Epilogue #2
Cameron blinked a few times and found he barely even noticed the light makeup on them.
“Good,” Cameron said, and he managed to muster a real grin for Jo.
Or at least, he thought he did. Jo pursed their lips and placed both of their hands on Cameron’s shoulders.
“It’s going to be great,” Jo said, and Cameron nodded absently.
“No, look at me,” Jo said, and they waited until Cameron stopped fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket.
He looked into brown eyes that were similar to but not quite the same as Emory’s.
Jo’s eyes were almost honey brown, and they didn’t suck Cameron in.
Instead, they were a steadying presence that Cameron could lean on, like resting against the sturdy trunk of a tree.
“Good,” Jo said. “Now, listen to me. You and Emory are already mated. You’re engaged, and literally all you have to do is kiss him, and you’ll be married.
Even if some act of the gods or Mother Nature herself happens, and a sinkhole opens up, and you have to scramble across the fissure to get to each other, it literally just takes one kiss, and then you can go home together as spouses. ”
Cameron snorted, but Jo’s face remained serious. “There is nothing left to worry about. The food has arrived, the flowers are arranged, the guests are being seated, and you look dazzling. You just have to walk down that aisle and let Emory take you in his big, alpha arms, and you’re good.”
His octopus stopped bouncing, his tentacles fanning out in a happy circle at the idea of being back in Emory’s arms. They hadn’t done the ‘don’t see each other the morning of’ tradition, but they had gone their separate ways almost four hours ago to get ready, and Cameron’s octopus was counting the minutes.
Cameron was counting them too, but out of anxiety with how few there were left.
“I just…want everything to be perfect,” Cameron said, and Jo slid their hands down to grasp Cameron’s biceps. “I never thought I was going to have this. Any of this. Not a mate, or a husband, or friends, or such a big family.”
Jo made a yikes face, but Cameron shook his head with a soft laugh. “I’m serious! This is more than I ever could have dreamed of. You, Ronan, Shay, Christopher, Emory, Ariel, Corin—”
Cameron gasped, and Jo had the good graces to at least lift one pierced eyebrow.
“Did the seating cards get put on the chairs? I really want Ariel and Corin to get to sit with Ba and Pa–”
“Yes, Cameron,” Jo said, their eyes somehow remaining kind even as they rolled up to the ceiling. “They are all seated in the front row, right next to Emory’s mother.”
“Okay…they’ve just done so much for us this year. I want to make sure they know how important they are to us. Just like you!”
Cameron would have thrown his arms around Jo, but Jo was still holding him in place.
“Oh, you sweet boy,” Jo said softly. “You have done more for us than you could ever know. Just keep loving him the way you do and being there for him, even when it’s four a.m., and he won’t shut his laptop, or when he forgets his parents' wedding anniversary, and you have to drag him across town on the tram so he’s not late for dinner.
You are a shining light in our family, and we’re so happy to have you. ”
Cameron’s eyes began to tear up, and he frantically looked around for a tissue.
“The makeup is waterproof, but it’s probably best to be safe,” Jo said, grabbing a tissue and handing it to Cameron before folding up a stack of them and tucking it into Cameron’s breast pocket.
“Are you just about done?” Shay called, poking her head back into the room. She was wearing a navy-blue dress that matched Ronan, Jo, and Christopher’s suits.
“We should be ready to go. Is it time?” Jo asked, standing up and offering Cameron a hand up.
He took it and patted down his pockets to make sure he had his vows.
He’d written and rewritten them so many times, he wasn’t sure if they were even in English anymore.
His octopus may as well just come out and do a little dance, and that would probably convey his love better than anything he could write.
Their inner beasts had both scoffed at the need for a wedding. They were mated—what was a silly human ceremony going to prove that their mate marks hadn’t?
To be safe, Cameron had requested they shift the night before, and they’d curled up on the floor of their apartment together. Now, his octopus was on his best behavior.
Later tonight, they’d be heading to a fancy hotel before catching a plane to Europe.
They were going to start in Paris, then go to Spain, Portugal, and stop in Iceland on the way home.
Jo and Christopher were actually meeting them in Iceland, as it seemed Jo had big plans for them to open an international office in the next year or two.
Emory had been nervous asking Cameron if it was okay to tack on a few additional days for work, but Cameron had eagerly agreed on one condition: all of them had to go to the Blue Lagoon with him.
Even though Emory had gotten better at work/life balance, he knew Jo and Christopher still worked too hard.
He wanted them all to take one full day off since Emory was getting two whole weeks off.
Jo placed a steady hand on Cameron’s back, a trait Cameron had come to learn was definitely a lion thing, or at the very least a Rexford thing. Emory’s mother did it to him at the rehearsal dinner a few days before, and Jo did it whenever Emory wasn’t there to ground him.
Bolstered by Jo’s support, Cameron filed out of the changing room, and they met up with Ronan and Christopher in the hallway.
The plan was for Emory to already be up at the altar, and Shay and Jo, then Ronan and Christopher, would walk down the aisle, leaving Cameron to walk in by himself.
Seahorse culture didn’t really mesh well with the whole ‘giving their child away at the altar’ thing, and besides, there was something empowering about taking these final steps by himself.
Cameron pressed his hand against the paper in his pocket as he watched his two best friends and two closest relatives walk down the aisle. He kept it pressed there right up until he stepped out onto the gold carpeted aisle.
