“I can’t take it,” I whisper in the beta’s ear. “He’s so proud of her. He’s so happy right now. I’m going to explode.” I cry, and Kai chuckles, nodding his head.
“I know, baby, I can feel him too,” he whispers back. I glance over at Benson because I can feel him too. He’s watching his siblings dance, and when he meets my eyes, he blows me a kiss. He’s not losing his marbles like I am, but he is proud of his family. Of his brother.
“This is too much. I’m going to self-destruct from all these emotions,” I whine, and Kai tries to hold in a snort but fails.
“I love you, Plum, but you can’t make me laugh right now. I’ll look like a dick.” Kai shakes his head, but my eyes go wide.
“You said it,” I whisper, and Kai nods.
“You feel it.”
“I do. I love you too.” I kiss him. Even though we’re probably getting sideways looks, I don’t care.
“The bride would now like to invite all her guests to join her on the dance floor!” The DJ says when the song ends.
“Come on.” I jump off his lap and speed-walk to my alpha. He hugs Stella in the same way Tony hugged me yesterday, and I reach them just as Val sweeps his new bride off her feet.
Nick has enough time to brace for impact as I slam into his arms.
I want to climb him like a tree, but my dress is too long for that. I also want to drag him into a dark corner and have my way with him, but I know we can’t do that right now. This is Stella’s day. I can wait a few hours.
I’ve waited a long time for my happily ever after, anyway. This will be a breeze.
“I love you,” I tell him the second I’m in his arms. “I love you so much, you big grumpy softy!”
“I love you, too, Plum.” Nick presses a kiss over my bond mark, and I sigh.
When the night ends hours later, after we say our goodbyes to Stella and Val, who are heading off to their honeymoon tonight, and every guest has left, I turn to Benson.
“Without you, none of this would have ever happened,” I say as he wraps his arms around my waist. “You could have rejected me in that bar on Halloween and when I showed up here to beg for your help once again. You could’ve told me to get lost, but you said yes and changed my life.”
Benson shakes his head, but I silence him with a kiss before he can begin to object.
“Just listen. Without you saying yes, I would’ve had to face Kai alone when I wasn’t ready to. You were there for me from the moment I turned to you for help. Thank you, Benson.” I kiss him again before saying, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Plum. Endlessly.”
Epilogue
Five days later
“Sable!” I hiss, startling her. She frowns at me as I gesture frantically for her to get over here before we’re spotted. “Hurry up,” I say through gritted teeth.
“What? What’s wrong?” she asks. Sable and her mates arrived about fifteen minutes ago so they could spend Christmas with us on the farm. Kai left to go pick his mom up not too long ago, so I don’t have a lot of time before they get back.
I drag her by her arm into the small guest bathroom in the hallway off the kitchen and shove a stick in her face. She squints at it, confused until she reads it.
“Oh my fuck,” she gasps, jaw dropping as her eyes bug out of her head. “Oh my fucking fuck… Is that yours?”
“No, I had someone else pee on a stick for fun, Sable. Yes, it’s mine!” I snark, placing it on the sink and stepping away from it, as if that will protect me from the results. “What do I do?” I mumble, watching the stick like it’s the one responsible for my current predicament.
“Should I go get Nick? Or Benson?” she asks gently, and I snap my head around to stare at her like she’s lost her mind.
“No! No way.” I shake my head. “No. Nope…” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hold myself together as panic starts to take over.
“They can feel your panic,” she adds softly, moving to place her hand on my shoulder, but I dodge it.
“Don’t comfort me; I’ll cry,” I hiss, and she fails to hold back her snort.
