Wedding the Wolf: A wolf shifter paranormal romance

by Steffanie Holmes

  “But—but I’m not getting married.”

  “I can change that.” Irvine took a step forward. His scent swirled around me, and I lost myself in it, letting it take me back to that cabin in Crookshollow Forest, where he’d given me every part of himself.

  I gasped as he dropped down on one knee. My heart pounded. Irvine fished around in his sporran and produced a small box. He opened it wide and held it out to me.

  From the velvet box, a beautiful diamond glittered up at me. My breath caught in my throat. My head swam. This isn’t real. I’m dreaming and any moment now I’m going to wake up and I’ll be all alone again—

  Irvine dared a slightly larger grin. The love in his eyes shone radiant, like the sun, and I ken. I ken this was real. He was asking me to marry him.

  “I—I—I—”

  “Before you say no and hit me in the face,” Irvine said, “just hear me out. I am so incredibly sorry that I hurt you, Willow Summers. I should have told you everything right from the beginning, including what I did to that poor man. I was stupid. I was so amazed that such a wonderful person came into my life, and that she wanted to be with me, that I didnae want to ruin it. I was afraid, and selfish, and that wasnae fair.”

  Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. I started to speak, but Irvine held his finger to his lips. “Hold your tongue, Willow Summers. There’s more to come. I am also sorry that all of the things you thought of me turned out to be true. I showed myself to be the monster that you feared. I jumped to conclusions about you, when I was the one who saw deepest into your heart. I should have seen your fear and helped you through it, but instead, I broke your trust. I nae deserve someone as bright and bold and beautiful as you, but if you accept me, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing that I’m worthy of your love. Starting with this.”

  Irvine pointed behind him. Lachlan stepped out of the crowd, and gave me a small wave before merging with the pack once again.

  “I cannae give him back what I took from him, but I have asked Lachlan what punishment would fit the crime. He has decided that I will pay him a sum of money, which he will use to set up a scholarship fund in his father’s name for students in Aberdeen, and that I will dedicate the rest of my life to the task of helping wolves integrate into society and get out of the criminal world, so that such a crime never happens again. I have agreed to this.” He smiled. “It feels right. It feels true. It feels like something I should’ve done a long time ago. It took being with you to make me see that. Because you make me a better person, Willow Summers. And I ken you have a different name, but you’ll always be bright and warm like summertime to me.”

  I reached down and squeezed his hand. The connection surged through my body, drawing me deeper into his eyes. The tears fell thick and fast now, dribbling down my face and splashing on the marble floor. “I think this is the most words you’ve ever said to me at once,” I said, laughing through my tears.

  “Aye, and it’s not over yet.” Irvine took another breath, and I noticed a tear sliding down his cheek. “I should have talked to you before I went to find your Pa. Sometimes, I think I’m doing something useful, but I’m really just being a cock. I didnae respect your decision. I thought that a grand gesture would show you how I felt about you, but it totally backfired.” He glanced up then, looking around the room at all of the people gathered around us, all of the friends and colleagues he’d rounded up for me. He laughed nervously. “I guess I havenae really learned my lesson after all.”

  I laughed, tear streaming down my cheeks.

  “What I’m saying is, I’m a fool, but I’m a fool who loves you, Willow Summers. I’m absolutely crazy about you. I want to be by your side for the rest of our lives. I want to make a million more apologies to you … no, wait, that didn’t come out right …” He scratched his head. “I’m nae good at these kind of things. …”

  “You’re doing pretty good,” I choked out. “And my answer is yes. A thousand times yes.”

  Irvine’s whole face erupted with a delicious, mischievous grin. He stood and swept me up into his arms, his lips pressing against mine as the warmth of him enveloped me. The joy in my heart burst forth, sweeping through my whole body.

  Irvine broke our kiss to slide the ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. I held it up and watched the facets glitter in the light.

  This is real. This is really happening. I’m getting married to the perfect guy. The perfect werewolf.

