by Leela Ash
Dad must be there too. She heard the deep rumble of his voice and her mother grumbled, “I’m perfectly aware of how late it is, George. Look, Dakota, this is a bad time. The Sherridans are throwing a party and we need to get going.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Is there a better time to call?”
“Why don’t we just trade emails?” her mother urged. “Our schedule’s kind of busy.”
“Well, I… I have some big news. Something I shouldn’t send in a letter. I’m, uh, getting married.”
“Married.” Not a drop of excitement warmed her mother’s voice. “I hope it’s not one of those homeless people you work with.”
“No, he’s…”
…a Dragon.
Yeah, right. As if her mother could believe that! “He’s from New York. He’s in business,” she finished lamely.
“I suppose congratulations are in order.”
You think?
Dakota bit her lip before those words could slip out.
“How long have you known him?”
“About a month.”
“A month.” Cool disapproval radiated from those words. “And you’re getting married?”
That doubt, at least, wasn’t unexpected. “Yes, we are. We’re very deeply in love.”
“When?”
“We thought we’d aim for June. That’s why I’m calling. I know you and Dad have busy schedules and I want to pick a day that works for you.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Dakota gulped. She was, actually. Michael and his Flight assured her that this was normal. Every one of their Mates had become pregnant during the Rite of Claiming, the ceremony that bound Dragon and Mate. And Shifter babies came three months faster than purely human ones. So, after only a month, she was already putting on weight.
But how to tell her mother that? Caught by surprise, she hesitated.
And that was all the answer Mom needed. “I see. So, you got knocked up by some Wall Street banker. Smart move, marrying him quickly. Just don’t sign any pre-nups.”
“Mom!” she snarled in outrage. “It’s not like that! Michael and I love each other! We’re…”
…Mates…
“…soul mates!”
“How nice.”
In the background, her father cackled. “Dakota’s pregnant? Don’t worry, Val. You don’t look old enough to be a grandmother. Everyone will say that!”
“Shut up!” her mother hissed.
For once, Dakota agreed with her. “Look, I know you have to go and all. We can talk about it later. But can you tell me a good date? I don’t have a lot of time to make plans.”
The pause that followed dragged on forever. Until, at last, her mother sighed. “Dakota, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it.”
“Is all of June bad? When would work?”
“Dakota…”
“Is it the expense? Michael would get you tickets, I know he would!”
“Dakota…”
And still, her dad cackled like a jackal. “Oh, come on! How can you miss your first chance to be Gramma Valerie?”
“Shut the hell up, George! Dakota, listen.” Having dismissed her husband, her mother turned that fury on her. “I’ll tell you what I told your sister, Cally, before she got herself killed. This is your life. You can do with it what you want. But I will not be forced to witness your poor life choices. You’re on your own.”
“My wedding is not a poor life choice.” In her mind, those words rang out strong and angry. In real life, they were just a whisper.
“Let’s hope you’re right. Look, we’re late already. I have to go. Goodbye.”
“Good…”
Click.
“…bye.”
The sound of street life still swirled up from below. But its wonder, its mystery, had faded away. She slipped the phone back into her pocket and stared blindly out at the night sky.
“Dakota?”
Standing in the doorway, Michael Farrell was a vision in black and red. Flame red hair blazed under the porch lights. Baggy black lounging pants hid the hard, muscled legs that Dakota knew and loved. But his t-shirt flaunted his six-pack abs and strong arms.
“I’m guessing that didn’t go well.” Strolling to her side, he wrapped his arms around her, weaving a tiny pocket of love and safety around her heart.
“No. They don’t want to come.” Any other woman would be sobbing her eyes out. Dakota’s heart just ached with a dull melancholy. Her parents no longer surprised her. “They think I’m some rich guy’s baby momma and the marriage is a money-grab.”
The arms holding her tensed. Glancing up at Michael, she saw an eerie gleam lighting his eyes. The lightest brush of his Dragon’s fury.
Dragons didn’t take it well when their Mates were insulted.
“Don’t they care? They’re going to be grandparents.”
