by R. E. Butler
She smiled as she thought about the future. That bitch and her pack had thought to destroy her mating, but she hadn’t succeeded. In fact, she and Ren had come out on the other side even stronger. She knew without a doubt that Ren would put down any threat to their family. She’d never felt so safe and secure in her life.
Coming to Wilde Creek was one of the best things that ever happened to her.
She couldn’t wait to see what the future held.
Chapter 19
The middle of June came swiftly, as Ren had expected it would. Along with being busy with training young wolves and working at the shop, it had taken nearly every minute of the last six weeks to get the house back to normal. The day before the wedding, he and Kismet had finally been able to move back in. And not a day too soon. The apartment was nice – what Kismet called cozy – but it was just too small. He’d been very glad to walk into the house that morning. Everything was new in the house, from the paint and carpet to the furniture and appliances. The exterior looked as it had before, but inside there was a whole new vibe. It was no longer his house, but it was theirs. They’d chosen every single replacement item together, and aside from having a disagreement over the color of the couch – which he’d let her win because he was a gentleman and also not an idiot – it had been cathartic for both of them to see the house put back to rights.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he stepped onto the back patio. Kismet kneeled on the grass in the center of the yard, her wings out and her hands hovering at her sides.
“Looking at the plants.”
“What plants?” There was nothing but grass in the yard.
She glanced at him with a smile. “The ones underground. I’ve been surveying the yard with my power to see what’s in here that we can use for an archway for the ceremony.”
The ceremony would be in their backyard. The omegas should be there soon to set up the rows of chairs for the guests. Along with their family members and several fae, the high-ranked pack members and elders were coming to the ceremony. The rest of the pack would be waiting for them at Acksel and Brynn’s home for the reception.
“Ah,” she said suddenly, her wings twitching with interest. “I knew there was something good in here.”
Before he could ask what she saw that was good, she wiggled her fingers and her hands glowed with golden light. She pushed her hands forward and turned them so her palms faced up. The ground shook slightly, then two sets of branches shot up several feet in front of her. The branches twisted and grew as dark-green leaves and blossoms appeared, opening quickly to show dark-pink roses. The branches split and grew into two thick columns, which rose seven feet in the air, curved and met in the center. The beautiful archway was covered with roses and looked so perfect, he didn’t think a florist could have done a better job.
He strode through the yard to her and helped her stand. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. I can picture us standing right here tomorrow afternoon.” She turned to face him and took his hands in hers. “I’ll promise to love you forever.”
He smiled. “And I’ll promise to take care of you forever.”
“Can you believe we’re going to be married tomorrow?”
“It’s about time you made an honest male out of me.”
She chuckled. “Well, it’s the right thing to do.”
He cupped her face, gazing into her emerald eyes. “Love you so much, Kismet. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
She blinked suddenly luminous eyes at him. “Don’t get all mushy on me! You’re going to make me cry.”
He kissed her with a chuckle, loving the way she melted against him with a soft sigh in her throat.
There was a whistle behind them and Ren looked up to see Adam and Jeremiah at the side of the house with white folding chairs under their arms. “Is it okay for us to set up the chairs?”
“Yeah, you bet. Let me help.”
Honey and Dani appeared behind them, carrying chairs, and Kismet said, “I’m going to get my shears and ribbon so we can tie bouquets to the ends of the chairs. Will you help me?”
Honey nodded enthusiastically. “We’d love to.”
Jeremiah laughed. “You just don’t want to carry chairs.”
“Guilty,” Honey said.
While the males set up the chairs, leaving a wide aisle between them, Kismet, Honey, and Dani cut flowers from Kismet’s garden, tying them with pink ribbon and hanging them from the chairs on the end of each row.
“Forecast is good for tomorrow,” Adam said. “We’ll be over at the reception making sure everything is ready.”
“Thanks for your help,” Ren said.
“Bet you’re glad to be home,” Jeremiah said, looking at the house.
“Definitely.”
After the yard was set up for the ceremony, Dani and Honey helped Kismet make the bouquets and boutonnieres. Ren grabbed drinks for them, and he and the males sat with the females on the new patio furniture.
“Your dad is walking you down the aisle?” Honey asked.
Kismet nodded. “The king is going to give his blessing on our marriage first, and then the pastor will perform the actual ceremony.”
“Do you have a maid of honor?”
“Yes, my best friend Keyarielle is my maid of honor, and Brynn is a bridesmaid.”
“Acksel’s my best man and Sam is a groomsman.”
“I like the small wedding parties,” Dani said. “I was at a wedding and there were twelve bridesmaids. It took forever for them to get in place to start the ceremony.”
“It’s nice having things on a smaller scale,” Kismet said. “Makes it more intimate.”
Kismet lifted a boutonniere and handed it to Ren. A single pink rose was wrapped with dark green ribbon. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.” Her bouquet was made up of the same roses, dotted with tiny white fairy roses.
“Are you staying with someone tonight?” Dani asked.
Kismet said, “My mom is coming to stay with me here. Ren is going to stay at the apartment.”