  Irvine leaned in, and our lips met again. Around us, I was vaguely aware of people cheering and hooting, but all that existed for me was Irvine – his kiss, his touch, his wild, beautiful heart.

  Irvine broke the kiss, a wide grin spreading over his face. “The first time I saw you, you were kissing Bianca, and I was so jealous.” He pointed her out in the crowd. “Do you think she’s jealous of us now?”

  “I doubt it.” Bianca was pressed up against Robbie in a slinky black dress and combat boots, and he looked like he’d won every lottery in the entire history of the universe.

  Irvine grabbed my hand and led me across the room. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you looking like a bride.”

  He led me down a short hall and into a tiny bedroom, with a bed covered in clothing. Makeup bags cluttered the top of the dresser. Alex and Elinor squeezed in after me, grinning from ear to ear as they took my old coat and smothered me with hugs and kisses.

  “Did you guys have something to do with this?”

  “Maybe.” Elinor grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder. I noticed they were both wearing matching pale blue dresses, with flower crowns circling their heads. They looked a little like … bridesmaids.

  My bridesmaids.

  “I’ll leave you in their capable hands.” Irvine gave me one last, lingering kiss, before ducking back out into the hallway.

  “You both look amazing.” I embraced Alex.

  “Of course we do, we’ve had all day to prepare,” Alex said, sitting me down at the dressing table.

  “Sorry for the presumption of not waiting for you to ask us to be bridesmaids,” Elinor said, as she cracked open a makeup box. “You spend so much time sorting out other people’s weddings, we figured the best gift was not having to plan your own. Irvine was just going to forgo the wedding party completely, but we figured, given the circumstances, you’d want your friends by your side.”

  Friends. I beamed, fresh tears welling up and spilling down my cheeks. I’d never had real friends before. At least, I’d never believed I had friends. But that whole crowd of people out in the ballroom suggested otherwise. I swiped at my tears. Pull yourself together.

  “Hey, quit that crying.” Alex dabbed at my eyes with a tissue. “It’s time to make you look like a bride.”

  Bride. Such a magical, beautiful word. I’d never in my wildest dreams imagined it would apply to me.

  “But I don’t have anything with me. I don’t have a dress, or shoes, and … oh god, my underwear …” I was wearing a sports bra and a pair of cotton granny panties. Why hadn’t I put on my nice cream lace bra?

  Because when I got up this morning, I had no idea I’d be getting married. This was going to be one interesting wedding night.

  “Oh, you look so panicked.” Elinor giggled.

  “We’ve got you covered, and I mean that literally.” Alex reached into a wardrobe and tossed me a box. I lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in a bed of powder pink tissue paper, was a beautiful set of ivory silk lingerie, edged with delicate lace.

  I ran my fingers over the delicate fabric, touching the edges. “This is beautiful.”

  “I know it is.” Alex grinned. “I picked it out.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said to Alex, as I shrugged off my sweater and shirt and clasped the bra around my chest. It fit perfectly. “I get to have this amazing wedding, and yours turned into a political coup.”

  “It’s okay, Willow, really it is.” Alex beamed. “I’m fine with it now. My wedding will go down in history, which is pretty r
ock’n’roll. I got to have my dream ceremony to my perfect guy, and Ryan says we’re going to have a big party as soon as everything calms down, so I’ll get the perfect reception, too. And it turns out, it wasn’t the wedding that was upsetting me so much, but my hormones going crazy.”

  It took me a few moments to figure out what she was talking about. “You mean …?”

  “I’m pregnant!” She leapt into my arms. “For real this time.”

  “That’s amazing, Alex. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Alex’s radiant smile lit up her whole face. “But tonight is not about me. Tonight is about you marrying the man of your dreams … in this!”

  She grabbed a hanger from behind the door and thrust it in front of me. My eyes bugged out of my head.

  It was the dress. The Marsha Babcock dress.

  My heart leapt into my throat. I reached out and ran my fingers over the scalloped neckline. They found it. I can’t believe they did this for me.

