Chapter 30
CINDY
Later In The Evening
I ’m standing in my bedroom, in my underwear, staring at Harper like she’s lost her mind.
“You just happened to have a wedding dress at your apartment?” I ask.
Harper is grinning, holding up the most gorgeous white dress I’ve ever seen. “Okay, so technically, it was for a themed party I never went to. But look at it! It’s perfect!”
She’s not wrong. The dress is stunning. Off-the-shoulder with delicate lace sleeves.
The bodice is fitted, with intricate beading that catches the light.
The skirt flows down in soft layers of tulle and silk, not too poofy, not too plain.
Just right. And there’s a slit up one side that’s definitely more sexy than traditional.
“Come on, try it on,” Harper demands, already moving toward me with it.
I slip into the dress, and Harper zips me up. When I turn to look in the mirror, I barely recognize myself.
“Holy shit,” I breathe.
“Right?” Harper is beaming as she hands me a bobby pin she probably stole from someone’s gym bag. “I can’t believe you’re getting married, Cindy. Like actually getting married. Today. Right now.”
“Me either.” I stare at my reflection, touching the fabric of the dress like it might vanish under my fingers. “This feels like the weirdest day in the world.”
“And the best ever too,” Harper adds quickly.
I laugh, but it comes out with this high-pitched edge that sounds suspiciously like panic. “Yeah. That too. Weirdest and best. Like a fever dream but with appetizers.”
She keeps working on my hair, pulling it into something vaguely elegant, and maybe a little sexy too. Her purple-tipped black hair falls in her face, and she blows it away in annoyed little huffs that keep making me giggle.
“They didn’t even hesitate,” I say, voice soft. “I said, ‘Let’s get married today,’ and all three of them just said yes. Immediately. Like I asked if they wanted takeout, not a legally binding scent-bonding ceremony.”
“That’s because they’re obsessed with you.” Harper’s nose wrinkles as she concentrates on pinning another section. “It’s honestly rude. I used to think love was dramatic. Now I think it’s clingy. Disgusting. I want some.”
I smile into the mirror, heart doing that fluttery thing again. “Speaking of obsessed.” I catch her eye. “You and Mack seemed pretty cozy recently.”
Harper pauses, blush blooming across her cheeks like she’s been caught stealing cookies and kissing boys. “Shut up.”
I tilt my head just enough to be annoying. “He saved them, Harper. Went to the warehouse. Fought off Van’s guys. Helped get them all out. That’s, like, Alpha-hero level five.”
“He really proved himself,” she admits, quiet now. “I knew he was Arrow’s brother, but today? Seeing him show up like that? Fuck, Cindy. I think I’m in trouble.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Good trouble?”
“The best kind.” She grins, then smacks my shoulder lightly. “Now hold still. I’m going to do your makeup, and if you keep making me laugh, I’m going to stab your eyeball with this mascara wand.”
I snort but freeze obediently. “Eyeballs are sacred on your wedding day. Got it.”
She starts brushing on foundation, then concealer, then something glittery that feels like I’ve been kissed by a fairy. Her fingers are fast and gentle, and despite the war zone in my chest, I start to relax. A little.
Maybe.
“Okay, so.” Harper’s voice has that tone that means she’s about to take charge of my soul. “Do you have something old?”
“What?”
“You know.” She waves the mascara wand like a conductor. “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. It’s a thing. You can’t tempt fate without armor.”
“I have no idea.” I glance down at the dress. “This is borrowed?”
“Check.” She nods. “New?”
“The rings?” I gesture vaguely toward the door. “The guys rushed out to get them earlier. Unless they got distracted and came back with donuts and a new puppy.”
“Also valid. But yes. Check.” She leans in with a tiny brush. “Old?”
I blink. “Uh… my trauma?”
Harper cackles, nearly poking me in the eye anyway. “Cindy.”
“I don’t know! I wasn’t planning to wake up and get married today. But now I’m here. In a white dress.”
She grabs my hand, squeezing. “You’re doing amazing. Seriously. I’ve never seen you look so happy.”
“I feel like I’m about to barf glitter,” I whisper.
“That’s the dream, baby.” She grins. “Now hurry up and pick something old before I give you my old hoodie as a joke.”
I gasp. “I swear to God, Harper.” And I break out laughing.
“Then find something else! Come on. There’s gotta be something around here.” Harper is digging through my bag like a woman possessed.
I blink, then point to the nightstand. “That bracelet. The cheap one. In the bowl.”
She grabs it and lets out a soft laugh. “This? The one Holt won you at the ring toss booth?”
