~ 3 Years Later ~
"I'm going to bite that kid's head off."
"No you aren't."
"I'm going to drag him back to the humans."
"No, you won't."
"Everette," My dad growled lowly.
"Dad," I chided with an eye roll. "Relax, it's not like I'm going anywhere after today."
He frowned as his eyes shifted around the foyer of the packhouse, "You don't know that."
I reached out and grabbed his arm, "As Alpha, I do know that."
"Should have never given him my blessings to marry you," He shook his head as his eyes looked me over once again.
And as when I'd walked down the staircase, not even five minutes ago, his eyes welled up with tears.
"You look beautiful Ev," He said as he wrapped me in his arms. "I'm so proud of you kiddo."
"Thanks Dad," I hiccup as my eyes brimmed with tears from his reaction.
"I don't mind the kid...but he's grown on me," Dad chuckled. "I can't believe you're marrying a Cain."
"You love him, admit it," I teased.
Sighing he nodded, "Cal's a part of the family. Has been since he accepted you."
I dab my eyes as I recounted Cal's first few weeks here in the pack.
"He is, now stop making me emotional before I ruin my make-up."
"Oh no!" Charlotte yelled as soon as she heard my words. "There will be no ruining of make-up today. Or hair for that matter Mr. Blackwood."
She carefully extracted my dad's hand from around my veil so that it didn't pull on my hair. A perfectly styled half-up do with baby's breath strategically stuck in.
I straightened dad's tie as he wiped away a few tears.
"You love him right?" He questioned.
I smiled at the concern on his face, "With all my heart."
"And he loves you?"
"More you can imagine," I said assuredly as my cheeks redden.
"Good," He said gruffly.
My mom approached us then with an eyeroll towards my dad, "Oh Thane, don't stress her out anymore."
"But Em-"
"Thane," She chided. "Go help Thor fix his tie."
With a huff he walked over towards my little brother.
"My sweet girl," My mom smiled lovingly as tears filled her eyes.
Oh, not again.
Parents on wedding days cry more than toddlers. And I'm not even moving away.
"Mom," I whined and she quickly batted away her tears as she handed me my bouquet. Eucalyptus and fern leaves, white roses, light blush peonies and my favorite element, juniper berries.
"I'm just so proud of you Everette," She said with excitement in her eyes. "You ended the ritual, you're a strong and wise Alpha, you befriended the hunters and after accomplishing all that, you're getting married to your mate. And at the ripe old age of twenty-four."
"Thanks mom," I said as love filled my veins and burned me up with excitement.
I had yet to feel anxious, nervous or cry. Callum and I took our time living. We rebuilt our pack together and we're stronger side by side. Even though it's only been three years since he proposed, we knew it was high time to tie the knot.
Cal was especially excited since he had the idea of eloping over the years.
And now that we're finally here, everything was falling into place perfectly.
I even got him to agree on an ice-cream wedding cake. He didn't protest the idea or even blinked. That was proof enough that he loves me and knows me.
June and Charlotte were appalled by the idea but they couldn't change my mind.
No one gets between my ice-cream and me...except Callum.
I looked around the room filled with the bridal party and my family and I felt an abundance of joy. Everyone was buzzing with excitement as they got their finishing touches.
My bridesmaids consisted of Taelyn, Daisy and June with Penelope and Charlotte as my maids of honour. Gracie, the human girl who Pen and June adopted was my flower girl. They were all dressed in dark green silk dresses with a scoop neck.
Cal's groomsmen, on the other hand, wore light grey suits with green ties that matched the girls' dresses. They even had boutonnieres made of a small white peony, fern leaves and juniper berries.
And those boys were Sam, Thor, Olly, Max and the best man was Cal's grandpa Mitch. Mitch wasn't doing too good these days, which was another reason we decided to get married now. His Alzheimer's was slowly eating away at him. There were the days he'll forget Callum.
I couldn't bare the emotions those days brought. Callum would sit next to him. A broken shell who was losing the one biological family member he had left. The person who raised him alone and brought him up to be the man he was. Standing there and not being able to help either of them always tore me into two.
There was nothing we could do to stop it.
But today he was alright and I sent a small thank you to the Moon Goddess who was otherwise selfish. At least we had today. Where he'll stand by his grandson and know his name and watch him get married.
As everyone lined up and took their places, my mom and Taelyn fixed my veil that dragged after me. I smoothed my hand down my dress, a simple but elegant light blush pink A-line dress with a deep V neckline and spaghetti straps. An intricate floral appliqué ran along the bust towards the skirt and added a beautiful sheen to the otherwise tulle material.
And on my feet were my most comfortable pair of converse that had 'wifey' written on the back. Cal's proposal gift that we've kept stored away for today. And he had his matching black pair that had the word 'husband'. I've been itching to wear it but knew they were meant for this day.
