Sarah
3 months later
I clutch the steering wheel as I turn my car toward the private driveway leading to the castle. Blake claps his hands to the music humming through the speakers while Sydney, seated beside me, digs through his briefcase, mumbling under his breath.
“What are you looking for?” I ask, glancing at him briefly.
Summer is in full swing all around us, shading the road beneath the thick, deep green canopy of trees.
“I had something drawn up for Cosette,” he murmurs. “From our estate. I think I might have left it at home.” He runs his fingers through his hair then down his face, murmuring a curse. “We might have to turn around.”
“I’m sure you have it, whatever you’re looking for,” I laugh, and Blake squeals with delight as we drive over a bump then turn through the main gate.
The front garden has been totally transformed. Roses in every shade are in full bloom. White tables and chairs have been arranged all over the garden, and in one corner the wedding arch I’ve been working on for weeks is propped up, covered in roses and twisting vines, with baby’s breath and lavender sprigs adding some pops of white and green.
A warrior waves us toward the garage where several other cars are already parked. I jerk to a stop and throw my SUV in park while Sydney continues rifling through his briefcase. “We’re going to be late. I’m sure the ceremony is about to begin. Come on!”
I give Sydney a look before shutting my door and fishing Blake out of his car seat. He’s dressed in a silly baby tuxedo, already damp with drool. He uses my hair like reins as I walk him toward the back entrance of the castle, but whirl around to face Sydney, who now has his briefcase laid out on the hood of the car. “Sydney!”
“I found it,” he breathes, holding up an envelope.
I roll my eyes and turn into the castle where we’re immediately met by Dalia, who has been here since early this morning–tending to a very peeved Cosette.
“Is she dressed?” I ask, balancing Blake on my hip.
“She’s causing a huge fuss upstairs. I’ve never seen anyone so uptight. Lady Hannah is with her, trying to get her ready. Queen Ella, too.”
“Should I–”
“Sarah! There you are,” Maddy’s voice echoes down the hallway. She rushes toward us, beaming, her arms outstretched to whisk her grandson away to be spoiled and doted on by her and the friends who have gathered in, I assume, the sitting room on the first floor. “Where is Sydney?”
“He was right behind me.” I turn, finding the back entrance empty, the door still open.
“No bother. Isaac and Ryatt are out back talking to Ryan. He probably saw them and went there instead. I don’t blame them. The castle is exceedingly feminine right now.”
“I think they’re trying to convince Commander Artyom that Cosette isn’t going to throw herself from the third-story balcony.” Dalia snorts, and we all laugh.
“Wasn’t this wedding Cosette’s idea?” I follow Maddy and Dalia toward the foyer.
“Hannah’s and Ella’s, actually, but I did end up being the one who convinced Cosette to do this,” Maddy replies with a snug smile. “Cosette designed my wedding dress when I married Isaac, you know. That’s how we met.”
“I had no idea!” I turn into the sitting room and find a small gathering–some familiar, and some unfamiliar faces–who smile at me in greeting. Brie crawls at the speed of light toward us, screeching with delight at the sight of Blake, who is trying to bounce out of Maddy’s arms to get to his cousin. He’s not crawling yet, but at almost five months old, he’s getting close.
Maddy kneels with Blake to greet Brie. I step past them, walking to the chaise lounge where Kenna, wearing a pretty pale purple dress, is nursing Aris. “Look at him.” I grin, sitting beside her. “He’s going to be blond like Evander!”
“I know. He honestly looks so much like my father-in-law that it shocks me sometimes,” Kenna laughs. Aris opens one eye to look up at us, then promptly closes it again, nuzzling deeper into her touch. Kenna’s eyes hold mine though. She reaches out and lays a hand on my thigh, warm and comforting. “How are you?”
The question is loaded. “I’m doing well. We both are.” Sydney and I found out I was pregnant shortly after returning from Eastonia three months ago. Kenna is the only person I’ve told so far that I’m pregnant. Because I used so much magic while I was pregnant, I didn’t want to take a chance at losing the baby. “I’ve been taking the herbs you sent.”
She arches a brow. “...And?”
My slight, mischievous smile is answer enough. They’ve helped, and I’m still pregnant. She grips my thigh, her hand shaking. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Shh! We haven’t told anyone yet. We were going to tell Cosette after the ceremony as a little surprise.”
She presses a finger to her mouth, smiling around it, but her eyes dance with excitement.
Ella sweeps into the room, her cheeks pink from excretion, “Everyone outside! The ceremony is about to begin!”
I help Kenna up and hold Aris while she fixes her dress. Maddy and Ella disappear with Blake and Brie, and we follow the crowd out into the foyer. But I don’t see Sydney anywhere when I step outside onto the front steps. “Where are all the men?” I ask Kenna, who shrugs.
I chew my lip and walk back through the castle, down the hallways I’ve come to learn and turned to memory. I silently open the door leading onto the wide back deck and see Sydney and Evander talking in low tones with Flynn, Kenna, Evander’s Beta, and a man named Connor, who I’ve been introduced to before. Friends and colleagues of the groom.
“It’s starting,” I tell them quietly then notice the two men standing further away in the back garden, their backs to us.
