“His parents both came from money.He inherited his trust fund at age twenty-one and took off for Vegas where he spent it all as fast as he could.”
That sounds more like the Allen I know.The one who hit his young daughter up for birthday money.“Allen’s been broke as long as I’ve known him.But I guess I don’t know him very well.I never thought he’d do something like this.”
Matthias’ eyes flash blue again, as bright as the neon party lights.
“Kylie’s intercepted more texts,” Teddy informs us.“Lucky Lou’s calling in all his favors to find you.Whoever finds you is supposed to take you straight to the chapel.”
I shudder.Less than an hour ago, I was scared and alone back in the hotel room thinking I was pretty much doomed.“I’m so glad you found me.”
“I’ve got you now,” Matthias says.“And I’m never letting you go.”
My heart gives a double-pump.Um, wow.He probably doesn’t mean that the way I want him to, but he’s pretty much fulfilling all my teenage fantasies right now.
A look of steely determination comes over his face.“As for the marriage thing, I’m going to stop that right now,” he says.
“You are?How?”
“You’re marrying me.”
ChapterNine
Matthias
Dawn finds me in a tiny dressing room of the Las Vegas Little Chapel of Love, getting ready for my own wedding.
“Matthais and Maisy, sitting in a tree.Getting M-A-R-R-I-E-D,” Canyon keeps singing.“Bern and Hutch join in, and then they all start singing “Chapel of Love” with full harmony and everything.
“Shut up,” Darius growls.
“Let them sing.”I straighten my collar.The white tux wasn’t my idea–my brothers made it happen somehow–but I look pretty good.I turn and face my brothers, who have somehow sourced black tuxedo jackets and matching kilts.“They’ve behaved all night.”
They even went out and picked up the marriage license.We had to call in a favor to get it, of course, but our contact Lucius can do anything, even convince a clerk to sign off on a wedding in the wee hours of the morning.It’s good to have the Southwest’s vampire king as your friend.
Our wedding will be official.
The moment I heard another man planned to marry Maisy, my bear flipped out.The Moon Cure barely kept me from spontaneously shifting and going on a savage rampage across Las Vegas, tearing apart every male who got near my mate.
The only way to calm my bear was for me to claim Maisy.
And since she’s not ready for me to claim her bear style, my hope is that a legal claiming will soothe him enough, so I can function.
It has the added benefit of slowing or halting whatever plans Lucky Lou had for her.We don’t even know why Lucky Lou wants to marry Maisy, but he can’t very well marry her if she’s already wed.
Not that I plan to let him anywhere near her.
When I glance in the mirror, my eyes glitter blue.I can’t deny that my bear is ecstatic about what’s about to happen.
Even if our marriage won’t be real.
I need another dose of Moon Cure, but I don’t want to pull out a needle in front of my brothers.None of them know I’ve been self-dosing for the past seven years to keep from going feral or claiming my mate.
“How’s Maisy doing?”I ask.
“She’s almost ready.The dress Lana found fits her.”Darius pauses.“She has tons of energy.”
Vampire blood will do that.I’ve been distilling medicines of my own from the potent blood of immortals.I’ve tested them on Daisy, with her consent, so I know they work on humans.
“Who’s guarding her?”
