11. Epilogue
Epilogue
Five Months Later
Calder
If Calder had had his way, he would have bonded with Adam as soon as he met him.
He might have had centuries to learn patience, but this was still a nerve-wracking situation.
After all, a fatal accident could still befall Adam until they were bonded, and just the possibility that he could lose this man was enough to make Calder break out in a cold sweat.
Thankfully, Adam didn’t seem to mind when Calder took care of him.
He’d mostly stopped looking surprised every time Calder caught him or steadied him or otherwise made sure that his clumsiness had fewer repercussions than it used to.
Calder would be happy to do so forever—literally—but he’d be even happier once he knew that almost no accident could be fatal for his mate.
But most people still didn’t believe in fated mates, and while Calder might have known in an instant and been willing to bet on it, he’d also known that would be too much for most witches, especially this witch, who had serious concerns about familiars and shifters and bonding.
If Calder had come on too strong, Adam would have run.
Although they’d made great strides in their relationship, bonding immediately might not serve them in the long run.
Especially with Adam’s dad being a jerk about it.
Six months was still fast by some people’s standards (definitely Adam’s father), but by then, Adam had been sure, and that was all that Calder had been waiting for.
If Adam’s dad had had his way, he would have suggested a ten-year engagement with the intention of spending the whole time convincing Adam he was wrong.
Thankfully, the staff of Divine Confections was delighted for Adam, and they were clearly his found family.
Together, Calder and Adam had picked out a house, and he’d thankfully convinced Adam to stop worrying about the money when he’d pointed out that he’d had centuries longer than Adam to acquire it.
There was no way that Adam could catch up.
Calder could easily support both of them for the rest of their very long lives, but of course Adam could and should work as long as he enjoyed it.
Calder wanted to make things easier, not harder.
They purchased a nice condo near the water that suited both of them.
It had a state-of-the-art kitchen, of course.
Simon had held Adam to that early conversation where he’d joked that he’d be in charge of the wedding, and truthfully, both Adam and Calder were happy enough to let him do it.
After all, without him, who was to say when they would have actually gotten together?
As a result, their bonding had a lot more steps than Calder was used to.
But as flushed and embarrassed as Adam got about the whole thing, Calder had also realized how much it meant to him.
“Besides,” Simon had pointed out with a grin. “You want wedding photos that you can show off and rings that mark you as taken and a fabulous wedding cake, don’t you?”
Adam’s eyebrows had quirked. “Of course there’s going to be a fabulous wedding cake. I’m going to make it.”
Simon had rolled his eyes. “Okay, yes, because you are the master of all things delicious, you’ll make your own cake. But this needs to be a celebration! This needs to be something you’re going to remember forever!”
Bonding would be something Calder would never be able to forget a single moment of, but they had nevertheless somehow wound up helpless against Simon’s enthusiasm and determination.
There was therefore decor to pick out and invitations to send despite the fact that Calder had no family and Adam’s found family all worked with him. There were flowers to compare, rings to design, suits to nitpick over—including tie colors and pocket square colors—and wedding favors to decide on.
Adam stared at Simon in horror when he announced the venue.
“The koi pond patio?” Adam repeated. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Come on,” Simon cajoled. “It’s where the two of you met! Doesn’t it have fond memories?”
Calder would always cherish the moment that they’d finally found one another, but he was well aware that taking a header into a cake was not what Adam considered his finest hour.
Thankfully, Simon then proceeded to laugh hysterically and splutter about Adam’s face being utter perfection.
Adam relaxed suddenly. “Oh, thank all the gods, you’re joking.”
Simon brushed tears of laughter out of his eyes, still grinning like a fool. “Of course I’m joking. Obviously, the ceremony will be on the water. I already found a yacht that charters for weddings.”
Simon could actually be very thoughtful.
(It had probably also helped that Calder had said price was no object as long as Adam was happy.) They hadn’t told anyone about Calder being a mythical shifter yet, but Simon had seen him in his animal shifter form as a market squid and thought him utterly adorable.
They’d even had a cake testing.
