One Second (Seven Series Book 7)

by Dannika Dark

  A few chuckles overlapped around us.

  I held Austin’s hand, struck by the love reflecting back at me from his blue eyes. “I, Lexi Cole, take you to be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love you for the rest of my life, just as I’ve been doing since I was five. You’re the man I’ve always dreamed of having by my side. My only regret is that we’re up here alone.” I turned to the audience. “If anyone wants to join in and be a part of this, nothing would make me happier. A pack does everything together.”

  The first person who shot to his feet was Maddox, and he pulled my mother out of her seat.

  William handed Travis to Rosie, who was sitting behind them, and coaxed Trevor to stand beside him. I felt proud knowing that if Turner went ahead with the ceremony, then their union would become official since a Councilman had acknowledged it. The best men crossed over to where the bridesmaids were, and each found his mate. Even Ivy had tugged Lorenzo to his feet by the back of his collar.

  Turner smirked. “All right, everyone. Repeat after me: I, then say your name, take you to be my lawfully wedded wife… or husband. To love, cherish, and honor for all the days of my life.”

  Austin and I held hands, surrounded by others who were repeating their own vows. He took the ring from his pocket—the chain still attached—and then gently pulled my veil away from my face.

  He slowly placed the ring on my finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

  Turner stroked his beard. “Everyone else is just gonna have to find something to give your mate.”

  “With this tie, I thee wed.”

  I snapped my head around and saw Denver putting his bow tie on Maizy’s wrist. All the men were definitely thinking outside the box. Jericho gave Izzy a necklace, Reno put his sunglasses on April’s face, Wheeler gave Naya his belt, and Maddox gave my mother a ring. A sparkly diamond tucked in a velvet box.

  We both looked anxiously at Turner, and he kept smiling.

  “Something else?” he asked.

  Austin stared daggers at him.

  Turner snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah. You may now kiss the bride.”

  Austin placed a sweet, reverent kiss on my lips that melted into a smoldering, sensual kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he groaned, pulling me tighter and sending a wave of tingles through my body.

  Someone in the back started humming the wedding march, and others joined in. Applause erupted, everyone turning away from their mate to howl at the bride and groom.

  As we turned to walk back to the house, the twins assailed us with rice.

  “Hey, now! Not that hard!” Izzy scolded them.

  Before we knew it, we were running up the white carpet, tiny grains splintering against our skin. I’d never laughed so much.

  At least, until I tripped over Spartacus and fell on my face.

  “Jesus, Lexi. Are you okay?”

  Sparty padded out of reach and sat down, trying to chew off the bow tie Naya had put around his neck.

  “A black cat just crossed our path, Austin. That can’t be good,” I said with a laugh. Austin helped me stand without ripping my dress, which would have been a photo guaranteed a spot on our mantel. “We need to do this again.”

  “Maybe on our fiftieth,” he suggested.

  “And then our hundredth,” I added, climbing up the steps.

  “Deal. But when we hit five hundred, I’m kicking it up a notch.”

  I faced him and furrowed my brow. “What does that mean?”

  He smoothed his hand over my rear and gave it a light squeeze while kissing my neck. “You’ll have to stick around to find out. Now go get your purse. Time to make our great escape.”

  “Are you sure about this? We don’t have to do a honeymoon.”

  “If my woman wants a wedding, she’s getting a Weston-style wedding all the way.”

  I ran my fingers down the lapels of his jacket. He looked so handsome dressed up in a tuxedo, and I had to take a moment to adore everything about him. “This was better than blowing up my car.”

  After zipping inside to grab my purse, we headed out to the car. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d forgotten something, and that something was my baby boy.

  I held Travis in my arms and squeezed him tight. “You be good for Grandma. And don’t say your first words while I’m gone. Okay?” I showered him with mommy kisses.

  Austin held the passenger door open while talking to Reno.

  “Don’t you worry about a thing,” my mom said. “Travis is in capable hands.”

