He caught a couple hours nap before it was time to get up again. After getting ready, he drove Temperance to the cafe and made plans to pick her up after five. He was unhappy about her car and house situation, but he knew she liked her independence and her job, too, so he wasn’t going to push it. His lion, of course, was having none of that. It was urging him to move her into their den as soon as possible, but he wanted to let Temperance set the pace.
“Everything okay?” Damon asked when Gabriel walked into his office later that morning.
“Yeah. I just wanted you to be the first to know that Temperance and I bonded last night.”
A rare smile spread across Damon’s face. “Are you serious? Congratulations.” He got up and rounded his desk to give Gabriel a quick hug and pat on the back. “Anna Victoria will be thrilled. Listen, I was thinking we should have dinner tonight. It’ll give the girls a chance to get to know each other.”
“Sounds great, but we can’t stay out late,” he said.
“I’ll call Anna Victoria, and maybe we can meet on Main Street? How about Giorgio’s at six thirty?”
“That should give me enough time to drive down and pick her up.”
“Great. Anna Victoria’s been dying to meet your Temperance.”
Your Temperance. He had to admit, he liked the sound of that. “Awesome, I gotta go start my patrol. See you later, man,” he said, waving as he left the office.
Later, while on break, he called Temperance and managed to catch her on the phone to tell her about dinner.
“I don’t know, Gabriel …” she trailed off.
He didn’t need to know why she was so apprehensive. “Damon’s my best friend and Anna Victoria is his bonded mate. I really, really want them to meet you. But if you need some time, I understand. However, you should know that eventually, I’ll have to introduce you to them.”
“I …” She paused. “All right. I’ll meet you at the restaurant, is that okay? I wanna go home first and get dressed up.”
“Whatever you need, baby,” he said, feeling relieved. “See you there.”
The rest of his shift was uneventful, and soon he was driving down to Main Street. Gabriel was the first one to arrive, but Anna Victoria and Damon were there, and to his surprise, J.D. was there too.
“We were doing wedding stuff,” Anna Victoria said sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited J.D., too.”
“I wanted to meet this genius who came up with that plan for Vegas,” J.D. said with a chortle. “I can’t believe you’ve been keeping her from us all this time.”
“I wasn’t,” he said defensively. “But Temperance is shy and self-conscious.” Actually, he was glad J.D. was here, too, at least he could explain everything to all of them in one go. So, he told them briefly about Temperance’s scars without giving too much detail about her past. He’d just finished as Temperance walked through the door. “Here she is,” he beamed as he strode to the door and put an arm around her. “Temperance, this is Damon and Anna Victoria. J.D. decided to join us as well.”
“Hello,” she said shyly, keeping the right side of her face turned away from them. Though it hurt to see her have to hide, he knew he couldn’t just push her to stop feeling self-conscious.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Damon said.
“Same here. And thank you,” Anna Victoria added. “For thinking up that plan to have me come to the bachelor party.”
J.D., in her usual brash manner, grabbed her left hand and tugged her away from Gabriel, and linked their arms together. “You’re sitting next to me, Temperance. Gabriel’s been hogging you for too long, and I haven’t had any chance to tell you embarrassing stories about him.”
“Hey!” Gabriel protested. “We’re bonded, you can’t scare her away anymore.”
J.D. let out a laugh that sounded like a challenge. “Yeah, whatever. C’mon, I’m starving.”
As dinner progressed, Temperance seemed to relax more which made Gabriel less tense. All of them accepted his mate, asking genuine questions about her and ensuring she was never left out when they told stories about the past or inside jokes.
“I’m glad to finally have someone else who’s new to Blackstone,” Anna Victoria said.
“Oh, did you just move here too?” Temperance asked as she took a sip of wine. “Why did you decide to move here?”
Anna Victoria went bright red. “Er, I didn’t exactly decide,” she said. “I just kind of … arrived here.”
“In a wedding dress,” Gabriel added, unable to help himself. “After she jilted her previous groom.”
“After what?” Temperance looked up at him for clarification.
“Don’t make it sound so bad,” Anna Victoria protested and then she told them the story of how she escaped her nasty fiancé from her arranged marriage, drove all the way to Blackstone, then walked into The Den in her wedding gown where she met Damon.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Gabriel said. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t escape this Saturday.”
“Yeah, you better, pretty boy,” Damon warned jokingly.
“Speaking of which,” Anna Victoria began. “Temperance, you’ll come to our wedding this Saturday, right? I mean, Gabriel’s asked you to be his date?”
“Er …” She looked up at him, her light hazel eyes going wide.
“I haven’t, actually,” he said. “And that’s my mistake. Will you be my date, Temperance?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“But you have to come, Temperance,” J.D. whined.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she said.
“It’s not a formal dress type of affair,” Anna Victoria said. “After the church, we’re having a barbecue at the Blackstone Castle grounds. I didn’t want anything fussy or fancy.”
“I’ll lend you something to wear,” J.D. offered. “No wait, scratch that. I only own one dress, and I’ll be wearing it as maid of honor. But I’ll go shopping with you.”
“Me too,” Anna Victoria said.
