"Bash!" I growled. "You cannot see me before the wedding. Go away."
He was standing outside the French doors into our newly remodeled bedroom. I was leaning up against the wall between that door and the door to the nursery so he couldn't see me through the fogged glass.
He tapped the glass with the cup he was carrying. "Not until you drink your prenatal shake."
"I'm wearing white. I'm not going to drink your oozing vile moss sludge in my wedding gown. I thought I told you no more shakes. I want cheeseburgers and pickles. If you want to bring me a shake it better be pink and sugary with whip cream because I swear to the moon, Bash, if you bring me one more nutritional smoothie I'm going to shove it right up your...."
"I drank my shake, you need to drink yours. It's for the baby." He said through the door. Laurel and Rebecca were deliberately not looking in my direction.
"I am not drinking that."
"Parker. It's for the baby."
"The baby doesn't want nasty green shakes, the baby want's bacon."
"The baby can have bacon after the baby drinks the shake."
"I'm going to kill him." I grumbled and then spoke up though I was sure he could hear me anyway. "Bash. I'm hormonal, hungry, and wearing a corset..."
"You wouldn't be hungry if you drank your shake."
"Hormanal.... In a corset..."
Someone in heels was coming down the hall towards us. My suspicions were confirmed when Bash ignored me completely. "Gabriella's here. I'm going to give her your shake so that I don't see you before the ceremony. Drink your shake, Parker."
"No." I was more stubborn than usual and although I knew it was mostly pregnancy hormones I was also grumpy and irrational. Embarrassingly enough I also cried a lot for no reason and he could hear it in my voice.
"If you start crying you're going to ruin Rebecca's makeup job."
Rebecca laughed. "Don't worry, I'm smarter than I look. It's waterproof. Tears are not going to smudge anything."
Bash stepped away from the door and Gabriella came inside. She avoided looking at me completely like the traitorous turncoat she was, a large glass of green death in her hand.
"If I have to drink that than everyone has to drink it. That way your sympathizers will know what you're subjecting me to."
There was a collective groan throughout everyone within hearing distance; including Alek and Wes who were also standing out in the hall. Bash didn't even hesitate. "If we are negotiating then I will make shakes for everyone if you agree to put Theodore back on the list of boy's names."
I grinned. "Fine, we can put Theodore back on the list. They can't both be named Zeek."
The silence around us was deafening.
Bash voice was low and muffled through the door. "Both? Did she say both?"
The French doors flew open and I had to throw my arms out to avoid getting hit but Bash caught the door before it even got close.
"Bash! You can't see me before the wedding." I wasn't actually wearing my gown yet, I was still in my silk robe with my hair in curlers but it was the principle of the thing.
"Both. Twins?" He knelt down in front of me and set his ear against my belly. I wasn't showing too much yet but there was a firm bump low in my abdomen.
"This is the bridal suite, Bash."
"Shhh."
I stopped and set my hands on his head. Everyone kept silent waiting. Bash wasn't even breathing. We stood like that for a few minutes. The sheer joy emanating from Bash was infectious. The entire pack was getting a boost.
"Bash."
He rolled his head and kissed my stomach. "I can hear them. Both of them."
"They're amazing." I smiled down at him. "They are also still going to be there after the wedding."
"I'm not leaving until you drink your shake. Especially now that you're carrying twins."
I went to step around him to grab the shake but he held me where I was, pressing his ear back against my stomach. Gabriella handed me the glass then nodded towards the door. "We'll give you guys some alone time."
"One hour. After that I have to start getting ready." Once everyone was out and the door closed behind him Bash pulled away only to push my robe open and press his ear back against me skin to skin.
I drank my shake while he listened to our babies. The shakes actually weren't bad but they weren't steak either. Mmm and peanut butter. Oooh and strawberries. After about twenty minutes I was getting restless. "You know I'm not an incubator. Your loving and very horny mate is more than just a baby maker. You could give some of that attention up here."
He kissed his way up my torso giving generous amounts of attention to each of my breasts before he continued up to my lips. "I would never neglect my wife."
"I'm not your wife yet, and if we don't leave this room I won't be."
"We've got forty minutes before the tulle posse comes to curl and cinch you up."
He picked me up as I laughed and carried me to our bed. "I like the way you think, mister."
o
I always thought I'd be nervous. Girls and women the world over dreamed and planned this day down to the spoons the guest will use to stir their tea. But I wasn't nervous. Not even a little bit. I was certain, solid.
My wedding party was waiting outside the barn for me. Everyone was seated. Bash was already at the alter with his groomsmen.
When the theme song from practical magic started playing Laurel stepped around the corner and through the tall open doors, then a few seconds later Melody and then Gabrielle and finally Rebecca before it was my turn. All of them in sparkling Champaign gowns
"Yoo ready, lil mis?" Rikkard stepped up to me and held out his elbow.
I smiled setting my arm in his. "I've been ready for this for my whole life."
When we stepped around the corner Michael effortlessly playing the piano shifted from the bridesmaid entrance into the Etta James melody as Camille started singing 'At Last' and everyone stood.
But I wasn't looking at the near five hundred guests. I didn't see the twinkling lights and strings of baby's breath hanging from the ceiling. I didn't see the burlap and lace bows at the end of each row or the champagne glittered walkway. I didn't notice the chandeliers hanging above the arbor or teal ribbons that accented everything. The cascading lace and white wisteria framing the alter took me days to get right and I didn't even look.