“Yeah.”
“The plastic white one with a crooked heart charm?”
“It was a terrible game, but they wouldn’t stop until I picked a prize.”
Harper slides it onto my wrist, her voice soft now. “Then it’s perfect for ‘old.’?”
I smile, chest tight. “They were so smug about it. Like I’d just been crowned festival queen.”
“You kind of were,” she murmurs, adjusting it so the charm sits right.
I laugh through the sudden pressure in my chest. “Good enough.”
Outside, the sound of tires on gravel.
“They’re home,” I whisper.
Harper pulls back, grinning.
“Almost time to go marry the hell out of your feral Alpha boyfriends.”
Harper sets down the mascara. “Now blue.”
“I don’t have any blue jewelry.”
Harper is already digging through my draws. She pulls out a pair of lacy blue thongs, the kind that’s more decoration than function. “Here.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. Go put them on.”
I take the underwear into the bathroom and change, laughing the whole time. When I come out, Harper is waiting with her hands on her hips.
“Well?”
“I’m wearing blue lace underwear to my wedding,” I announce.
“Damn right you are.” She high-fives me. “Your Alphas are gonna lose their minds later.”
“Harper!”
“What? I’m just saying.” She’s grinning wickedly. “Three Alphas, one Omega, fancy underwear. That’s a recipe for a very fun wedding night.”
I’m blushing so hard my face feels like it’s on fire. “You’re terrible.”
“You love me.”
“I really do.”
There’s a knock on the door.
Mack’s voice comes through, muffled but unmistakably amused. “You decent?”
“Come in!” Harper says.
The door creaks open, and Mack steps in. He’s cleaned up from the earlier chaos, no blood, no bruises, and somehow looking halfway presentable in dark jeans and a button-down shirt. The sleeves are rolled to his forearms, like even he knew full sleeves would be pushing it.
He stops dead when he sees me. “Wow.”
I blink. “Good wow?”
His grin is slow and sure. “Really good wow. Like, ‘holy shit, you’re about to ruin every man’s standards for the rest of his life’ kind of wow.”
I flush all the way to my ears. “That’s… a lot of wow.”
Harper winks at him. “Try not to cry, Mack. You’ll ruin your street cred.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not crying. You’re crying. And also, are we seriously going to ignore the fact that you look like a literal goddess to me?”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Harper mutters, swooning on the spot.
I’m smiling now, my nerves momentarily forgotten.
“You ready?” he asks, softer this time. “Everyone is waiting.”
My stomach does a full somersault. “I think so.”
He nods toward the backyard. “The entire town might have turned up after we called everyone. It’s standing room only out there.”
Harper snorts.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I whisper for maybe the hundredth time.
Harper grabs my hand and squeezes. “Believe it. You’re about to marry three gorgeous, possessive men who adore you. This is real.”
“Come on, future Mrs. Chaos. Let’s go cause a scene.”
We step outside, and I nearly stop breathing.
The backyard has been transformed. The chairs that were set up by the lake have been moved closer to the house, arranged in neat rows facing the mountains.
White flower petals scatter across the aisle between the chairs.
Flaming torches line the path. And, oh God, the sky is perfect.
Orange and pink streaked across the horizon, the sun setting behind the mountains.
The trees around us are copper and gold in the fading light, and the whole scene resembles a postcard.
And the chairs are full. Every single one. Plus people standing around the edges, all of them turning to look at me, just as Mack said.
I recognize so many faces. People from work. Ruby and Lily, owners of the brewery and the bakery in town. Staff from the festival where we had our first real date. Friends I’ve made since moving to Whispering Grove, people who smiled at me when I was new and scared and didn’t know where I belonged.
They’re all here. For me.
My emotions are overwhelming. Excitement and joy and disbelief all tangled together.
Harper squeezes my hand again. “You ready?”
“I think so.”
Mack offers me his arm, and Harper carefully hands me over to him. She leans in close, her voice soft in my ear. “You deserve this. All of it. Don’t you dare doubt yourself. Go get your happy ending.”
Tears prick at my eyes. “Thank you.”
Harper disappears to the side, and Mack starts walking me down the aisle.
The white petals are soft under my shoes. Someone is playing music, something instrumental and beautiful. People are smiling at me, some of them wiping their damp cheeks.
But I only have eyes for the three men waiting at the end.
Luke is on the left, and he’s wearing a suit. Dark gray, fitted perfectly, with a black shirt underneath and no tie, because of course no tie. His hair is slicked back, and he’s grinning at me like I’m the best thing he’s ever seen.