by Liv Rider
We could dump Chris! his dragon insisted. We could dump him into the lake from a great height!
No. We will do nothing that makes our mate unhappy.
The blonde bridesmaid tugged on his arm. “What are you waiting for? It’s our turn.”
Mitchell tried to focus on the procession. He was here for his brother’s wedding, not think about how relieved and happy Shaun had looked when Mitchell had helped him with the cat. Meeting those warm brown eyes had been like getting punched in the gut in the best way. It was even better than the first time he’d gone flying as a dragon.
“Mitchell? Hey?”
He started when Jake elbowed him. “Again?”
“Yes, we want to try a different order,” Jake told him. “You’ll be last.”
“Why do we have to be second?” the brunette bridesmaid demanded. “Why can’t we be first?”
Mitchell tuned out the resulting argument over the processional order and who had to walk with whom. He looked over at the other end of the aisle where Shaun was sitting with Chris. Shaun was looking down, his chestnut curls hiding his face. Mitchell wondered if he was smiling or annoyed. Did he feel the attraction? He had to. Even though he wasn’t a shifter, he had to feel something.
“Let’s try some different ways and see what works best.” Dale gestured for them to get back up the aisle. He grabbed Mitchell’s arm while the others left. “I know this isn’t your district,” he whispered, “but can you try to keep some peace?”
“Right, yes,” he muttered, embarrassed and guilty. Dale had a point. His overwhelming attraction to Shaun had distracted him from the tension within the wedding party. As a groomsman, he should help his brother out, not ignore disagreements. “I’ll do my best.”
They switched orders two more times, and Mitchell ended up paired with the brunette bridesmaid. “You’d think it wouldn’t be too difficult to get people to walk down an aisle,” she commented.
“Agreed. I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name earlier.”
“Caroline. You’re Dale’s brother, right?”
Which meant the blonde was Kelly. Mitchell shook Caroline’s hand before another attempt at walking down the aisle. “I hope we’re done after this,” he whispered. He wanted a moment to himself to consider his next move. Something that wasn’t ‘drop his mate’s boyfriend into a lake.’ There had to be something.
“We haven’t practiced with the cats yet,” Caroline muttered as they walked, “and Emily will want to do that. Rightly so.”
Mitchell nodded. “I can’t believe they want to have the cats bring them the rings.” Since Rumple had taken to him, Mitchell assumed both cats would come to Dale if he called them. But cats were unpredictable, and it was a strange environment for them. He hoped it would go well for everyone’s sake.
Caroline scoffed. “It’s not the cats I’m worried about.”
“Oh?” He threw her a look, but they’d reached the end of the aisle, and parted ways. Mitchell waited by Jake’s side as Natalie, the Maid of Honor, walked down the aisle, followed by Emily and her father.
While Emily and Dale talked with Jake and Natalie, Mitchell walked over to Caroline. “What is it you’re worried about? If it’s not the cats?”
She looked surprised. “Oh, you probably haven’t heard yet.” She leaned closer. “Shaun, Emily’s brother, has a history of taking things that aren’t his.”
“How do you mean?” His stomach twisted. His mate was a thief?
Our mate is honorable!
Mitchell wanted to believe the best of Shaun, but he’d only just met the man. If he remembered correctly, Caroline was from the same town as where Emily and Shaun had grown up. She’d know more about him.
Caroline dropped her voice to a whisper. “I mean that if the rings go missing, I wouldn’t be too quick to blame the cats.”
Mitchell didn’t hear or see any signs she was lying, which worried him. “No one would do that. Not at a wedding. Not to their own sister.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t have thought someone would be so dumb as to steal cars in their hometown, and he’s done that.”
His blood ran cold at those words, and he searched her face for a sign, any sign, that she was lying or making a weird joke. But Caroline looked and sounded serious. “Really?”
She nodded. “Ask anyone. Oh, they didn’t convict him of anything, but everyone back home knows what he did.”
“If they didn’t convict him, how do you know he did it?” he asked, clinging to one spark of hope.
