by Liv Rider
“The wedding is in four weeks. That’s late?” He turned around to Chris, but his friend just shrugged.
“Yes! Oh my God, Shaun, is this your first wedding?”
He had been to two weddings of friends, but those had both been more casual than Emily and Dale’s wedding. “All right, I guess I’m late confirming.”
“I wanted a way to include you where, if you couldn’t make it, it wouldn’t matter. So we had an idea for the ring-bearer, and—”
“You want me to be ring-bearer? Doesn’t Dale have some tiny, adorable niece or something?” Ring-bearer, seriously?
“We have something more adorable than tiny nieces.” Emily’s tone was firm. “We have kittens.”
Shaun was silent for a long moment, waiting for Emily to explain. “You have what?”
“Kittens. Two kittens will be our ring-bearers. We’re practicing with them at home, don’t worry. Rumple and Stiltskin will be perfect on the day.”
“You named your kittens Rumplestiltskin?” Shaun tried to wrap his head around using kittens as ring-bearers. From the corner of his eye, he could see Chris frowning and gesturing in confusion.
“They’re awesome names! Anyway, you can look after them before, during, and after the ceremony.”
Shaun imagined kittens walking down a wedding aisle. How would they even carry the rings? “Don’t you think it’s risky? What if one of them runs off?”
“You sound just like Dale! I expected him to worry about the rings since he’s a—anxious Rumple and Stiltskin won’t behave.”
Shaun frowned. This wasn’t the first time Emily had been talking about Dale and had to correct herself for no reason Shaun could figure out. It had happened more often after she moved to Greenville to live with Dale. Shaun had met his future brother-in-law several times. Dale seemed like a sweet, friendly guy and perfect for Emily. But there was something about Dale that Shaun didn’t know.
Or maybe Emily was talking about some surprise they had planned for the wedding and Shaun was over-thinking things.
“But you’re not worried about them misbehaving?” Shaun certainly would in her place. “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, you can put them in their pet carrier if necessary. But I need someone to make sure they’re all right.”
A pet carrier was the least of his problems. He didn’t mind cats, but he had no experience taking care of them. But Emily sounded sure, and he didn’t want to disappoint her. “Okay, I’ll look after your cats. How are they going to bring you the rings?”
“You’ll find out during the wedding rehearsal!”
2
Mitchell
“I still don’t think our team should’ve been ineligible from winning a prize during trivia night,” Parker insisted. “It was in Thomas’ district and Thomas wasn’t even on our team!”
“But the two of us were,” Mitchell told him, not for the first time that night. “And we’re Keepers of the Peace, just like Thomas. Shifters from our districts were taking part, and they wouldn’t have been as competitive if we’d been playing for prizes.”
“Besides, we came third.” Cameron smiled at his mate. “Third prize was what? Dinner for four at one of the shifter-run restaurants? I’ll happily take you to dinner, Parker. Twice.”
Parker smiled back. “I’ll hold you to that. But it’s not about the actual prizes. What’s the point of taking part in a trivia night if you already know you can’t win anything?”
“Fun?” Joel suggested.
“A nice evening out with friends,” Mitchell added.
“Getting to know people,” Cameron said.
“Bringing shifters from different districts together,” Thomas replied. Joel gave him a look. “And non-shifters, obviously.” He reached to cover his mate’s hand with his own.
Mitchell finished his glass. He knew his friends didn’t make him feel like a third wheel on purpose, but things had changed ever since Thomas and Parker had found their true mates. Changed for the better, and Mitchell couldn’t be happier for them. He knew how difficult it was for a dragon shifter to find someone, especially if you were Keeper of the Peace. They had a duty to the shifters living in their district. They had to make sure things ran smoothly and disagreements got settled.
It was an important, powerful position, and Mitchell loved his job. He enjoyed solving problems and talking to people to figure out what they needed. He liked how much fun everyone had during trivia night.
But as Keeper, he also made tough decisions where he couldn’t please everyone. He had to make sure he was fair, and that no one thought he was favoring one type of shifter over another. It was a demanding job, and Mitchell was glad he was Keeper of the Peace in a city. Lewiston was big enough for three districts, which meant Mitchell had two direct colleagues. He could talk to Thomas and Parker for advice, or just hang out with them.
Since he had to remain as unbiased as possible, he couldn’t date shifters. Cameron and Joel were both human, which had solved that problem for Parker and Thomas. Mitchell hadn’t tried dating humans. Where would he find the time? Or find someone to ask out in the first place?
“You know what we could do?” Cameron leaned forward. “We could sign up for a trivia night at a regular, non-shifter bar.” He smiled at Parker. “No one would disqualify you there, unless you try to cheat.”
“I wouldn’t cheat!”
Mitchell’s dragon let out a low growl of disapproval inside of him. We would never lie. We would win fair and square, or not at all.
“It’s a wonderful idea.” Joel took out his phone. “And Thomas can join our team since he won’t be organizing one.”
“There’s a bar down the road from our apartment that organizes quizzes every other Saturday,” Cameron said. “They’re doing one next weekend.”
“I’d love to join.” Thomas smiled. “It looked like everyone had a lot of fun.”