“But we already know Adam is going to make a delicious cake,” Calder protested.
Simon looked at him like he was a fool. “A cake testing is an occasion where we get to sample lots of different cakes.”
Oh. Yes, well, when he put it like that. But he’d felt he had to protest: “I don’t want to make Adam work extra.”
Adam had just kissed his cheek. “I love baking, you know that.”
And so one afternoon, they’d closed the shop, Adam had baked up a storm, and then Calder, Simon, Evie, Maggie, Joseph, Liv, and Ryan—the new shifter who was apprenticing to Adam—all sat at the little tables in the front and tasted a truly astonishing array of cakes.
(Adam had made them in mini cupcake form.)
It quickly became clear that the event really had nothing to do with picking the cake for the wedding, since they all agreed that anything Adam made would be delicious, and it was simply about enjoying Adam’s culinary genius.
Adam only tripped and sent a tray of cupcakes flying once.
“Ooh, practicing for when you get to smash cake in your husband’s face!” Simon cheered. “I like the way you think.”
And although Adam was pink-cheeked with embarrassment, he was smiling, too.
Yes, Calder decided, Simon could do whatever he wanted for their wedding. He was an excellent friend.
Even if it meant Adam smashed cake into Calder’s face.
Alcohol didn’t affect him, so Calder offered to be the designated sober person for the stag event. They had thankfully been able to convince Simon that they wanted to spend the evening together.
With a wink, Calder said, “Though I sincerely hope that you haven’t organized any such thing, even if you’re planning lap dances from hot, nearly naked twinks for Adam, I’d prefer that we spend it together.”
Adam looked horrified at the idea. “I will somehow knee them in the groin, and it will end in tears. Please, please tell me there are no nearly-naked dancers.”
Simon liked to tease a lot, but he always came through for them.
They had a light brunch, then went to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
(Calder had already made sure that the marine life were well-treated, and the cephalopods especially had a tendency to come out and see him which made every tank they looked at entertaining for everyone.) Afterwards, they had a lovely seafood dinner, then walked the beach as the sun set.
And finally, they went to a gay club for a couple hours where they saw a fabulous drag show and then went dancing. Adam didn’t drink, either.
“I’m clumsy enough as it is. Alcohol absolutely doesn’t make it better,” Adam pointed out with a wry smile.
The others didn’t drink too much, and they all danced together, no matter how many times Adam trod on their feet.
They all looked out for one another, and Simon, Liv, and Joseph all found hookups.
Maggie, Evie, and Ryan seemed to bond in their single-ness.
Simon was back in time to see that they all got home safely.
He took his role as best person for the wedding extremely seriously—to the point that two weeks later, he tried to enforce the only rule Calder put his foot down about.
He was adamant. “Call it the honeymoon phase if you wish, but I will never spend a night without Adam unnecessarily. I lived a long time without him, and I’m going to enjoy every single moment with him now.”
Simon let out a gusty sigh. “Ugh, you’re the worst. That’s so romantic. I’m not sure I can take it. Fine, fine, you can spend the night before the wedding together. Just remember that you need to be up at a decent hour, so don’t spend the whole night having super hot sex.”
“We won’t,” Adam promised while smiling at Calder like he hung the moon.
Not the whole night, anyway.
The actual bonding between a witch and a shifter was a private event for most couples or triads.
(Calder hadn’t heard of the bond working between more than three people, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.) For shifter familiars and their witches, it usually involved sex, and Adam had signed up enthusiastically for that option.
Adam
Adam had never really thought that he was going to get married. He’d certainly never thought that he’d bond with a shifter. And yet here he was, happier than he’d ever thought he could be.
He was so glad that the actual bonding was private—obviously, of course, since it involved sexy times, but also because it meant that by the time they had the ceremony in front of people, it didn’t matter what happened.
Adam could face plant in the middle of walking down the aisle, but the bond would already be formed.
(Not that he thought Calder would leave him because of that, but it took a lot of the pressure off, which was definitely a good thing for Adam and his clumsiness.)