarding house that their father and uncles called home, they stood for a hundred pictures in the church, outside the church, and in the church’s small garden. Callie was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen in his life and knowing that she belonged to him and Eryx gave him such a sense of pride. To come to this point in his life, to be married and five months from having twins, was like the most beautiful dream he could have imagined. His sweetheart filled the hole in his heart and made him complete. He would spend the rest of his life worshipping her.
When it was just the three of them in the church garden with the photographer and their family had gone on ahead to get the party under way, they spent that time in quiet reflection while the photographer, a friend of the pastor, moved them this way and that way. Callie finally complained that her hand hurt from holding her bouquet of lilies and the photographer took one last picture and left them to head to the reception to start taking pictures there.
A chauffeured town car was waiting for them in front of the church, but they took their time walking to it, Eryx holding the bouquet for her as she walked between them. “It’s been a long day, are you tired, love?” Ethan asked, worried that she would push herself too hard to make everyone else happy.
“I’m good.”
“Are you happy?” Eryx asked, casting a glance at her with that same look in his eyes that Ethan felt, too. That it was a dream and they were going to wake up, alone, back in King.
“Of course. I married my two best guys and in a few hours we’ll be on our honeymoon. It’s been a great day.”
She sat between them in the car and as it pulled away from the curb for the short drive to their family’s home, she said, “Are you both happy? I’m pretty high maintenance, you know.”
“We don’t think you’re high maintenance, sweetheart,” he chided her, sliding his thumb along her jaw. She closed her eyes with a sigh and cuddled into his palm. “You’re just ours.”
Eryx picked up her hand and kissed the rings on her right hand that he’d given her. “Just. Ours.”
Cheers from their family and friends greeted them when they walked into the large, open downstairs of the boarding house. The great room was lined with couches and chairs and small side tables along all the walls, and the kitchen counters and tables were stuffed to overflowing with everything that their bride loved.
Their cousins ran around half out of their adorable suits already, chasing each other and darting around the adults’ legs. Callie sat between them on a comfortable sofa and he went to fix her and himself a plate. She said that whether she felt in the mood to eat or not, the babies were always hungry, and they were all very hopeful that she wouldn’t get sick. The dress didn’t lend itself to quick getaways to the bathroom.
After they ate, with no mishaps, the stereo was cranked up and they danced with their bride for the first time. It might have looked strange, her in the middle of the two of them, but it felt completely normal. They were so used to sharing her that it felt odd to think otherwise. She was more than enough for both of them to share. So full of love and hope and compassion that she shone over their family like a bright sun.
They were about to cut the cake – chocolate with buttercream frosting – when the doorbell rang. Every cat in the place went very still because on the other side of the door was the wolf pack. Their protective instincts went into overdrive, and it wasn’t just the two of them that worried about her emotional state. Their uncles and even Alek came to stand near them to show their support as their father went to open the large double oak doors.
Cadence and her husband Jason stood in the center of the long front porch, the others spilled out behind them. They were not dressed for the party, wearing jeans and casual tops. Cadence held a small silver wrapped box with curled ribbon in her hands. “I wanted to speak to Callie, if that’s alright?”
He and Eryx looked at each other and then at their wife. They could feel her tension, her body wound tight and muscles locked, and he was about to step in and say that there was no one at the house that wanted to speak to the wolves at all, when Callie cleared her throat and said, “Sure, Cadence.” She did not let go of their hands and when they were out on the porch, she positioned herself slightly behind the both of them as if they were protective walls. And that’s what he felt like. A defensive wall, ready with claws and fangs.
“I’m so sorry, Callie. I just wanted you to know that. I know I made you feel bad and I asked Jason to turn around and come back here so that I could apologize in person and give you your gift.” She shifted the box in her hands like it contained the solution to the problem she’d created.
“I’m not coming back to Allen.” Callie said, her voice strong and sure. “My life is here, with my husbands and my family.”
Cadence’s eyes shifted between the three of them and she fought down a grimace. “I know that. I didn’t mean to ruin your day, I just, I just miss you so much, Callie. I never thought you’d leave the pack. I thought we’d be raising our kids together and,” she caught herself from whatever she was going to say and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I was selfish and rude. Can you forgive me?”
The pause was significant, but if she wasn’t the wonderful woman that she was, Ethan wouldn’t have known that at least on the surface, she would accept Cadence’s apology. She stepped between them and hugged her and took the gift. She never said she forgave her, but if Cadence realized it, she didn’t push it. He thought that Cadence’s behavior and desire for Callie to still be miserable was unforgiveable, and apparently, so did their sweetheart. Callie kissed her cheek and stepped back between them, the small box in Eryx’s hand now as their arms wove protectively around her. “Have a good trip back to Allen,” Callie said and without another word, they all turned into the house and the doors shut behind them.
“Are you okay, sweet kitten?” He asked, cupping her face in his hands and searching her lovely eyes for pain.
She wrapped her hands around his wrists and kissed the inside of each palm. “I’m good, actually. We’re married and we’re about to cut the cake. The babies are hungry for chocolate.” She wriggled her brows at him and he laughed and kissed her. How anyone could have ever mistaken her for weak, he didn’t know. She was the strongest person he’d ever known and his life was better because she was in it.
Eryx tickled his fingers along her neck, “Are you sure it’s the babies that want chocolate, or their beautiful mommy?”
She wrinkled her nose at them and said, “Maybe it’s both.”
After promising on threat of a honeymoon with no sex that they would not try to feed her the cake in any form that involved “shoving or smearing”, they kissed their wife with the sweet taste of frosting on her lips. They spent the rest of the party watching her dance with their family and eat her body weight in chocolate cake.<
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They left for their honeymoon at 8, driving the pickup that was stashed at the boarding house and loaded down with ribbons and balloons and a just married sign on the back, heading for Yellowwood Lake Cabin Resort. Their large, private cabin was just a short walk from the lake and the Yellowwood State Forest.
Before they left, he and Eryx had taken off their jackets, vests and ties, and Callie had changed from her dress into a pretty strapless dress that was form fitting on top and flowed loose to her feet.
They had already checked into their cabin, brought their suitcases, and stocked the refrigerator in the small kitchen that morning. They wanted everything to be perfect for their first night together.
Already used to being carried between the two of them, she just smiled endearingly at them as they picked her up and carried her over the threshold, both kissing her before they put her down.
“Oh, wow.” She said, turning in a slow circle in the center of the great room. Several couches and low tables dotted the hardwood floor, a wall of sliding glass doors looked out onto a screened back porch with a hot tub, and further to the woods that surrounded the cabin. Eryx turned on the gas fireplace and went around turning on the electric candles they had stashed all over the cabin. They’d both agreed that using real candles when they were sure to get distracted and forget about them was a bad idea.
He sat her down on the couch and went into the kitchen for the tray of fresh cut fruit and cheese, and the bottle of chilled sparkling white grape juice. Opening the bottle, he poured three glasses and handed them to his wife and his brother and they both knelt down in front of her and clinked their glasses to hers.
