Flora’s eyes meet mine. “You think it’ll still look nice?” she asks, and suddenly we’re little again and she’s asking if the Halloween costume Mom made really makes her look like a princess.
“Yeah,” I assure her. “We’ll make sure it’s perfect.”
She nods, and the coordinator bustles out.
“We’ll take care of everything. Just don’t mess up your makeup,” I tell her, and she smiles. We all head out. Sunny is here too, since she knew Flora as a child. She cocks her head, already assessing.
My pack is standing together in an alcove. They look incredible. I feel like I could slide into a heat spike just from the sight of them. They’re all in matching gray crushed suits, wearing light purple boutonnieres to match my bridesmaid dress. Their outfits make it clear they’re a pack, and that they’re with me, and it makes my heart soar and my body react in ways I try very hard not to think about right now.
I shake myself and focus. The alternate ceremony location is the reception area, which means we need to rearrange things quickly.
Zeke looks at me, likely feeling my rising anxiety through the bond.
What’s up?he mouths.
I wave them over. Sunny waves her alphas over too.
I explain the plan and how we need to turn the space into a ceremony area as fast as possible. The guys don’t hesitate. They carefully lift and move fully set, decorated tables to the sides of the room while Sunny’s alphas line the chairs into two sections, leaving a clear aisle down the middle.
The large premade floral arch is placed at the end of the aisle. Candles are set along the rows, and we roll out the original ivory aisle runner.
By the time we finish, I don’t think it could have looked better outside than it does inside. The lightning adds drama through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind the arch.
“Thank you,” I say, reaching up to plant kisses on each of my alphas’ cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Before I can pull away, Corbin draws me closer by the waist and scent-marks along my neck and cheek, leaving heat in his wake.
“You look beautiful, Sweetheart. I can’t wait to see you walk up that aisle.”
His eyes are deep and sincere, and suddenly the thought of walking up an aisle toward my alphas has my heart pounding, my hands shaking, and my chest fluttering. The cocky half-smile Corbin gives me tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
He lets me go. Eli swats lightly at my backside as I pass, and I shoo his hands away. Deputy sits dutifully at his feet, lending his steady presence. He’s wearing a little bow tie and collar that match the alphas.
Flora looks beautiful as she walks down the aisle toward Sean. They’re both betas, and chose a traditional beta ceremony. My alphas are unabashedly staring at me, and my face is so hot I’m surprised it isn’t on fire.
TheI do'sare said to tears, smiles and cheers.
Rafe
I am sick of my mate being so far away. I realize she’s a bridesmaid, and bridesmaids have to sit at the head table, but this sucks. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the speeches are over, the food is done, and the first dance and parent dances are finished. I’m on my feet before the rest of my pack can even move, speed-walking toward my omega. People stare. I probably look ridiculous. I don’t care.
Her perfume has been calling to me all day. I scented it as she walked down the aisle. As she gets closer to her biannual heat, it’s been deepening, turning into something lush, like a garden at the height of summer. Others won’t notice, but as her mate, it’s intoxicating.
“You all say I don’t have any chill,” I hear Zeke grouse behind me.
Eli doesn’t care that I left the table. When I glance back, his eyes crinkle over his mask, clearly laughing at me. I stick my tongue out at him. He doesn’t like to dance. I love to dance. Winnie is the perfect compromise between us.
When I reach her, she’s staring at me with one eyebrow cocked. “Can I help you?” she asks, amusement clear in her voice and in the small quirk of her lips as she tries not to smile.
“Can I dance with the prettiest woman at this shindig?” I ask.
She steps forward and slaps a hand over my mouth. “Rafe, you cannot say that. This is a wedding. There is a bride,” she reminds me.
Oops.
“Honestly, with you in front of me, I forgot,” I say. She laughs, but it’s true. It’s hard to concentrate when she’s near. All I can scent are lilacs and roses, and all I can see are her curls, her freckles, her eyes.
I hold out my hand, and she takes it. Her fingers are small, soft, and warm in mine.
