Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
PARKER
Orianna was three months old and had impeccable timing when it came to ruining perfectly good moments.
"No, no, sweetie, not the bow." I extracted the ribbon from her tiny fist for the third time. She'd been trying to eat it for the past ten minutes, fascinated by the way it caught the light. "That's for decoration, not snacking."
She gurgled at me and her green eyes which matched my mate's stared at me. She was more alert than I would have expected from a three-month old.
"Having trouble?" Dawson appeared in the doorway of the nursery. He was in his suit and it fitted it so well, especially over his broad shoulders. The dark gray emphasized his green eyes.
"She's determined to eat every decoration in the house.
" I finally got Orianna settled in her bassinet, where she immediately reached for the mobile hanging above her.
It was the little wolves dangling on strings which was one of the many gifts from our viral pregnancy announcement. "Are people starting to arrive?"
"Tony just got here. And Carys texted that she's five minutes out." He moved closer, wrapping his arms around me. "You nervous?"
"Terrified," I admitted. "What if I forget my vows? What if Orianna cries through the whole thing?"
"What if it doesn't matter because it'll be special either way?" He kissed me. "We're getting married, Parker. After everything we've been through, I think we can handle a small ceremony in our living room."
He was right. We'd survived hurricanes and near-death experiences and on-air pregnancy announcements.
A small wedding with our closest friends should be easy.
I smoothed down my charcoal suit I'd had tailored for the occasion.
The crisp white shirt and blue tie that Dawson picked out completed my outfit.
By the time Carys arrived, wearing a floaty dress that somehow made her appear both elegant and mischievous, I'd managed to get myself together. The living room had been transformed with white flowers and soft lighting, and we'd arranged the chairs in a small semicircle.
Isla showed up with Zara and both were teary-eyed before we'd even started. The shifter pack consisting of Tony, Samson, Casey, and Jaden strolled in. It was the first time I'd seen them all dressed up and they brimmed with energy. They probably needed to shift and run.
"You clean up nice," Samson said, pulling me into a hug. "How's the cub?"
"Trying to eat everything that isn't nailed down."
"That sounds about right." He glanced toward the crib where Orianna was currently being watched by Carys. "I'm sure you're doing great with her."
"We're figuring it out." We were getting through the sleepless nights and the constant feedings. But when she giggled and kicked her legs and fell asleep against me, she stole my heart. Being her father was the most important and fulfilling role I'd ever have.
The ceremony was simple. Isla was a registered celebrant and she read a short blessing and we said our vows.
"I'm not good with words," Dawson started, which made several people laugh because he spent his life explaining complex weather systems. "At least, not the personal kind. But I'm going to try."
He took my hands, and I noted the slight tremor. My Dawson was nervous.
"When you walked into the studio last year, I thought you were going to make my life more difficult. And I was right." His voice cracked. "You cut off my forecasts, translated my data into sound bites, and you smiled at the camera like sunshine had taken human form."
Tears pricked at my eyes.
"But you also saw past my grumpiness. You brought me pad thai when I forgot to eat and asked intelligent questions about storm systems. You made me laugh even when I didn't want to.
" His voice softened. "You became the high-pressure system that changed everything, pushing away the storms, bringing in clear skies, and making me believe in forecasts I never thought possible. "
Oh gods, he was using weather metaphors. My hands shook and I cleared my throat.
"I don't know what the future holds. I can't predict every storm or guarantee sunny days. But I know that whatever comes, I want to face it with you. You're my partner and my home. The one constant in all my models." He squeezed my hands. "I love you, Parker. Today and always."
I was crying now. "Okay, well, now I have to follow that."
Everyone laughed, giving me a moment to collect myself.
"I'm supposed to be the sunshine one, remember? The cheerful host who makes everything seem easy." I took a shaky breath. "But when I came here, I was running. From a broken relationship. I'd been hurt and humiliated and my life had fallen apart. I wasn't sunshine. I was just good at pretending."
Dawson's grip tightened.
"Then I met this grumpy meteorologist who scowled at my translations and grunted instead of using actual words.
And this guy cared so deeply about keeping people safe that he nearly bit my head off for being reckless.
" I smiled through the tears. "But you saw me.
Not the TV personality or the professional smile. Just me. And you loved me anyway."