Our wedding day.
I was tempted to mind link him since I'd not seen him since yesterday but I stopped myself knowing that I'll be standing across from him in a few short minutes.
"You ready kiddo?" Dad asked as he held his arm out for mine.
"More ready than I've ever been," I grinned as I lopped my arm around his.
"It's show time!" Aunt Bailey said excitedly as she signaled for the music to be played.
Our pack were a talented bunch that even had a mini orchestra that was now playing a beautiful composition on their string instruments.
Aunt Bailey ushered couple after couple out the door and across the front lawn.
Finally, the melody changed and my dad and I stepped out of the packhouse and started towards the glass building sitting across from us.
It was a large glass greenhouse. My uncles Thomas and Teddy built it together a while back in memory of my grandma Anne. She was a botanist and an earth manipulator and during the war with the hunters we lost both her and my grandpa Carson.
Now we had Anne's Home. It was what my uncles named the green house and where I chose to have the wedding. It wasn't just a beautifully architected building, it also made me feel like Anne and Carson were both here with us, witnessing their granddaughter get married.
The sunlight cast its rays of brilliant light against the glass panes of the greenhouse and the building glowed to life. Like a lighthouse signaling me towards my destination.
Butterflies crept in as I caught Cal's juniper berry and fresh sage scent amongst the pack members that filled the glass castle.
Step by step, it felt like the seconds dragged my feet back. When all I wanted to do was run.
I took a deep breath in as stepped into the room.
Werewolves and hunters all sat side by side with big grins on their faces. Peace and love lit the atmosphere.
Plants adorned the entire room. Leaves cascading down the ceiling, potted flowers to the side, white rose petals littered across the aisle.
But the beauty of the room wasn't what held my attention.
It was the sparkling green eyes of mate as his face lit up into a smile.
'Wow!' He breathed into my mind.
My own face broke into a grin as Cal's eyes turned glassy.
He rubbed at them to clear his vision, but as he pinched the corners of his eyes, Mitch rest his hand on Cal's shoulder in support.
I felt tears well up into my eyes.
Don't cry, I chided myself.
My dad's hand patted my arm in comfort and I managed to hold my tears at bay.
And finally, we reached him. Dad gave me one last hug before I took Callum's warm hand.
Four years and I was still comforted by his heat.
Penelope took my bouquet and I gladly held onto both of Cal's hands.
'You look absolutely beautiful Princess,' He mind linked.
'You look rather spiffy yourself,' I winked at him. My eyes traveled over his body as I admired the way his tuxedo was molded to him.
He even sported a waistcoat but ditched the bowtie for a normal tie. And of course his matching converse to mine.
A throat cleared as pulled our eyes away from each goggling each other.
I turned to our officiant, Jane, who was sporting a big smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're gathered here today..." She began.
My focus was intently on Callum who seemed to be just as focused on me. Neither one of us paying attention to what she was saying.
As she went on, I had the sudden urge to get this over with
'Should we-?'
'I thought you'd never ask,' Cal's lips twitched up.
"Jane," I stopped her mid sentence.
"Yes, yes. I know, skip it," She laughed. "I was waiting for you to ask."
Everyone laughed as she finished her sentence and then asked us to say our vows.
"Everette," She urged and I cleared my throat as I squeezed Cal's hand.
"Cal...what can I say? You stumbled into my life, guns blazing, and lit a fire in my heart. I don't know if there's words big enough that will hold the capacity of just how much I love you. Because my love for you is so big that when the world ends and time comes to a stop, my love wouldn't die. It would continue to burn like the brightest star in the sky. I want no one by my side but you Callum Cain. I love you more than ice-cream, my idiot."
He chuckled as he sniffle and wiped a tear away.
"You do love your ice-cream," He chuckled.
"But I love you more," I winked.
A few 'awws' resound among the crowd and a whistle from Max.
"Callum, it's your turn," Jane said.
He took in a deep breath and I rubbed slow circles on the back of his hands with my thumbs.
"I'm at a lost for words. Words that can describe the impact that you've had on my life. Like the beautiful chaos that you are, you knocked me off my feet and pulled me into your life. You didn't just give me your heart, you gave me a place in your life. A family. Siblings. Parents. You're the best part of me Ev and there's no way I wouldn't have loved you in this life or the next. Nothing would have prevented me from falling in love with you. Not the Moon Goddess, not an ancient war. Nothing. I may be able to light fires but you lit the spark, Princess. Forever isn't even half the time I want to spend with you, Everette Blackwood."
Gosh, who was cutting onions?
"You're a dork," I wiped my tears away and thanked Charlotte for her waterproof mascara.
"Yeah, but I'm your dork."
Jane looked choked up as we turned to her. The joy in her eyes couldn't be missed as she signaled for the rings without speaking.
Mitch handed Callum a ring that I knew was Cal's grandma's ring.
