TJ dismissed the Rangers once the guests had cleared out and they all headed inside to change out of their uniforms. Tiger was relieved to change out of his and let his hair down again. He had a beautiful Fae outfit that Laoch had given him. He sparkled more than he was comfortable with, but it was formal Fae court attire. As best man he still needed to dress well.
Some of the guests looked at him curiously. They didn’t know he was Laoch’s cousin, but they knew he was part Fae and bonded with Remi. There was no hiding that, but then he’d never tried to hide the fact. It was impossible to do so with his violet eyes, but he’d never been around so many Fae before. Humans weren’t as perceptive as Fae. It left him feeling somewhat exposed.
Noah changed into an outfit matching Laoch’s and they wandered back out to the garden, mingling with the guests. Other than cutting the cake and having their first dance as newlyweds, no formal speeches or ceremonies were planned. The Fae would probably not understand the silly antics that made up human weddings, many of which would seem undignified or boring to them. Now they could just eat, drink and dance. They planned to stay at Liam’s house for a few days, then return to Corvan.
Laoch had been looking at properties on Corvan where they could live together. TJ had paperwork in process to allow Noah to live outside the fort as a married man. He would do his best to keep him near his mate, but Laoch had the advantage of being able to travel with Noah if he had to leave the area. Tiger and Remi couldn’t do that, but so far it hadn’t been a problem. For the foreseeable future Laoch would be staying on Corvan to continue Tiger’s training. They still hadn’t figure out what had happened when Tiger zoned out in the forest near McNair’s compound, but there’d been no further incidents of him blasting anything into atoms.
Heath had continued to play his guitar through dinner but once the DJ fired up his tunes people began to gather around the dance floor, and a few people were dancing. They’d settled on a mix of music that everyone would be comfortable with. Most of the non-military Fae had visited the human realms from time to time so they had some knowledge of modern music, even if they’d never danced to it. The Rangers made up the bulk of the humans at the party, so they were either dancing with each other or asking the locals to dance with them. They were not a shy lot. TJ had reminded them not to act like a bunch of heathens and show some dignity. “Do not sully the name of the Rangers… or else.”
Most of the music didn’t involve having to touch their partners, so gender, size and number of legs wasn’t much of a factor. TJ looked around and grinned at the dancers. Several centaurs were dancing with his guys and some groups were wriggling and clapping to the beat in their seats. The fairies had some kind of strobe light thing going among them in time to the music. There were also some more sedate pieces allowing couples to waltz or slow dance.
Max walked up and TJ turned to him. “This is wild! No one would believe this if I told them about it. Too bad we can’t record this.” He grabbed Max’s hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. “Come on cupcake. Let’s dance.”
When Laoch and Noah finally returned to the dance floor, TJ announced the newlyweds’ first dance and Laoch led Noah out on the middle of the dance floor. Laoch led Noah into a grand waltz to Jason Mraz’s I Won’t Give Up, spinning Noah around the floor till they came together at the end in a soft kiss. They stood still, foreheads pressed together, as if no one else existed outside of their little bubble. When everyone started clapping, they startled a little, realizing they were the center of everyone’s attention, but no one seemed surprised or offended. The music started up again and people crowded onto the floor around them, slow dancing and hugging their partners.
“Well, guess we set the mood, huh?” Noah chuckled as Laoch led him off the dance floor.
“Come with me, mo chroi.” Laoch tugged Noah through the house and out another door into another ridiculously large garden. Noah sometimes feared getting lost in a maze of gardens never to be seen again. As they walked they were alone, the garden quiet except for the chirping of the crickets and the faint sound of music. A dazzling full moon lit the area and ahead Noah could make out a small pond with benches. A huge old oak tree towered nearby and as they drew near Noah could see a crypt set into the ground with a life sized weeping angel statue watching over it.
The inscription on the marble slab covering the crypt displayed Aidan’s name and mate-mark. Noah turned away and went to sit on the nearest bench. How many times had Laoch sat on this very bench, mourning his lost love? Was he still mourning Aidan? Would he always play second fiddle to a dead man? “Why would you bring me here on our wedding night?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped tightly together. He hung his head, eyes closed.
Laoch still stood over the crypt, looking down at the name. He spoke, but not to Noah. “Aidan, this is Noah. I wanted you to meet him. He’s my new mate, but you already know that don’t you? Somehow I feel you had a hand in all of this. I bet you’re thinking ‘told you’ right about now.” Noah’s head jerked around, and his mouth fell open. “You told me to move on and meet another, but I couldn’t let go. You called me strong, but you always were smarter and stronger than me. I didn’t think I could ever love another again, but Noah’s stubborn and he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He wormed his way into my heart and breathed new life into my broken body.”
