Anwen
"Wish you could still be my Beta." I fix my hair in the mirror again. "I was looking forward to being able to boss your ass around."
Baz grins. "How do you know that wasn't why I changed packs in the first place?"
I snort. I should've known he was gonna move with me when I saw him at that party. There's nothing he likes better than a good time. But I didn't realize the Alpha's Beta here could only be natural-born Sundrop. Baz is just going to be another subject from here on out.
"Stop fucking with your hair," he says. "You're just gonna drive yourself insane."
Another subject, and the best friend a guy could ask for.
"Can you blame me for wanting to look good?" I turn to him with a smile. "It's a special night."
"Yeah, yeah." He hops up with a roll of his eyes. "I'd better get mated during the next Haze, or I'm really going to regret moving."
"Because Dun's Crossing was working out so well?" I shake my head. "Do you have them?"
"Of course." From an inside pocket of his deep purple tunic-his only concession to Sundrop's style-Baz produces a small, carved wooden box.
I take it and open it immediately. Just in case.
There, nestled into the velvet cushion, sit two rings of carved moonstone. It's the one Dun's Crossing tradition I wanted to bring with me, and an echo of the tattoos Estrella and I already have. The carvings catch the light-on each, one half of a heart shines.
"Damn," Baz says. "They are nice."
"Nice?" I snap the box shut. "They're fucking perfect."
"Somebody's gotta keep your ego in check." He grins. "You're sure you don't need me there?"
My smile softens. "We don't need anyone else."
He claps me on the shoulder, fixes my hair one last time-the bastard-and pushes me out the door.
The Sollabella palace is easy to navigate after all the years I spent learning Solberg Castle. Wide hallways, open to the air more often than not. Thin curtains wave in the nighttime breeze.
As I step out into the courtyard and see her, all my nerves disappear.
Estrella stands between her mother and Castor wearing a simple-for Sundrop-wrapped dress that shines alternately red-orange and gray when she twists to look at me. A cape of the same fabric drapes down to the floor. Her hair curls, loose and wild, around her shoulders. Dark ink charting the night sky covers her exposed arms and blends with the faded, black veins still reaching up from the neck of her dress. The court healer thinks they'll probably scar like that. She cried when he first told her, but in the days since, we've agreed they make her look badass.
That's the last word on my mind right now. I don't even know if there is a single word. All I can think is that she looks so much better than she did in her wedding dress-even though I never saw it without some blood.
"Good evening," I say.
Estrella grins. "Good evening? Are we truly affecting you so much already?"
I laugh. "What am I supposed to say? Welcome to our wedding?"
"Here?" She looks around, her brow furrowing.
And there goes any last worry. She's been thinking about my perfect wedding as much as I have.
"Just the first part," I say. "Dowager Suniva, you-"
"Dressed her according to the old customs." She smiles and runs a hand along her daughter's arm. "Now, she can take the old life with her into the new."
Estrella smiles up at her mother, bittersweet. "What about the final blessing?"
The end of her question hangs in the air between us. According to Sundrop tradition, her father should do this part. For the original wedding, her whole family was going to, but there was no time to set that up now. I had the damned idea three days ago, when she first mentioned we should probably reschedule our wedding and looked like she was going to cry.
"That falls to me." Castor nods at me-we're in a truce since I saved her life-and smiles at her.
"Oh." Estrella covers her mouth with one hand, tears sparkling in her eyes.
I take her other hand. The tattoos on our pinkies line up again.
He pulls a small scrap of paper out of his sleeve. "I found this in Father's desk, and I just want to read it. When the Moon Goddess created us, she split us down the middle," he says. "Until we come of age, we live half a life. We learn, grow, develop, but something is always missing-our mate. But when we know who we are alone, She reunites us. The reunion might not be easy"-Castor grins-"but She knows best. She knew I-Father-needed your mother to keep my feet on the ground when my head scratched the clouds. She knows you need your mate. I hope he bandages your bleeding heart and tempers your stubbornness. I hope you show him how deep love can truly run and encourage him to see the beauty in life. I hope you are happy, my darling. May She always light your path, even when you cannot see it."
My chest tightens. King Isai was an incredible man. Someone who would've been really helpful to have around while I figured out how to deserve his daughter.
Estrella releases my hand to throw her arms around Castor and whispers something to him that I can't hear.
"I know," he replies. "I love you."
Dowager Suniva looks at me. "My husband seems to have developed the gift of prophecy."
"Thanks," I reply.
"Thank you." She kisses me on both cheeks.
Estrella lets go of Castor and swipes at her tears. "Where is Yana?"
I smile. "Waiting for us. Come on."
She exchanges a final, brief, goodbye with her family, and we race off into the night.
The way to the oasis is much longer on foot, so I arranged to have two horses waiting. Estrella rides like an extension of the animal, her hair flowing around her in the wind. Finally, though, we arrive at the oasis where we first truly talked to each other. Where I realized I was in love with her.
Yana, the holy woman, kneels in front of the pool. She looks up with a gentle smile when we dismount.
Estrella squeezes my hand. "You were right. This... this is perfect."
"I figure we can do the big royal thing in a couple weeks, if we need to," I reply. "But I wanted our actual wedding to be ours."
She kisses me, then steps into the oasis with Yana and kneels before her. I take my spot at her side. Exactly where I belong.
"The Moon Goddess offers us great freedom," Yana says. "We may, at any time, ignore Her guidance. Ignore the skills and gifts She sets before us. For this reason, we have both the mating mark and the wedding. The bite is instinctual-it is Her promise that the one you find in the Haze is yours, that you are intended to love each other. But the ceremony, which binds your souls forever, is a choice. You have chosen to sit before me today and pledge yourselves to each other."
I catch Estrella's gray gaze. Tears shine in the moonlight, but the smile she gives me is all confidence. She's a queen worthy of the people I've already started to care about. I grin back at her.
Yana nods. "Anwen, the offering?"
I pull the box out and open it.
Estrella inhales sharply. "They're beautiful."
"Ready?" I take the ring carved to perfectly fit over her tattoo and hold it out.
"I have been for a very long time."
"Repeat after me," Yana says. "I, Anwen, pledge my love and life to you, Estrella."
"I, Anwen, pledge my love and life to you, Estrella." I slide the ring onto her finger. "The other half of my heart."
Yana smiles indulgently. "Now, Estrella?"
She plucks the other ring from the box and studies it for a long moment, then speaks. "I, Estrella, pledge my love and life to you, Anwen. The other half of my heart."
Estrella slips the ring into place on my hand. The moonstone glimmers a pale rainbow. I've always liked these rings, but our promise feels steadier with the tattoo underneath. No matter what happens-if they break, get lost, anything-we'll always have proof of our commitment to each other.
Yana joins our hands then pulls a length of silvery ribbon out and wraps it around us, up onto our arm. Estrella's palm is warm and soft against mine.
"Both of you now," Yana says. "I thank the Goddess for joining our hearts across all time."
In unison, we repeat, "I thank the Goddess for joining our hearts across all time."
"The Goddess thanks you for brightening the world with Her love." Yana bows her head, then stands.
I frown and tug slightly at the ribbon. "Aren't you supposed to untie us? And tell us to kiss?"
"Those are Dun's Crossing traditions," Estrella murmurs. "Here, we unbind ourselves. In privacy."
The low rasp of her voice shoots straight to my cock.
Yana mounts one of the horses, grabs the reins of the other, and rides away. We're alone, back where I first believed we could actually make this work.
Fuck it. I don't want to be any farther away from Estrella than I am right now. As soon as the sound of hoofbeats dies out, I tackle her in a kiss.