All I saw was Bash. He was looking at me in a way that made my knees weak and I knew he didn't see anything else but me.
When I made it the alter Bash looked away from me just long enough to take my hand from Rikkard. I turned to look at the man who had walked me down the aisle and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Rikkard truly was the first werewolf I'd felt completely safe and secure around. Bash had always made me feel safe but I'd fought the bond too hard to feel secure but Rikkard had settled into my life as a constant companion right from the start.
"Take care of our sunbeam, ya hear." He told Bash in as stern a tone as he could muster with a huge grin splitting his face making everyone laugh.
"I plan to." Bash told him then escorted me up the podium where Joseph was waiting to officiate. Laurel stepped up and took my blue and gold bouquet of broaches and pearls.
When we were standing in front of our friends and family I felt slightly nervous and Bash turned to look at me. His eyes were glowing and I felt my heart rate spike. He smirked when he heard it.
"Hi." I whispered though not quiet enough that everyone missed it. I was bouncing on my heels in excitement and before Joseph could get started Bash stepped forward and pulled me into a kiss filled with so much joy and need I felt it in my soul. For a few seconds I forgot we were standing in front of five hundred people; forgot we were getting married.
People cheered while others made obvious coughing sounds or whistles. When Bash finally released me I swayed a little and my face turn bright red as I fanned my cheeks. "You're supposed to wait until the end to do that." I told him and again the entire congregation burst out laughing.
He shook his head at me. "This is the beginning." And I knew he wasn't talking about the kiss.
I didn't hear much of anything Joseph said, how I even managed to repeat after him was a miracle but I remember Bash and how he watched me. I remember the way his eyes shined and his full lips longed to kiss me though he held himself back until the end.
That kiss, the first kiss as man and wife, that I will never forget. I won't forget how Bash picked me up and carefully tossed me over his shoulder thrusting his fist into the air like he'd won the World Series and carried me down the aisle laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I remembered our first dance as he led me through a complicated waltz that I had no idea he knew but somehow he made me look graceful and elegant.
Singing the words to 'My Funny Valentine' softly in my ear as we spun he held me as if everything that matter to him in the entire world was in his arms.
Of course that moment couldn't last forever and the song shifted into Sex On Fire changing the atmosphere entirely. At which point the rest of the evening turned into an all out party. My garter got caught on the ceiling of the barn when Conner and Wes started wrestling over it and was left up there. Everyone deciding it should stay there.
Hours later Bash led me off the dance floor so I could rest my feet and get something to eat. But sitting on our plates instead of food were two wrapped presents. I recognized the one on Bash's as the gift I got for him. Pulling my skirts around as Bash pulled out my chair so I could sit down easier I grabbed the little box and shook it.
"Hey, what if that had been glass?"
"Is it?"
"Well, no." He laughed and sat down grabbing his and shaking it too. "Count of three? One."
I'd already started tearing into mine. The note on top was preserved. In Bash's eloquent handwriting it stated.
You are my sun at night when the moon is silent.
Inside was an old and tarnished book. There wasn't a title on it or an author so I flipped it around but there was nothing engraved on the leather cover or the spine. It was very old. I carefully opened it to the first page and found it was a diary.
Bash didn't open his present but watched my face as I glanced over the first page. "Her name was Freya. Human mythology says she was a goddess of the Vikings but a lot of werewolf legends say that they weren't originally gods but a pack of werewolves the humans feared and worshiped. Freya, as far as anyone knows or can prove, was the first Omega. This is a very old copy of an even older journal. Eventually, I'll find the original. Ancient werewolf laws dictate that the diary should be handed over to any living Omega wolf but I thought you would like a copy to read while I track it down.
My sight was blurry as I looked down at the beautiful script. "This is amazing Bash. Thank you." I grabbed his suit collar and pulled him to me kissing him until we were breathless. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Now open mine." I ordered making him laugh.
He was a lot gentler with the wrapping paper than I was, using his nail to cut the tap and peal the wrapping open so it wasn't ruined. Inside was a techy looking box. He scrunched his eyes and pulled out the machine. "What is it?"
"It's a portable ultrasound that connects with your phone. That way when you're gone I can send you live video of the twins. It even records their heartbeat so you can listen to them and keep a recording on your phone to take with you."
The look on his face when he stared at me nearly made me start crying again. He opened it and pulled my chair to the side handing me the wand thing that was supposed to go against my belly. "Here, stick this up your skirt."
"Bash!" We wrestled around for a little while as I laughed so hard I got a stitch in my side. I smacked his hand away. "Stop it. I am not lifting up my wedding dress in the middle of our reception."
He set the device on the table and pulled me so I was sitting in his lap. "My wife is the most amazing, sexiest woman in the world."
"My husband is sexier than your wife."
"Not possible."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I'm posting lot of pictures for you guys so you can see the chic vintage rustic wedding I planned for them.
And scroll all the way to the end to here an announcement about my next idea.
So the diary is a clue. I'm thinking about writing an origins novel. 8th century Vikings the first werewolf pack and the violence that brought the first Omega into existence. A gift from the Moon to keep her children safe and happy.
All in favor say Aye!!!
Lots and lots of love!!!!!
NJ
XOXO. For now.