“It’ll be great, Temperance,” he assured her. “And I’d really like it if you were there.” He could already picture it in his mind. Sitting next to her at the ceremony. Holding her hand while they walked into reception. Dancing with her under the stars. “Please?”
Four pairs of eyes looked at her hopefully. “I …” She nodded. “All right.”
“Yes!” J.D. exclaimed and grabbed her phone from her pocket. “Give me your number, and we’ll go shopping this week.”
“Wow, you should be honored. J.D. hates shopping for clothes,” Damon joked.
“Only when I’m shopping for myself,” she shot back.
“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered into her ear. “I promise, if you don’t feel comfortable at all, we can leave anytime.”
“It’s fine,” she said, looking up at him with a smile on her face. “And you can’t leave, you’re the best man.”
“And you’re my mate.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “You’re always going to be my priority.”
A pretty blush spread over her face. “Thank you.”
Most of the week was uneventful, and soon, Saturday rolled around. They had the ceremony at St. John’s Chapel in Blackstone. Damon was not very fond of crowds, so only his parents and a select few people were at the church, including Gabriel and Temperance.
“I’m glad the ceremony went well,” Temperance said as they stood with the guests outside the church, waiting for the bride and groom to exit. “Was there any problem? Why were Anna Victoria and J.D. late?”
The ceremony had started thirty minutes later because the bridal car didn’t arrive on time. “According to J.D., there was some drama about the dress,” Gabriel said. “But I guess they fixed it; they just needed some extra time.”
The doors of the church flew open, and as Damon and Anna Victoria stepped out, they were greeted with a shower of rice and rose petals. The groom looked handsome in his tux, while Anna Victoria was radiant in her blus
h peach gown.
“Well, she—they look perfect,” she said as they watched the bride and groom get into the Mercedes waiting at the end of the driveway, a “Just Married” sign hanging from the back.
“You’re perfect,” he said, pulling her into his arms and growling against her lips. “In case I forgot to tell you.”
Her cheeks went pink. “You have Anna Victoria and J.D. to thank for the outfit and my makeup and hair.”
“You do look beautiful, but it’s not just that. You are perfect.” She was wearing a simple yellow dress with sleeves made of a delicate translucent fabric that covered her arms, but looked comfortable and elegant at the same time, while her hair was styled so that a few tendrils of hair covered her cheek, but not fully. He reminded himself to thank Anna Victoria and J.D. for whatever they did to help Temperance feel less insecure about her scars.
“We should go to the reception,” she said. “J.D. said she needs some help setting out the party favors.”
They made their way to Blackstone Castle in his Jeep, and soon, he was pulling up to the massive driveway in front.
“Wow, it really is a castle,” Temperance exclaimed. “Have you been inside?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been a couple times. Damon and I were the same year as Jason and Matthew Lennox, so we were invited to their birthday parties and other events.” Not to mention, his mother had sat on the board of the Lennox Foundation, and liked rubbing elbows with the Blackstone dragons. When he was a teenager, Geraldine Russel had hinted that he should ask Sybil Lennox to the prom, which he promptly ignored. The youngest and only female Lennox was not even in high school then, plus, he did not want to face the wrath of three—which included their adoptive brother, Luke Lennox—protective older brothers, two of whom could breathe fire. “I’m sure we can poke around later. Maybe I can show you that closet where we used to play seven minutes in heaven,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her.
“It’s Damon and Anna Victoria’s wedding,” she reminded him with a chuckle.
“So? What do you think they’ll be doing tonight?”
She slapped him playfully on the chest. “C’mon, J.D. said to meet her by the refreshment table.”
Special rope fences and markers had been set up to lead guests around the castle to the massive grounds in the back. There was a huge stone and marble patio where tables and chairs and the dance floor were set up, while three industrial-sized barbecue pits were placed on the lawn just below the patio, along with several tables laden with sides and desserts. The snow-capped Blackstone Mountains made for a spectacular backdrop for the whole affair, and Gabriel couldn’t help but think what a fitting place this was for his best friend to celebrate his wedding.
The bride and groom arrived shortly after them, and soon the guests were coming in. As Anna Victoria requested, she did not want any pomp or fuss around the reception, so she and Damon mingled amongst their guests as they pleased, then opened the dance floor when the sun was beginning to set and everyone had their fill of food, cake, and wine.
Gabriel danced with Temperance three times before he relented and released her to Damon. J.D. took the opportunity to partner with him.
“C’mon,” she said, tugging at his hand. “Before Anders finds me again and starts ragging on me about this dress.”
“Well, I wouldn’t blame him,” he said, glancing down at her outfit. J.D. looked … well, different. Okay, she was beautiful, but he only thought that because he’d never seen her in anything other than T-shirts, jeans, and overalls, and now she wore a green and blue strapless dress that showed off her curves. Her blonde hair was tamed into waves that hung loosely down her shoulders, and she was actually wearing makeup. “Weren’t you two good buddies in Vegas?”
“Ha! I only hung out with him because I wanted to keep Damon from killing him and so he would spend more money on the strippers,” she said. “I hope those girls bought themselves something nice with all the money he spent. And—” She frowned and her back stiffened.