  “Make sure Denver doesn’t give him anything like Cheetos. Those things are a choking hazard. And he likes it when you wind up his little wolf at night.”

  “I know, I know,” she said, taking him from my arms. “Come see Grandma.”

  Travis smiled and cooed, his blue eyes twinkling like tiny jewels. I’d been blessed with such an easy baby, though I wondered if growing up in a pack had something to do with that. Maybe it was the innate confidence instilled in an alpha that kept him from crying at loud noises or when he fell down, but Travis was my brave little wolf.

  “Mommy loves you.” I kissed his chubby cheeks over and over until he giggled and turned toward my mom. “I’ll call you as soon as we get there.”

  The walk to the car was a blur. Everyone showered me with hugs and well-wishes, and Naya presented me with a sack full of lingerie.

  “Why didn’t you give me this earlier? I would have packed it in my bags,” I said.

  She gave me a furtive glance and shrugged. “I thought you might need them in the car later on.”

  “Nice. I’ll let you know how that works out.”

  “Have fun,” she purred.

  I stood on my tiptoes and gave Austin a peck on the chin.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  I turned, feeling as if I’d forgotten something. “Ready as I’ll… Hey, who’s that down by the road?”

  Austin shielded his eyes from the sun and stared down the driveway at a figure standing at the end of the property line by the private road. He had on a blue suit, and I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Everyone who had confirmed their invitation had shown up.

  “It’s Ben,” he said on a breath.

  “I thought he ignored the invitation?”

  Wheeler broke away from the crowd and crossed the green grass in Ben’s direction. This happy occasion was about to come to an abrupt end with pack drama. Wheeler’s long strides slowed as he neared Ben, and his twin took a few steps back.

  We watched in silence as the two brothers faced each other—neither speaking that we could tell. My heart clenched when Wheeler suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. In that moment, I knew Ben had returned home for good.

  Austin waved and then placed the flat of his palm on my back. “Let’s go, Ladybug.”

  ***

  I carefully removed my veil and crown, deciding everything about that day was going into a memento chest. The chain on the ring kept catching on things, so I finally took it off and hung it around my neck. I’d thought about getting Austin a ring, but he said I’d already given him Travis.

  We hadn’t made it to the highway yet, and I had a blast watching my sexy husband fill up the gas tank in his snazzy tux.

  “I’m going to have to change clothes in a little while,” I said, scratching my neck. “This dress is starting to itch.”

  “Wait until we stop at a hotel,” he suggested, lowering his visor. “I’m going to help you out of that situation.”

  The desire that dripped from his words like warm honey gave me a flurry of tingles. It was a damn good thing I wasn’t in heat, although it wouldn’t have mattered. While I hadn’t talked to Austin about it, I’d decided that someday I’d like to try to have another baby. Maybe my body wasn’t ready before, but after Travis, it certainly was now. I felt a renewed sense of strength like never before.

  I flipped through a magazine, looking at celebrity pictures while the turn signal was clicking. When the car slo
wed to a stop, I glanced up, assuming we were at a red light.

  But we weren’t.

  Austin had driven me to a cemetery.

  “Tell me this isn’t our final destination,” I said jokingly.

  I thought he’d made a wrong turn until I saw the familiar gates I’d driven through every year on this date since I was twenty.

  Austin drove up the road and eased the car to a stop. “I couldn’t let you leave without saying good-bye. You come here every year on this day.”

  “Yeah, but maybe that tradition is too depressing on our wedding day.”

  “Bullshit.” He popped the door open and got out, rounding the front of the vehicle and then opening my door. “Let’s go see your brother.”

  Without argument, I took his hand and let him lead me across the grass toward Wes’s grave. Since I didn’t have a raised headstone to follow, I always found it by taking a left before the maple tree.

  Today I didn’t have to.

  “Wait a second.” I turned around, confused. “Are you sure we’re in the right place? I think you made a wrong turn.”

  He led me forward until we reached the grave with Wes’s name on it. We were definitely in the right spot, but…

  I gasped. “Who did that?”

