by E Hall
Corbin
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is a flurry of continued celebration and wedding preparations. Half the pack does the regular rotation of chores here at HQ while the other half help out at Lonsdale.
I thought a few repairs and a fresh coat of paint would get the place looking decent for the wedding, but Jackie has orchestrated an entire overhaul, fixing decades’ worth of disrepair in the space of about ten days.
On the upside, everyone is excited because we’ve invited several other packs. I’ve been in touch with the other Alphas. We’ve been discussing the creation of an Alliance in the Guardian and Warrior Council’s absence, which was a sham. However, it’ll serve the original purpose of the Council to keep the various representatives aware of what’s going on, make decisions that affect magicals, and have some kind of organization.
After helping to replace a bad joist in the manor’s basement, I find Kenna facing the great bank of windows overlooking the dale. Her curvy shape is a silhouette during the golden hour. It’s rare to find her alone and slightly concerning since the ride back from Polaris on Christmas Eve. Thinking she saw Melchior haunts her. I was fiddling with the carols on the stereo since we lost the radio station in the hills. The snow was coming down hard. I don’t not believe her, but I worry that stress, maybe even the wedding, has her on edge.
I reach my arms around her from behind and hug her close.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Not really.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not now.”
I spin her around to face me, capturing her waist with my hands.
“Kenna. I’m your Alpha.”
She cocks an eyebrow as if that one word awakens the wolf within. “I’m your Alpha too.”
“I’m also your mate and future husband. We need to be able to communicate.”
“Said the only man ever.”
“With age comes wisdom. Remember, I’ve had a long time to mature.”
“Funny, you look no older than twenty-one. Twenty-two on nights you don’t sleep much.”
“And you look preoccupied or on alert.” I can’t pinpoint it.
She continues to gaze out the window as though watching for something.
Concern creeps in. “Are you looking for him?”
She shakes her head rapidly as though she knows exactly who I mean.
My shoulders drop with my exhale. “I think the trip to Hawaii will do us good—a change of scenery.”
She nods but doesn’t meet my eyes. Since Christmas Eve, she’s been different, distant, and it isn’t that I’m afraid she doesn’t care about me, but that she cares about something else more.
“Kenna, do you hear that?” I ask.
Her gaze is unfocused and her chin trembles. “I hear it every day, Corbin.”
“You hear my heart? My heart beats for you and only you. I want to help you if you need help. Talk if you need to talk. Whatever it is...”
Liquid rings her eyes. I gather her up in my arms.
Around her tears, she says, “It calls to me, sings to me, a song of my own making, almost turning me against myself. I don’t know if I can resist it. There’s a pull, like a receding tide, drawing me closer with every note.”
“Do you mean you hear the cry of the fae?”
She shakes her head and shrugs. “I don’t know what it is, but when I let my mind get quiet, it’s there.”
I gently wipe the tears from beneath her eyes.
“I hoped that Lila or Isa could help me. I thought breaking the curse would make it go away. As I resist, it’s almost like every day it gets harder, the call louder and more insistent, instead of getting easier with time. I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t either, but I promise I won’t let you go.”
I hug her tightly as my mind races through possibilities. “We should talk to the betas and see what they think. This would be a good thing to bring to the new Alliance. Maybe they’ll have some insight.”
Her expression slackens with horror. “No, Corbin. They’ll think I’m nuts. It’s enough for everyone to get used to the fact that I’m no longer Magical’s Most Wanted. But sometimes I worry that I am. That you weren’t wrong about me.”
“The only thing I was wrong about was ever planning to hurt you.” I slide my thumb across her lower lip. “I’d never do anything you don’t want me to do. But we have other magicals that might be able to help us.”
She grips my arm like a vice. “No. I’ll figure it out. I shouldn’t trouble you with it. I’m sorry.”
“Kenna. Don’t be sorry. Remember what you said about how we’re co-Alphas? Sometimes things are hard—leading, making decisions, but we have each other. We do it together.”
The corners of her lips tease a smile. “I guess your many years of existence as a shifter did bring you wisdom. But I don’t want to talk to anyone about it yet. We have the wedding then the honeymoon. We’ll deal with everything after that.”
Holding one of her hands, I lift the other in the sign of high five. “Sounds like a plan.”
She slaps my palm and then laces her fingers through mine. “My mom will kill me if she doesn’t see me with a paintbrush in hand.”
“We have two days. Do you think we’ll get everything done?”
“When there’s magic, there’s a way.” Kenna waves her hand. A paint can magically spreads its contents over the nearby wall.
“Is that what you were supposed to be in here doing?”
“I’m the only dual-magical on the work crew. I have to leverage my skills where I can.” She winks.
Relief floods me at her change in demeanor. I have to admit, I was getting worried.
“Before I forget, two representatives from each region and pack compose the new Alliance. We want you to be the other one from our area as well as your dual-magical status. I imagine that now the curse is no longer an issue, we’ll be encountering more hybrids.”
“How could I say no?” But her smile falters and the relief disappears like the wall under the paint.
