Chapter Thirty Five-The Wedding

As Stella zipped up my dress, she sniffed, and I could hear the tears before I saw her face. “You look beautiful, Tessa.” 

I wore a gold sheath dress with detailed gold beading all over and spaghetti straps that held up the plunging neckline.

Stella highlighted and contoured the hell out of my face, and as I watched myself in the full-length mirror, I looked like my entire body was made of gold like some ancient Greek goddess.

A knock at the door came, and when Kathy answered it, Warren came in and stopped when he saw me. “Holy shit, you look incredible.”

My brother had taken to calling the Hexom’s mom and dad, but it didn’t sit right with me. Not when the man who raised me was downstairs getting me a drink right now. “Thank you.”

As they left me to my thoughts, Haldir slipped through the door and closed it behind him. For a Viking, the man cleaned up well, and despite our history, it always made my heart flutter to see him dressed up like a gentleman.

Seeing him like that in his casual linen suit with his hair clean and slicked back set the bar on handsome, and I considered just running off with him instead. It would make my life far less complicated if he were even a little interested in me. 

Jacob, Logan, and I decided on a very casual wedding. Or at least I did. I mean, we’re hardly the traditional couple, are we?

The ice clinked against the glass as he shoved it in my face. “Look at my little girl.”

Every word between us was laced in sarcasm, but I knew this time he meant it from the bottom of his heart, and it just shoved the knife in deeper. “Shut the fuck up.”

His hand jiggled in his pocket for a moment, and then a box dropped in my lap. “Here you go, Cinderella.”

I shook it and glanced up at him. “What’s this?”

It was like he read my mind, and being a psychic, he probably did as he threw himself into the sofa across from me. “It’s a fucking ticket out of town. I came to rescue you.”

The coin flipped under my fingers as I held it up. “A sixpence.”

A tradition from the human world, Father Michael —that’s a whole other chapter of my life that I’ll get into another time — thought someone like me could use a little extra help from above. “Yeah, it goes in your shoe. It’s good luck.”

I shoved it into my matching gold shoe. “I’d need a whole bag of those to do me any good. This thing is doomed to fail.” I chuckled and glanced up at him. “Can you fucking believe I’m actually going through with this?”

“Nope, I really can’t.” His hands flipped up in front of him. “I’m here for you, Tess. If this is what you want, I’ll stand with you. If it’s not, we can leave right now.”

My eyes were burning when I looked at the bright sun outside. “I got a family now.” My head shook as I turned back to face him. “How can I just give that up?” He nodded as he looked down at the floor between his legs, and I knew he understood. He’d been utterly alone for centuries until Teddy and I came along. “I’m sorry you have to settle for me today instead of your father.”

My lips were swollen with the tears I tried to hold in, and I finally pushed them from my eyes. “Don’t be. There’s no one else in this world right now that I’d rather have standing beside me today.”

My fingernail tapped on the glass as I savored these last few moments of freedom. “Did you see this coming?”

He cleared his throat before he peeked up at me. “I see a lot of things, Tessa, but it’s not my job to change fate. Bad shit happens when you test those spiteful bitches.”

I sipped my drink and looked out the window. “A heads up would’ve been nice.”

“When the fuck have I ever been nice?” Haldir fancied himself a tough guy, and to the rest of the world, he was. But to the people he loved, like my brother and me, he was the plumpest, most cuddly mother a child could ask for. “So, what’s the lady situation here? I’ve never been with a fucking she-wolf before.”

My lips trilled as I set down my glass. “They’re fucking insane here. Lycan are the most aggressive and talented ass I’ve ever had. You’re going to be thanking me for weeks.”

Yeah, I know it’s not the typical kind of father-daughter talk, but that’s just who we are. Unlike my soon-to-be husbands, Haldir didn’t expect me to be anything other than what I was. He liked me no matter what destructive, eccentric trick I pulled from my hat.

My finger pointed at him. “You kiss and make up with Teddy yet?”

“As much as we can, I suppose.” Teddy never really accepted Haldir as a member of our family, and they constantly butted heads over me. My brother’s need to control me tore us apart. “So, are we ready to do this or what? Everyone’s waiting.”

I held out my hand to him, and he lifted me from the chair. “Let’s get it over with.”

The Lycans usually just start living together after they mark each other, which can be with or without this little ceremony. I had already been marked ages ago, so this was pretty much just for the community to get to know their leaders’ mate.

My people’s ritual had strict rules to be followed that conflicted directly with what the twins did to me when they marked me. There was no way to go into this thing with a clear mind; they took away my ability to choose freely. My coven would never accept this thing as legitimate, and none of them showed up to give me away. Still, not having them there to stand up for me stung.

My father, my real father, ruled my coven for over a hundred years. It was like his disapproving eyebrow was a shadow over this whole celebration, and I should have heeded the warning. Everything I touch turns to hell.

As the hot evening July sun hit my face when I exited the house, I put my hand up to shield my eyes, and I saw my men standing by the gazebo waiting for me.

Logan wore a white button-down shirt with a taupe linen vest with two rows of brown buttons down the middle and a blue and white polka dot tie. His taupe pants and brown shoes rounded out his look, and I grinned at how uncomfortable he looked right now.

Jacob chose a steel grey and brown version of Logan’s vest with a dark blue tie and the same taupe pants and brown shoes.

As Haldir took his time inching me down the aisle, he leaned into my ear. “I don’t like this at all, Tess, but I have to admit, I’ve never been more proud than I am right now.”

Just to piss off the Alpha glaring at him, he tugged me close and pressed his lips against my cheek. “You’re a vision. These two assholes don’t know what kind of miracle they’re getting.”