He laughs. He fucking laughs, a deep rumbling sound, but then when he looks at my face, it comes to a halt, all joking slipping from his features as he stares at me.
“You can’t be serious?”
“Do you think I’d want to marry you right now?” I complain and I swear something flashes behind his eyes, his dark brown nearly turning gold for a moment. I shift my weight on this hardbench that’s making my ass hurt, wishing I was still in bed and this pissed expression wasn’t plastered on his face.
“No, just like I don’t want to marry you.”
“I fear we don’t have a choice in the matter,” I tell him. Everything in me is tugging me to go to that counter and make this marriage legitimate, even if rationally I want to get as far away from here as possible.
“Well, do something about it. Pull your little wand out and make this go away,” he says. It hurts my feelings, even if I do feel the same way.
“I’ve been here for hours. I don’t know what spell I cast, or if it even was a spell fourteen years ago. I didn’t even know what I was then, Silas. Everything I know about reversal I’ve tried. Undoing something like this is going to take time and research.”
“Are you really suggesting we get married right now and figure it out later?”
“Do you have any other ideas? You feel the same pull as me, don’t you? Like leaving here would be painful?”
He looks around, but nods in defeat. I’m glad I’m at least not alone in this feeling.
“No one can know about this,” he says, glancing over at the employee, who is clearly trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.
“We’re in agreement about that. We’ll just give the hex what it wants and then I’ll work on how to counteract it. No one has to know, and we don’t even have to see each other while I figure it out.”
Silas rubs his chest again, almost like he’s in pain, just like he did at the meeting.
“Are you alright?”
“Let’s just get this over with,” he grumbles as we both stand and walk up to the woman who’s been glaring at me for a few hours.
“You made it. I was wondering if you were getting a case of cold feet. Can I see your IDs and I need you to fill this out. We need twenty-four hours to process your license request and then you can hold a private ceremony and have the officiant sign, or you can book a time at the courthouse,” she says.
“No, we need this to be official today,” I tell her.
She clicks her tongue, saying in so little words that the government doesn’t pay her enough to put up with a weird Bridezilla.
“I’m sorry, unless there are extreme circumstances, we need twenty-four hours.”
Oh, fuck it. This is a time where being a witch comes in handy.
“Cheryl, you’re going to sign off on this certificate and you’re going to get us on the schedule to get married. Today.”
Her brows furrow as the grip on my wand tightens as I hold her under my influence. It’s not a magic I use very often, but it’s one my grand-mère excels at. If she didn’t give me private lessons on mental manipulation, there’s no way I could do this right now.
Cheryl blinks out her confusion.
“Right. The clerk will take you back shortly. Give this to her to sign,” she says, clear confusion written all over her face.
“What about confidentiality?” Silas asks, looking down at me.
I knew when I saw him at the meeting he was far larger than I remember, but standing next to him now feels near comical. An Alpha pack leader indeed.
“We need the record of our marriage sealed.”
“Oh, we don’t seal marriage licenses,” Cheryl replies.
I take a deep breath and focus, my wand being the conduit for this type of power, otherwise I’d probably pass out.
“You will seal this one. It’s a matter of safety.”