  At the head of Wes’s grave was a statue of a man sitting Indian style, his fingers laced together and head slightly tilted. But it was the familiar smile that kept me frozen in place. Someone had sculpted him in the likeness of Weston Loyal Knight, my brother. Not a brother by blood, but one by heart.

  “I had to get permission from your mother, and then I had to pay off the owner. Turner helped me out when the man wasn’t willing to agree. We had to give him wings or it was a resounding no, but I think Wes would have liked that.” Austin turned to face me, his hands cupped around my neck. “You come here every year to talk to him, Lexi, but you don’t realize he’s everywhere you go. I wanted to surprise you with this so that coming here wouldn’t always be a negative experience, but something to look forward to. You’ll be able to look at him instead of a shitty marker in the dirt. I wasn’t sure what kind of material to use, but a guy I talked to suggested bronze instead of stone because it’ll last longer. You’ll be coming here for hundreds of years, and so will our kids. They need to know where the Weston name came from—the kind of man it came from. Someone who lived with conviction—who protected the ones he loved and was loyal until the end. I couldn’t bring him back, Lexi, but this was the best I could do.”

  Tears flooded my eyes.

  While the name Loyal wasn’t on the plaque, someone had inscribed it on a small patch on the front of his jacket.

  “I didn’t think I had any tears left in these ducts. Damn you, Austin.”

  He wiped one away with a tender sweep of his thumb. “Tell him about your special day, and then we’ll head out.”

  It seemed like there was air beneath my feet when I drifted to the grave and sat down in front of him. His expression was fashioned so that he was looking right at me when I sat close enough. Graceful wings draped over his shoulders, his hair unkempt, and the look on his face was content, as if he were eagerly waiting to hear what I had to say. Wes would be forever young in my mind, even as I myself would begin to age through the years into an old woman.

  I placed my hands on his. “I got married today.”

  For the next hour, I told my brother about his nephew, the pack war, my father, the wedding, tripping over the cat, and even our mom hitching up with Maddox.

  I couldn’t be certain, but I thought he smiled a little wider.

  Shortly after dusk, I returned to the car and got naked in a cemetery. The dress had left red marks around my hips and neck, so it was a relief to slip into my jeans and a tank top. Austin didn’t want to change out of his swank attire, so I admired him for a little while before falling asleep listening to the radio.

  “Wake up, we’re here,” he announced.

  I rubbed my eyes and groggily sat up, blinking in the darkness. “Already? How long was I asleep?”

  I knew something wasn’t right when I opened the car door. The air was humid and didn’t smell like pine trees. As soon as my feet touched asphalt, I noticed a familiar sign.

  “Wait a second. We’ve been driving for over an hour,” I said. My brows furrowed when he seized my hand and tugged me forward. “You brought me to Howlers? Is something wrong? Austin, answer me.”

  As soon as we reached the door, he swept me off my feet and carried me over the threshold of a Shifter bar.

  “I hope this isn’t where we’re going to consummate our marriage.”

  Whistles, claps, howls, and laughter erupted all around us as we moved into the main room.

  The entire pack was there, changed out of their dressy attire. Tables were joined together in multiple rows, each dressed with dinnerware and heaps of food.

  Drumsticks tapped together from the stage, and the music fired up. Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” to be exact, sung by the one and only Jericho Sexton Cole. He was in rare form, with dark liner, leather pants, and a sleeveless shirt that said BEST MAN on the front.

  Denver climbed onto a table—a straw hat on his head—and started dancing. Not the kind of bootie dancing that warranted a laugh, but something you’d see in a strip club. Ivy swatted him playfully on the butt with her cane, and a glass tipped over as he pulled Maizy up with him and planted a kiss on her mouth. She took off his hat and put it on her own head as their kisses turned to pecks.

  I wiggled in Austin’s arms. “You sly little devil. You never had plans to take me to Colorado, did you?”