Callum repeated after Jane as he slide the ring onto my left hand, "âYou are the love of my life, and you are my very best friend.â
I stared down at the delicate rose gold ring with a white opal stone sitting the middle. The ring branched off into two leaf shapes around the opal and that had tiny diamonds encrusted in.
Penelope handed over the ring I had designed for Callum. It was a silver band with a red opal inlay that looked like fire.
Perfect for my fire manipulating mate.
âYou are the love of my life, and you are my very best friend," I repeated the words for the ring exchange as I slid on Cal's ring onto his finger.
"Everette, do you take this man to be your husband?"
"I do."
"Callum, do you take my great grand-niece to be your wife?"
"I do," He winked at me.
"Then I now pronounce you man and wife. And I expect babies soon so you may kiss," She declared.
I wasted no time in pulling Callum towards me and pressing my lips to him.
He laughed against my lips but wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back.
All too soon, we pulled away as Thor groaned, "Eww."
"Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Cain," Jane announced as the room exploded into applause.
Without notice, Cal swooped me off my feet and bolted for the door as the guests threw rice above our heads.
"Time to party!" I hollered as I clung to Callum.
When we were outside, Charlotte followed behind and immediately removed my delicate veil before I destroyed it.
Her words, not mine.
"Mrs. Cain," Cal grinned down at me as he tested my new last name.
"Mr. Cain," I pecked his lips. "It's nice to finally tie you down."
He chuckled and shook his head. His face was alight with joy, excitement and love. His eyes glowed bright green and if he didn't have control over his powers, something would have been on fire by now.
Everyone moved around us as the set up the inside of the greenhouse for dinner completed with long tables and candle lights.
Lanterns were being hung on the surrounding trees and around the dance floor that was outside.
Except the ones around the dance floor they kept unlit.
Everyone was here.
Everyone except the person I missed everyday.
Finnick.
He was my best friend and he was supposed to be here. He was meant to give a speech and help me choose my dress. Hassle Cal about taking care of me and threaten to kick his butt.
But he wasn't.
Instead he gave his life to find is silver berry. He gave up everything so we'd have a fighting chance.
"I sort of miss Finneas today," Callum mused as we joined everyone for dinner.
I gulped around the lump in my throat as Cal rubbed my back after my expression fell, "Yeah, me too."
Picking up my glass, I raised it in the air, "To our fallen pack members."
Everyone lifted their glasses in toast as the room fell into a moment of silence before the chatter picked back up.
Sometime during dinner, Charlotte and Penelope both got to their feet and started their speech. It was funny, heartfelt and endearing. I loved my girls.
The Mitch gave his speech and there were water works as he recounted raising Callum. But I knew he was blanking on some memories or mixing them up with others every time Callum winced or frowned.
But he got through it and welcomed me to his family as my parents and siblings welcomed Callum.
Next up was Max.
He went through the motion of making us laugh and throwing in a few innuendos every now and again but the end us all in pieces.
"Lava boy," he fake sniffle, "I can't believe you broke my heart and married her. But..."
As he trailed off, music started playing from somewhere and he begun singing, "Makin' my way downtown, walkin' fast, faces pass and I'm homebound. Starin' blankly ahead, just making my way, makin' a way through the crowd."
"Oh God," Cal groaned as be sunk lower in his seat.
I laughed as I egged Max on and waved my hands. This was the entertainment I expected on my wedding day.
"And I need you. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. And I miss you. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. And now I wonder. If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles. If I could just see you tonight-"
"Make him stop!" Cal yelled over Max's god awful voice as he covered his ears. "Charlotte control your mate!"
I was in stitches as Char grabbed the mic from Max and dashed outside.
"That was the best thing ever!" I clapped at Cal's expense as he looked like he was about to light Max on fire. "Encore," I said.
Max backed away as Cal got up and lifted his arms before he took off after his mate.
When my dear husband sat back down he looked amused and annoyed, "Never let that man sing again... or near me. I'm afraid we're going to have to tell Charlotte that her mate is in love with me."
Everyone laughed good-naturedly at Max's antics.
"Don't worry babe, you're married now, I won't let him steal you," I said and Cal rolled his eyes at me.
"Just for encouraging him, I'm not giving you your present anymore," He said casually.
My went as wide as saucers as I turned a full ninety degrees to face him, "Present?"
He laughed at my voice, "You sound like Gollum."
"Give me my precious," I said quoting the character from Lord of the Rings.
"Nope."
"Cal," I pleaded with a frown.
"Mrs. Cain."
"Mr. Cain."
"No presents for you."
"But-"
"Should have thought about before you encouraged Max."
"But I love you," I pouted.
He smiled and placed a kiss on my lips, "And I love you."
He steered the conversation away from presents as the evening turned to night.