New Year’s Eve morning began with a bang. Literally, someone was testing the fireworks ignition system we’re setting up at Lonsdale for later tonight.
Hundreds of shifter wolves are coming from various packs for the reception—plus a variety of other magicals. However, we’re limiting the wedding ceremony to immediate friends, family, and a good portion of Pack Hjalmor. Several members offered to remain at the manor to make sure everything is ready for when guests arrived.
I could’ve sprung for a wedding planner and contractor to save Jackie the trouble—several locals in Concordia know enough about magicals to keep their mouths shut, but she wouldn’t have it. She’d said, “I have one daughter, and I want everything to be perfect. I can’t risk a wolf shifting or a member of the Brooklyn Vampire bearing their teeth and having a poor human freak out. It would ruin things.”
She had a point, and it gave me the idea to discuss an idea with the Alliance to encourage magicals to gain some additional skills and provide services. I foresee more weddings and events occurring now that magicals are free to inter-mingle. This could be an entirely new era for our kind.
After a shower at my cottage, I shave. Kenna and her bridal party flock clucked and crowed about how it was bad luck for us to see each other before the wedding.
My fiancée also insisted that I get a solid night’s sleep. I think half the pack stayed overnight in her room so I felt assured she was safe. Yet, I can’t help but worry about the thoughts and song she said crowds her mind.
The curse is lifted so what song does she hear?
After a solid breakfast during which no less than five guys ask me about my nerves, I shift and go for a run in the wilds.
I’m not nervous or uncertain at all. I’ve never felt so sure of something in my life. However, I’d be as happy if it was just Kenna and me without all the fuss. The first official inter-magical marriage is a big deal.
Thoughts of Kenna slip through but there will be plenty of time for that later. I reach the bluff and spot a figure with ginger hair and freckles.
I let loose a friendly yip, hoping Pepper realizes it’s me.
She startles and then her gaze holds mine for a long time. Only a dragon shifter could get away with that. However, I know she’s not looking at my Alpha in challenge. Rather, she’s trying to recognize me. She talked about the map of memory. Dragons know all things through time so it goes that she’d know me since I was a pup.
Unfortunately, they can’t see the future.
She nods and gives a semi-timid wave. Even though she’s a tremendously powerful creature, I don’t think she’s used to running across wolves in the wild.
Behind a bush, I shift back to physical form. Fortunately, I spot a stash of clothing nearby. The shirt is ridiculously small, but it’ll have to do.
“What brings you up here?” I ask.
“New Year’s Eve. Saying goodbye to the old. Getting ready to welcome the new.”
“We both know your dragon won’t let you forget any of the old.”
The corner of her mouth curls in a smile. “True. But I’d rather forget about the night I broke the curse.”
I tilt my head, inviting her to go on.
“I felt all that pain. My dragon healed it, but I can’t forget it.”
“I’m sorry there aren’t other dragons to mentor you, but from my experience, the more often I shift into my wolf, the more often I can access his special skills and talents—the things that make me a shifter wolf and not an ordinary wolf. And the things that make me Alpha. Maybe it’ll be the same for you.”
She’s quiet for a long moment. “Corbin, my dragon terrifies me.”
I chuckle warmly. “All the more reason to get to know her. Dragons are both fierce and gentle. They exist in paradox. It’s a matter of both-and versus either-or. Do you know what I mean?”
Her eyes light with understanding. “Thanks. That makes sense. I guess since I’m the only dragon, I feel lost, confused, alone.”
I clear my throat. “Your best friend aka former tri-magical, current dual-magical, sometimes feels the same way.”
Pepper lifts her eyebrows. “Really?”
I nod. “You guys should talk about it. I think your experience will serve others in the coming age. There will be more like you now that the spell is lifted. You’ll be leaders, guides.”
“Spoken like a true Alpha.”
I shrug. “And a guy who’s getting married in a while. I’d better head back.”
She glances over her shoulder up the mountain. “One more thing. Do you know whether or not I have to, like, go live in a cave up there once we get the scepter back?”
My laughter echoes across the valley. “No. Definitely not. Your dragon will be so attuned to guarding that thing, you could be on the other side of the world, and if a butterfly so much as sneezed in its direction, you’d know. The cool thing is, as a dragon, you can Bilocate. Then, if there’s an actual problem, I’d estimate it would take you less than five seconds to transport there.”
This brings a full smile onto Pepper’s face. “Seriously?”
I nod. “You know how there’s a stereotype about how guys often toss out the instruction manual when they get a new device? Well, there isn’t one that comes with your dragon, but the more you shift, the more you’ll learn about her nifty features.”
She laughs. “Thanks, Corbin.”
“Don’t mention it. Now, I’d better run. Can’t be late.”
“You know, I think I might just shift now and make quick work of getting back down the mountain. I am the maid of honor after all.”
I’d like to wait around and see the miraculous shift of Pepper into her dragon, but have to start the tedious task of putting on my tuxedo.
My groomsmen wait for me back at the cottage where we all get ready.
“You all clean up good,” I say as we go out to the various vehicles to drive to the church in Polaris.