“All his friends were involved and ended up with jail time.” She shook her head. “I guess he made a deal or something. Point is, Emily should never have involved him in the wedding. It took him ages to confirm. We were hoping he would have the decency to decline.”
The anger and frustration in her voice was clear. Whatever was going on, Caroline didn’t like Shaun. And whenever they’d all been waiting at the top of the aisle, Natalie and Caroline had ignored Shaun, even though he’d been right beside them. Only Emily had chatted to him, asking about the cats.
Something was going on, and he wanted to find out what it was. It wasn’t just because Shaun was his mate and Mitchell wanted to believe the best of him. There was disagreement and tension here, and that didn’t belong at a wedding.
Emily declared it time to move on after one last walk down the aisle. “Okay, time for the cat rehearsal!” She grabbed her purse from the front row.
Mitchell stood next to Dale while Jake and Bryan sat in the front row, a few seats away from his parents. Natalie, Caroline, and Kelly had sat down on their side of the aisle, joining their husbands. He hoped that him standing there would just look like he wanted to see the cats’ performance rather than look at Shaun.
Emily shook the box of treats. “You can send in Rumple now!”
Shaun exchanged a look with Chris, who shrugged, and Mitchell ignored a burning flash of jealousy. Chris had one cat in his lap, while Shaun carefully crouched down in the aisle.
“Rumple incoming!” Shaun let go of the cat, which stood frozen in the middle of the aisle with its tail low. It let out a tentative mew, and Mitchell smiled as he heard awwing around him. It was the same cat he’d held himself earlier. It had stood in the middle of the aisle just like that, ears swiveling and no clue where to go now that it was free.
Emily shook the box of treats, and the cat took three careful steps down the aisle. Its tail was up now, and Emily opened the box. “Come here, girl!”
Mitchell didn’t know if it was the promise of treats or Emily calling for her, but the cat came running down the aisle.
Emily laughed as she caught the cat, picking her up with one hand and cuddling her. “Well done, sweetie.” She kissed the cat’s forehead, then gave her a treat. She left the box on the ground, then stood up and raised Rumple in the air. “One down!”
There was laughter all around them, and Mitchell applauded, which was soon picked up by the others. He glanced over at Shaun, who was smiling at him with relief. Mitchell’s stomach squirmed. The other side of the aisle might as well be the other side of the world.
Shaun was still smiling when he got up to take Stiltskin from Chris. The applause died down, since no one wanted to spook the cat further.
Mitchell tried not to glare or grimace as Shaun and Chris stood close. He wanted to be the one next to Shaun, helping him with the cats and sharing a smile over their antics. Instead, he had to watch as Chris’ hands lingered on Shaun’s. They were boyfriends. The two of them touching was perfectly fine and acceptable and normal.
There is nothing normal about someone else touching our mate!
Our mate is fine with it.
That was something he would have to cling to. If Shaun was happy, then Mitchell could be happy. Probably.
Dale took Emily’s place while she sat down. Rumple was in her lap, and Emily kept both hands on the cat. “Ready when you are,” he called out.
Shaun let go of Stiltskin, an
d the cat zoomed down the aisle towards Dale. Mitchell wasn’t the only one who laughed at the cat’s enthusiasm. Dale scooped her up, grinning as well when he held her up. “Good girl!” He cuddled her close. “Watched your sister do it, didn’t you?”
There was another round of applause. Mitchell looked over at Shaun while the other groomsmen and bridesmaids crowded around the happy couple. Shaun moved over to Chris, high-fiving him, and Chris slung one arm around Shaun’s shoulders as he said something that made Shaun laugh.
Jealousy welled up inside of him, and Mitchell bitterly wondered how he would make it through the weekend if such a small sign of affection already had this effect on him. He wanted to go over there and congratulate Shaun on a job well done, but he didn’t trust himself to do that without glaring at Chris and making it obvious what he really wanted. Who he really wanted.
