3

A week later, I was getting dressed for a wedding, and I was thrilled it wasn’t mine. It was so, so much easier to help plan a wedding that wasn’t mine. And simply as a guest?

Amazing.

Jordan and Zack were mating in a double union with Cara and Ray, and I was beyond thrilled. I couldn’t believe this day was finally, finally here.

“Why am I even bothering to try with makeup?” I asked Izzy, chuckling when she nodded as tears streamed down her cheeks as well. “Okay, so just throw on some waterproof mascara and we’re done. Seriously.”

“Can you glamour us all done up?” she asked. “You fucking put that enchantment on Freya that can’t be taken off that no one can take her picture. At least until she’s older and she wants it off. This is easy for you, right?”

“Good call,” I agreed, doing it for both of us and checking in the mirror. “This works?”

“We’re hot, Tams,” she whispered.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I knew you’d be stunning when you grew up a bit more, and I was right. You are stunning , Izzy. Seriously, completely flawless and just—Claudia is a lucky woman.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Izzy teased, preening in the mirror. “I love her. Like really love her.”

“I’m glad.” I reached for my phone. “She hurts you and I’ll bury her in Faerie.”

Izzy’s laugh echoed behind me. It was even better that Claudia was in my kitchen shaking her head at our antics.

“Oh please, we’re friends and I adore you, but I already made that threat to your face,” I drawled.

“You did?” Izzy gasped from behind me. “You didn’t tell me that.”

I glanced back at her. “How many of the guys and how many times have you threatened them?”

“Lots,” she confessed. “I’ve lost count. Clearly, I couldn’t carry it out and I’m not scary.”

“My mate is though,” Julian said from my right. “She’s as fierce as she is gorgeous.” He took my hand and turned me around. “Perfect. Absolutely…”

Damn him. I felt him tap into my power. “Cheater.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over my ear. “You are perfect with or without the makeup, my mate. You always have been and always will be.”

“You’re smooth,” I purred, giving him a wink. “I should marry you one day.” I smiled when he laughed but pinched my side. Yeah, yeah, I was too much.

I caught a thought I didn’t like and realized I had to be an adult when I didn’t want to. I waved to Freya and gave her a kiss when she asked.

Then I grabbed Julian’s hand when I saw Hudson was ready. “We’ll meet you at the portal.”

Izzy frowned. “Two minutes, not even.”

“Take your time. I just want to say hi to them without a kid watching,” I teased.

Darby appeared, and I nodded for him to join us, slipping out into the garage instead of going downstairs for the portal to Faerie.

“We know,” Ara promised when I opened my mouth. “The nanny won’t be out of our sight and we’re monitoring her.”

“What’s going on?” Darby asked, his eyes full of worry.

“I caught a thought that she sensed something was up, and she thinks she might be out of a job once Claudia moves in,” I told him.

“I heard her on a call asking someone in her family if there was a way around it when a fairy locks someone’s mind,” Wyn informed me, nodding when I swore. “That was part of her employment, but what we’ve heard is—she’s a bit salty. She was diligent to start and glad for the opportunity, but it was an easy job with two nannies, and she’s the lazier one.”

“I don’t want her around Freya then,” I worried. “See if there is anyone Irma knows who can help out and fill in. Now. I know Claudia and Izzy were already looking through resumes for one nanny and ideas on preschool.” I nodded when Ara cleared her throat.

“My cousin lost her mate in the war, and honestly spending some time with Freya might be exactly what she needs.”

“I’ll talk to Izzy and Claudia, but as long as she goes through the normal security, that would be great,” Darby accepted before glancing at his watch. “We need to go. Please just make sure the detail here are being rude and listening in.”

“Of course,” Ara accepted. She ordered someone to switch to my detail and promised she’d handle it personally.

“Sorry you’ll miss the mating,” I whispered.

She shrugged. “I’m not. Losing—I’m still sensitive to others getting their happily ever afters still. I just wanted the cake.”

Of course she did.

I kissed her cheek and hurried off. Ara had lost one of her lovers while she’d been frozen. One she could have helped and saved. The other resented her for leaving and wouldn’t even speak to her. The third—I couldn’t remember, but honestly I didn’t blame her for her attitude.

I just wished I could fix it all.

“She’ll find her happiness one day, agra ,” Darby whispered when we were at the portal. “Just like we did. She’s a good person and deserves it.”

“Yeah, she does.”

We went through to Faerie and filled in Izzy and Claudia. They shared a look and didn’t seem that surprised.

“I would advise giving her a month’s severance and just cutting the contract,” Claudia said, looking tired. “If Ara’s cousin can help, that’s great. Your break from school is around the corner, and I spoke to Geiger about this. He’s approved for me to work from home as I need. So I’m really not worried. Finding her a preschool will be the problem.”