He grunted. “We’re already mated and you’re carrying my twins. I still don’t think we need to go along with this not seeing each other until the wedding.”
“It’s a tradition,” Kismet said. “Don’t you want to start off our marriage with all the luck? Why tempt fate?”
His wolf wanted him to say there wasn’t anything good luck related to him not getting to spend the night with her in his arms, but he kept his opinion to himself. His sweetheart was very determined to uphold wedding traditions. Not sleeping together the night before was his least favorite one.
When the bouquets were finished, Ren helped Kismet put them in the fridge for safekeeping. They said goodbye to their friends, and he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
“What are you up to?” she asked with a smile that was all heat and woman.
“We’ve only got a few hours until my bachelor party and your bachelorette party, and then we’ll be separated until tomorrow afternoon. I want to take advantage of every single minute before I’m stuck all alone tonight.”
“I love how you think,” she said, wiggling out of her shorts. “You have the very best ideas, ever.”
* * *
Ren woke Saturday morning with a crick in his neck and a grumpy wolf in his mind. He’d had a hell of a time getting to sleep without Kismet in his arms. He’d been tempted a dozen times overnight to just say to hell with the tradition and go home to be with her, but it was important to her that they follow all the traditions, so he’d stayed by himself.
He’d busied himself in the office with paperwork, trying to make the time run faster. Eventually, even though the clock had dragged, he was finally getting ready. Because they were mixing human and fae traditions into their ceremony, Ren wasn’t wearing a traditional tux, but instead E’lahn had brought him an outfit like he’d worn to meet the king – dress trousers, a white silk shirt,
and a black fitted jacket embroidered with silver wolves and dark pink roses.
There was a knock at the door and Ren called out, “It’s open.”
“We wanted to check on you,” his mother said. “We need to leave in thirty minutes.”
Ren joined his smiling parents in the main room. His mom dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Oh, you look so handsome!”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“We stopped in to check on your fiancée and everything looks amazing,” his dad said. “Kismet said to tell you she misses you.”
“I miss her, too.”
His mother held up the boutonniere that Kismet had made for him. “Let me pin this on you.”
“Thanks.”
His dad had a similar one, and his mom wore a wrist corsage of the same flowers as Kismet’s bouquet. “Her talent with flowers is amazing. Every single flower in your yard looks perfect, like it came out of a catalog.”
“She’s really talented, and I’m very lucky.”
“The males always are,” his dad said with a wink.
After checking his reflection in the mirror and quelling the nerves that kept showing up even though he knew he didn’t have anything to be nervous about, he rejoined his parents.
“Ready to marry your truemate?” his dad asked.
“More than ready.”
“It’s a beautiful day, and a wonderful start to the next chapter of your life,” his mom said. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I’m glad you could be here to share this day with me.”
He and his family left the apartment and he sat in the backseat of his parents’ car. They talked about the upcoming ceremony, but Ren was too nervous to carry a conversation. He knew he’d feel fine once he saw Kismet. Being away from her made his nerves jangle like Christmas bells.
The street was packed with cars, and Ren breathed out a sigh of relief when his dad stopped in front of the house and turned off the car. “I want to run right into the house and find her,” Ren said, “but I think she’d skin me alive if I messed with her upholding all the traditions.”
His dad snorted. “I think so, too. You know the saying, happy wife, happy life.”
“I think that’s very good advice,” his mom said.
They exited the vehicle, and Ren looked at the house, trying to catch a glimpse of Kismet through the windows. His mom smacked his shoulder. “Quit tempting fate, young man. You’ll see her soon enough.”
“Not soon enough,” he murmured.
He escorted his parents around the house to the back, where Acksel and Sam waited along with E’lahn and the king and queen. Ren introduced his parents to the fae, and then escorted them to their seats in the front row. The king and queen followed, the queen taking a seat in the front row along with Kismet’s mother and brother.
Ren, Alberik, Acksel, and Sam walked to the rose-laden archway. Alberik lifted his head and looked at the arch. “It’s lovely. My wife said these roses put hers to shame.”
“Kismet would be honored to hear that,” Ren said.
The music, which had been barely audible over the light chatter of the guests, grew louder. Ren straightened and looked to the house, anxious to get a glimpse of his mate. The sliding door was open, and a curtain of ivy that Kismet had created blocked the view inside the house. The curtain parted and Brynn walked out, followed by Keyarielle. The two wore matching pink silk dresses. The curtain closed and the music changed to the Wedding March. Ren held his breath as the curtain parted and Kismet and her father walked out.
She. Looked. Amazing.
The dress was a beautiful, perfect white, matching her wings that were outstretched behind her. The gown brushed the ground, the crystals and pearls sparkling in the afternoon sunshine. She wore a crown of tiny roses on her head with small white flowers woven into her hair. Her father wore an outfit like Ren’s, but looked more guardian-angel with his wings outstretched than he did father of the bride.
Kismet’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she walked down the aisle. Everyone was on their feet. Ren wanted to run to her and capture her in his arms, vowing to never, ever let her go. But his feet remained firmly planted until she reached him.