  “You think I’m going to go off and leave our son behind? Besides, I told you I was giving you a Weston-style wedding, and I meant it. I had to stall and drive around the city while they set everything up. I know how you like to sleep at the beginning of a trip, so I was counting on that. We got catered barbecue from the Pit, and Jake is offering unlimited drinks, so feel free to get wild and crazy.”

  As soon as he set me down, I backed up into someone.

  I turned, and Ben gave me a quick hug.

  “Congrats.”

  I squeezed him tight before he had a chance to pull away. “I’m so glad you’re back. We’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, me too. Everything’s solid between Wheeler and me now.” He leaned back and threaded his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been working. It’s been… hard, but I kicked the gambling addiction. I don’t even buy lottery tickets.”

  “I know. Is your Packmaster okay with your leaving?”

  He grimaced and averted his eyes from Austin. “I haven’t really… It’s um…”

  Austin clapped his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “You’re welcome to return home anytime. I’ve been keeping my eye on your progress over the years, and I know you’re better now. It hasn’t been an easy road, but we always knew you’d make it back. It was just a matter of your kissing and making up with Wheeler.”

  Ben laughed awkwardly. “I’d like that. Not the kissing Wheeler part, but moving back home. I really screwed things up years ago, so I hope you’ll see that I’m a different man now.”

  Naya slinked up and squeezed his arm. “I’ll say, but Wheeler will always be a better kisser,” she said with a wink.

  I left them talking and weaved through the crowd toward my mother, whose arms were weighted down with a wiggly little man.

  As soon as Travis saw me, he reached for me and almost fell out of her arms.

  “Hi, baby!” I lifted him up and kissed his cheeks. “How do you like Uncle Jericho’s singing?”

  He smiled wide and replied, “Buh-buh-buh-buh.”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  Izzy rushed in front of the stage and gave Jericho an unchoreographed sample of her sexy dance moves. When Jericho missed a beat, he looked ready to drop his guitar and carry her backstage.

  Melody breezed by and rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother. They’re acting silly again.”

  Hope smi
led and touched the ends of her hair. “I think it’s sweet your parents are so affectionate. Mine are reserved.”

  “Sweet is how your mom calls your dad Thunder. Trust me, the last thing you want to see are your parents making out at a bar.” Melody mimed, sticking her finger down her throat.

  Hope shrugged. “Someday that will be us with our men.”

  Lakota snuck up from behind, draping his arms around their shoulders and poking his head between them. “If I so much as see a boy within ten feet of you before you’re twenty-one, he better have health insurance.”

  They giggled and squirmed free.

  Lakota stood up straight and whistled a sharp sound. “Boys, meet me in the game room.”

  Hendrix and Lennon raced toward the pool tables in the back.

  “You too,” he said to the girls. “Boys against girls.”

  Melody strutted by. “Yeah? What team are you on?”

  When he lunged at her with a menacing scowl, she snatched the oversized beanie off his head and made a run for it. We could hear her and Hope giggling all the way across the bar.

  “Are you sure you want to watch them?” I asked. “They can be a handful.”

  “No worries. Have a good time, and I’ll keep them busy until you’re ready to eat.”

  As he strutted off, I turned in a slow circle with Travis anchored on my left hip.

  Rosie was chatting with Izzy, no doubt discussing the job I’d offered her at a third location I planned on opening in the next few years. Reno was sitting on a barstool with his legs open, holding April in an intimate embrace. She nestled her face against his chest, still wearing the mirrored sunglasses he’d given her at the ceremony. Now she had a long future ahead of her with him and our pack.

  George and Katharine were slow dancing in a dark corner despite the quick beat of the song. Trevor and William sat at the dessert table, deep in conversation while nibbling on chocolates. I had a feeling that the next day William would be moving into Trevor’s room permanently.

  I didn’t think it would be long before Wheeler and Naya decided to give kids a shot, but it filled my heart with joy to see him standing with his arm around Ben, the both of them laughing. After all, nothing could keep the Weston pack apart. We had loved each other through the years, and that bond had only strengthened as we watched our children grow into strong Shifters.