“Hell yeah, they care,” Dakota muttered. “My Mom’s furious. I’m making her look old. Like a grandmother.”
Silence met her words. For a time, Michael just rocked back and forth, wrapped around her. Until he snorted. “Would you be very upset if I ate your parents?”
She chuckled, knowing now that Dragons didn’t really eat people. How silly she’d been when she first met him!
“Hey, I’d tell them exactly what they told my sister. This is their life. They can do what they want with it. But I will not be forced to watch their poor life choices – like ignoring their grandchildren and refusing to come to my wedding.”
Confident words… but they didn’t assuage his protective anger. Dakota kissed him on the cheek. “Seriously, Michael. Sometimes, the family you make is better than the family that life hands you at birth.”
“I just don’t want anything to ruin this wedding. It’s your day.”
“I know. About that…” She stole a glance at him, so somber, so worried. “Why don’t we skip the ceremony? Just go to a Justice of the Peace tomorrow and get it done?”
“No! I want the best for you. Flowers, gowns, celebrations and a big church wedding. Not some fast food civil ‘ceremony’.”
“Michael, who’s going to walk me down the aisle? My dad’s not coming. I lost touch with my high school friends when I got caught up in Cally’s troubles. I couldn’t ask any of them to be my bridesmaids.”
“We’ll figure out something,” he promised.
“And it’s so much work…”
“That’s what wedding planners are for!”
Dakota sighed. It was pointless. He thought she ‘deserved’ a fancy wedding and by God, she was going to get one!
But she loved him… and if it meant so much to him…
“Okay, I’ll do this. For you.”
He stroked her hair, smiling down at her. “And in ten years, you’ll look back and see how right I am.”
Maybe. She doubted it.
“Now, come on. It’s late. Let’s go to bed.”
There, at last, was something they could both agree on!
Chapter 2
Four weeks later, Dakota rang Brandon Lorde’s doorbell. When she first arrived in New York, Michael’s apartment had scared her. For two weeks, she tiptoed around its Grecian vases and marble floors, terrified of sullying its spotless beauty.
And this? The home of Michael’s Alpha? Even worse. It was a full mansion, a three-story nugget of perfection nestled in the heart of New York’s most exclusive neighborhood. A single ‘family’ manor in a sea of high-rises. Let the nouveau riche pile up on top of each other, this little palace sneered. A truly rich man owns his home. Even here.
Yet, when Lorde’s housekeeper, Amarie, opened the door, the edge of her fears dulled. Amarie might be the trusted confidant of one of the world’s richest men, but with the traditional blue and green eyes of Witch Hare Shifters and a mop of wild hair that would make Albert Einstein blush, the old woman looked like someone’s demented grandmother. No one could be intimidated by a woman with dandelion hair!
“Miss! You’ve come!”<
br />
“Good afternoon, ma’am. I got your message about needing my approval for some things?”
That was her role in the preparations, pointing at things. All she needed to do was say what she wanted and the wedding planner ‘made it so.’ Michael helped at first. He picked his own suit, suggested arrangements and venues… then kept her from fainting when she saw the price tag that came with all of it. Today, he was gone, though. Off on some mysterious Dragon business.
“Yes, indeed. First, your dress has arrived.”
Only a month ago she’d begged Michael to dispense with a formal wedding entirely. Now, as she followed Amarie upstairs, excitement bubbled up inside her.
“I hope it fits,” she told the housekeeper.
“Of course it will, miss! It’s not off the rack, you know!”
Dakota patted her stomach. “Yeah, but I’ve put on some weight since I chose it.”
“Well, of course. You are expecting, after all! I had it made for the size you’ll be at the wedding.”
“But you couldn’t know that,” she protested.
Amarie glanced back, puzzled. “Why not?”
“Because it hasn’t happened yet?” Blank incomprehension met her statement. “It’s in the future?”
That restored the Witch Hare’s humor. “Oh miss, seeing the future isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Now, the past… Oh dear, that’s a bother. I have the highest admiration for people who understand what actually happened!”
