Beak Performance (Fangs on Ice #3)

40. Bonus Epilogue

Bonus Epilogue

Max - Eight Months Later

L azy snowflakes drifted from steel grey skies as we got out of Arne’s car the Saturday before Christmas.

He took my hand as we strolled up the long, cobbled market square. People in fancy dress, all beaming and chattering happily, climbed out of the cars lining the street. My grandmother used to say there were two things that brought people together: weddings and funerals.

Glad this is a joyous occasion.

A kind-looking woman in a burgundy red dress and a tall, dark-haired man entered the registrar’s office ahead of us.

“Nathaniel was so nervous last night, the poor thing,” the woman cooed, weaving her arm around her husband’s elbow.

“I remember the night before our wedding. I didn’t sleep at all.” He smiled, sporting the same dimple Nate had in his cheek, as he kissed her temple, the highest point he could easily reach.

“Mr and Mrs Decker?” Arne addressed them and let go of my hand to shake theirs. “Arne Bendixen, I’m Nate’s captain. And this is Max Gruber.”

“The Raven,” his mother beamed, taking my hand in both of hers and shaking it. “Nathaniel’s told us so much about you.”

The bridge of my nose heated. What exactly had he told them?

“Only good things.” She smiled kindly and patted my hand. A real mum. “Joseph and I were very sorry for what happened to you two.”

“Thank you.”

Arne slipped his arm around my waist. “We appreciate it. It’s great not having to hide our feelings anymore, so in a way I’m thankful for what they did.”

“Aw, you two are so sweet. Stop it or you’ll make me cry before the ceremony starts.”

An elegant car pulled up to the town hall before I could say anything to that. The driver got out, rounded the car, and opened the door to the back seat.

A beaming Nate climbed out, clad in a mossy green tweed suit that would have been a bit too much on anyone but this gorgeous man.

Arne pulled me closer to his chest, a wistful kind of love flooding through our mate bond.

Oh, baby. Say the word, and it’ll be us one day.

The kiss he pressed to my ear was a resounding yes, and it made my stomach flutter with happiness.

Vee followed his soon-to-be husband, tiny snowflakes sitting on his gleaming green plumage for a moment before they melted. He wore a matching suit with a different waistcoat. He glowed with happiness.

Nate’s mother sighed and snuggled into her husband’s side. “Our boy.” His dad sniffed, pulling out a pocket handkerchief and dabbing at his face.

Holding each other’s hands, Nate and Vee approached us, beaming and greeting their guests as they passed. They led the way to the elegant room on the top floor where the ceremony would be held.

Their excitement was infectious. It radiated off them in waves, making me fidget with giddy energy. We chose seats next to Ollie and Guns. Bo served as Nate’s best man. He stood next to the happy couple, repeatedly checking the inner pocket of his jacket.

“He keeps checking if he still has the rings,” Ollie whispered. “That’s the fiftieth time he’s done that.” He gave his partner a look fit for a newborn puppy. “And they’re still there,” he said in his slight Scottish accent. On cue, Bo nodded to himself, then glanced around at Ollie, pursing his lips a little, fangs digging into his skin. He looked dashing in his grey suit and white buttoned shirt, ash blond hair in a bun.

Vee’s best man was another Elvertritsch, nearly as tall as Vitus: Frederik. We’d met him at parties at Nate and Vee’s place. A slight smile looked good on him, as did a grey suit identical to the one Bo wore. It made his burnt orange and blue feathers pop.

Same size, too.

They were both enormous.

Everybody took their seats when the mayor entered. He was a blustery man in a slightly too tight suit and held the ceremony in a broad German accent. I saw Nate flinch every time the mayor confused the v and w, a common mistake for native German speakers.

Thankfully, it only took about ten minutes for him to get to the point.

“Do you, Nathaniel Joseph Decker, take Vitus Kolb as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do!” Nate blurted out, then blushed a little when most of us chuckled. Vee squeezed his hands, making his almost husband focus on him rather than the guests.

His calm in the storm. I knew that feeling so well.

Nate took the ring from the velvet box Bo offered and slipped it on Vee’s finger, biting his lip when he saw the white gold band against the dark green feathers.

“And do you, Vitus Kolb, take Nathaniel Joseph Decker as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” He smiled at Nate, then accepted the second ring from Bo.

“I hereby pronounce you husband and husband. You may now…”

Vee had already palmed Nate’s cheeks and pulled him into a kiss, tears sliding out from under his closed eyelids.

‘I love you,’ he mouthed when they backed out of the kiss and turned to face us, hand in hand and glowing with happiness.

Applause broke out, and an arm slid around my shoulders. Arne buried his face in my neck, crying.

“Aw, baby. Shh, it’s all right.” I hugged him back, kissing his brow. “That was fucking beautiful.”

Ollie beamed at the newlyweds and sidled out of our row of chairs. Bo met him with open arms, cuddling his fiancé to his enormous chest and whispering something in his ear. Perhaps that it would be them next. Bo had hinted at a date in the late summer of next year.

We got out of the town hall and into our cars. An entire fire brigade expected Nate and Vee at the restaurant where the celebrations were held.

Like every single person who grew up in the country, Vee, too, was deeply rooted in his community. I knew he rarely ever joined them in their operations because he was so busy with his job and lived in the middle of the forest, but the roots ran deep.

Arne interlaced his fingers with mine, handed me a glass of champagne and together we listened to the speech and watched the silly little games Nate and Vee had to do before the party could start.

It was difficult not to believe in the magic of the mate bond and in true love when the two lovebirds laughed their asses off. They stole kisses between having to cut a heart out of a bedsheet with the world’s tiniest scissors, and then Vee carried Nate through the opening they had cut.

“I love you,” Arne whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

“I love you, too.”

My viking, the one who brought me out of the darkness, saw my shadows, and loved me all the more for them. My forever.

THE END