Instead, he walked over to Dale and Emily to congratulate them on the successful rehearsal. The other women surrounded Emily, all cooing over Rumple.
“That went well,” he told Dale, nodding at the cat his brother was still holding.
“Yeah, much better than expected.” Jake turned to Bryan. “Guess you won that bet.”
Bryan grinned. “Told you.”
“You guys were running a bet on how obedient my cats are?” Dale held Stiltskin up to Jake. “Look at this face. Is this a face that would just run off?”
“Absolutely,” Jake told him, but he scratched Stiltskin behind her ear. “But if it makes a difference, I bet they would do great on the wedding day and only run off during the rehearsal.”
Dale turned to Mitchell. “Please tell me you had some faith in the cats.”
“Sorry.” Mitchell shrugged. Even though he hadn’t taken part in the bet, he had definitely had his doubts. “I guess your, ahem, unfair advantage paid off.”
He felt his dragon go on full alert, and when he turned it didn’t surprise him to see Shaun come over with the pet carrier. Chris was right behind him. Mitchell gave them both a nod he hoped looked friendly and stepped back.
“I assumed you want them both back inside now.” Shaun had opened the door to the carrier. “Just to be on the safe side.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Dale said. Stiltskin started meowing when he put her back in the carrier, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Oh, sweetie!” Emily darted over, still holding Rumple close. “It’s all right, I’m here.” She pressed a kiss on the top of Rumple’s head, then put her back in the carrier too. Both cats were meowing loudly when Emily closed the latch in front.
Shaun shook his head at the noise. “They really don’t enjoy being in the carrier, do they?”
“Well, who likes a prison?” Natalie said. “You wouldn’t like that, would you, Shaun? You’d do anything to avoid it.”
“Some things are unavoidable, though,” Caroline added. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Some things will catch up with you. Right, Shaun?”
Shaun didn’t look at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Death and taxes, right?” Chris said. “That’s what people say is inevitable. Death and taxes. Is that latch shut properly?”
“Let’s double-check!” Emily inspected the carrier closely, tugging on the latch in front. The two cats were still letting out sad mews. “They should be safe in there.”
Mitchell was reluctantly grateful that Chris had kept the topic firmly on the cats. Whatever Shaun had done, it was something Natalie and Caroline were keen to bring up around him. If he had stolen cars and gotten away with it, Mitchell didn’t blame them. But if they were genuinely interested in proving Shaun’s guilt, they went about it strangely. Going by the smile Caroline was exchanging with Natalie, it was like they were enjoying embarrassing Shaun.
“We should bring the cats back to our room,” Dale said. “Shaun, do you mind carrying them up with us?” Mitchell suspected most of Dale’s desire to go back to his hotel room came from wanting to get away from the simmering tension. It was even worse now.
“Yeah, no problem.” Shaun sounded relieved, and Chris moved a little closer.
Mitchell understood that need to protect him all too well, and he hated that Chris got to do it. “You did a great job with the cats.” He wanted to say something to cheer Shaun up.
Shaun looked surprised, then gave him a slight smile. “The cats did most of the work.”
“I still felt better knowing you looked after them,” Emily said, and Mitchell noticed the quick look she gave her Maid of Honor.
Oh yes, he’d definitely have to do some keeping of the peace this weekend.
“Let’s get them back to our room.” Dale put one arm around Emily and led her back inside. Shaun and Chris followed, and Mitchell was relieved Chris didn’t follow Dale’s example. It was bad enough standing here while his mate walked away from him.
“I can’t believe he turned up,” Caroline said, once they were out of earshot.
“I still can’t believe she invited him at all,” Natalie said. “She knows what he did to me.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You tried to talk her out of it,” Caroline told her.
The two guys who had been sitting on the bride’s side of the aisle joined them. “We’ll keep an eye on him,” one of them said, and the other one gave a firm nod.
“He seems like a nice enough guy to me,” Mitchell said pointedly.
“You don’t know him like we do.” Caroline nudged her friend. “Come on, let’s get ready for the rehearsal dinner.”
