by Lola Kidd
“I haven’t asked him yet. I wanted to ask you first.”
“Hm. What do you think he’ll say?”
Cross’ wolf was at the end of its chain. The urge to growl was so strong he was sweating. “He’ll say ‘great.’ No wolf will keep another from its true mate.”
“How are you sure Rory is your true mate?”
He threw his hands in the air. “If you want to say no, just say no! I’m not going to jump through hoops when you don’t like me to begin with. I’m only here because I know Rory would want me to ask you.”
“No need to get loud.” Magda put the pans in the oven and wiped off her hands.
Cross pulled the ring out of his pocket. “I’m going to ask her no matter what. If after everything we’ve been through you still want to say no, that’s up to you. I’ll never be able to convince you.”
Magda held up her hand. “I never said no. Do you think I’ll so easily agree to give up my only child?”
He frowned. “I…don’t know?”
She snatched the ring from his hand and studied it. “No, you don’t know. You will when you have a child. I only want the best for my Aurora. If you want to marry her, I have to be sure that you are in fact the best.”
Cross held his breath as Magda looked at the small pearl ring. It would not have been Cross’ first choice, but the ghost, Beatrice, had insisted that Rory would love it. Deanne Maxwell, one of Rory’s coven sisters, had guessed last week what Cross was up to and found the ring using a spell. She’d enthusiastically agreed with Beatrice about the ring.
“I like it,” Magda said with a rare smile for him. She closed the box and handed it back to him. “Rory will love it too.”
Cross couldn’t believe his ears. “So, are you saying…?”
The light in the room snuffed out and wind picked up in the absolute darkness. “I’m saying you may marry my daughter…but know that I will still be watching you very closely.”
The lights came back up and the wind stopped. Cross nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”
Magda smirked at him. “You’re welcome. Now get out of my kitchen. I have food to prepare.”
Cross didn’t need to be told twice. He ran out the back door and jumped on his bike. When he got to where Ozzy was waiting on the side of the street, he pumped his fist in the air and howled.
Ozzy howled back and when Cross stopped his bike, he pulled Cross from his bike and hugged him. He punched Cross in the arm. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. Magdalena Silver gave me her blessing to marry her daughter!”
“Oh, man. We better watch the sky today because pigs must be flying soon. Hell is about to freeze over.”
Cross got back on his bike. “Come on, let’s get back. I want to ask my Dad.”
*
Cross and Ozzy rode back to their home just outside of Cleary. The fence outside the compound swung open as they got close. They left their bikes outside the home they shared and went to Cross’ dad’s house.
“What are you going to do now that Rory and I are getting married?” Cross asked.
“I’m moving in with my dad for a while,” Ozzy said. “He’s really happy about it, but he’s trying to pretend like it’s a big inconvenience.”
“Sounds like Charlie, alright. I’m really sorry about this, man.”
“Why? I like my dad. I’m happy you found your mate already.”
There was just a hint of sadness in Ozzy’s voice. He hadn’t found his mate yet. There wasn’t even anyone in town who stirred his wolf. Cross was afraid that his friend would have to leave town to find his mate. He wanted to think about that even less at that moment.
He knocked on his father’s door and then walked in. “Dad?”
Cross and Ozzy went to the kitchen and sure enough Grizzly and Charlie were smoking and drinking coffee. The alpha and beta always had breakfast together when they could. They weren’t just packmates but also best friends. They had started the Moon Brothers together decades earlier.
“Morning, boys.” Charlie refilled his cup. “You want something to eat? Grizzly and I were just discussing what to have for breakfast.”
“I’m starving,” Ozzy said to his father. “I’ll eat whatever.”
“Cross?”
“I’ll eat too.”
Charlie got up and pulled ham steaks and eggs out of the refrigerator. “What brings you two here this early in the morning?”
“I’m here to ask permission from the alpha to marry my mate, Aurora Silver,” Cross said.