They’d both agreed wholeheartedly to get married in Emory’s hometown aquarium.
The ceremony was taking place in front of the large floor-to-ceiling tank, which housed octopuses, seahorses, and hundreds of other critters going through rehabilitation before they’d be released back into the ocean.
Cameron had made sure that the alligator and otter exhibits would be open today as well.
Before they’d signed the venue contract, Cameron had connected Shay with the aquarium's curator to ensure that all the animals were being treated with the utmost care.
Somehow, Shay had talked her way into a consulting position, and she now visited every other month to advise on the aquarium's coral reef conservation research.
There was a fair amount of coral at the bottom of the aquarium behind Emory, but Cameron could barely see it. He could barely see anything other than his fated mate standing there in a stunning sapphire suit. Everyone in the room stood up as Cameron entered, but he had eyes only for Emory.
Cameron was vaguely aware of the string quartet they’d hired beginning to play the opening chords of Pachelbel’s Canon.
He’d practiced walking down the sidewalk with the song playing in his headphones hundreds of times, but all that went out the window as he and his octopus hurried down the aisle to reunite with Emory.
Laughter erupted around the room as the quartet increased their tempo to an almost frantic pace to keep up with Cameron. He tried to slow down, but it was too late, and he ended up tripping over himself and stumbling into Emory’s arms.
“Hi,” he whispered, and Emory’s grin lit up his entire face.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Emory said, and Cameron threw his arms around his neck.
“You can’t kiss yet! We got all dressed up for this!” Shay shouted, grabbing Cameron by the shoulders and pulling him over to his side of the aisle.
“Speak for yourself—I dress like this all the time,” Jo said from Emory’s other side, flipping their blonde hair over their shoulder.
“I sure as hell don’t, so you better get this show on the road before I burn this tie,” Ronan said, and the room erupted into laughter again.
Emory was still holding Cameron’s hand, and he squeezed it three times.
Cameron tried to stop him, but his octopus leaped forward, finding and latching onto Emory’s lion like a cephalopod beard. His lion tried to shake him off, but Cameron’s octopus just climbed onto his back and nestled into his mane.
Emory choked on a laugh, and Cameron squeezed his hand three times in return.
He knew he should probably pay attention. This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, but all he could concentrate on was the way the aquarium lights played off the amber in Emory’s eyes.
The ceremony was being recorded, and thank the gods for that. Emory only got two words into his vows before Cameron burst into tears and missed at least half of what was said.
When it was his turn, Cameron couldn’t even get through the first line before he was gasping through sobs.
He gave up, handing the paper to Emory, who accepted it even though his eyes were also a little wet.
Because he was the best mate ever, Emory held his hand as he read them out loud for all their friends and family to hear.
“Emory,” he said, his lips curving up in a soft smile. “I love you more than I could ever put into words, and I’m pretty sure I have since the moment I met you. You are the best thing to ever happen to me in an airport, and that’s saying a lot because…”
Emory trailed off, and he looked up into Cameron’s eyes. Cameron nodded, and Emory looked back down at the paper.
“That’s saying a lot because an airport is where I first met my ba and pa.”
The room had gone still, and even without looking, Cameron could pick out the sniffles and labored breathing of Shay, Ba, and Pa.
“I went through a lot to finally make it to my forever home, just like I went through a lot to make it to you,” Emory read, his voice wavering as the paper shook in his hands.
“I don’t really like the sentiment that I had to go through all of that just to make it to you.
I don’t think anyone should have to suffer to find happiness, but I would…
do it all again in a heartbeat…if it meant I got to fall asleep next to you every n-night,” Emory said, his voice breaking as he lifted the hand holding the paper up to his face and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand.
There was more on the paper, but Cameron didn’t need to read it to know what it said.
“Emory,” he said, and Emory dropped his hand, clutching at Cameron’s fingers, effectively crushing the piece of paper between them.
“You are more than I ever could have hoped for. You’ve brought so much life and laughter, family, friends, and purpose to my life.
For a long time, I felt aimless, just getting by on work and serial killer dramas–”
Shay made a gurgling noise from behind him that he was pretty sure was some kind of terrifying half-laugh, half-sob. Emory huffed out a soft breath and shook his head.
“But then I found you,” Cameron said. “You make every day worth looking forward to and every dream I never knew I had come true.”
Emory pulled him forward, and Cameron went willingly, pressing his forehead into Emory’s chest so he didn’t get any makeup on him.
“I love you,” Cameron whispered, and Emory kissed the top of his head.
“I love you, too.”
The officiant jumped back in, and Emory kept his arms wrapped around Cameron.
When prompted, Shay and Jo stepped to their sides and handed their respective ring boxes to them.
They had to let go of each other to exchange rings, but before the officiant could say, “You may now kiss,” Cameron had thrown his arms around Emory’s neck and sealed their lips together.
Someone hooted, and a bunch of people hollered, and Cameron was sure they’d watch the video back together someday and laugh at what a scene all their friends and family made.
Right now, though, the only thing that mattered was the tender way Emory’s hand cradled the back of his head and how easily their energies merged.
One lion and one octopus, brought together by fate, and somehow able to conquer doubt with a whole lot of love.
~~The End~~
Thank you for reading the first full-length novel in my Fate Beyond the Binary Series.