Epilogue
The next six months pass in a wild blur for Mariam.
The Wolf’s Howl hires Sable on almost immediately.
The small safehaven is run entirely by Big Wolf, his wife (who Mariam is thrilled to learn is his mate), and their many pups.
There are human employees as well, but they are in the Reapers’ extended network.
Sable fits in perfectly with them as a bouncer and, when needed, a pretty damn good bartender.
Mariam sees a difference in Sable as soon as she starts working there, too.
Like she finally found her place in this new little world of hers.
Things between Mariam and Sable have only gotten better, as they’ve learned more about each other and grown even closer.
They often use their mate connection to talk while Sable works, and Mariam has begun staying up late to welcome her lover home after her night shifts.
The two normally go to bed around three in the morning now and rise around noon.
Love has changed Mariam’s entire life… and she would not have it any other way.
As far as Mariam’s career as an author goes, that has only benefited as well.
The folks over at The Wolf’s Howl have started promoting her books, which has been a big help to gain sales in the supernatural community.
The incident with Caedren was traumatic, but made for great inspiration for a new novel, which proves to be her best seller ever.
Around two months into Sable working at the pub, a day comes where she returns home a little early, to Mariam’s surprise.
When Mariam stands to greet her… Sable gets down on one knee, opens a small, black velvet box with a silver ring topped with a glimmering ruby and set with carnelians, and asks her to marry her.
Mariam has never said yes so fast in her entire life.
The wedding planning comes next, much to Sable’s despair.
Neither of them is much good at this kind of stuff, but…
who is? Dotty. So, Mariam and Sable agree to give Dotty quite a bit of free rein over their wedding, much to her sister’s delight, and the wedding preparations begin to move.
Not to mention, going to see Dotty means seeing more of Mariam’s mother, who has taken to Sable like a duck to water.
She adores her and is always fretting over her.
Especially the day they go out shopping for wedding attire and her mother goes into the dressing room to help Sable try on different options.
They settle on a black tuxedo that shows off a good sliver of Sable’s bare chest, including the curves of her breasts, much to Mariam’s delight. It gives her an almost wild, untamed air… even if that is far from the truth these days. Yes, she is still wild. But untamed… not quite so much.
Next comes the dress. To match her ring, Mariam settles on a red ball gown that slims to her A-line and then puffs out and flows down to her ankles.
It makes her breasts look really phenomenal, especially the silver trim over the bodice, cupping them both with tendrils of silver.
The hot, hungry look Sable gives her when she comes out of the dressing room…
that is all the answer she needs to know it is the one for her.
During extensive negotiations with Dotty, they settle on orange trumpet lilies and red roses (based on her ring) for the floral arrangements, along with silver bows to match her dress, and black chair covers.
The venue, however, is the greatest question…
until Dotty has a stroke of genius: they’ll have it in Mariam’s huge, underused backyard.
It’s too shady for a garden, but perfect for a large gathering.
Mariam loves the idea of a simple wedding where they live. Plus, it’ll save them a ton of money.
Finally, it all comes together. The night before her wedding day, Sable sleeps over at Mariam’s mother’s, as she will be helping her get ready in the morning. Dotty and one of their new friends from the pub, Big Wolf’s daughter Ericka, will be helping Mariam.
Mariam wakes early in the morning to Dotty gently shaking her. “C’mon, sis, if I let you sleep any longer, guests are going to start arriving.”
Mariam groans, then stretches, before sitting up. Dotty takes a seat on the side of the bed while Mariam hears the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. “Ericka already here?”
“Correct!” comes her now-familiar yell from the kitchen.
“Let’s get you moving.” Dotty pats her legs before standing and leaving the room, and Mariam scrambles out of bed to follow behind. Ericka comes into view in the kitchen as Mariam exits the hallway, her black hair and pale face bobbing to something, though she has no earbuds in.
“You listening to music?” Mariam teases as she makes her way to the couch to take a seat.
“In my head, I am.” Ericka looks back at her and winks a green eye.
Despite also being a wolf Faeral (though considerably younger than Mariam’s mate, and having been born and lived her whole life in the human realm), she looks and acts almost nothing like Sable.
Some time ago they’d learned, to Sable’s disappointment, that Big Wolf was from one of the other wolf clans, and he and his family are not her kin biologically.
Not that it made Sable any less welcome at the pub. “I have a perfect memory, remember?”
Mariam snorts. Dotty is hunching over her wedding dress as she spreads it on the floor, checking it over. Ericka steps around it as she hands Mariam a plate.
“Everything okay with the dress, Dotty?” Ericka asks as Mariam spoons scrambled egg into her mouth.
“Looks like it,” Dotty says, standing up straight again and smiling brightly. “When you’re done eating, Mari, I’ll get you into it, and then Ericka will get to work on your hair and makeup.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Go go Team Wedding Gang!” Ericka replies playfully, pumping her fist into the air. Mariam laughs as Dotty just gives a bemused look, shakes her head, and starts carefully gathering the dress back up.
* * *
The rest of the morning goes by quickly enough.
Mariam feels a bit vulnerable in the thin white dress slip and a strapless bra (she’s on guard for a nip slip), but Ericka is unbothered as she orbits around her working on her hair and makeup, just running her mouth about everything and nothing.
Mariam sees now why Big Wolf calls her Chatterbox.
Mariam appreciates it right now, however.
Her nerves started up while she was eating breakfast, and still haven’t settled.
So many worries run through her mind. What if she trips walking down the aisle?
What if she spills something on her dress, or knocks over a flower arrangement?
So many little things. So many little worries buzz in her head as Ericka applies her makeup, painting her lips a deep, scarlet red and giving her an eyeshadow shade to match, sparkled with silver.