“I’m here as his witness.” Ozzy held up his hand. “I vouch for Cross and his mate the witch, Aurora Silver.”
Grizzly nodded. “Have you gotten permission from the witch’s kin?”
Cross stuck out his chest and squared his shoulders. “I did, and the witch, Magdalena Silver, has agreed to give me her daughter’s hand in marriage.”
Grizzly looked at Charlie. “Anything to add to the discussion before I make my decision?”
Charlie took a puff on his cigarette. “What about the father?”
Cross furrowed his brow. “Rory’s father?”
“That would be the father, yes.”
“I don’t know what Prescott has to do with this, but no, I didn’t ask him.”
Ozzy shook his head. “Shit. I didn’t even think about that.”
Cross looked from his best friend to his father. “Do you think it’s going to matter?”
Grizzly stroked his beard. “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m giving you my permission for you to marry the witch Aurora Silver with a caveat. As long as her father, the fae, Prescott, doesn’t have a problem, the marriage will be recognized by the pack.”
Cross groaned. “Come on! You can’t be serious?! Rory’s only met her father one time and we haven’t seen him since we got back to our dimension.”
Grizzly shrugged. “Charlie’s right. I don’t know if it will matter or not, but better safe than sorry, son. You’re going to ask Rory if she thinks it’s going to matter.”
“Neither of you knows anything about fae marriage rituals.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t know anything,” Charlie said. “I seem to recall that the Lost Tribe has some special marriage laws that apply to their fae only.”
“What would that matter?” Cross said, annoyed. “Rory isn’t even a part of the Tribe.”
“She’s a Northlands Fae by blood,” Grizzly reminded him. “We don’t want to step on any toes here. This union is already going to make waves. You need to make sure all your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted.”
Cross needed to leave the house. His wolf was riled up too. He needed to get out in the fresh air. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll talk to Rory when I ask her.”
He slapped hands with Ozzy and went to the back door.
“Son,” Grizzly called after him. Cross turned to look at his father. “Congratulations. Madge couldn’t get a better man for her daughter. I’m proud of you.”
Cross nodded. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Cross shucked his human skin the moment he was out of the house. He needed to go for a quick run to clear his head before he asked Rory to marry him.
Two
Rory rolled over to find an empty spot where Cross had been. He had left early, but he had said he would be back in an hour. She checked the clock. It had been three hours since he had left for his secret mission. He did this periodically. She assumed it was some gun-running that he didn’t want her to know about. It was silly, really. He wasn’t doing anything illegal and she knew about his job in the motorcycle club.
She stretched lazily and put on a sweater before going downstairs. She loved Ozzy, but he had the unfortunate habit of surprising her when she was less than fully dressed. Rory didn’t think he was doing it on purpose. It was her fault, really. After the fourth time, she’d made sure to never leave Cross’ room without having a long shirt on. Problem solved.
; The redhead wasn’t anywhere in the house. She checked out front and found both of their motorcycles. She made herself breakfast and started getting ready for work. She had afternoon to close that day and had to leave around noon. Rory took her sweet time putting her long, blond hair into a perfect ponytail without any bumps.
She heard the front door open and poked her head out of the downstairs bathroom. “Hey! Where were you?”
Cross was completely naked and holding his clothes in his hands. “I went for a run. What’re you up to?”
“I need to leave for work in ten minutes.” She came out and put her arms around his hips. “I thought you were going to be right back. I missed you this morning.”
He took her arms off him and put his jeans on. “Ten minutes? That’s not a lot of time.”
“It’s not. I can kiss you goodbye and put on my shoes. That’s it.”
She wished she had time for more. Cross in just a pair of jeans was one of her favorite things in the whole world. It was even sexier than all-the-way-naked Cross. He was all hard muscles and sinews. She could look at him for days…or until he took her against the living room wall. Either way, it was fine by her.
She sat on the stairs to put on her comfortable work shoes. Cross knelt in front of her and tied her shoes. His hand lingered on her ankle. “You know I really love you.”