“Mo ghrá, you were my first love and I’ll always cherish our time together, but obviously fate had a different plan for us; something amazing and never before seen.” Noah stood, moving quietly toward Laoch. “Noah holds my heart now, hopefully forever this time. I know you’ve watched over me all this time. I’ve selfishly anchored you to this plane far too long and you deserve to be reborn.” Laoch closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “Scaoileadh mé duit. Slán, mo ghrá.” ‘I release you. Goodbye, my love.’
While there had been no hint of a breeze, a sudden gust of wind carried Laoch’s hair into the air. A flash of light caught Noah’s eye and he looked up to see a meteorite burning across the sky. He moved to Laoch’s side, taking his hand, and Laoch turned, smiling at Noah. He tipped Noah’s chin up, kissing him softly on the lips. “Mo chroi,” he murmured. ‘My heart.’
Noah felt the truth of it all through their bond. “Come on husband... mate. We still have to cut the cake.” He led Laoch back the way they had come.
The few days allotted to their honeymoon flew by too quickly. Noah toured all of Liam’s grounds and fell in love with them and his father-in-law. Laoch had thought Noah would feel a bit weird about visiting the site of Cillian’s attack and his trysting spot with Aidan, but Noah had to admit that it was indeed the loveliest location on Liam’s estate and much of their honeymoon was spent whiling away the hours there.
Epilogue
Upon their return, Noah reported back to the fort to check in with TJ and finish establishing his marital status and apply for a residence outside of the fort. Most of his gear would remain in his locker at Fort Yamano, but he gathered his personal belongings to move into Remi’s house until they could purchase their own home. Laoch was ridiculously wealthy so they wouldn’t be limited by whatever amount the fort would allow them.
Laoch went back to training Tiger at their new training center. Liam had insisted on leaving a contingent of guards on Corvan to watch over Laoch and Tiger, so he purchased a house nearby the center to house them in comfort. Annoying as it was to Laoch to have his father’s men keeping an eye on him and reporting back to Liam, he just reminded himself that it was no different than when he’d lived at home.
Tristan and eight of his men remained on Corvan, the rest returning home to resume their duties as Liam’s personal guardsmen. They cleared all but a few of the beds and lockers out of the TC before leaving. Laoch told TJ it might be handy to have standby room for unexpected situations. The way things had been recently, expecting the unexpected was the new normal.
A week later, Remi and Tiger hosted a barbecu
e for Tristan and his men and some of TJ’s people including, of course, TJ. Everyone sat outside, chatting and drinking beer or splashing around in the pool, which now had fresh water.
Tristan sat across from Remi and Tiger watching his men and smiling. Most of the Rangers were eyeing the Fae in their swimsuits like hungry wolves. “My thanks Captain for your hospitality. I’ve never seen my men so happy. I think exposing them to the culture here will be a good thing.”
Laoch and Noah came through the patio doors and Noah plopped down in a chair next to TJ while Laoch grabbed some water out of a cooler. Opening a bottle and passing it to Noah, he kissed him lightly on the top of his head and stood next to him, one hand resting on his shoulder.
Noticing a folder with a brochure clipped on the front in Noah’s lap, TJ said, “Watcha got there Noah? You guys still house hunting?”
Noah smiled and handed the brochure to TJ. “Not anymore! We just closed on a house!”
TJ looked at the pictures and his eyes bugged out. He passed the brochure to Tiger. Tiger took one look and started laughing. Remi leaned over and looked at the large picture on the front. “Wait a minute, isn’t that the house next door?” His eyes flew up to see Laoch smirking back at him.
“Yes! Isn’t that a stroke of luck? It just went on the market!” Noah gushed. “We both fell in love with it and it’ll be so handy for Laoch and Tiger to catch up on all the family stuff they missed out on over the years! They can even carpool together when they’re training!” He babbled on excitedly to Tiger who just smiled and nodded, while TJ chuckled and shook his head.
Remi narrowed his eyes at Laoch and drank his beer. Laoch tipped his bottle of water in salute to Remi, smirking still, then chugged it down. “Touché,” Remi murmured.
The End – For Now
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Laoch, the second book in my Rangers of Corvan series. Stay tuned for more stories about the men of UCAR (the United Corvan Army Rangers) and their family as they continue to protect and serve the inhabitants of Corvan. Please feel free to leave a review, authors only grow and improve when we know what the readers really think about our work. Constructive criticism is always welcome, even if it’s negative, but please be nice. ;>)
BONUS MATERIAL
Hah! I’ll bet you were expecting a bonus story. Sorry, I just wanted to give credit where credit is due.
This handsome guy is the model for my first Rangers of Corvan book, Tiger, and is quite possibly the sexiest man on the planet (Earth that is… well probably Corvan too). Since his picture was heavily edited, I feel he deserves to be seen and worshipped in his human form. Enjoy!
Laoch Page 18