  I hugged the dress to me, admiring it in the mirror. The ivory colour perfectly matched my skin. The sweetheart neckline elongated my neck and made light of my lack of cleavage. The fishtail skirt swirled around my legs.

  “Go on,” Alex urged. “Try it on. Your groom is waiting.”

  I glanced around the room, but couldn’t see a bathroom door anywhere. That familiar lump of fear rose in my throat. With shaking fingers, I undid the buttons on my fly.

  Alex and Elinor watched me as I pushed my trousers over my thighs and sat down, bending my knee so I could pull them over my prosthesis.

  Alex’s eyes widened as it came into view. But neither of them looked away in disgust. “Stand up,” Elinor commanded me. I did as I was told, slipping into the matching ivory panties. Alex took the dress from the hanger and pulled it over my head, yanking the stiff bodice over my shoulders and arranging it perfectly.

  “Look at you,” Elinor breathed. Her eyes glistened with tears, too. “Don’t make me cry, Willow, or we’ll all be in here all night adjusting our makeup.”

  Alex finished fussing with the dress, then pulled my head back into a high bun, leaving a few curls loose around my face. “The final touch,” she said, holding out a short veil with an unusual clasp. It was a comb that inserted into my hair, and the edge of the comb was decorated with a row of tiny, glittering crystals wrapped with silver wire.

  “Do you like it?” Alex asked, positioning her handiwork and showing it to me in the hand mirror.

  “I love it,” I said, grinning.

  “Good, because I’ve got a matching necklace and earrings for you.”

  After some quick makeup, we were ready for showtime. Alex disappeared for a moment to cue the music, then returned with a big grin on her face. “You ready for this?”

  I checked my reflection one last time. I looked amazing. The dress hugged every curve and flared out around my legs, shimmering with every movement. I looked like a mermaid.

  I slipped on the flat shoes Elinor had found for me, and realised that whenever I moved, the guests would be able to see the ankle of my prosthesis. I stood up, and checked in the mirror again. Yes, they would definitely see it.

  I smiled to myself. Good. Let them see it. Willow Summers wasn’t hiding from the world anymore.

  “I was born ready.” I grinned at my bridesmaids. “Let’s get me married to the wolf of my dreams.”

  49

  Irvine

  I stood at the end of the ballroom, flanked by my two groomsmen, Ryan and Caleb. Behind us, Eric’s band kept up a steady stream of sweeping neo-classical music. They were dressed in tails and top hats and would be playing acoustic versions of their famous songs. I’d been waiting forty-five minutes for Willow to emerge from the dressing room. The rest of the guests were enjoying the free-flowing bar, but I couldn’t drink. I was too nervous.

  Ryan’s mother Clara stood beside me, her hand on my arm. “Give her a moment,” she said in a soothing voice that did very little to soothe me. “A lady always wants to look her best on her wedding day.”

  I grunted in reply, imagining Willow in one of the back rooms, trying to manoeuvre her prosthesis out of a window so she could escape. I pictured her running across London in her wedding dress, arms flailing, ready to tell the world about the crazy wolf who’d tried to coerce her into marrying him—

  “We’re ready!”

  Alex made the call from the doorway. The room fell silent and the guests stood on either side of the arched aisle as Ghost Symphony broke into a slightly gothic version of the classic wedding march.

  Everyone oohed and aahed as Elinor and Alex swept into the room, their flowing dresses sweeping around them. They came to stand opposite me and my two groomsmen. Alex grinned and waved at me.

  Willow appeared in the entrance, her mother on her arm.

  My heart rose to my throat. She had never been more beautiful than at that moment. A rush of emotion hit me in the chest, and I stepped back as though I’d been punched. My eyes stung as tears pricked in the corners. I’d never cried before in my life, but right now, it seemed the only response to the beauty before me.

  Their walk up the aisle was agonisingly slow. The whole time my eyes remained locked with Willow’s. The love I saw there reflected my own.

  Finally, they reached the end of the aisle, and I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around Helen, and kissing her cheeks. “Welcome to our family,” she said. “I hope that this marriage is going to be the start of mending the mistrust between our species.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I said, kissing her cheek again.