“I love you too, Cross.”
“No. I mean I love you a lot. More than I’ve ever loved anything in my whole entire life.”
Rory rolled her eyes. He was always going on about how great she was and how she was the best mate. “Am I even better than a full moon?”
“Ten times better.”
“Am I better than raw steak?”
“A million times better.”
“Well, you better make sure I don’t get away, then. A girl this great is going to be in high demand.”
He nipped at her bottom lip. “I’ll kill the first man who tries to lay a hand on you.”
Rory ran her hands along his jaw. “I’m sure you will. Now I have to go to work. Want to come to the diner for dinner with Ozzy tonight?”
“Sure.” Cross stopped her from standing up. He pulled a box out of his pocket. “But first, I want to make sure I don’t let a great girl like you get away. Aurora Silver, will you marry me?”
Rory looked from the ring to Cross and back again. “Wait…I mean yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!”
She hugged him around his neck and he stood up holding her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her fingernails down his back.
Someone in the room cleared their throat. Cross put Rory down. “Dammit, Beatrice.”
The ghost materialized at the top of the stairs. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin the moment. I was there at the diner and I’ve been waiting FOREVER for you to come and ask her.”
Beatrice disappeared from the top of the stairs and reappeared next to Rory. “Let me see that ring!”
Rory held up her hand and smiled. “Isn’t it great?”
The ghost nodded. “It sure is. I told you she’d love it, Cross.”
“You did, but I told you to stay out of my house.” Cross glowered.
“Oh, do shut up, were-boy.” Beatrice hugged Rory. “You’ll have a lifetime to make me little descendants. Now it’s time to show off the ring. I’m going to gloat to all of those ghost bitches. They are going to be so jealous.”
Beatrice disappeared for good. Cross might pretend that he hated the ghost, but Rory knew he too had a soft spot for her ancestor. The ghost had helped rescue them from the Lost Tribe and had stuck around ever since. Rory secretly hoped that Beatrice never crossed over for good.
“Oh no! I’m going to be late.” Rory grabbed her helmet from the hook by the door. She kissed Cross. “We’ll celebrate tonight, I swear. If I’m late again, Mom will hex me.”
She gave him a last kiss and ran to her moped. She wasn’t joking about the hex. Magda had done it once before, when Rory had first started waiting tables at the Silver Café. The hex had made it impossible for Rory to sleep in and miss the beginning of her shift. It was so annoying. She wouldn’t put it past her mother to do it again.
As she left the compound, she saw that all the wolves were lined up along the fence. As she got closer, they started to howl and stomp their feet. Rory blushed and waved to them all. There were even a few women and babies in the crowd. She had been in the compound for less than a year but the wolves were all so nice to her. She already thought of Cross’ house as her second home.
Engaged! It was hard for her to believe she was engaged. There was so much to plan. She would have to start right away to make sure everything went just right.
*
“You have to try this one on!” Jamie Winn said. The head of the Cleary Coven was holding up a giant, puffy dress. Rory tried not to make a face, but she had already tried on seven dresses. None of them had even come close to being her dress.
She and Cross had decided to get married in one month. It was quick, but there really was no need to wait any longer than the next full moon. The only problem they had was her absentee father, Prescott. Rory didn’t think it would be a problem to go through with the ceremony without her father, but Cross had said he’d take care of it. The only real problem was the dress.
Half the coven had come with her to the dress boutique in town. They were trying to help her pick something, anything. She had come herself twice and hadn’t found anything. The boutique owner had just gotten in a new shipment of dresses, but none of them called to Rory either.
“Can’t we just do a spell?” she asked Jamie.
“I think you should order from a catalogue,” Deanne Maxwell said. “That’s what I had to do. It’s just too hard to find a dress here.”
The owner walked in. “I have two in the back I’d love to show you.”
Rory nodded and forced a smile. “Great!”
Deanne gave her the evil eye. “Ask for the catalogue!”