She also gives her a little wing of eyeliner on each eye, something Mariam wishes she was coordinated enough to do herself.
In the end, Mariam looks simply stunning, even to herself. She’s amazed by Ericka’s skill, and especially by her hair, which is done up in cute tight coils around her head. Mariam looks like a princess. Something she has never felt like before.
Then she slips into the shoes they chose, simple, black Mary Janes with a short heel. Her feet slide into them easily, and the cute band across them gives them a nice curve.
And finally, after everything else, comes her dress. Ericka helps Dotty get it over her head without messing up the makeup and hair. When the bodice and body are in place, Dotty tightens the laces in the back and ties them, leaving Mariam a comfortable amount of room to breathe.
“That took a little longer than I would like,” Dotty says, ever the anxious timekeeper. “Everyone is already outside waiting for us.”
“It’ll be okay, Dotty; we still finished in time,” Mariam says, soothing herself as much as her sister, taking a slow breath in. “It’ll all be fine.”
Ericka has stepped outside now and must have given the signal that Mariam was ready, because the music starts up.
Mariam’s nerves come to a peak as she heads outside, her lily and rose bouquet clutched in her hands.
Dotty holds her skirt and circles around in front of her to get the front door for her.
Then Dotty fishes something out of her pocket and presses it into Mariam’s palm: the wedding band that she’ll hand Sable at the end of the ceremony. It is time to walk down the aisle.
She rounds the corner to see the black canopy tent they’ve rented to shade the seats and the rows of chairs filled with people, mostly folks from the pub and Mariam’s friends and family.
She sees that her long-distance friends, Collin, Morgan, Chelsea, and Jeremy all made it.
Leandra spots her and grins and waves. They did invite The Champion, though it doesn’t look like she came.
Then Mariam sees a less familiar face in the crowd, a large young man with heavy acne scars…
It’s Darwin, that Reaper who had gotten tangled up with them in the whole mess with Caedren.
The Champion must have sent him in her stead.
He sees Mariam and flashes her a grin, and she makes a mental note to catch up with him at the afterparty.
Then Mariam’s eyes find Sable’s, and her breath leaves her body.
Sable looks absolutely gorgeous. Mariam’s heart pounds as she looks over her mate and wife-to-be, that strip of skin showing ever so invitingly. Her freshly-washed, soft curls dance in the wind. She is ethereal.
Mariam begins her walk down the aisle.
~§~
Sable cannot breathe when she sees Mariam in her dress, her eyes and lips painted with deep colors to match it.
Sable swallows thickly as Big Wolf clasps her on the shoulder, his hand warm through the suit.
Not the only thing warm, either; Sable’s entire body feels like it’s on fire just looking at Mariam like this.
There is nothing in the world that could take this memory from her, not without ripping it from her cold, dead hands.
“Wow,” says Big Wolf, his long black hair brushing Sable’s shoulder as he leans over to whisper in her ear.
“I know.” Sable clasps her hands together and then begins nervously wringing them.
“You did well, pup,” he says. “Your mate is a beaut, but you already knew that.” He leans away as Mariam nears, Dotty bringing up the rear as Ericka takes her place as a bridesmaid.
When Mariam comes to stand across from her, Dotty releases her skirt and takes the bouquet from her before taking a stand beside her as the maid of honor.
The officiant, Big Wolf’s oldest son Sebastian, clears his throat, and the music slowly draws to a close.
“Beloved friends and family, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Mariam and Sable. May their lives be joined forevermore, through times of happiness and joy, as well as through times of sorrow and melancholy. May their love overpower all obstacles, and remain vibrant and alive until death does them part.” Sebastian winks at them at that last bit.
Death will never part Mariam and Sable. “My dear Mariam, would you like to say anything to Sable before I name you wife and wife?”
~§~
Mariam feels tears well up in the corners of her eyes and a lump forms in her throat.
“Sable, I have so many things I want to say, but I’m gonna start crying if I do.
What I will say is I have loved you, the true you, so deeply and earnestly…
For months. I love you now. And I will love you a hundred years from now.
Through thick and thin, no matter what comes our way. I am forever yours, eternally.”
Sebastian nods as tears begin to fall down both Mariam’s and Sable’s faces. He turns to Sable. “My dear Sable, would you like to say anything to Mariam before I name you wife and wife?”
~§~
Sable stares into Mariam’s eyes, love for her mate filling her entire body.
“Mariam, we have been through the impossible in the time we’ve known each other.
You brought out the kinder parts of me, the gentler parts I thought I didn’t have in me anymore.
Those parts are only for you. Forever for you.
I am yours, eternally, for as long as we walk this earth together. ”
Sable’s chest tightens as Mariam sobs. She can feel through the mating bond how happy that sob is. It takes a lot to keep herself from breaking down too.
“Sable, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Sable pulls the ring from her pocket. Silver, with an engraving: For Eternity. “I do. With this ring, I make a promise of eternity.” She takes Mariam’s hand and gently pushes the ring onto her ring finger. It fits perfectly against their engagement ring.
~§~
Sebastian turns to Mariam. “Mariam, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Mariam reveals her ring, matching the one Sable placed on her finger, including the same engraving, tucked in her hand.
“I do. With this ring, I make a promise of eternity.” She takes Sable’s hand and carefully places the ring on her ring finger, running her thumb over a small scar.
Sable shudders, and Mariam feels through the bond that she’s overwhelmed with emotion.
“Then, by the power invested in me by the state of Maryland, I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss your brides.”
Mariam and Sable’s lips meet in a gentle, tearful kiss. A kiss full of emotions, full of promises, full of a boundless future with each other.
They pull back from the kiss and walk back up the aisle together, hand in hand, prepared to meet this world and all it has to throw at them as mates and wives who have promised each other eternity.