by Kim Fox
Mikki smiled as she said yes.
He asked Hannibal and he said yes so fast that it made Mikki laugh.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Montana,” the man said. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
He looked at Hannibal with a grin. “You may kiss the bride.”
Hannibal lunged forward and kissed Mikki with everything that he had. It was such a long kiss that the clerk got tired of waiting and patted him on the back as he left. “Congratulations,” he said as he walked out the door.
“Mrs. Vega,” Hannibal said when he finally pulled away.
“I like that,” Mikki said with a satisfied grin. “Mikki Vega.” Hannibal watched her lips as she said it and he just had to kiss her again.
“Do you think your brothers will get mad that we got married without them there?”
Hannibal laughed. “You mean your brother-in-laws?” he asked with a grin. “And no. They’re going to thank you for getting them out of wearing a tie for the night. The girls on the other hand…”
“This was all that I wanted,” she said, squeezing his hand. “We can make it up to all of them.”
Hannibal grinned. “I know just the way.”
“Where the hell have you guys been?” Khan asked as Mikki and Hannibal walked onto the balcony. It was such a beautiful night with the sun casting purple hues in the sky as it set behind the mountains. There was a warm breeze and the air felt electric. Everyone was sitting around the table eating the trout that Hannibal had caught earlier. “I cooked all this trout.”
“Where do you think they were?” Bailey asked, raising an eyebrow at her man. “Not everybody chooses food over sex.”
“That’s just crazy talk,” Khan said, shaking his huge head and grabbing another piece of fish.
Hannibal stepped forward with his mate’s hand in his. He looked at his brothers with pride brimming from his eyes.
“We got married!” he said, holding up her hand.
“What?!?” Julius said as the girls jumped up and screamed. Hannibal squeezed Mikki’s hand as his brothers and their mates swarmed over them with congratulations and cheers.
“So, you got married,” Julius said, cocking his head to the side. “Let’s see it.”
Hannibal pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and held it up. “Our marriage certificate. The deed to the Vega Ranch will be ours.”
Julius, Khan, and Alexander all cheered and pounded the table as the girls clapped in delight.
Julius snatched it out of his hands and looked it over. “It’s officially ours,” he said, pumping his fist.
“Who would ever have known that Dad was right all along?” Khan said, shaking his head.
“Not me,” Alexander said.
“Definitely not you,” Julius said, making everyone, including Alexander laugh.
“He was a smart man,” Hannibal said, sitting at the table with his new bride. “I guess we didn’t give him enough credit.”
Khan sniffed as his eyes teared up. “I wish he could see his boys now.” He looked at the women sitting around the table. “You ladies would have loved him,” he said, wiping his eye. “And he would have loved each one of you.”
Alexander took Elena’s hand in his and kissed it. “If he never made the will I would never have found the love of my life.”
Elena raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
They all clinked their wine glasses, took a sip and sat in a moment of quiet reflection. Hannibal missed his father terribly. He had been so angry with his father about getting forced to take on a mate and a wife but now he was just thankful. His father knew what was best for them all along and did whatever it took to make his boys see that. Well, they finally did. Each one of them.
“We love you, Dad,” Julius said, raising his glass to the sky. Ava wrapped her arms around his and kissed his shoulder.
Hannibal looked up and smiled.
The warm breeze picked up causing the hairs on Hannibal’s arms to stand up. He felt a tingle over his body as the sky turned from a soft purple to a fiery red as the sun moved down an inch.
He smiled. It seemed like his father was sending him a hug through Mother Nature with a nod from the heavens. It was probably nothing but Hannibal took it as a sign of love.
I love you too, Dad.
epilogue
“There goes the neighborhood,” Julius said as two Jeeps drove down the dirt road towards the main house.
Hannibal was laying on the patio couch with Mikki’s head on his stomach. Everyone was lounging on the balcony, enjoying the lazy summer day. They all jumped up and stood at the railing watching the Jeeps as they slowed to a stop.
“I have a feeling that this isn’t going to end well,” Khan said, exhaling hard.
The six members of the Clawed Squad stepped out of the cars and looked up at them. Hannibal felt an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. This is going to go fine. He had been telling himself that all week but he still wasn’t fully believing it.
“Which one is the one that you beat to a pulp?” Elena asked Alexander.
