Killian’s words interrupted his daze. “Welcome, Stark and Kyle.”
As the king spoke, everyone in the crowd seemed to straighten up and a silence fell among them. Beside him stood Scout, who stood straight with his shoulders back, looking as proud as his mate did of the couple before him.
“We are gathered here to today to join this alpha and omega in unity,” Killian continued.
To his dismay, Kyle’s palms began to sweat. Everything was made much more real once Killian began reciting the shifter unity vows.
This is real and I’m not just making it up or fantasizing it’s fucking real -
“Will the parents of this couple please step forward?” Killian said.
A jolt of panic ran through Kyle.Stark’s parents!He had gone through all that trouble and stress to find them, but Kyle realized that he hadn’t seen either of them during the walk towards the altar.
His heart thumped.What if they left before the ceremony even began?
But then the sound of shifting movement came from behind him. Kyle and Stark both turned slightly to see Miranda and David standing in the front row. Stark’s mother was wearing a shy smile and his father nodded solemnly. Kyle felt tears beginning to sting the corners of his eyes.
They really came!
“Do you give your blessing to this couple?” Killian asked. Kyle noticed his question was firm - did Scout tell him about everything that had happened between them?
The pause that lasted until Stark’s mother finally spoke was like torture.
“Yes, we do,” she said, looking directly at Kyle. For the first time since he’d met her, Miranda’s eyes had a softness to them that she lacked before. Kyle blinked back at her.
“Excellent,” Killian said, turning back to the couple. “Do you, Stark, promise to protect and cherish your omega?”
Stark lifted his chin and gave Kyle’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I do.”
Killian turned now to Kyle, who noticed the soft expression on his king’s face. It was the same one Scout wore when he talked about how proud he was of Kyle.
“Do you, Kyle, promise to love and cherish your alpha?” he asked.
Kyle was suddenly hyperaware of everyone’s eyes on him. The whole hall was watching him intently, waiting for his answer. A brief moment of panic flashed through his mind before a wave of calm overcame him, like gentle ocean waves lapping against the shore. He closed his eyes for a second, then reopened them, renewed with purpose.
“I do,” he said.
Killian’s face broke out into a huge, genuine smile. “Then I now pronounce this alpha and omega unified under Whitewood Pack.” He paused, and not a single sound dared break out in the hall. Then Killian chuckled. “Well, go ahead and kiss each other!”
Kyle surprised himself at the speed and ferocity in which he leapt into Stark’s arms. His alpha wrapped his strong arms around him, carefully swung him around in the air once, and then dipped him right beneath the altar’s arch, kissing him deeply. Kyle lost his breath. The cheers of the crowd became white noise as he was lost in the pleasure of kissing Stark.
He was vaguely aware of Scout bursting into tears in the background, and Killian laughing as he consoled him. A moment after the kiss broke, Stark’s parents came striding up to them as well, patting their son on the back before turning to Kyle with shy expressions.
“We’re very proud of you,” Stark’s father said. “…Both of you.”
Kyle’s eyes widened as he felt tears threatening to fall.
“Yes,” his mother agreed. “I’m… you’ve made me a very happy mother today.” She turned to Kyle. “A happy mother-in-law, too.”
Kyle’s lip twitched a moment before he, too, burst into tears. Stark laughed softly and stroked his hair back.
“There, there,” he said. “We have plenty of time for tears later. This is our party, remember?”
Kyle gave him a playful grunt. “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”
Everyone laughed. Stark dipped him again and kissed him once more for the cheering crowd, and Kyle was lost in a haze of joy.
Then something wet exploded.
