Chapter 5 - Miles
It’s been a week since I last saw Kelsey on the day she confronted me at my front door.
I thought we might have a chance to talk before our wedding day, but that never happened. Between her actively avoiding me and the crazy chaos of putting a wedding together, time flew by quicker than I expected.
And today is the wedding.
I’m standing outside beneath a sky painted in sunset colors, at the end of a long cream carpet laid out over the snow-covered meadow.
There is a beautiful archway over my head, filled with pale cream and white flowers, dried reeds, and long, textured twigs and bark pieces.
Fairy lights hang over the archway and all around the seating area, twinkling in the early evening light. The place looks magnificent.
Rows of seats cover the ground, all facing me. I stand waiting for her. The pack is excited, shifting in their seats, giggling, chattering.
The pastor standing next to me looks cold. He’s an older wolf, and while we generally enjoy the ice-fresh air, I guess he’s past those days and prefers to be bundled inside on days like this.
Jace nudges my shoulder and grins at me. “Nervous?” He asks, reaching out to straighten my shirt collar. I’m wearing beige pants with a white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck. I have leather suspenders over my shoulders and clipped to my pants.
“Not at all,” I smile confidently.
Music starts playing, and Jace quickly steps back into place to the left of me.
I lift my eyes to see Kelsey walking down the aisle with a bouquet of roses in her hands.
Her pure white dress clings to her waist and flares out over her hips.
It dips low against her cleavage, and sheer lace covers her arms. A soft veil breezes over her face as she moves, and delicate dried flowers are pinned into her hair beneath it.
My breath catches in my throat, and I stare in absolute awe of her beauty. She looks incredible.
Mira takes the flowers from her and stands just behind her as Kelsey steps up to stand in front of me.
“You look incredible,” I whisper, leaning forward to lift her veil and gently fold it back to reveal her beautiful face.
Her lips are painted in a warm, soft color that brings out her light hazel eyes. The green in the foliage over the archways catches the green of her eyes, and she radiates as though she were born for nature. Born in the wilderness. Born to be with me.
She smiles at me, and my heart flips over twice.
“We are gathered here today...” The pastor starts talking, and I hardly hear a word of it. I’m staring at her, and I don’t care. I’ll pretend it was all for show if she is bothered by it.
When it comes time to exchange rings, she lifts her hand and places her long, delicate, beautiful fingers in mine. I brush my hand over hers, and a thrill of excitement shoots through me.
I push the ornate gold ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly. When she moves her hand, the diamond glitters, catching the lights strung up around the archway.
She slips a gold band onto my finger. Her touch shot through me like fireworks.
“Do you, Miles Nelson, take Kelsey Holland to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do,” I say excitedly.
“Do you, Kelsey Holland, take Miles Nelson to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.” Her words ring loud and clear through the darkening sky.
“Then I have the honor of pronouncing you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the pastor says. Soft, tiny snowflakes begin to fall from the sky, and Kelsey glances up to look at them. One falls onto her cheek and melts. She smiles, giggling softly as she reaches up to touch her cheek.
When she looks at me again, her eyes are shining.
I step forward, slipping my hand around her narrow waist. The rest of the world seems to fade away as though it never existed. I pull her close to me and press my lips against hers.
My mind explodes. My body ignites. My blood pulses a million miles an hour through my veins.
Around us, the pack cheers and shouts, throwing flowers into the air.
When Kelsey steps away from me, she’s grinning.
I can’t figure out if she’s doing it for show or not, but right now, the only thing that matters is that everything is going exactly how I want it to go, and as long as it stays that way, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. She’s mine. She’s my wife.
My wolf is happy, and I’m happy!
Fighting the urge to pull her close and kiss her again, I hold her against my side as we walk together down the aisle toward a massive white tent that has been set up for tonight’s afterparty.
She’s small next to me. Something I want to cradle and protect. Something delicate and beautiful. But I know she’s far from being delicate. I’ve seen her training and fighting those rogues.
I grin, proud of the woman I get to call my wife.
We step into the white tent with the pack flowing in around us. It’s time to celebrate and feast.
Once everyone is inside, the elders stand in the center of the tent, in the middle of the empty dance floor, and begin their boring speeches.