“I won’t be able to, because I’ve got my brother’s wedding that weekend,” Mitchell explained. “As a groomsman, I should probably attend.”
“Oh right, you mentioned that a while ago. Shame you won’t be able to take part,” Joel said.
“Wait, groomsman? You’re not his best man?” Parker asked.
Mitchell shrugged. “Dale’s best friend is. Besides, I don’t have the time to help him out with anything. I live miles away.” From what he could tell, Jake had been doing an outstanding job as a best man, keeping everyone up to date about color schemes and tuxedo fittings, and organizing a fun bachelor party. Mitchell looked forward to enjoying the weekend without the added pressure of giving a toast or anything like that. He’d help where necessary, but he was more than happy to have the fox shifter in charge of groomsmen business.
“Good point,” Cameron agreed. “But you’ll be away the whole weekend?”
“Rehearsal on Friday, wedding on Saturday, and a final brunch on Sunday.” He was glad he wouldn’t have to travel that far for just one day of festivities, and he looked forward to seeing his younger brother get married. Dale had been lucky enough to find his fated mate a few years ago. He and Emily had been inseparable ever since. With both his friends finding their mates and his brother tying the knot so close to each other, Mitchell was more aware than ever that life was even better if you had someone to share it with.
He liked his job and his friends. The thought of dating humans or having a relationship with one hadn’t crossed his mind until Thomas had met Joel last year. Sure, Dale’s mate Emily was human, but Dale wasn’t Keeper of the Peace yet. He had time to go out and meet people. Mitchell had assumed that, like most dragon shifters, he’d wait until he was no longer Keeper of the Peace before pursuing a relationship, or settle down with another dragon shifter. Thomas, Parker, and his own brother had made him realize there was a third option. Once he was back from the wedding, he should look into how dating amongst humans worked. If his baby brother could manage it, so could he.
Mitchell had met Emily several times, and she
seemed like a friendly, cheerful woman. From what Dale had told him, she’d taken the truth about shifters and fated mates well. Not everyone on her side of the family and guest list knew about shifters, so the shifter guests needed to be careful. He’d have to double-check with Jake about who knew and who didn’t on Friday.
“That must be nice.” Parker looked wistful as he sat back. “Leaving the city for an entire weekend and knowing your council will take care of everything.”
“Your council would too if you gave them the chance.” Thomas took a sip from his drink.
“Not yet.” Cameron shook his head. “Parker says he can’t leave them alone for more than a day yet.”
“I’m working up to it,” Parker told them. “For their benefit and mine. They’re still getting used to handling more things themselves. Mitchell’s council has had years to get used to a Keeper who’s laid back.”
Mitchell had heard it all before. The shifter council in each district helped running the day-to-day business. The shifters of each district voted for the six council members, and Mitchell made sure there was a balance between types. “I still have a lot of preparation to do this week, though, to talk them through some things. And when I get back on Monday, there will be plenty of work waiting for me.”
Parker and Thomas nodded in understanding, and the conversation flowed back to the trivia night Cameron had suggested. Parker muttered something about having to check his schedule, but Mitchell saw the competitive spark in his friend’s eyes.
They each had their own way of working with their council members, and Mitchell valued their differences. It would be boring if he, Parker, and Thomas always agreed on how to handle something. Parker had been a micro-manager until he’d met Cameron and realized he had to step back to have time for his mate. Thomas visited every new shifter to his district to make sure they knew who to turn to in case of problems.
Mitchell preferred to wait until his council or a shifter with problems asked him to step in. As he’d told his friends multiple times, what was the point of having an elected council if you didn’t let them do anything? In Mitchell’s experience, council members were perfectly capable of dealing with most issues that came up. It left him with plenty of time and attention for the serious or more troublesome cases. A dispute between two shifters from different districts wasn’t something his council could handle by themselves, especially if the other district had a Keeper or council he was unfamiliar with. Thanks to his council, Mitchell didn’t need to rush those cases or make hasty decisions.
It also left him with time to visit the various shifter-run bars, shops, and other places where shifters of his district gathered. He figured it was more efficient than Thomas’ personal visits for making sure people in his district knew who he was.
There was, however, another reason Mitchell ran his district the way he did. One he hadn’t mentioned to his friends, because he told himself it didn’t matter.
They didn’t need to know that Mitchell’s number one rule for being Keeper of the Peace was ‘whatever my father would do, do the opposite.’
His father was Keeper of the Peace for six small towns, and his word was law. Each town had a council, but they only existed to monitor things while Mitchell’s father was in one of the other towns. He had a set of rules and applied them to each town the same way, with no room for exceptions. Once Charles Kennedy reached a decision, he considered it done, and appealing the decision was pointless. He told his council members what to do, and if one of them tried to argue back, he just asked if they wanted to challenge him to a duel in shifter form.
No one challenged a dragon shifter.
Charles Kennedy always knew best for everyone, although he left most of that dominance at the front door. Most meaning there were still plenty of times where Mitchell had butted heads with his father, especially as he’d gotten older. Dale had been a part of some of those arguments too, sometimes on Mitchell’s side, sometimes arguing against him.