  “Look after my daughter.” She squeezed my arm while tears poured down her face.

  “I will always love and protect her. Thank you, Helen, for everything. This wouldnae have happened without you.”

  “Oh, my son-in-law.” Helen clapped my shoulder. “You have the rest of your life to make it up to me. I’m already making a list.”

  I laughed. She left us then, and I turned to my wife. My beautiful wife. Willow extended her arm, looping it through mine, and I led her back to stand in front of Clara.

  “Hey,” Willow said, her smile piercing my heart.

  “Hey, yourself.”

  I tried to concentrate on Clara’s words, as she spoke about the meaning of marriage and the significance of our commitment. But they all fell in one ear and out of the other. All I could focus on was Willow. I couldn’t believe my luck – this incredible woman was not only willing to forgive my horrific stupidity, but she was going to become my wife and love me and be with me for the rest of my life.

  “The couple will now exchange rings,” Clara intoned. My fingers clasped Willow’s, and I kept my gaze on her as I repeated the words. “With this ring, I make you my wife. I promise that I’ll protect you, honour you, and do everything in my power to make you happy, for the rest of my days.” Willow beamed. Another tear escaped my eye as I slid the ring onto her finger.

  Willow clasped my hand in hers, and tears streamed down her face as she made her own vow. “With this ring, I make you my husband. I promise that I’ll protect you, honour you, and do everything in my power to make you happy, for the rest of my days.”

  No words had ever sounded so good to me before.

  “Before your family and friends, I have the honour of pronouncing your husband and wife.” Clara stepped back and raised her hands. “You may now kiss the bride!”

  Damn right. I wrapped my arms around Willow, and devoured her with my lips. Her tongue slipped against mine, and we lost ourselves in the power of our bond. The roar of our friends clapping and cheering and howling for our joy brought us up for air. We linked arms and danced down the aisle while streamers and confetti swirled in the air around us.

  My wife. My amazing wife.

  Willow gazed up at me, her bright eyes dancing. I felt like a majestic medieval knight who’d just slayed a dragon. She knitted her fingers into mine. “What now, wolf?”

  “Now, we party.”

 
* * *

  We partied long into the night, drinking amazing cocktails and eating great food and tearing up the dance floor. It was amazing, but at the same time, I wanted everyone to go away so I could have some quality time with my wife. Ever since our kiss, my cock was stiff, ready to enjoy our wedding night.

  Willow didn’t seem to have got the hint. Every time I tried to drag her off the dance floor, she pulled me back for one more song. My shy wife who never wanted to do anything to attract attention to her leg was starting conga lines and hopping around like an Energiser bunny. I would have found it completely adorable if I wasn’t so desperate to tear that gorgeous dress off her.

  Finally, Big Ben struck midnight. One by one, our guests started to wander away, heading back to their own hotel rooms, or to the Mouth of Hell. Helen and Richard were the last to say goodnight, and they left arm in arm, Helen blowing kisses to us over her shoulder.

  I hailed us a taxi back to the hotel I’d booked, wrapped Willow in my arms, and carried her over the threshold, slamming the door shut behind with my foot. Finally, Willow and I were completely alone.

  “I’m so tired,” she said, as I laid her down on her bed. Her eyelids fell heavy, her gaze studying my face. The bond swirled around us, uniting us as one.

  “Hey.” She ran her fingers over my cheek. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “You know, we never did the garter toss.”

  I grinned. “I’m surprised you go in for such silly traditions.”

  “I’m the wedding planner. Silly traditions are what I’m all about.” Willow scooted up the bed and rolled up the hem of her dress. Wrapped around her lower thigh, just above socket of her prosthesis, was a pale pink garter festooned with a tiny ribbon rose.

  “Willow Summers, you are bold.” I knelt down in front of her and grabbed the garter with my teeth, sliding it slowly down her leg. My hands roamed over her soft skin, teasing her with what was to come.