Alberik cleared his throat. “Who gives this fae to this wolf?”
“Her mother and I do,” E’lahn said, his voice wavering with emotion at the end.
Alberik nodded. E’lahn kissed Kismet on the cheek and whispered to Ren, “Welcome to the family.” Then he took his seat between Linella and Noah.
The moment Kismet’s hand touched his, Ren couldn’t hear anything that was said. All he could do was focus on his beautiful mate, his soon-to-be wife, and the mother of his children. The king performed his ceremony, and then the pastor his. Ren remembered reciting vows, remembered being told to kiss his wife, but everything passed away from him the second he drew Kismet close and kissed her.
She was his forever now, and he was hers.
Nothing on earth or in any realm would separate them.
And he looked forward to a long and happy life with his sweetheart.
His mother was right. It was a beautiful day to start the next chapter of their lives.
* * *
Kismet’s brain fogged over when Ren’s lips touched hers. The crowd cheered and clapped, but all she could think about was that it had been far too long since she’d touched Ren, and she didn’t want to stop. Reluctantly, they parted, and the pastor announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Corbin. The crowd cheered even harder as they walked down the aisle to the patio for the receiving line.
“You’re so beautiful,” Ren said. “I missed you.”
His voice was gruff and his eyes were the amber of his wolf. She touched his cheek. “I missed you too.”
He pressed his hand lightly to her belly. “I missed you kids. Hope you were good for your mom.”
She laughed. “Aside from waking me up with a craving for steak, they were perfect.”
He grinned.
Acksel, Brynn, Sam, and Keyarielle joined them in the line. Key hugged Ren lightly and then gave Kismet a big hug. “I’m so happy for you both!”
“Thank you for sharing in my special day,” Kismet said.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Brynn moved to hug Kismet, but froze, her face screwing up as she clutched her stomach. “Oh, crap.”
“What?” Acksel demanded. “Are you okay?”
“I…think my water just broke.”
Rich appeared and said, “Let’s get you to the clinic.”
“Dang, I didn’t want to miss the reception,” Brynn said. “I was hoping mini-me would wait until tomorrow to make an appearance.”
“We’ll save you some cake,” Kismet promised.
“Yes, please!” Brynn said, waving as Rich and Acksel hurried her through the back door.
They greeted the rest of the guests, getting hugs from every single person there. The king and queen congratulated them on a beautiful wedding, and Porth, the jeweler, handed Kismet a gold bracelet engraved with the names of their unborn children.
“Oh, Porth, it’s lovely, thank you,” she said as he slipped it on her wrist.
“You’re welcome. Bring it back to me whenever you have children and I’ll add more names to it.”
Rose chuckled. “Maybe you’ll fill it up and need a second bracelet.”
Kismet liked that idea a lot. She wanted a houseful of kids.
The king, queen, and jeweler left, opening a portal to the fae realm as they weren’t staying for the reception. Luke and Eveny were one of the last ones in line. Luke held their newborn daughter, Rowan, who was a week old.
“I’m so glad you could come,” Kismet said, rubbing the back of her knuckle on the baby’s soft cheek. Her eyes were closed in sleep as she lay safely tucked in Luke’s arms.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Eveny said. “Congratulations to you both.”
Her father, brother, mother, and Ren’s parents joined them. “Ready to go
to the reception?” her mom asked.
“Definitely. I’m starving!”
Her father opened a portal wide enough for their group to step through to the reception. The alphas’ backyard was filled with tables and chairs decorated with white tablecloths, flickering candles, and pink flowers of every variety. A portable wooden dance floor was set up by a table where a DJ played music. Kismet, Ren, and their families sat at the head table, and were served an elegant dinner of prime rib and herbed potatoes. When they cut the four-tiered, orange-cream cake layered with fresh oranges and white chocolate frosting, the pack cheered as she and Ren fed a bite to each other.
“Orange for a sweet life, right?” Ren asked as he kissed her.
“Yep.”
“I love these traditions, sweetheart,” he said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “And I love you.”
“Best day ever,” she murmured against his lips.
“The first of many, many more to come,” he promised.
* * *
The next morning, they got word that Brynn’s baby had been born at six a.m. She and Ren had stayed at their newly remodeled home for the night and were happy to be invited to the clinic to meet the newest pack member.
“Hi, Rich,” Kismet said as Ren opened the door to the clinic and let her in.
“Good morning, newlyweds. Brynn and Acksel are in the back bedroom with their families. They asked me to send you two on back.”
Ren carried the vase of white roses and bluebells, and Kismet carried a soft, stuffed wolf. Ren knocked on the open door.
Acksel smiled from next to the bed where Brynn held their son. “Come meet my boy.”
“Proud papa,” Eveny said with a grin. “I love it.”
Kismet and Ren stepped up to the bed. Ren set the vase on the bedside table and Kismet handed the wolf to Acksel. “The flowers are so beautiful, thank you,” Brynn said. “Did you grow them yourself?”
“Of course.”
Brynn kissed the slumbering little boy on the forehead and said, “This is Aiden.”
