Poppy trotted over to him and leaned up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. He looked and smelled so good she almost lost her resolve, but pulled away quickly and turned to pick up his shirt off the back of the chair.
“I think you forgot something,” she said, holding it up to him.
He took the shirt with a sly smile and slung it over his shoulders. As he put on his cufflinks, he growled, watching her lean over the desk to put on her lipstick. She glanced up and puckered her lips, then giggled. This was the most fun she’d ever had getting dressed, making it much easier to start putting the events of the day behind her.
After she finished her hair and makeup, and Angus finished getting dressed, they walked arm-in-arm down to the atrium for the wedding. The wedding party was all gathered around the entrance, and the wedding planner grabbed Angus’s arm.
“Best man, you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago.”
She started to pull him away. Poppy held on to his arm. She had no idea how she was supposed to get Malcolm out of the gigantic greenhouse, by herself, in the middle of a wedding.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked Angus desperately.
“Her parrot is lost in the atrium,” Angus explained to the wedding planner.
The skinny woman in her stretchy pantsuit looked down at her tablet and frowned.
“I got an email about this from the groom. There’s nothing we can do about it now that won’t disrupt the wedding. Groom doesn’t want the bride to know about it. Unless you can call him down with some kind of silent dog whistle, then you’re going to have to wait it out.”
Poppy sighed. Of all the places he could have been lost, the atrium was probably the most ideal. It was very close to his native habitat in there. Unless someone did something to him or he flew out, he should be okay for now.
“Okay,” Poppy said.
“I’ll help you find a seat, sweetheart,” Angus said, rubbing her back.
She took his arm, and Angus walked her out into the atrium. He stopped beside a row with an empty aisle seat. She sat down, and Angus squeezed her hand before he let her go.
“I’m sorry I brought you to a wedding and left you to attend it by yourself,” he said, bending down to talk to her.
“I’ll get to watch you, though. That’s even more fun,” she said.
He kissed her cheek before standing to his full height and straightening his suit. He smiled at her with a wink and walked back to the entrance hall of the atrium. A few moments later, Levi walked down the aisle and took his place beside the minister. The waterfall flowed behind him and white orchids spilled in a cascade from the arch that bowed over the podium.
The wedding music started, and a little girl with two French braids and a gauzy white dress walked down the aisle, throwing white and red rose petals across the floor. A little boy in a tuxedo walked beside her. He held the rings on a white velvet cushion in front of him.
The children joined Levi on the podium and waited for the first couple to come out. Angus walked down the aisle with a redheaded woman with a rounding baby bump. Angus stood beside Levi, and the woman stood on the bride’s side. The rest of the rescue crew each came out with a bridesmaid. Shane Keenan came out with a pretty blonde woman Poppy could tell was his mate. They looked too perfect together to be anything else.
When the last couple had joined Levi and the minister on the podium, the string quartet began to play “Here Comes the Bride.”
Poppy watched Levi’s mate Juliet walk down the aisle with her father. Juliet held a gorgeous bouquet that matched the white cascade of orchids around the podium, but it was filled out by lacy ferns, red roses, and spring flowers. It was almost as stunning as her dress.
Juliet’s plunging neckline showed off her honey colored skin and her generous curves. But the lace on the bodice that ran over the full tulle skirt took Poppy’s breath away. Juliet was sexy and sophisticated, but soft and sweet at the same time. That was exactly how Poppy wanted to look on her own wedding day.
The bride kissed her father on the cheek, and Levi helped her up onto the podium. The redheaded bridesmaid took Juliet’s bouquet so the bride and groom could hold hands. They gazed into each other’s eyes as the minister started to speak. Poppy glanced at Angus, and he was looking right at her. They shared a private smile and went back to watching the wedding.
When Levi and Juliet started to share their vows, Poppy felt all choked up inside. It was obvious how much these two loved each other. Before she’d met Angus, seeing a display of such pure and true love might have made her feel a little bit bad. But now that she had her mate, it filled her with so much hope and promise. Her heart was full and bursting as she listened to them share their love for each other in front of a room full of people.
Poppy was so touched, a little tear appeared in the corner of her eye. She had to lift up her spare glasses to wipe it away. By the time the couple said “I do,” Poppy didn’t think there was a dry eye in the atrium. Just after the minister pronounced Levi and Juliet husband and wife, the unthinkable happened.
Malcolm came squawking out of a giant palm tree above the podium. His yellow body swooped down over the wedding party.
“Beautiful,” Malcolm shouted.
“You may kiss the bride,” the minister said.
Juliet was shocked, but Levi leaned in and kissed her anyway. She wrapped her arms around the groom and kissed him back with the same intensity. When they came up for air, Juliet was smiling and looked like she’d forgotten the bird.
“Beautiful!” Malcolm squawked again, flying over the lovebirds as they started back down the aisle.
