But she was smiling.
Through the bond I felt her love washing over me. Her happiness. Her cautious hope that maybe we could actually make this work.
It was enough. More than enough. More than I deserved. She would not forgive me easily or quickly but I would wait forever if that was what she needed, because she was worth waiting for.
32
— • —
Wen
A Few Months Later
“Stop fussing,” Krystin grunted as she adjusted the fabric around my enormous belly for the third time.
“I’m not fussing. I’m trying to breathe.” I shifted my weight from one swollen foot to the other. “This dress is trying to kill me.”
“You’re the one who wanted a traditional wedding gown,” Daphne pointed out from where she was pinning my veil.
“I wanted a dress. Not a torture device.” I looked down at myself and groaned. “I feel like a whale right now. A very fancy, very uncomfortable whale.”
“You’re carrying a wolf in your belly,” Bella said. She was doing my makeup with surprising skill. “Of course you’re going to feelenormous. That baby is probably going to come out already knowing how to shift.”
I laughed despite my discomfort. “God, I hope not. That sounds terrifying.”
They’d been reluctant about stepping through the portal and leaving Earth behind for good, so we’d done a short ceremony with them earlier this week. Just us and some cake and a few tears. It was perfect and intimate and exactly what I’d needed.
Now they were helping me get ready for the big ceremony. The one in Lytopia with all the pomp and circumstance that came with marrying a werewolf king.
The one I didn’t particularly want but apparently needed.
According to Mal, this was the best way to keep me protected and ensure our child wasn’t born a bastard. Marrying me before the baby arrived would legitimize the heir and solidify my position as queen. Make it harder for anyone to challenge my authority or threaten me.
After the kitchen fire incident and his grand romantic gesture of buying me an entirely new kitchen, I’d said I’d thought about his proposal. In truth, I hadn’t really needed to think it much, but I still made him wait one and a half months before I finally said yes. Petty? Yes. Did I regret it? No. He had it coming. And even though we both had known my final answer would be yes, he still had looked at me with those hopeful puppy eyes and had celebrated as if he’d won the best prize ever. It’d been cute.
My life was already insane. Might as well add a royal wedding to the mix.
Lately, as we started to give in to our relationship again and started to build trust again, we hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other. I had been horny as hell for the past few months, but unfortunately, my body was so damn uncomfortable all the time that the thought of actually doing anything more than touching seemed impossible. Everything hurt. Nothing fit right. I couldn’t get comfortable no matter what position I tried.
He seemed entirely happy just holding me while we slept though. Which was another development that had come after the fire. We’d gone back to sharing a bed when I’d realized during those terrifying moments that I couldn’t lose him. That despite everything, I needed him. The nightmares were less frequent with him there. The pregnancy insomnia was more manageable. And his body heat was perfect for my constantly aching back.
I wasn’t going to apologize for prioritizing my comfort. I’d had enough discomfort for a lifetime. I wanted nice and smooth from here on out.
Which is what had brought me here. To my wedding day. Nine months pregnant and wearing a dress that seemed expensive enough to fund a small country.
“Okay, you’re ready,” Daphne said. She stepped back with tears gathering in her eyes. “Oh god, you look beautiful.”
“Don’t you dare make me cry,” I warned. But it was too late. Bella and Krystin were tearing up too.
I fanned myself frantically because pregnancy hormones meant I cried at everything. Commercials. Songs on the radio. The wayMal looked at me sometimes when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.
“It’s time, Wen,” Krystin said, her voice thick with emotion. “You ready for this?”
I gulped and looked at my three best friends. The women who’d stood by me through everything. “Thank you. For everything. For being here. For not thinking I’m completely insane for marrying a werewolf king from another dimension who rejected me and burned down my kitchen trying to cook me an apology dinner.”
“We still think you’re insane,” Bella said with a watery smile. “But we love you anyway. And the new kitchen is gorgeous.”
I hugged each of them carefully so I didn’t mess up the dress or makeup. Then I turned toward the portal that had been set up in the back room of my bookstore.
