Put a Ring on It

*Hezzlie*

Rowan is holding a ring, and he’s asking me to marry him.

He wants me to be his queen–his Luna Queen.

I’m just staring at him with my mouth hanging open.

“Hezzle? Are you okay?” he asks. 

We’re standing in a beautifully lit gazebo I didn’t know existed, and something tells me that we’re not alone. I think that all of our friends and family members are about to jump out at us with a loud congratulations. But I can’t get my mouth to work.

“Hezzlie?” I can see the worried expression in his eyes, and I suddenly snap back to reality.

“Yes, I’m… fine,” I manage. I shake my head a few times, trying to clear my rattled brain. “I’m fine, Rowan. I just… I want to marry you. I’m just–scared.”
His eyes widen slightly, and I can see him trying to process what I’ve just told him. “Scared? To marry me?”

“No. Not that.” That’s the truth. I’m not scared to marry him, but I am scared of being his wife. “I don’t think I’ll be the best queen for the pack.”

“Oh.” He lets out a long sigh of relief, which makes me raise my eyebrows. I wasn’t expecting him to suddenly look relieved. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be a great Luna Queen.”

“How in the world do you know that?” My voice is full of skepticism. “It’s not like we know someone who can train me to be a good queen.”

“It just comes naturally to you,” he argues, nonchalantly. “Everything about this lifestyle comes naturally to you. No one had to teach you how to be a wolf or a witch. What makes you think you’ll need help becoming a queen?”

He makes a good point, but I immediately am flooded by all of those doubts again. “But this is super important,” I remind him. “If I fuck it up, a lot of people’s lives could be ruined.”

“Isn’t that also the case for being a witch, though?” He reaches up and brushes a strand of hair away from my face. “That’s also important, and you’re not worried about messing that up.”

Again, he has a point. But I’m not rationalizing the situation well right now. I take a deep breath and try to think straight.

“Do you love me?” he asks, his voice quiet. “I mean, do you really love me? Despite all the shit I’ve put you through?”

“Yes.” I don’t hesitate to answer that question. “I do love you–even though you were an asshole when I first met you, and you sent me away to live with a horrible monster. I love you.”

He purses his lips and shakes his head slightly. “You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t blatantly honest,” he says, and we both chuckle. “Listen, Hezzlie, the fact that we love one another is all that matters to me. If you for some stupid reason aren’t a good Luna Queen, then we’ll abdicate the throne and go live in your world or something. I don’t care. All I know is that I love you, and I want to be with you. So… will you marry me?” This time, he drops down on his knee and holds the box up in front of me.

I take a deep breath and look into his eyes. A flood of calmness washes over me. The fact that he’s willing to give up his throne for me says everything. My head begins to nod before I can speak. “Yes,” I finally say. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Rowan slides the ring on my finger and stands, pressing his lips to mine. I close my eyes and lose myself in the kiss, but only for a moment. The forest around us erupts in cheers, and my instincts are confirmed. All of our friends and a ton of people I don’t recognize pour out from the trees, clapping their hands and shouting their congratulations.

My mother makes it to us first. She wraps her arms around both of us, and of course, she’s crying. She kisses my cheek, and I let go of Rowan so I can hug her. After that, Mara and Aiden are there, and then Dean and Abby, and James, and well, everyone. Wilma hugs me eventually, and it feels like I’m getting a hug from the grandma I’ve never known.

Smokey Sam announces that the food is ready, and I realize that somehow Rowan has managed to set up an engagement party. I have no idea how they managed to do it so quickly, but the smell of the food is tantalizing. I take Rowan’s hand and walk over, and we fix our plates with an assortment of meats and sides–the perfect meal for a wolf shifter engagement party. There’s music and dancing, and the staff sets up tables for us to eat at. We drink the best wine and desserts. Everything in the world is perfect.

After a few hours, I find myself slightly tipsy from drinking so much, even though alcohol doesn’t have the same effect on a hybrid like me as it does a regular human girl. I’m staring into Rowan’s eyes, and he’s staring back at me. I have a sudden urge to drag him inside and have him all to myself. 

“We should get out of here,” I whisper.

He leans down, his breath heating my cheek. “Are you ready to go to bed so soon?”

I don’t have any idea what time it is, but I’m definitely ready to drag my fiance to the bedroom and remind him about what he’s got in store for him for the next seventy or eighty years.

“Mhm,” I whisper, and then, taking his hand, I lead him toward the mansion. We wave goodbye to all of our friends. It seems most of them will continue to stay out here for a while, and that’s fine with me. I don’t mind the fact that we will have the house practically to ourselves.

We start kissing on the stairs, his fingertips trailing over my skin and leaving a heated path wherever he touches me. He’s peeling off my clothes before we even get to his room, our shoes and socks left haphazardly in the hallway. It’s not as if whoever comes in next won’t know what’s happening behind this door anyway. I hope it’s soundproof.

He’s got me down to my bra and panties, my legs pressed against the bed, and I’m about to topple backward and fall onto the mattress when Rowan suddenly pulls back from me. He has a very serious expression on his face, his eyes wide, when he says, “Oh, shit.”

Immediately, I know something is wrong. “What’s happened?” I ask him.

As he answers, he reaches for his discarded pants. “We’re under attack,” he tells me. “I have to get to the border–now.”

My breath catches in my throat, and I start searching for clothes, too. “I’m coming with you,” I tell him.

I can see the hesitancy on his face, but then, he nods. “Okay.”

By the time the two of us get back out of the house, we can hear the howls on the horizon. My father picked the perfect time to attack–while almost everyone was celebrating our engagement.

It’s almost as if he knew.