Julius snorted a laugh. Alexander shot him a warning look and Julius cleared his throat, turning his amused face into a serious one.
“There’s no house on the north side of the ranch,” Royal complained from beside the Jeep.
“No shit,” Khan yelled back. “Why do you think we gave you that side?”
“Where do you expect us to live?” Royal asked with his hands out.
Khan pointed to the forest in the distance. “There’s some trees. Start chopping.”
Hannibal met Thorn at the bottom of the stairs and they shook hands. “Don’t worry,” Thorn said. “I’ll keep them on a short leash.”
The alpha of the Clawed Squad pulled out a stack of letters from his back pocket. “I picked up your mail on the way in. Isn’t that what friendly neighbors do?”
Hannibal laughed as he took the stack of letters. “Thanks again for the other night,” he said with a nod. “You really saved our asses.”
Thorn smiled. “Don’t mention it.”
Hannibal knew that his brothers would kill him but he had to ask. It was the right thing to do. “Do you guys want to stay in the guest houses until you get a house built?”
“Nah,” Thorn said, “but thanks. We lived in the world’s shittiest places for the last few years. We can live in the forest for a few days.”
“A few days?” Hannibal asked, wondering how they were going to build a house in a few days.
“I ordered some trailers to stay in while we figure things out.”
“Alright,” Hannibal said with a nod. “Let us know if you need anything. We’ll be right over that hill.”
They shook hands again and Thorn walked back to his squad while Hannibal hurried back up the steps. Alexander and Stetson were staring each other down with ferocious eyes.
Hannibal started cycling through the letters as the two Jeeps pulled away in a cloud of dust and drove back onto the main road, heading around to the north side of the ranch.
The deed. Hannibal ripped the envelope open and yanked out the paper inside. He had filled out all of the necessary paperwork with the lawyer and set up the transfer of the north side of the ranch to the six members of the Clawed Squad. Nausea crept up his throat and he felt dizzy and lightheaded as he read it. He grabbed onto the railing as his knees buckled.
“What’s wrong?” Julius asked, grabbing his arm and holding him up.
“Everything,” he whispered.
Khan snatched the paper out of his hand and frowned as he read it. “What does all of this legal mumbo-jumbo mean?”
Hannibal gulped as he sat down in the chair that Alexander handed him. “I transferred the ownership of four thousand acres to Thorn and the other guys.”
“So?” Julius asked, looking confused. “We had planned that.”
“Right,” Hannibal said, bracing himself for his brother’s rea
ctions. “But we didn’t plan for the consequences.”
“What does that mean?” Bailey asked.
“Just tell us what’s wrong,” Alexander snapped.
Hannibal sighed. “Dad’s will said that all potential owners of the ranch have to get married within a year or the deed gets transferred over to the state.”
“Right,” Elena said, “and you all did. So what’s the problem?”
Hannibal’s words were caught in his throat. His mouth was so dry. “The Clawed Squad are listed as potential owners now.”
“So?” Khan said, scratching his big head.
“They have to get married and take on mates as well,” Hannibal said, feeling like he was going to puke as he said the words. “Or we all lose the ranch.”
Julius dropped his head in defeat. “Shit.”
“Who’s going to marry those assholes?” Alexander yelled.
“You said asshole,” Liam parroted from the corner of the balcony where he was coloring.
Bailey snatched the paper out of Khan’s hands and looked it over. “You’re saying that your father’s will applies to them as well?”
Hannibal sighed. “It applies to all potential owners and those six shifters are now listed as potential owners. The same rules apply to them.”
“Wow,” Julius said, shaking his head. “Talk about an ultimate fuck up.”
“Yup,” Hannibal said with a nod.
“Should we get the matches?” Julius asked.
Hannibal dropped his head into his hands. “For what?”
“Someone has to go tell Thorn the good news.”
“We’re not going to be telling Thorn,” Khan said. “He’s going to be the Thornado when he hears this.”
“I’ll go,” Elena said, stepping forward.
Alexander grabbed her wrist. “No way. You’re not stepping foot over there.”
“I know,” Hannibal said. “We’ll send the lawyer. Let him deal with it.”
“Fine with me,” Julius said.
“Me too,” Alexander and Khan both said at the same time.
Hannibal grimaced. “So much for our friendly neighbors.”
“Yup,” Khan said. “They’re going to be pissed.”
the end
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