“We used to invent Alphas,” I say.
His mouth trembles again.
“We put false names on our paperwork because protection only counted when it came from someone the system recognized. We made up phone numbers and histories becausewe needed the people reading those forms to believe someone powerful would notice if we disappeared.”
Luca’s fingers close more tightly around mine.
“We couldn’t promise that we could fix what happened to each other. We could only promise that if the phone rang, we would answer.”
His tears fall faster, but he doesn’t look away.
“That was our first vow,” I tell him. “We made it before the rings, before the company, before Ember House, and before this family became large enough to fill a garden.”
I lift his left hand and kiss the engagement ring first. My lips linger over the wedding band from the hospital before I turn his palm against my cheek.
“I’m still answering. I promise to protect you without choosing your life for you. I promise partnership when we agree and when we don’t. I promise to make room for every version of you, including the one who is angry, exhausted, frightened, or certain he can carry more than anyone should.”
Luca laughs softly through his tears, and I kiss his knuckles before continuing.
“I promise louder rooms, open doors, and the freedom to tell me when I’m wrong. I promise that nothing we build will ever matter more than the people living inside it. I answered then, and I’ll answer for the rest of my life.”
Luca lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses the new lines age and illness have left across my knuckles. He keeps my hand pressed against his cheek while he gathers himself.
“I spent years believing you were the only person who could see me,” he says. “You kept answering until I learned how to speak for myself. Then you kept making room until I could choose who stood beside me.”
His gaze moves around the circle. Grayson kisses his shoulder, Luther’s hand remains warm at his back, and Maceo rests his palm beneath Luca’s elbow when he shifts his weight.
Luca returns his attention to me. “You loved me before either of us knew what safety could look like. You loved me when we were hiding, and you kept loving me when hiding stopped being the only way we knew how to survive.”
He reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket and removes the commitment band. The brushed metal mirrors the second band he once received from me without copying it exactly. A narrow line runs through its center, designed to sit beside my original wedding ring rather than replace it.
“I already carry what you gave me,” Luca says. “I didn’t want another ring today. I wanted to place one on you.”
I give him my left hand. His fingers shake as the band catches briefly at my knuckle. He pauses to kiss the place where it stopped, then eases it into position beside the original ring.
“This doesn’t erase anything that came before,” he says. “It belongs beside it. I choose the life we survived, the life we built afterward, and every ordinary morning still waiting for us.”
His thumb moves over both rings together. “This is my answer.”
I kiss him slowly, one arm settling around his shoulders while I keep enough space between us for his stomach. His hand slides to the back of my neck, holding me there until the officiant gives up pretending we’re following the planned order.
When we separate, Rosalie is crying beside Luther. She wipes one cheek with the back of her hand and frowns at the dampness on her glove.
Luca reaches for her. Luther lifts her before she can climb onto him, and she cups Luca’s face between both hands.
“You’re crying a lot,” she tells him.
“I’m happy, sweetheart.”
Rosalie studies him before kissing his nose. “Okay.”
Samuel presses closer to Grayson, his serious expression wobbling as he looks at Luca and me. James remains beside Maceo, one hand still resting protectively over the now-empty space on the cushion.
Once Luca and I finish exchanging vows, the officiant steps back and leaves the center open for the full pack ceremony.
Luther turns inward first. He covers the bond mark he carries with one hand and extends his other wrist toward Grayson. Grayson mirrors him, then reaches toward me. I turn to Luca, and Luca reaches for Maceo. Maceo completes the chain by pressing his wrist against Luther’s.
Luca’s wedding band rests against my new commitment ring while our wrists remain linked to Luther, Grayson, and Maceo through the bond marks we exchanged across the years.