We cut our amazingly delicious ice-cream wedding cake and it was like medicine foe my soul. I'd never get tired of ice-cream.
Never.
Then I tossed my bouquet.
And you won't believe whose hands it landed it.
Jane's.
Otis was grinning like a Cheshire cat to the side. They might be old but they were as in love as if they were teenagers.
As the song for our first dance begun, Cal led me towards the dance floor.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lopped his arms around my waist as we begun slow dancing. Uncordinated and not practised.
He spun me around and then dipped me just as the candles around the dancefloor blazed to life.
"Impressive," I noted as I righted me and I saw the fire behind his emerald eyes.
"I know," He smirked.
Cal's powers got immensly stronger over the years. More practise over time meant he had more control. He didn't need to flick his wrist to start a fire anymore. It simply started from his mind willing it.
"I know I shouldn't be thinking about them..." Cal started, "but I can't help but wonder how it would be if my parents were here with us today."
"Oh, Cal," I frowned at his forlorn expression. "You shouldn't have to feel that about thinking about them. They're your parents and it doesn't matter to me if you wish they were here. You know that right?"
He nodded once but a frown still marred his expression, "I know. But how can you excuse what they did?"
"Excusing and forgiving are two distinctively different things," I answered.
"You forgive them?" He asked in surprise.
"Why would hold onto anger that belongs in the past? Their actions are inexcusable but what happened has already happened. Neither you nor I can change that and hence, I can't be arsed to hold onto anger. Especially not when two of them meeting brought you to me."
I shrugged like it was no big deal but I knew in Cal's eyes it was. After he'd learned more about his parents' past, he had a hard time separating fiction from reality.
There were the tales he grew up hearing about his dad and little information about his mom. Here, he learned much more. And he's struggled with that knowledge since.
All I'll ever be able to understand was that I'll never truly understand. Growing up without them. That can't have been easy.
"I just...sometimes I get so angry when I think about all the lives they're responsible for and sometimes I wonder... I wonder, if they had me sooner, if they would have changed. Would they have still went chaising their tails for revenge or would they have been good parents? Would they have loved me? Would my dad have accepted me knowing that I had werewolf blood flowing through my veins?"
"Cal," My voice broke as I heard the pain in his tone. "How could anyone not love you? To not love you would be a crime. And your dad? Well I think if you were born any earlier, he would have wrapped up his guns and store them away because he'd love you and raise you right."
"That's wishful thinking," He raised and unconvinced eyebrow. "I hate them but I love them."
"They're your parents, my love. You have the right more than anyone else to feel however you want about them," I made clear.
"So if I said I wanted them here today...you'd not be mad?"
"Never," I enunciated as I cupped his cheeks, went on my tip toes and kissed his forhead.
When I pulled back, I saw the despair in his eyes as a tear leaked down, "I wish Grandpa was better. I wish my parents were here to see how amazing you are."
He leaned down and tucked his head in the crook of my neck as I did the same to him.
I felt his body shake slightly and I just held onto him. One hand brushing through the dark curls on his head and the other rubbing his back as he clung to me tightly.
We continued to sway just like that for a few more songs.
No one distirbed us and no one said a word.
When Cal promised he was okay and I saw the happiness on his features again, I breathe easy.
"Time for your surprise," He whispered in my ear.
I raised an eyebros suspiciously but excitment bubbled within me.
What could he have possibly have gotten me?
He pulled me back inside the greenhouse that was completely empty by now. Walking us over to a snake plant, he reached behind the tall leaves and pulled out an envelope.
"Happy wedding day," He grinned as he handed me the envelope.
I gently opened the flap and pulled out the two pieces of paper.
"Is this...?" My voice went up a few octaves as I stared wide eyed at the writing. "Cal! No you didn't!"
"Oh, yes I did!"
"Ticket," I said in disbelief. "Plane tickets to Thailand!"
He nodded with a big smile.
"But how? What about the pack-"
"Relax," He said grabbing my shoulders. "I talked with Penelope and Charlotte and they'll hold down the fort while we're gone. Your dad also said that it was about time you go out and see the world."
"Holy shit," I muttered.
"Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it!" I jumped into his arms as excitement ate at me. "When do we leave?"
"Tonight," He smirked. "Don't worry your bags are already packed...though it's our honeymoon so I'm not sure you'll be needing much clothes."
"Very sure of yourself Casanova."
"I'm manifesting," He shrugged. "Two weeks of just us."
"I like the sound of that," I said before I kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too, Princess."
His arm tightened around me and I knew that no matter where I was, as long as I was in his arms, I was home.
Mr. and Mrs. Cain.
We protected each other.
Forever.
A/N
Hope you all enjoyed this beauty! Leave a comment of what you'd like to read in another bonus chapter -->
And if you've not read my new story yet: Alpha Aiden's Protection Program is out now!
Song: Sleeping At Last - Venus