The Rescue Bears followed the bride and groom down the aisle, and everyone was smiling up at Malcolm. Even Levi was smiling. Poppy grabbed the packet attached to the seat in front of her and tossed it into the air as the bride and groom moved past her. Angus and the redhead came next, and Poppy still had a handful of confetti. She tossed it over his head and giggled.
He caught her eye, leaned it to take her in his arms, and kissed her hard on the mouth. He stood back with a smile and scooped her into his free arm as he escorted the maid of honor on his other.
Chapter 15
Angus found a place for Poppy at the wedding table. He wasn’t going to let her sit through the reception alone after she had to sit alone through the whole wedding by herself. They sat side by side as the servers brought out the food.
Shane had planned a beef and asparagus dish that smelled so succulent that Angus’s mouth watered when the server placed his plate in front of him.
Poppy smiled as she popped the first bite into her mouth. Angus tried to restrain himself from gobbling the whole thing up like he had on their first date. He managed to eat in a slightly more civilized fashion this time.
“Do you like it?” Angus asked.
“Oh my god. This tri tip melts in my mouth. Seriously, Shane Keenan is a magician.”
“He’s pretty good,” Angus agreed.
They continued their meal until the servers cleaned everything away. Champagne was passed out to all the guests. Angus gulped, knowing it was time for him to give his toast. He hadn’t thought about it since he’d arrived back at the lodge.
He’d been focused on getting Poppy warm and getting himself ready to walk down the aisle. They’d made it to the party on time, but he still had no idea what he was going to say about his friend’s marriage.
He could see the wedding planner motioning to him out of the corner of his eye and took a long swig of his champagne. It was time. Angus’s nerves went into high alert. Everyone was looking at him.
Angus had never liked being the center of attention. He liked being a support player. Reaching up to hook his finger into the neck of his tuxedo, he loosened his tie and cleared his throat. Standing, he felt a cold sweat drip down his arm. He raised his champagne flute to Levi and Juliet, who were sitting down the table from him. This was it. He was going to just have to wing it.
“Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a man of few words. Giving speeches isn’t my thing. But when Levi asked me to be his best man, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. This man, whose wedding day we’ve come to celebrate, has been my best friend and my alpha for a long time. Levi and I and our crew have had each other’s back in the worst situations you could imagine. We’ve saved each other’s lives more than once. When Levi told me he’d met his mate, I was thrilled for him. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s Levi. Juliet is so sweet and special. I know she’s perfect for him, and she makes him very happy. Juliet, I know you are my alpha’s other half, and together, you guys are the leaders of our clan. We couldn’t have asked for better people to keep us on the straight and narrow. As happy as I was for Levi and Juliet, I couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of their bond until I met my own mate. Now that I have, I know exactly how much Levi and Juliet love each other. With fate on your side, you don’t need luck. So, I want to end this toast not by saying good luck, but by saying congratulations.”
Angus lifted his flute to the couple. Juliet had tears in her eyes, and Levi was smiling in a way that told Angus he, too, was holding back the tears. Angus sat down, and Levi leaned over to him.
“Thank you, man. I know how hard that was for you.”
The rest of the guests clapped and cheered for Angus. His heart was still beating like a drum, and he felt numb all over. Now that his speech was done, a huge sense of relief swept over him, and he was able to relax and watch the rest of the guys toast their alpha.
Next, Drew gave a speech, talking about how Levi had made the call to pull off a deserted road in the middle of a war zone. It turned out there had been a bomb in the road, just ahead of them. Levi had saved them all with his acute protective instinct and his leadership skills.
He told Levi and Juliet how happy he was that his alpha now had his mate, and wished them all the happiness in the world. Angus could hear Drew’s jealousy in his voice. That was exactly what Angus hadn’t wanted to sound like. Unlike Angus, Drew’s mate had taken off and left him.
Zach got up and gave a speech about a time when Levi had led the charge behind enemy lines. They guys were all exhausted. Levi had been injured, but he wouldn’t give up the mission. He pushed them all on, and they’d succeeded.
“I just hope that someday I will meet a girl who’s half as awesome for me as Juliet is for Levi,” Zach said.
Corey recounted all the times Levi had used Corey’s analytical skills to determine the right course of action. Half the time, Corey disagreed with Levi. But ninety-nine percent of the time, Levi was right.
“I don’t want a mate myself, but I couldn’t be happier that my dating app has brought Levi and his mate together. They are great together and make each other very happy.”
Shane stood up with a glance down at Lily, who was sitting beside them with their son Theo on her lap. He’d been the ring bearer for the wedding. Shane and Lily shared a look that was so full of tenderness and adoration, it would make a more cynical bear a little nauseated. Now that Angus had Poppy, it just made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“Now that I have my mate with me, and we’ve worked things out, I know exactly how blessed we are to have our fated mates. Levi, may you and Juliet live a life that is as full of love and passion as Lily and I do.”
Shane sat down, and Lily planted a big kiss on his lips. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. Angus was convinced they were about to give the entire wedding a make out session. But the couple dialed it back before anyone shouted to get a room.
