Epilogue
Damian
Two Years Later
Performing has gotten easier over time. If our ill-fated, month-long vacation during our first tour taught me anything, it’s that I get bored as fuck when I don’t have clear purpose.
I’m still never going to be the person who jumps for joy when it comes time to honor the touring part of our contract, but with a little help from my mom, we negotiated it down to no more than five months a year on tour. That’s something we all can live with, at least for now.
We’ve built a solid fan base, and come next year, we’re likely to be bumped up to headliner. It’s exciting, even if it’ll come with more pressure.
Either way, it’s not more stressful than what’s going down as soon as we finish this song.
I mean, it’s not that stressful. We’re already bonded, but there is the added element of having our families in the audience.
Cove has been poking around in the bond during our entire performance. I think it’s safe to say she knows something is coming. She just isn’t quite sure what it is.
Our final song comes to an end.
Cove looks exceptionally confused as Ravvi leads us into “Die With a Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
This song doesn’t have heavy drums—at least not in the version we’re featuring. This frees up Creed to help out.
He does us a solid by heading over to help Clover out of her guitar. I hand mine off too, collecting my violin from the stagehand.
I really wanted to play piano for this one, but none of our songs called for having one on stage. It would have given us away.
Declan comes out as Ravvi sings the first verse.
My brother has the perfect voice to land the vocals, and the sharp tones of my violin only make his voice sound smoother and creamier.
I almost laugh.
Fuck if I know what that means…
My brain just really likes the comparison.
Declan towers over Cove as they slow dance, and Creed heads to the front of the stage, cupping his ear and pointing out at the audience. They join in, at least the ones who know the song.
It’s hard to play violin and sing. It’s one of those things. They don’t work well together, so I end up sounding breathless as I join in, taking over on Gaga’s portion of the song.
I love the way Cove’s confusion and excitement filter through the bond. That shit will never get old. Knowing all our families and friends are in the audience adds an extra emotional layer to what I’m feeling.
My dads helped us come up with our proposal game plan. It’s basically a rite of passage for the men in our family to propose with some sort of musical performance.
Hell, my mom sang the day she asked Love if they wanted to get married and raise a family together. That snowballed into twenty-plus years later, and Ravvi, Declan, and me doing it all over again.
I’m pretty sure Clover isn’t going to say no. We’ve already done the legal side with the pack commitment paperwork.
I want to see our ring on her finger every day and bawl my eyes out when I see her walk down the aisle in a white dress.
Ravvi and I finish out the song, and I circle around, coming to a stop behind Declan. It puts my back to the audience, which is nice. I can pretend they aren’t there if I don’t have to look at them.
Ravvi joins us, standing behind Declan on the other side. As the song fades, Declan hits his knee.
He doesn’t have a microphone, and I like that. The audience doesn’t need to hear every word of our proposal. “Hey, princess. I’ve just gotta say, I love the shit out of you. Wanna put on a fancy dress and make honest men out of the three of us?”
He pops open the ring box.
It’s a four-carat, princess-cut solitaire in white gold. Honestly, that sucker is massive. I probably would have gone a little smaller if it had been up to me, but I want everyone to know we dropped bank on our wife.
Well, if she ever says yes.
“Now is when you say, sure, why the fuck not,” a particularly loud cacophony of voices calls out from the audience.
I laugh, shaking my head.
That’s Lachlan’s favorite phrase.
At least our families have our backs.
Cove nods, glancing between the three of us. “Yeah, let’s do it!” She falls to her knees in front of Declan, and they share a kiss rather than him sticking the ring on her finger.
Riot pops up at my side, and I hand him my violin as Ravvi gives Creed his guitar.
I step over, grab the ring from the box, and shove it on Cove’s finger while she’s still distracted with Declan.
There.
Now it’s official.
We’re getting married.
Another Three Months Later
“The three of you look quite dapper,” Saint says, fixing my bow tie. He pats my cheek and smiles. “Not at all like you’re about to shit yourselves.” He laughs. “Speaking of shitting yourselves… God, I remember the day you were born. This is making me feel old. You little bastards are good at that.”
I smile, shaking my head. He always makes jokes when he’s emotional.
“Saintly, we need you over here,” Lachlan says, frowning at the mess he made of Ravvi’s tie. “I made it worse.”
“Well, that’s not hard to believe,” Saint quips, patting my shoulder and stepping back. He heads over to address Ravvi’s tie, and Declan comes up, standing at my side.
“My damn hands are shaking,” Dec says, laughing. “Holy fuck, I’m nervous. What if I forget my vows?”
I smirk, bumping my shoulder against his. “That’s what the note cards are for. I’m fully prepared to see her in her dress and lose the ability to speak.”
“You’ll gain it back when she looks up at you expectantly.” Lachlan claps, rubbing his hands together. “I can’t believe we still have to do this three more times. I love weddings, but they make me sentimental.”
“We’ve got a few more years before the others seriously start considering settling down,” my mom says, popping her head in the door. She means my siblings, and I start to wonder how I would do on my child’s wedding day.
Hell, I don’t know if I even want kids. We’ve discussed it on occasion, but I don’t have strong feelings one way or another.
I’d be happy if it happened.
I also have sensory issues, and thinking about sticky little hands makes me cringe.
If we decide to have kids, I think adoption is the best call. That way, we can scoop them up when they’re three or four. At that age, at least they can talk and take themselves to the toilet.
Mom whimpers, and my eyes fly to hers. “You three look so handsome. I’m going to cry. They’re ready for you.”
I stride over and tug her all the way into the room as I pull her in for a hug. The door clicks closed, and I know we’re blocking the exit, but they’ll have to wait an extra second. “I love you, Mom.”
“Oh my god, it’s like you want me to cry off all my makeup before we even make it in to sit down.” Mom laughs, giving me a squeeze. “I’m so happy for you.”
My heartbeat picks up, and it almost feels like I’m going to pass out. I’m simultaneously excited and terrified. Being in front of so many people without an instrument to buffer their attention is overwhelming, but after today, I’ll finally get to call Cove my wife.
Taking a step back, I roll my shoulders and exhale heavily. “Okay, I’m ready.”
I’m solid right up until Clover walks down the aisle. Her mom told us all about how her dads had it out to determine who would give her away.
Killian ended up the winner, and Cove looks so short compared to him as they make their way toward us.
Her dress is stunning and completely Cove. It has barely-there straps—I think those are called spaghetti straps, but truthfully, I have no idea. My brain isn’t exactly functioning at full capacity.
The dress itself is satin, or that’s my best guess. There’s not a single bit of lace, and it makes me even more emotional knowing she did that for me. It’s tight and fitted until her knees, where it flares out a bit.
“She’s so fucking pretty,” Ravvi whispers, choking up. “How the hell did we convince her to love us?”
Declan slaps him on the shoulder. “It’s a mystery to me too.”
I nod, but I doubt they see it. If I speak, I am going to ugly cry.
Killian and Cove come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. He pulls back her veil and leans down, whispering something close to her ear before he kisses her temple.
He stands, rolling his shoulders as he wipes at his eyes. “You assholes better get down here and take my daughter before I change my mind.”
“Dad!” Cove laughs, slapping his chest.
Our families lose it, and a wave of laughter fills the air as Declan, Ravvi, and I stumble down the steps to collect our bride.
Holy fucking shit.
We’re really doing this…
I’m not sure how we got lucky enough to call her ours, but I intend to spend the rest of my life making her happy that she chose us.