Mitchell’s mother was Keeper of a different district and rarely talked about work with the rest of the family. Her approach was more about preventing problems from arising. At home that had meant she de-escalated a lot of arguments or found some way to send Mitchell, Dale, or their father out of the room before an argument could even start.
His father was the one thing he wasn’t looking forward to about the wedding. Charles would have a lot of opinions about everything, and he wouldn’t shy away from sharing them. Mitchell hoped that having humans there who didn’t know about shifting would keep his father somewhat in line. After all, it was hard to complain about Dale not including this or that piece of shifter tradition if the other wedding guests didn’t know about shifters.
He spent the next week preparing with his council. They ran through the most urgent issues and went over events planned for that weekend.
“It’s a shame I won’t be able to be there, but maybe it’s for the best,” Mitchell told Katherine. The eagle shifter had been on his council the longest, a little over four years now. She was in her early forties, and before joining the council had volunteered for several committees in the district. He planned on leaving her in charge while he was away, since she had the most experience. “Without me there, they’ll be able to vent freely.”
She frowned. “Do you think there’ll be a lot of venting?”
It was the first meeting Mitchell had set up for the non-shifter partners and family members in his district. Thomas had had meetings like that several times in his district, and it seemed to work well, although Thomas himself stayed out of it. He had let Joel set it up. “I don’t know. From what I’ve heard from Lewiston South, it’s also about sharing information, friendly chatting, and knowing there’re other people in the same situation as you are.”
“Do you want me to go on Saturday?”
He considered it. “Do you think it’s better to have a shifter there, or not? Without you, they can talk about whatever they want. But if a council member is there, it shows that we’re taking them seriously.”
Katherine was silent for a moment as she looked at him, then sighed. “It’ll come down to practicality. With you out of town, the rest of us will be too busy to be there.”
Why hadn’t she mentioned that in the first place? “Then why ask if I wanted you to be there?”
“Because it was your idea. If you think it’s important that I’m there in your absence, I will be. You’re right. A council member being at that first meeting sends a powerful message.” She tapped her pen on her notepad. “So? Do you want me or one of the others to attend?”
What would his father do? Well, he wouldn’t have given the humans in his district the opportunity to get together like this. But if he had organized something, he would’ve forced one of the council members to be there. The answer was obvious.
“Decide amongst yourselves on Saturday. If one of you has time, go to that meeting. If you’re too busy, skip it. And set up a second meeting in four weeks’ time. I’ll attend that one.”
She dutifully wrote it down. “I thought you’d say something like that. Right, what else have we got on the agenda?”
Katherine wasn’t looking at him, but Mitchell noticed her tone shifting from resigned to more cheerful. It wasn’t the first time he noticed something was bothering her, but she hadn’t mentioned it to him. He hoped she would bring it up herself, and otherwise he’d ask if something was wrong next week. Maybe it was a personal matter that was none of his business. “I think we’ve gone over the most important things. Besides, we still have two days before I leave.”
She nodded at that. “Are you looking forward to it?”
“Of course! If only so I can talk to my brother about something that isn’t wedding planning.” As wonderful as Dale’s enthusiasm was, Mitchell didn’t need to know all the details of the cake-tasting session. All that mattered was that the wedding cake was delicious. “The only downside is that I have to wear a tuxedo all weekend.” He hated formal attire
. No matter how well-tailored, it always felt constricting and stiff.
Katherine gave him a sympathetic smile. “I bet your brother feels the same. Anything we can do to help you get ready for this weekend?”
“No, I’ve taken care of everything.” He was a little surprised Katherine wanted to help with that. It wasn’t council business. “Dale and Emily have it under control. The only thing that could go wrong are the ring-bearers.” He’d tried to talk Dale out of it.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. They can be unpredictable, but on such a big day little children want to do their best and—”
“It’s not a kid. It’s a cat.” He watched Katherine frown. She remained silent for several long seconds as her frown deepened. “Two cats. One for each ring.”
“Well,” she said at last, “if they’re his own cats, they’ll like him, right?”
“True.” Cats and dogs had extreme reactions towards shifters. They either adored a shifter, or despised them. Indifference was never an option. “But there’ll be a lot of unfamiliar and different shifters at that wedding. Who knows how the cats will react?” He tried to ignore the mental image of him and his brother chasing after a cat that tried to get away from all the strange shifters and humans.
He really hoped Dale’s optimism would prove right.
3
Shaun
“Sorry we were on the late side.”
“You already said that.” Emily handed him a bright blue pet carrier. There was a soft mew from inside. “Oh, shush, you two.”
Despite Shaun’s best attempts, Emily hadn’t told him anything more about his cat-sitting duties until now, five minutes before the wedding rehearsal was about to start. There were rows and rows of chairs lined up on the hotel lawn overlooking the lake. The arbor was only a few feet away from the lake itself. The arch was decorated with pink, red, and purple flowers with white gauze fluttering slightly in the breeze. Shaun hoped it’d stay in place long enough. He could see Dale and the officiant talking to each other. Dale was smiling, but kept shooting glances over at Shaun and Emily, and he was shifting his weight from one leg to the other impatiently.
