“You what?” she laughed.
He pulled out a wrinkly sheet of paper covered with his masculine scrawl. “Here. These are yours. I’ve got mine memorized.”
“Oh, okay.” Then she called out to the audience with amusement, “He wrote my vows for me! Don’t be surprised if you hear dirty things.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
“Catherine,” Dontae began then stopped. He waited for her to get serious. She stifled the smile and squeezed his fingers. “Catherine, I vow to be honest with you. To include you in all my decisions. To support you in your new career, whatever it may be. To be an equal partner in raising our child. I will never leave you or Ember wanting for anything. If my wall goes up, it’s not on purpose. Please let me know so I can take a sledgehammer to it immediately.” His friends chuckled behind him. He ignored them. This was no laughing matter. “I vow to make love to you in ways you’ve never dreamed of.” Some people in the crowd cheered. He waited. “I vow to travel with you and the baby. I vow to give you more children if you want them. I vow to let you know how much I love you so that you never wonder if I do. You are the only woman I have ever loved. And you are my everything. When you were gone, I wasn’t ever happy.”
Her eyes were liquid now and she nodded that he’d done really well with that. He felt a little relief at her approval. She knew how much pride he had. She unwrapped the paper and squinted at his penmanship.
“Dontae,” she read. “I vow to always tell you when I need something. To hit you on the back of your head again every time you put up your stupid wall.” Ripples of laughter from the crowd and the friends around them. “Oh, this is good,” she told everyone and they laughed louder. She cleared her throat as Dontae waited. “I vow to buy new sexy lingerie, with your money, whenever you rip mine off my body like you love to do.” The crowd cracked up. Eli, Nathaniel and Darik, guffawed behind him.
“Oh shit,” Darik muttered on a laugh.
She cocked an eyebrow for silence. People struggled to settle down, amusement rippling. “I vow,” she continued, “to remember that even when we have children, our love comes first. We will always be the foundation from which they spring.” She glanced up at him, deeply moved. “I vow,” she paused, emotion lumping in her throat. “…to remain faithful to you. To tell you when I need something I’m not getting. To repeat it, if you don’t listen. To scream it if you still don’t hear. I vow to be yours and only yours. I vow this until we both die.” She stopped and sniffled. “I have some of my own,” she said, shakily. He tightened his hold on her hands and she gave them a squeeze. “I vow, Dontae Sheppard, to hold space for the man you really are. To never nag you or make you feel like you’re not needed. I need you. The years that we were apart, I was never truly happy. I will be the wife you need. I will give you all of my heart. Together we will love our children completely and yet give them space to be who they want to be—because yes, I want more than one.” She grinned. He went to kiss her, but his friends yelled, “NOT YET!”
“By the power vested in me by the state of New York—and now, Maine—I now pronounce you…oh wait. The rings. And you have to say…”
“I do,” she whispered, staring at him.
“I do, too,” Dontae smiled.
They slid the rings on and Dontae turned to the Mr. City Clerk and tried not to roll his eyes at the man’s distracted incompetency.
“By the power vested in me by the state of New York—and now, Maine—I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the….” Dontae dipped his impregnated wife before the man could finish, “bride.”
The crowd went wild as their kisses grew more passionate, her arms thrown around his strong neck, her fingers laced in his soft hair. He lifted her up into his arms, still kissing her. The crowd got up from their chairs. Even the high society people wolf-whistled. Michelle, Rose and Talia were screaming and clapping. Mrs. Zenith just grinned.
The party overtook a tiny restaurant by the water. Buttery lobster was of course the main dish. The group moved tables for dancing and the employees were tipped heavily for the entertaining ‘inconvenience.’ Catherine danced with her father, Dontae with her mother. The wives danced together and Dontae and his packmates watched them from afar.
“Who would’ve thought a couple years ago this would be where we’d be standing today?” Nathaniel asked, shaking his head.
Eli elbowed him in the rib. “You started it.”
Darik smirked, blue eyes shining, “I’m just glad they get along.”
Dontae took his eyes off his new wife long enough to say, “What are you talking about? Catherine hates them all.” Off his friend’s faces, he busted up. “Kidding. You should see your faces.”