Conversations with Amarie always ended up like this. Almost sensible… but not quite. Dakota let the subject slide and put her faith in the skills of last-minute tailors.
“Here we are!” The housekeeper swept open the door of one of the mansion’s many bedrooms.
Draped across the bed was a gown. Her gown.
Ivory duchess silk formed its strapless bodice. The back laced together, forming a weave that matched Dakota’s long French braid. (And, she noted, it could be adjusted if her growing body gave her problems.) But the skirt…!
A cloud of rich tulle surrounded the bodice, creating a halo of white froth. Red roses, hand-embroidered with crimson silk, lined its edge. Vines curled up, dotted with more brilliant flowers. Dakota’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of it. It was exquisite, blending white purity and the red roses of desire.
“Oh wow, it’s amazing!” She held it up to her chest, enchanted by the way it pooled around her.
“It suits? Excellent!” Amarie beamed and – without another word – scuttled out of the room. A moment later, she hustled back, balancing a tall pile of boxes. “Here are the others. Not as nice as that one, of course, but that’s the way it should be, no?”
“Other dresses?” Confused, Dakota laid her gown reverently on the bed. “For me?”
“No, silly. Other dresses for the others. Your bridesmaids.”
Like biting tin foil, those words sent a flash of pain through her. “I don’t have any bridesmaids.”
She started to make excuses, to explain how she’d ended up so alone in the world before she met Michael. But Amarie interrupted. “If you don’t have bridesmaids, then who’s at the door?”
“What? There’s someone at the door?”
Downstairs, the doorbell rang.
“Well, there is now! And my money’s on it being those bridesmaids.”
The moment the door cracked open, children poured inside. First came a trio of small boys. “Mrs. Amarie!” the tallest cried. “Are there cookies again?”
“Of course, Ethan. There are always cookies. And you know right where they are, don’t you?”
All three crowed with delight. “C’mon guys! I’ll show you!” Ethan yelled. But as they darted down the hall, a woman’s stern voice froze them in place.
“Trey? Brody? Do we run inside?” A golden-haired woman stood in the doorway, frowning softly.
“No,” the small boys groaned in unison. Then they promptly started to power-walk, at a tremendous rate, toward the kitchen.
Shaking her head, their mother stepped in, carrying a large pack of baby supplies. “Hello, Amarie.”
“Good day, Mrs. Jackson.”
Ah, she must be Ariel, Owen’s wife. Dakota hadn’t met her yet and held back, shyly. She’d mistakenly accused Ariel’s husband of murdering her sister. The woman must hate her.
If so, she was a great liar – because her smile was as bright as sun-warmed gold. “You must be Dakota. I’m Ariel. This is Sydnee.” A young teen drifted in behind her, carrying a tiny baby.
No sign of Owen. Before she could ask where he was, a dozen more people flooded into the hall. Greetings and hugs spilled out, turning the hall into a mass of welcome and confusion.
Tess and Darian Morland, she knew, and their son, Ethan, the cookie-hunter. Finn Donnelly elbowed his way through the press, followed by a slender beauty with flame-red hair like Michael’s. That must be his wife, Bree, the Witch Hare. Which was weird, because her eyes were both the same color. Weren’t they supposed to be different, like Amarie’s?
Next, the Lordes and Stiles families poured in. At their head strode Brandon Lorde, the Alpha of the First Flight. His wife, Hannah, followed close behind with her parents. Dakota felt a flash of cheesy relief to see the Stiles glance about nervously. Good to know that at least two people were as cowed by this place as she was! The final couple was another familiar Dragon, Jamie Wolfe, who’d helped save the First Flight. He entered slowly, one protective arm wrapped around the shoulders of an enormously pregnant woman.
“Maya?” Dakota blinked in shock.
Pale beneath her tan, the woman smiled. “Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“When are you due?”
“Any day now.” Jamie eased his wife down into a chair. “Though, Amarie assures us it will be after your wedding. And you ignore that lady at your peril, even when her advice sounds mad.”