I asked Jace to make sure that whatever they wanted to say was kept short.
This night is too beautiful to be bored by lectures and pack politics, and these old guys know how to drone on, giving half the change.
And despite my protests, this entire week, they have been speaking only about me and my wedding and not even bothering to mention Kelsey as an integral part of the entire event.
I didn’t confront them directly, but I made sure to keep mentioning Kelsey’s name during the planning, hoping they’d get the hint.
We are sitting at the main table. Kelsey is in the throne-style chair next to mine. Tonight, she is the queen for her audience. And she certainly looks suited to the part. I stretch my arm around the back of her chair protectively, wanting to be as close to her as possible.
Jeremy takes the microphone, and I breathe a sigh of relief. At least Jace’s father is on the more diplomatic side. He’s been our go-to when we need to convince the other elders to be more lenient in our process for implementing change in the pack.
“Welcome everyone, to this joyous occasion where we come together to celebrate our Beta’s marriage!” Jeremy says, smiling happily.
The pack cheers, and I groan quietly under my breath, “dammit, Jeremy. It’s not just about me.”
He goes on to talk about my influence in the pack and my value, and while our guests love it, I’m getting more and more impatient, waiting for him to at least mention my gorgeous new wife.
Lexus takes the microphone from Jeremy, and I sit with my jaw clenched. Maybe Jeremy was talking about me, and Lexus will be talking about Kelsey and her contributions to the pack?
After three full minutes of listening to Lexus talk about me as well, I can’t take it anymore.
Standing, I raise my glass and speak loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention and stealing the spotlight. They might give me slack about cutting their speeches short later on, but I don’t care.
“Thank you for your kind words, elders. Thank you for everything that you do for this pack and this amazing wedding you have planned and put together for my beautiful wife and me. Kelsey, you are gorgeous this evening. I can barely take my eyes off you.
"I am the luckiest man alive. If everyone will raise a glass to my wife, an incredible woman who has shown her strength and earned my deepest admiration on more than one occasion… Kelsey Nelson,” Her new name rings off my lips like a claiming, and an image flips through my mind of the moment I get to claim her properly.
The moment my bite scars her neck, she becomes mine for eternity.
My heart skips a beat, and I have to take a breath to steady my thoughts.
I lift my glass and take her hand, pulling her to her feet. She stands awkwardly, basking in the applause of the pack, and sits down again with flushed cheeks as soon as I let go of her hand. But her sweet smile shows she enjoyed the small moment, and it warms my heart.
Music thrums loud in the air as the vibrations smooth over my skin.
The dance floor is full of smiling faces, and Kelsey is lost somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
She is surrounded by her friends, who all look very happy for her.
But even lost in the crowd, she stands out to me.
She has an incredible aura around her that makes it hard for me to look away.
The entire night I have been watching her. Wanting her.
She glows with a beautiful magic, and it feels as though there is a thick cord tying us together, pulling me relentlessly toward her.
Walking to her, I hear some of the conversation over the loud music. It’s easy to zone in on certain sounds. We were trained to do this.
“You’re so lucky. I’m so happy for you!” Camilla says, hugging Kelsey for the tenth time this evening.
“Thank you,” Kelsey smiles. Not for the first time tonight, I wonder at how well she is handling all of this. I thought, after the last time I saw her and the massive argument we had, that she would be bitter or miserable. But she’s shining and being the perfect bride.
“And you look absolutely gorgeous,” Mira adds.
“Thank you for helping me choose the dress,” Kelsey says.
I take a moment to raise my hand and signal the DJ. He understands and nods, smiling.
“Hello, my gorgeous wife,” I smile, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her against my side. She smiles at me, and my heart clenches. Fuck. I would love nothing more than to peel that damn dress right off her body.
My wolf starts pacing, anxious to have her.
Calm down, Mudder. That’s only going to happen later, after the party.
“May I steal my wife for a dance?” I ask her friends. They giggle and move away, and I pull Kelsey even closer as the music changes.
Softer and slower, the tune pulls us into a romantic moment as I place my finger beneath her chin and tilt her head up to look at me. Her eyes glimmer in the moving lights over the dance floor.