When we pull up, the faint strains of wedding music comes from inside. From the back of the building, a figure wearing a silky white gown exits a limousine. I’m not supposed to look, but I don’t believe in bad luck. I believe in Kenna, in us.
My pulse jumps and my heart thunders when I see my stunning bride. I wish, like a dragon, I had a photographic memory, but I have a feeling I’ll remember this moment forever.
Chapter 17
Kenna
I spot Corbin standing in the front of the church. Time stops for a moment. It’s him and me on this late winter afternoon of the last day of the year. Then time jumpstarts when he smiles, thrusting me back into the moment.
We’re about to get married.
I’ve probably said this ten times in as many days, but I never thought I’d be getting married. Not at this age and not to a guy like Corbin. But he is everything to me.
Even though our wolves are sealed by the stars themselves, going through with this tradition makes it somehow extra real in my mind—the brain that grew up thinking she was an ordinary human girl. The one that rarely had a date. The girl who wasn’t showered with attention or smiles or gifts. Who read about sweeping romances in stories and never thought it would be me.
He makes me feel special. This day makes me feel special.
The image of his smile presses out the chorus of the fae song in my mind. I wasn’t being dramatic when I told him the song was getting louder. At times, it practically drowns out my thoughts. But not today.
I created a mantra to remain focused. I say it now.
“I am wolf, hear me howl. I am wolf, hear me howl.”
“What’s that sweetie?” my mom asks.
She passes me the bouquet with white hydrangea, white calla lilies, blue stargazer lilies, and pale purple roses. It’s wrapped in silver ribbon.
Our theme is silver, black, and white for both Pack Hjalmor and New Year’s Eve.
I shake my head in response to my mom. “It’s nothing.”
“I thought I heard you say, ‘I am wolf, hear me howl.’”
“I can’t get anything past a vampire, can I?”
She laughs. “Nope. Good thing you never tested out my keen senses by trying to sneak out or other teenage shenanigans.” She winks.
I take a deep breath.
“Are you ready?” my mom asks.
I meet her gaze, then Pepper’s—she smells strongly of her dragon even though she’s all fancied up. My eyes float to the rest of the bridal party—Camilla, Inga, and Avril, who looks like she hates wearing a dress. If only Andi were here. She’d probably have a heart attack though. I’ll see her next summer for a visit.
“You look gorgeous,” my mom says.
I smile, recalling the dress fitting. She was right about the witch with wicked skills. We’d gone dress shopping in Intherness just to see what was available and so I could get an idea for skirt styles. I was in awe of the gowns but loved the one Corbin had given me when he suggested we elope.
Thank goodness I had the good sense to skip that and go forward with a regular wedding. If we’d robbed my mother of the opportunity to be the mother-of-the-bride and great orchestrator of the wedding as she’s been calling herself, I’d never have heard the end of it. I’d probably have bite mark scars to prove it.
After that, my mom brought us to the witch—of course, I had the bride tribe as they called themselves in tow. As I’d slid on the silk and tulle skirt with a constellation of stars embroidered in silver and blue thread—depending on the angle, they also look like flowers—I gasped.
I’m pretty sure everyone’s breath caught when I stepped out of the changing room.
The silver threads make the gown sparkle along with a selection of crystals dotted amidst the needlework. It’s exquisite. When I move, the skirt ripples lik
e it has dimension, like the depth of the night sky. Not only does the dress fit like a glove, it feels right against my skin—like it was made for me. For this day.
“You’re still lit up from within.” Jackie kisses me carefully on the cheek. She exits to the main part of the church to sit in the front.
Then, like right now, I glimpse my smile in the mirror. The live wedding music changes to indicate it’s time to begin.
The bridal party and my mom all wear dusty blue dresses laced with strands of silver thread.
“You all look so pretty. Thank you for being here with me,” I say.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” everyone says at once.
Pepper fluffs the skirt and the others smooth the train.
As part of the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue human tradition, we sewed the Triad Jewels into the skirt. Well, the original skirt. The old was the original dress. It’s still attached to the bodice. When we’re getting ready to leave, I’ll remove the large, outer skirt and go to the airport in the dress Corbin gave me. It’s a little surprise for him and feels like it’ll be a full-circle moment.
For something new, I chose the Vamp Jewel because our love is new. For something borrowed, I chose the Wolf Jewel. After all, it was my first engagement ring, and it belongs to the scepter, so I was borrowing it even if I didn’t realize it at the time. As for something blue, the Fae Jewel with its greenish-blue hue fits the bill.
Camilla, Inga, and Avril each give me a big smile as they march down the aisle on the arm of Corbin’s groomsmen—Baker, Claude, and Ethan respectively.
Pepper goes next, linking arms with my brother. I was shocked Corbin chose him as the best man. But was touched that he did so. I wouldn’t call them best friends, but I have caught them engaged in long chats—likely about the Alliance or whatever.
My father appears. Literally. I nearly gasp at his ghostliness, still not quite used to it.
“I didn’t mention this before, but Corbin did ask me if he could have your hand in marriage.”
“Dad, that’s up to me.”