“I just hope you have a bridesmaid’s dress large enough for the Goodyear Blimp.” Maya’s eyes widened suddenly. “That is… I mean, if you want us to be your bridesmaids. Gosh, I didn’t even ask.”
Dakota rushed to her side and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Of course, I do!” Tears welled in her eyes as she watched the jubilant crowd. Why hadn’t she thought of them? Everything she needed for a perfect wedding was right here. Five bridesmaids and groomsmen. A flower girl and three little candidates for ring bearer.
Though, there were still decisions that needed to be made.
A fact that was not forgotten by Hannah Lorde. The Alpha’s Mate slipped through the crowd to hug her. “Hey, I’ve got a question. Kind of an awkward one.”
“What’s up?” Dakota adored Hannah. She had to be the kindest person she’d ever met.
“Brandon told me that your parents couldn’t make it to the wedding.”
A polite way of putting it – if not totally true.
“Who do you want to walk you down the aisle? Brandon thought he should, since he’s the Alpha. Which I don’t think makes a lick of sense,” she added, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I mean, it’s not like he’s ordering you to marry Michael, right?”
“No, this isn’t a shotgun wedding!”
Hannah’s laughter was innocent and cheery. “Good. So, he’d be happy to do it, if you’d like. Or, if you’d rather, my dad would be honored to escort you. You’re marrying one of my husband’s Flightmates. That kind of makes you my sister. Well, in my mind, anyway.”
Once more, tears of joy stung her eyes. To have a sister again, after losing Cally… And Mr. Stiles – gruff, honest, plain – was the kind of the father she wished she’d had. “Your husband won’t be upset?”
“Not at all!”
“It’s just… you’re right. Brandon feels more like a brother-in-law than a father. And I’d spend the whole evening worrying about embarrassing him. Your dad isn’t so, um, intimidating. I think he’ll understand if I trip over my gown.”
Hannah giggled. “He will. As long as you
don’t mind him tugging at his tie constantly. He swears those things are dog leashes.”
While Sydnee and Amarie fussed over the babies, the other women drew close. Tess’ eyes sparkled with impish delight. “Now comes the hard part, who’s the maid of honor?”
“Ahem.” Ariel cleared her throat. “Matron of honor. None of us are maids anymore!”
Dakota’s stomach actually did make a small flip. Ariel and Bree were out; she barely knew them. She’d never met Maya – even though the archeologist had saved her and Michael. That made Hannah and Tess the logical choices.
But how to pick between them without hurting anyone’s feelings? Having just found a family again, she hated the idea of hurting it. “I don’t know. I’m having a terrible time choosing.”
“What about a competition?” the Adanai suggested. “Like, oh, sumo wrestling? Knife throwing? Or a nice game of Texas Hold ‘Em?”
“I’m not sure what those things have to do with being a Matron of Honor,” Ariel grumbled.
Tess grinned. “Not a lot. But it does stack the odds in my favor!”
“Like hell!” Maya snorted. “I win the sumo wrestling by default. The rest of you are all way too skinny to compete!”
Laughter swirled around the little group, easy and comfortable. Only, Dakota still felt on edge. Hannah didn’t miss that either. “You know we’re teasing you, right? No one’s going to be upset that you didn’t pick them. Not even Tess.”
“Yeah, ignore me,” Tess said. “I just hate losing. Doesn’t matter what the competition is: cards, sports, or ‘Let’s see who can make the biggest fool of themselves tonight!’ I will try to win.”
Even as she chuckled, Dakota felt her nerves settle. She liked Hannah, a lot. But Tess stood by her side during the Fangs’ attack. The Adanai had given her a second chance, even though her Mate, Darian’s, life was in danger. Okay, Dakota admitted, that second chance came after Tess put a gun to her head. Still, it was a sign of trust and faith greater than any other in her life.
“Well… as long as I have to choose… I guess I pick Tess.”
“Yesss!” the Adanai whispered, with a triumphant fist pump that set the rest of them snickering. “I didn’t even have to rig the contest! And oh, hey, I call dibs on planning the bachelorette party!”