"Always," Dawson murmured.
"You gave me a home when mine was underwater and comforted me when I was scared. You kissed me in a smoky kitchen after I nearly burned your house down." I laughed along with everyone else. "You made me believe I could be happy again and that I deserved to be."
I looked into those green eyes that had watched me with such intensity from the very beginning.
"I love you, Dawson." I took a breath. "No matter what storms come, and knowing us, there will be storms, I want to weather them with you."
Isla declared us married, and Dawson kissed me while everyone cheered. Orianna chose that moment to cry, which seemed fitting. Our daughter had a flair for timing.
What followed was food, more laughter and Tony giving a heartfelt speech about family. Carys got tipsy and told embarrassing stories about my dating history while Isla cried through half of it, claiming it was allergies.
By the time everyone left, the sun was setting and Orianna was fed and drowsy.
"I'll put her to bed." I cradled our daughter against my chest. She yawned as her little fist curled around my finger.
Dawson followed us to the nursery as I settled her into the crib. I took in her dark hair and green eyes and marveled at our little cub who Samson said had a wolf inside her.
We stood there for a moment, just watching her sleep before Dawson took my hand and led me back to our bedroom.
"We're not done yet." There was something different in his voice and I sensed his wolf was closer to the surface.
"The marking." My heart started pounding.
"Only if you're ready. We don't have to."
"I'm ready." We'd talked about this. The human ceremony was for our friends, and the shifter marking for us. We needed to make the bond permanent and unbreakable.
Dawson's eyes flashed. I caught a glimpse of his wolf in his eyes. He unbuttoned his shirt slowly, revealing the broad expanse of his chest. "Where?" he asked.
"Here." I touched his left shoulder, just above his heart. "So I can see it every day."
I leaned in slowly, giving him time to change his mind. But Dawson's eyes had darkened, his breathing gone shallow, and when my teeth pressed against his skin, he made a low sound that went straight to my heart.
I leaned in and bit down. Not hard enough to cause real damage, but enough to leave a mark. Dawson made a low sound, somewhere between a growl and a groan as his hands gripped my hips.
When I pulled back, there it was. My mark on his skin and the proof that he was mine.
"Parker." My name on his lips sounded so reverent. "My turn."
His eyes flashed, wolf rising to the forefront of his gaze, and his canines lengthened. I unbuttoned my shirt with shaking hands, baring my left shoulder.
"Make it a good one." I was trying for levity, but my voice came out breathless.
"I wouldn't do it any other way." His hand came up to cup the back of my neck, tilting my head to expose more of my throat, and the possessiveness of the gesture made heat pool low in my belly. "Mine."
"Yours," I agreed.
The bite was quick and sharp as pain and pleasure mingled when his teeth broke my skin. The change was more than physical and our new connection felt ancient and unbreakable.
I gasped and my fingers dug into his shoulders. When he pulled back, he licked my wound gently and soothed the pain. "Mine."
"Your mate," I agreed. "And you're mine."
"Always have been."
We stood there in our bedroom, marked and mated and married, and I thought about how far we'd come.
From that first day in the studio—me with my cheerful translations and him with his scowls and technical jargon.
Through hurricanes and wolves and on-air disasters, pregnancy and birth and sleepless nights with a newborn.
"What are you thinking?" Dawson asked.
"That life is strange." I traced the mark on his shoulder, watching him shiver. "A year ago, I was running from a broken relationship. Now I'm married to a shifter and raising a baby."
"Do you have any regrets?"
"Nope" I kissed him. "You and our daughter are the best thing that ever happened to me."
Down the hall, Orianna made a small sound in her sleep. Maybe she was dreaming of wolves and moonlight and a future she'd grow into.
I pulled Dawson down onto the bed, mindful of our fresh marks, and curled into his side. The place I'd come to think of as home.
"I love you."
"I love you too." He pressed a kiss to my hair. "Both of you."
Outside, the first stars were appearing in the sky. Tomorrow, we'd go back to work. Back to broadcasts and weather forecasts and viewers who didn't know that the grumpy meteorologist and his sunshine host were actually mates who'd started a family.
But tonight, we were just us. Marked and mated and impossibly happy.
And that was the best forecast I could have asked for.