Epilogue
Crashed Wedding
The sky was a bright blue; the guests had come from everywhere.
Witches, warlocks, werewolves and even a few half-Surrem had been invited, along with Raijin’s pseudo father and others the women had met along their journey.
The seated guests waited for the four brides who had meticulously planned their wedding. Some had thought it was over the top to have one ceremony for four couples.
Namely the four notorious men who now stood waiting.
Alek’s sons stood near the doors, positioned to open them when the time came. They looked ceremonial enough in their suits, but none of them had forgotten to carry weapons.
Alek stood at the front, still as stone. Only his eyes moved. He counted heartbeats without thinking. Measured the air. Marked the exits.
One of the grooms looked like he was on edge and was clearly contemplating going in search of his bride. His green eyes constantly flicked toward the two doors that had yet to open.
“When was this supposed to start?” Malcolm asked Castian.
“An hour ago,” the warlock replied from between gritted teeth.
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed toward the podium. “Are you sure they haven’t run away?”
“If they ran away, do you think Alek would still be standing here?” Castian asked, giving him a look that suggested Malcolm’s continued existence was accidental.
“No, it’s possible for Lanias to run without me knowing,” Alek admitted calmly, though his gaze never left the doors. “I’ve given up on expecting her to follow any plan.”
Raijin cleared his throat. “Sabina wouldn’t leave me. She’s the sweet one amongst the four.”
“I know that’s a fucking lie,” Malcolm muttered. “You forget I remember when she went into berserk mode.”
Castian and Alek both took two deliberate steps back.
Malcolm blinked at them. “What?”
Only then did he notice Raijin had grown slightly larger, the seams of his jacket pulling at his shoulders.
“Ah, shit. I mean she’s sweet when not in berserk mode,” Malcolm corrected quickly, tugging at his tie. “Where are they?”
A large red-haired man approached them, drawing their attention. Alek had been introduced to him the day before as Cael, a former colleague of Lanias. Alek had not enjoyed that introduction. The easy banter between the two of them had tested his patience in ways he had not appreciated.
It was only after learning that Cael was married to Madison, a green with three children, that Alek abandoned the idea of tearing his head from his body. Fallen angels were difficult to kill, but he had been willing to test the theory.
Cael stopped beside him and leaned slightly closer. “Lanias sent me a message. Said she’s dealing with a fashion emergency. It’ll be a minute.”
Alek’s jaw tightened before he forced a nod. “Of course she is.”
Cael gave him a knowing look and returned toward the back of the seating area, where his wife immediately pressed herself against his side.
Madison tilted her chin and covered his lips briefly before speaking. “Did you at least tell them they were being attacked?”
Cael lifted a large hand and toyed with the curl that had fallen against her cheek. “Something along those lines.”
“Good,” Madison replied.
At the front, Alek’s gaze remained fixed on the doors.
Fashion emergency.
His fingers flexed once at his side.
He did not smile.
LANIAS
“I am going to kill you.”
“I don’t appreciate your words, when this isn’t my fault.”
“Lanias, Oye. Can the both of you stop fighting and think of a way to get us out of this,” Eliza screamed from where she was currently on her knees, a very sharp object floating dangerously near her neck. “If I’d known you’d pissed off some fucking unseelie I’d rethink this whole wedding thing.”
“I’m going to agree with Eliza on this one,” Sabina said from where she was pressed to the wall by an annoyed Lyon. “I thought we’d already weeded out all the annoying ass people in our lives.”
Lanias groaned from where she stood in her wedding gown. “I don’t know what to say, I can’t seem to open it.” She shook her hands, snapping her fingers and even stomping her feet. “It’s not working,” she cried, frustration bleeding into her voice.
Lanias gave herself a mental pat on the back for at least getting a message out for help to Cael before everything went sideways.
Oye, who was trapped inside some glass capture hex, released a frustrated scream. “Why couldn’t you have sent them back before the wedding?”
Her skirt was torn up the side and her hair was a complete mess.
“I can’t with you,” Oye snapped, throwing her hands up before turning her back on everyone. “Tell me when you fix this.”
“Oh, is that the attitude you should have?” Lanias shot back.
She glared at the two Unseelie who had crashed her wedding to force her to open a damn portal.
She had been annoyed but ready. Only nothing was working.
Her magic wasn’t working. She had tried everything except throw herself at their feet.
She confronted Lyon. “I’m telling you I’ll send you, but it’s just not working.” She snapped her fingers. Nothing but sparks shot up. “See? Just let us go.” She lifted three fingers. “On scout’s honor, I’ll send you as soon as it’s fixed.”
“Scout’s honor, my ass,” Oye muttered from inside the hex.