I haven’t seen Ryan in several weeks. He keeps to himself lately but did come up to the manor a few times to visit after everything was said and done..
But he hasn’t been the same since that night. I don’t think any of us have. Sometimes, when I walk through the manor at night, I can still hear Hadley’s scream when Ryan… when he killed her to save Dalia, Cosette, and me.
To save me.
“What are they talking about?” I ask Sydney as he rests his hand on my lower back to guide me back into the castle.
I glance over my shoulder again just in time to catch Ryatt gripping Ryan’s shoulder.
“Ryatt offered Ryan a substantial territory in Eastonia.”
“What?” I pull Sydney to a stop while the rest of his friends walk ahead.
Sydney rolls his lower lip between his teeth. “I’ve known about it for a few days. I wasn’t sure what was going to come of it after Dad told me he gave Ryatt his blessing to even offer it to him. He’d be moving his entire pack there, to the Deadlands. Apparently, it’s the one place in Eastonia where packs under Ryatt and Ella’s rule haven’t been established. Only a few small tribes reside there. Ryatt offered him the whole thing.”
I gape at my mate. “Is he going to do it?”
“I don’t know.” He takes my hand. “Let’s not worry about it now.”
“I’m not worried,” I admit. “It might be good for him, actually, to get away from everything that happened.”
“I hate that I agree.” There’s grief laced between each word. Sydney doesn’t know how to help Ryan. None of us do.
He doesn’t want our help.
All I know is that Ryan isn’t the goofy, boisterous, teasing guy he used to be, and it’s killing all of us.
We walk out into the front garden and find seats. It’s entirely casual, and we tuck ourselves right behind Kenna and Evander, who turn to talk to us as we wait for the ceremony to begin. Ella flutters around, nervous, glancing back at the entrance of the castle.
When Commander Artyom appears, walking up to the arch side by side with Ryatt, Ella relaxes a bit.
“Why is Cosette so nervous?” I ask Sydney. “They’re mates, after all.”
“Cosette never had a wedding when she was mated for the first time, remember?” Sydney whispers. “My mom and aunt practically forced her to do this.”
“She deserves to be pampered like this,” I whisper as music starts to play.
Sydney and I didn’t have a wedding. We took our vows before a priestess in the temple with a few family members involved and enjoyed a cozy dinner back at the manor. It was all we could manage, considering everything we’d been through.
But looking back on the past three months, I feel a sense of peace. We’ve finally had time to just be a family, to love each other, to look forward to the future instead of wondering if we’d have one.
That’s a blessing, and I count them every day.
Cosette is walked down the aisle by her daughter, who is a younger, happier version of everyone’s favorite lead housekeeper. Cosette looks like she wants to be anywhere but here, but after two decades of pampering others, today is an opportunity to return the favor.
She looks beautiful in a soft, cream gown of satin and lace. Her thick, curly brown hair has been woven into a crown dusted with orange blossoms. She looks like a young woman as she turns the corner and finally has a view of her mate–her second chance at love.
Sure, it’s only been a few months that she’s known, but the look of relief and excitement in her eyes as Artyom smiles at her melts any doubts I had in my heart.
But my eyes catch on the man standing toward the back of the seated crowd. Ryan is dressed in a tux with his hair swept back. He’s grown his beard out, which makes him look older and harder. His blue eyes watch the precession with skepticism that cuts me to the core.
I hope he goes to Eastonia. I hope he finds himself again there. I hope one day he can return to us whole and healed.
If Cosette can find her second chance–if Maddox could, and everyone who lost a mate before and after them–so can Ryan.
But there’s still that nagging truth that often festers in my chest. He didn’t lose his mate. He wasn’t rejected. He killed her.
Not even the High Priestess could give us an answer when asked what this meant for him.
Sydney nudges me as Cosette and Artyom begin to exchange vows. I knit my fingers between his, leaning against him.
It’s a quick ceremony with no frills. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Cosette and Artyom, the fearsome commander of Ryatt’s Ghost army. But his Ghosts, and several others in the crowd, shout and holler as the happy couple run away from the priestess at the finish of the ceremony and sprint toward the castle for a moment alone before the real party begins.
Sometime later, Kenna says, “So?” The two of us are tucked in one of the second floor sitting rooms with our mates and friends while the older generation drinks champagne and carries on downstairs in the ballroom, “I heard Cosette and Artyom plan to remain in Shadowcrest.”
“Well, she’s technically spending a few months in Eastonia, doing a little tour there with Artyom, before coming back,” I correct.
“I never thought Artyom would retire,” Kenna smiles, resting her back against the couch. “Evander is going to take over as Commander of that branch of the army now.”
“He wears a lot of different hats,” I laugh, and she nods.
“He likes to stay busy.”
I look over her shoulder at Maddy, Ella, and Cosette, who’ve apparently come to check on the young folk seeking refuge from the cheek-pinching aunties downstairs.
Kenna gives me a little nudge. “I think you should tell them now.”
My hand rests against my lower belly where that new flicker of hope resides. I catch Sydney’s eyes. He’s been watching me, and the soft, knowing smile on his face sends pure love and ease coasting between our bond.
“I think you’re right.”
The End