“I found the dress.” Beatrice appeared in the mirror next to Rory’s reflection. “One of you has to go distract the stupid owner. That woman is a useless cow.”
Ursula Renn raised her hand. “I’m on it!”
Jamie shook her head. “Thank Goddess, your mother didn’t come.”
Rory had to laugh at the image of Magda in a wedding dress shop. She would have had the poor owner in tears after the first five minutes.
Beatrice peeked out of the curtains. “Okay! The cow is distracted. Come on, Deanne!”
The two women left the changing area.
Jamie held up the dress and looked at it longingly. “I’m sure you hate it, but this dress would look so beautiful on you. Oh, everything looks perfect on you. I just want to dress you up all day.”
With her long, blond hair, blue eyes, perfect bone structure and huge rack, Rory was used to the sentiment. She bore a striking resemblance to a beloved childhood doll. Her mother had worked hard to make sure Rory didn’t grow up conceited. People were always stopping to tell her how pretty she was when she was a child. She didn’t even realize it was odd until she was almost in high school.
Deanne came into the room with a dress draped over her arm. “I don’t know about this one.”
“Just try it on!” Beatrice insisted. “I had to shove about a hundred ugly dresses out of the way to find this one. Just give it a chance.”
Rory shrugged. It couldn’t hurt to try it on. Jamie helped her get out of the dress she had on and into Beatrice’s pick. Rory didn’t even have to turn and look at herself in the mirror. As soon as Jamie zipped the dress up, Rory knew this was the one.
Deanne put her hand over her mouth and Jamie stepped back and nodded.
Beatrice clapped. “I knew this was it! I told you!”
Rory turned to look at herself finally. The dress was a sheath of silk. It had a Bantu neck and there was some embroidery around the neckline. It was so simple, yet elegant. They would be getting married outside under the stars and this dr
ess fit the ceremony perfectly. She could be somber during the ceremony and still dance during the reception.
“This is my dress,” she said.
The shop owner came in with an armful of dresses. “Where did you get that dress?”
“I found it,” Deanne said innocently. “We’ll take this one.”
Jamie handed the owner her credit card. “We want the dress rush ordered too.”
The owner smiled widely and scurried off with Jamie’s credit card.
“No! This is way too expensive,” Rory said.
“You don’t even know how much it costs.” Jamie held the tag up in her hand. “And no, it isn’t. This is my gift to you.”
Rory’s eyes misted. “Thank you, Jamie.”
Beatrice hugged them both. “I’m the best, aren’t I?”
Rory wiped her eyes and laughed. “Yes, you’re the best, Beatrice.”
“You should let me see the rest of the wedding,” the ghost said. “I picked the ring, the dress, and the groom. Does this mean I get to name your first baby too?”
“You didn’t pick the groom!” Deanne said. “All you did was trash talk Cross while they were gone.”
“Well, he is a werewolf,” Beatrice sniffed. “A witch and a werewolf. Who ever heard of such a crazy thing?”
“I seem to remember many a witch enjoying…playtime with young wolves,” Jamie said with a knowing smile.
“That’s just fun,” Beatrice said. “This is forever. I haven’t heard of this in all my years. You really are an original, Rory dear.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Rory twisted to see the back of her dress. “Hey! What do you know about fae weddings?”
Beatrice put a finger next to her mouth. “That’s right. The wolf-boy asked me about that too. I don’t know much, but if I remember right there’s some kind of magic string you’ll need to use.”
Jamie frowned. “My research turned up something similar.”
“Isn’t Cross taking care of that?” Deanne asked.
Rory sighed. “He is.”
They had the site, the cake, the guest list, flowers, and now the dress. The only thing that seemed to be missing was her father. Rory hoped Cross knew what he was doing. Somehow, it looked like she was going to need her father after all. It didn’t sound like much, but they couldn’t chance anything. Any missteps and the council would be in here in a minute challenging their bond. They had to do this right.