“What’s wrong?”
She twisted him around so he faced outwards, away from the castle. “Your two o’clock. There’s someone in the shadows.”
Swinging his head around, he used his shifter vision to focus in the line of trees at the edge of the lawn. A large silhouette stood still between the shrubs, unmoving. His lion, however, was not alarmed. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I think I know who that is.”
“Who?” J.D. asked.
“Krieger,” he said.
Her nose wrinkled. “Who’s that?”
“An old friend of Damon’s.”
“Huh.” Spinning their positions around, she glanced behind him toward where Krieger was. “Then why is he hiding out there?”
He thought back to when he first saw the bear shifter. “Oh, that’s right, you never met him. He’s an old army buddy of Damon’s, and we all went through training together. He’s a good guy, he just doesn’t like being around people.” Gabriel guessed that the former master sergeant probably wanted to be here, but couldn’t bring himself to come forward. He couldn’t blame the guy. Though he didn’t know the entire story, apparently, he’d gone through an even rougher time than Damon.
“Maybe we should ask him to come out? We have lots of food.”
“Nah, we’ll just scare him off.” His brows furrowed. “It’s weird though, he never ventures farther than his patrol area, and that’s all the way up in Contessa Peak. I wonder—”
“Gabriel! Why the hell haven’t you been answering your phone?”
He abruptly stopped dancing as he felt a punch on his shoulder. Releasing J.D., he turned to see Ginny standing behind him, hands on her hips, cheeks puffing from exertion. “Gin? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been trying to call you for hours. Why haven’t you been picking up?” his sister cried.
“I turned it off for the ceremony and forgot to turn it back on. What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? I—shit! I’m too late!” She pointed her chin back at the castle. “They’re here.”
“Who?” He followed Ginny’s gaze. “Oh, fuck.”
“What the hell is going on, Russel?” J.D. asked, hands splayed on her hips.
“Vicky’s here,” he groaned. “And she’s not alone.” No, she definitely was not. Gen and his other sister Gemma were with her, as well as William Woolworth, Vicky’s dad.
“That crazy harpy is here?” J.D.’s eyes glowed. The only person who hated Vicky more than Ginny was J.D., because the lioness always thought the mechanic had designs on Gabriel herself. Pushing her non-existent sleeves up, she gritted her teeth. “I’m going to knock her—”
“No, J.D.,” he sighed. “This is a family matter.” Now it was anyway, because Vicky had brought his two oldest sisters into the picture. “Please, can you just make sure nothing happens out here? I don’t want them to ruin Damon and Anna Victoria’s wedding.” That thought enraged him more than Vicky tattling on him to Gen, which he assumed was the reason they were all here crashing the reception. “I’ll get rid of them right away.”
“I—Fine,” J.D.’s eyes returned to normal. “But if she gets near me, Anna Victoria, or Damon, I’m going to claw her eyes out.” Pivoting on her heel, she marched toward the bar.
He stalked toward the doorway that led into the castle, Ginny hot on his heels. Vicky and her father were standing there, as well as his sisters, and Matthew Lennox who was looking cool and collected, though his body language was protective as he moved between them and the reception area.
“… can I offer you some wine? Or anything else?” Matthew said diplomatically.
“That’s not necessary, and I do apologize for intruding, Matthew,” Gen began, her blonde brows drawn into a frown. “I didn’t—”
“What are you doing here?” Gabriel groused. His lion, too, was not happy as it chuffed and flicked its ears. “Matthew, I’m so sorry. They”—he flashed Vicky a venomous look—“were definitely not inv
ited.”
“We just needed to talk to Gabriel about an important family matter,” Vicky said.
Matthew gestured behind them. “If you need some privacy, please feel free to use the inner patio,” he said. Though it sounded like a suggestion, coming from the Blackstone Dragon, it was really more like a directive. Even Gabriel’s lion understood and backed off.
“Of course, thank you again, Matthew,” Gen said with a deferent nod.
They all marched into the inner patio, and as soon as Matthew closed the door behind him, Gabriel exploded. “Are you fucking serious?” he shouted at Vicky. “Are you trying to ruin Damon’s wedding?”
“You left me no choice,” she said. “I couldn’t believe you would dare choose her over me.”
“I would choose her—or anyone else—a thousand times over you, you thoughtless witch!”
“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Gen said calmly. “I do not like having my time wasted.”
Gabriel whirled to face her. “You don’t know why you’re here?”
Gemma answered. “We were supposed to have a business dinner with William.” She nodded at the older balding man next to Vicky. “He was insistent on tonight, and then he led us here. I thought maybe he had something up his sleeve with Lennox.”
“I’m sorry to, uh, lure you here under less than honest circumstances,” William began. “But perhaps it was better you see it for yourselves.”
“See what?” Gen asked, annoyed.
“That your brother has been screwing around with a human,” Vicky exclaimed.
“Is this true, Gabriel?” Gen’s gaze narrowed at him. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding my calls?”
“I—” He blew out a breath. “It’s not what you think.”
Blackstone Ranger Charmer Page 14