After the crew was done with their toasts, Juliet’s friends all started to toast her. Since most of them were human, besides Lily, the speeches all had a different tone than the crew’s speeches had.
Even the married woman seemed a little envious of Juliet’s relationship with Levi. Angus felt bad for the humans. They’d never share what fated mates shared with each other. There was a bond that went beyond compatibility, shared experience, or even lust. It was deeper than all those things combined.
The bond between fated mates was instinctive, primal. At the same time, it was pure and sacred, with a hint of the divine. That’s how it was to be guided by fate.
After everyone had finished toasting the happy couple, the dancing started. A live band played on a temporary platform at the end of the dining room, and Juliet and Levi shared their first song as a new couple together. When the spotlight dance was over, Angus leaned over to Poppy and asked her if she wanted to dance too.
“I’d love to,” she said.
He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Angus had never learned to dance fancy while he was growing up in the mountains of Colorado. But the guys had taught him a thing or two while they’d been in the military all those years. Now he was as good a dancer as anyone—well, maybe not as good as Zach. But he could hold his own without embarrassing himself. Leading Poppy out onto the dance floor, he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. The sweet smell of her skin filled his senses, and he growled softly in her ear.
They slow danced across the floor, feeling each other’s bodies as they moved. Other wedding guests danced around them, but Angus was lost in a world of sensation focused totally on Poppy.
The feeling of her breasts pressed against his chest. The smell of her perfume. The sway of her hips as she danced. The soft breaths she took as she moved her body across the dance floor. It all came together in a three dimensional map of sensation that soothed and enlivened his soul.
He could barely stand to wait another second to claim his mate. But he wasn’t going to do it until they were both one hundred percent positive that it was the right thing to do. There was no way he was going to come this close to having her in his life forever and mess it up in the end. Angus wanted what Levi and Shane had with their mates. He didn’t want a replay of what had happened to Drew.
He looked over at Zach and saw him doing some kind of break dancing thing for a group of awestruck human females. That polar bear never quit. Angus really hoped Zach could find his mate soon. The guy was a barrel of fun, but he needed a mate to help him grow roots and find some rest.
Zach would always be a high energy showoff, but Angus suspected that part of his friend’s constant need for attention was the fact that underneath, Zach was actually really lonely for his mate.
Corey was sitting at a table with Drew having a heated discussion. There was something going on over there. Angus needed to pull back from his mate for a moment or he wasn’t going to be able to wait to claim her until after the wedding.
“I need to talk to my crew for a minute,” he whispered in her ear.
“We still need to get Malcolm. I forgot all about him once they brought out the dinner.”
“Let’s go back to the atrium right after I find out what Drew and Corey are arguing about,” Angus said, taking Poppy’s hand to lead her off the dance floor.
They sat down at the table where Drew and Corey were talking. They looked over at Angus and Poppy like they’d interrupted something private. As Levi’s second in command, there wasn’t much that was private to Angus with the crew.
“What’s going on, guys? This is supposed to be a celebration for our alpha.”
“I was just telling Corey that his app is irresponsible,” Drew said.
“I simply created the app. The way people use it is entirely up to them.”
“So you’re saying that Quinn running off was my fault?” Drew said, growing angrier.
Angus could tell Drew had been drinking. He also knew how badly Drew was hurting. Most of the bridesmaids in Juliet’s wedding party been friends with Quinn. And none of those women had heard anything from her, if they were telling him the truth, anyway. Having them all here had to hurt. Having Corey suggest that Drew himself was at fault for Quinn’s disappearance was making it worse.
Quinn was a grown woman who took no responsibility for herself or her reactions. Drew probably should have waited to claim
her, but that didn’t mean it was his fault she ran off. How was he supposed to know she would change her mind the next morning?
“Corey, please don’t make Drew’s situation worse by suggesting such a thing.”
“I’m not suggesting it was his fault that Quinn left. I’m simply defending my app. It’s a piece of technology. It is morally neutral. I’m not going to listen to him sit here and blame a dating app for his personal problems.”
Drew looked so angry red that Angus was afraid he might take a swing at Corey.
“Guys, let’s just put this conversation on hold for a while. I do not want a fight at Levi’s wedding. Do you hear me? Drew, go talk to someone else. Corey, stop antagonizing him. He’s hurting. Have some empathy for your crew mate.”
Corey was a genius, but empathy had never been his strong suit. Gaging the crew’s emotions and mending fences had always kind of been Angus’s thing. He could take out most of these guys because of his superior size, but his role in the crew had always been to soothe more than to dominate. The size thing just made the rest of the bears more willing to listen.
“Fine. I didn’t start this conversation in the first place. It isn’t my fault he’s being irrational,” Corey said, getting up to walk away.
Drew just sat there and took another long swig of Fate Mountain Lager. Angus frowned. His friend was in bad shape. If he kept going like this, he was headed for trouble. Drew was a bright, talented, good natured bear, who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Angus hated to see him deteriorate and refused to sit by and watch it happen.
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