Kelly stayed behind, shaking her head.
“What is it with them and Shaun?” Mitchell was curious if the blonde knew more.
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure,” she replied. “It’s something to do with Millersburg and cars. Or maybe just an Audi, but Emily keeps telling Nat and Caroline to shut up if they so much as mention Shaun and cars in the same sentence.”
“That’s strange.” Mitchell tried not to worry. He’d only heard Caroline’s side of the story. If being Keeper of the Peace had taught him one thing, it was that one side of the story was never enough.
“Yeah, it surprised me too when they started it,” Kelly continued. “It would come up every time we met up for wedding-related stuff. I asked Emily about it when it was just the two of us once, but she still wouldn’t say anything, except that it had better not ruin her wedding.” She shrugged. “We met in college, and whenever she talked about her hometown or family, it was always normal stuff. But she was glad to be somewhere where people wouldn’t keep an eye on her just because her older brother had a terrible reputation and dropped out of high school.”
None of which explained the animosity from Natalie and Caroline. “Do you guys know anything?” Mitchell turned to Jake and Bryan. Maybe Dale had told Jake something.
Jake grimaced. “Dale mentioned Shaun had had a run-in with the police at one point.”
“Anything serious?” Mitchell looked at their faces, trying to figure out what they knew.
Jake shrugged. “Dale didn’t say. I think he was more annoyed that Shaun RSVP’d so late.”
Kelly checked her phone. “I’m gonna get ready for dinner and see if Emily needs anything. See you guys there.”
None of them were lying. They really didn’t know more about Shaun. Mitchell wondered if he should ask his brother. Dale would know more, but he’d also wonder why Mitchell was asking questions.
Bryan gave him a friendly nudge. “Shaun won’t cause any trouble, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’ll keep an eye on him too. This isn’t your district.”
Mitchell nodded. Better they assumed he was only asking as a Keeper of the Peace who had trouble leaving his work behind.
“We need to be careful around him, though.” Jake gave them a stern look. “Dale hasn’t told him about shifters yet. Her parents know, but the bridesmaids don’t know either. You guys should assume that anyone from her side of the guest list doesn’t know shifters exist.”
; “Great,” Mitchell muttered. Not that he planned on telling Shaun about being fated mates, but him not knowing about shifters at all complicated things further.
“Hey, not for lack of trying,” Jake’s tone was defensive. “But it’s not something you tell someone over the phone.” Jake sounded more annoyed with that than with Shaun’s trouble with the police, which was reassuring.
Whatever had happened, it hadn’t kept Emily from including him in the wedding and defending him from her bridesmaids. “I hope he takes the news that shifters exist well.”
He will be amazed by our existence! We will impress him with our grace!
Well, his dragon wasn’t wrong, but there was no point in wanting to impress Shaun.
“Emily and her parents took it well,” Jake told them, “so that’s promising. I’m not sure if her parents really understand the concept of fated mates, but that one’s always difficult to explain.”
“Dale’s so damn lucky he found his mate,” Bryan said. “I wish I could meet mine.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Jake joked.
Mitchell hoped his smile looked convincing. Only a few hours ago he would’ve agreed with Bryan. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
Bryan gave his friend a mock-glare. “Do you think Dale needs our help explaining?”
While Jake insisted they wouldn’t do anything unless Dale specifically asked, Mitchell made his way back inside. There was enough time until the rehearsal dinner for him to go up to his hotel room and think about what to do next.
“Mitchell!”
He’d set one foot inside when he heard his mother call his name. He’d barely spoken two words with his parents since arriving, and he turned to walk over to them, feeling shame-faced.
His mother was beaming at him, her black hair elegantly pulled up in a bun. She was at one of the standing tables, waving him over.
“Ready for tomorrow?” He gave her a quick hug.
“Can’t wait.” Her smile grew even further. “Nor can your father.”
Mitchell glanced over at the bar where his father was collecting two drinks. “Ah. How long is his speech?”