Lanias bit her lip to keep from cursing her out. “I’ll send you back immediately.”
She flinched when Jion suddenly appeared beside her and leaned in, inhaling her scent slowly. His eyes widened as he looked at his brother. “The Witch smells sweet.”
Lyon, still holding Sabina in place, repeated, “Sweet?”
His brother nodded, drawing back with a sharp grin. “She’s pregnant.” He reached out and placed a hand on her stomach and laughed. “Her magic’s all here.”
“What?” The room filled with shocked feminine exclamations.
“You lie,” Lanias shouted, slapping his hand away. Her own hand moved to her stomach. “Oh shit,” she breathed when she sensed it. A small pulse. Warm. Bright.
“Hah!” Oye burst into loud laughter from her glass prison. “You lost your magic cause you’re knocked up!”
“Oye, that’s not nice,” Eliza said from where she was kneeling. “Plus, she’s not the only one,” she added, flushing.
Sabina’s eyes were wide. “I’m getting a nephew.”
“Did you four forget our current situation?” Lanias snapped, crossing her arms despite the tremor that tried to start in her fingers. She glared at Jion and Lyon. “So, nine months. After nine months, I’ll send you back.”
The two brothers exchanged a look. Something calculating passed between them.
“Nine months,” Lyon repeated softly.
Jion clicked his tongue. “We will return.”
Then they disappeared. Along with the glass prison. Along with the floating blade.
The silence that followed felt heavier than the chaos had.
Oye landed on her feet and straightened, stretching her back. “Ah, my back.” She stared at herself in the mirror on the opposite wall and sighed. “Should we just cancel?”
“Oh, hell no. We planned way too long to cancel this,” Sabina said, dusting her dress off before pausing at the large stain across the back of her gown. “God, I hate them.”
Eliza stood with Oye’s help; the McLaren tartan she’d been wearing was in tatters on the floor. “He’s going to kill me.” She covered her face and sniffed.
“Ladies…” Lanias motioned to her dress. Stones were missing and one sleeve had been completely ripped off.
“I will not say how much this dress cost, but this. This is a travesty.” She exhaled hard, steadying herself.
“But let’s go. They didn’t mate with us because we are perfect.
” She rolled her wrist, a bouquet appearing in her hand. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah.” Oye held her all-metal bouquet in her hand, iron roses shining. “Let’s get this over with.”
Eliza sniffed, tapping the toe of her shoe to the floor. The pieces of tartan twisted into flowers and hopped into her hands. “Yeah.”
Sabina sighed. “I’m here.” She waved her bouquet into existence.
When the four men saw their brides, all of their jaws dropped. From the torn dresses to ruined hairstyles, they weren’t sure what had happened, only that all four women were smiling far too brightly.
Raijin took Sabina’s hand and decided that if she was smiling like that, he would not ask questions.
Castian narrowed his eyes at Oye, already calculating revenge for whatever she had done.
Malcolm saw the redness in Eliza’s eyes and knew the night would be spent soothing her. He could not say he minded.
Meanwhile, Alek looked down at Lanias and caught the faintest shadow in her expression. Not fear. Not exactly.
“What is it, love?” he murmured.
She averted her gaze and muttered something too low for anyone else to hear.
He grinned slowly as he straightened. “Earlier than expected.”
After the vows were finished, the bouquets thrown, and the crowd turned toward the party room, Oye leaned over.
“Hey, Lanias?”
“Yes,” she answered as Alek helped her over the threshold.
“How did you make a bouquet when your magic wasn’t working?” Oye demanded, eyes sharp.
Everything stilled.
The other two brides looked at her.
Lanias offered them a sheepish smile. “Um. I might have wanted to teach them a lesson.”
“I knew it,” Eliza muttered.
“Die for me,” Oye said flatly.
“What?” Sabina stared at her, betrayed.
Alek wrapped his arms around Lanias just as Oye began removing her shoes in preparation for violence. The two of them vanished in a cloud of red mist.
They landed roughly on a bed, Lanias bursting into laughter as the adrenaline finally drained.
“They’re going to kill you one day,” he said, amused.
She gazed up at him, something fierce and bright in her eyes.
“Nope. I have the strongest Being on my side. And he loves me like crazy.” She placed her hand over his on her stomach. “And apparently he’s my baby daddy.”
Alek smirked, sliding his large hand lower. “I cannot quite remember how I accomplished that,” he said. “Perhaps we should practice.”
She released a shriek of laughter. Love and laughter was what she’d wanted to give the witches she’d saved. And now she had that plus a lovely, messy family.
Lanias was okay with it, even if it was normal.
Normal for a bad ass Witch wasn’t so normal after all.
The End