Eli smacked him. “Leave the jokes to me. Yours are mean.”
Grabbing his glass and a clean fork from a nearby table, Darik stepped away and starting clinking the two together. “Since I’m the best man, I get to make a toast, right?” Everyone stopped dancing and talking. They all turned to face him. Talia gave him the biggest grin. Catherine walked over and slipped her hand around Dontae’s waist as he wrapped his arm over her shoulders.
Happy to be on stage, Darik began, “I’ve never done this before, so let me wing it. Dontae is my oldest friend. And he is one of the most stubborn sons of bitches you’ve ever met. After he and Catherine broke up way back when, he was a freaking mess. You know it’s true, Dontae. Don’t look at me like that. Eli, Nate, hold him back if you have to. But now that I guess fate has brought them back together, my best friend is like a big, hairy…teddy bear.” He winked at his friends. “He’s more…pliable and he laughs more.” His packmates muttered agreement. Dontae shot them a look. “He’s happy. That’s what he is. And while I’m not used to it, I love it. And I love you, D.” He turned to Catherine. “You changed our friend. For the better. I can’t wait to meet your daughter. She’s going to be something else.” He raised his glass and everyone joined in, cheering.
As the conversation resumed, and the music was turned up as far as it would go, the attention drifted from them. Catherine leaned against Dontae and he kissed the top of her head. “Did I do good?”
She nodded and burrowed into him. “Yes. Now I see why you suggested this dress.”
“It’s mostly white,” he smiled, breathing her in. He loved the way she smelled. His hand drifted down and rested on her stomach. “Where do you want to go for your honeymoon?”
“You know where I really want to be?”
“No. Where? Name it.”
She covered his hand with hers and pressed it into her belly, knowing their daughter could feel the love. “Anywhere I’m with you.”
Thank you to my FB fans…
I asked you what I should name their baby, as well as the Chicago Pack wolves.
All these gorgeous women chimed in on my FB page.
A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Teri F., Kelly T., Stacy S. Staci W.M., Terry S., Talitha W.L., Alisa M.K., Kelly’sNotFluffy, Andre C., Tanji L., Carmen H.A., Noelia I., Denise B., Megan B., Tracey H.J., Jean H.H., Heather I. and Cory M.
AND ALSO A BIG THANK YOU TO… the readers who (via an earlier mailing list email) helped name the Werewolves of New York. D.D.E.N. were named by: Latisha, Connie, Lawrence, Deborah, and Samantha!
You’re so awesome. xx, Faleena
COCKY ROOMIE
A new Bad Boy Romance series is coming. The Cocker Brothers have earned their nickname — The Cocky Brothers. Their daddy taught them to be real men. Their momma told them, “Hold out for a different kind of woman.” They have one thing in common: arrogance.
Jake Cocker just graduated college — by the skin of his teeth, because who cares about that shit when you’ve got your future mapped out? — when his younger brother Jeremy decides to enlist, leaving him without a roommate. Jake wasn’t aiming to live with a woman — but when a curvy, newly single smart-ass answers his ad, he changes his mind. Join my private mailing list to be the first to know. AND get th
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WEREWOLVES OF CHICAGO
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WEREWOLVES OF CALIFORNIA
MMF Erotica
Calt vs. Red — The War Over One Woman
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A Stand-Alone NA Romance
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"...not at all what I thought it would be. It had more depth and more substance than I imagined. This story really pushed my buttons.I felt every bit of excitement, fear, joy, pain and love Rue felt and I also felt the pain, anguish and remorse the boys felt. This was a great read, one that speaks volumes." - Lustful Literature
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About the Author
Faleena Hopkins tells stories of love, redemption, or both. Not the most attentive of cooks, she tends to burn toast…and hard-boiled eggs. Yes, it can be done. They make a cool and startling CRACK when the water evaporates.
Once shyly hiding behind the pen-name “Sabrina Lacey,” she now publishes only under her own name and in several genres, knowing her readers are smart enough to only buy the books they dig. Also an actress, screenwriter and director, she recently moved to Atlanta, GA to film fun stuff while enjoying the unpredictable weather that reminds her a lot of the men she attracts. Men who inspire some of these stories.
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Werewolves of New York: Dontae Page 12