“I have an idea on that,” I promised. “And better than a vamp-only preschool.”

“She does need to socialize with vamps,” Darby worried. “She’s going to start feeling isolated that she’s different.” He apologized as he squeezed my hand.

Yeah, I knew that feeling well.

“It might be better to open a fucking day care just so we can get her kids to be with,” I grumbled and opened the portal to where we needed.

“Your snark is adorable, but you’re not wrong,” Julian admitted once we were through the portal. He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. “But not today. Today is about love and happy.”

“Today is about love and happy,” I agreed. I smiled as he moved his arm around me and we went to greet people.

Someone from Cara’s family saw me and they all started kneeling, conversations and preparations dying all around us.

I moved quickly over to them and went to the eldest, her great-grandfather. I bent down and moved my hands to his shoulders and helped him up. “Please, today, I am simply a guest of your family, and I am honored to be a part of this. Thank you for including me.”

“You could never ‘simply’ be anything, Your Highness,” he said as he bowed. “You honor us by attending and the opportunity you gave our Cara. She has become the pride of our family serving our future queen.”

“I’m proud to have her at my side,” I promised, glad when her family beamed at the praise. “Your daughter was raised right and is always amazing. The fact she is the love of someone so close to me is the best fate, and I’m thrilled at their future.”

I was touched they were such good people, but… Talking like that and being so formal with so many eyes was exhausting . Thank fuck Julian understood that and smoothly got me out of there and to a corner. I had to do it a lot more and several times, but he always made sure to give me a bit of a break or move me to people I didn’t have to posture around.

Something the people we went by found amusing.

I sat in the most honored seat with other invited royals and leaders flanking me. All the wolf elders were invited, which part of me thought was a crock. People were shocked when I said that, but Zack and Ray were lone wolves. I was annoyed that was a thing.

Just like the wolf who ran the ranch I owned through the light trust, they were shown the door because they were a threat to their Alpha for being powerful and strong. Instead of moving on from barbaric ways of killing leaders because of physical strength which didn’t always equate to the best leadership, people were just kicked out.

And the elders supported that. Did nothing for those sometimes-young kids. Zack and Ray had been older and out of college and joined the supe police but… Yeah, I still thought it a crock of shit.

Still, I slapped on a smile and played my part. I was glad it was the Vogels and Diazes on either side of me though, so I didn’t have to interact with the wolves. My relationship had never really recovered with the Brookses after their daughter had called me a whore and started shit with me. She’d never really apologized the way she should, and I’d lost my friendship with Nicole.

Maybe one day we could fix it, but as of right now, I was glad I didn’t have to see her much.

Faerie traditions were different than human ones for matings or weddings. There was no giving away of the bride that came from the times she was property. It was more like some Asian traditions where the couple walked in together as a unit already, asking for the blessing, but they came in from different places.

Cara and Jordan came from the right whereas Ray and Zack came in from the left, so it was even backwards from human positions. It was ridiculously sweet as Ray kissed Jordan’s cheek before moving to his mate and Zack doing the same with Cara.

Alpha Geoff officiated the ceremony and did a great job. He was a bit surprised when Cara and Jordan let out their wings at the end but rolled with it. They also let out a flash of magic, and we all let out our wings—Neldor and I had first because otherwise it was rude for them to have done it in the presence of royals—to show our blessing of their mating.

The magic built and built before sort exploding as the fairies claimed their mates. Everyone else gasped at the surge of magic they received or experienced for the first time.

Julian simply squeezed my hand. Yeah, we’d felt that.

And I blushed thinking about exactly how we’d felt that. Oh boy.

He gave me a glance letting me know he planned on reenacting exactly how we’d done it. Yes. Please.

Once it was done and they were introduced as a mated couple, I stood and went over to the couples to give them their gifts. Most would leave them on the present tables that attendants were handling, but I wasn’t just anyone.

Zack reached me first and gave me a huge hug, kissing my forehead and spinning me around with a whoop. I folded in my wings and cloaked them as I chuckled at his antics. Ray did the same next, their mates mortified as people all around us were a mix of emotions.

All the wolves in attendance seemed a mix of amused or embarrassed as well.

“Yes, thanks for that,” I said easily once I was back on my feet. I thanked Hudson as he joined me holding two large—and heavy—boxes. “My gift to each of you.” I handed Cara and Jordan each an envelope as Hudson gave each of the wolves a box. “They’re rough layouts, and you can change whatever you want.”

Zack frowned as he opened the box. “Bricks?”

Jordan read through the papers in her envelope first and gasped. “Your Highness, this is too much! We could never accept such—”

“Yes, you can and will because returning a royal gift is a huge insult,” I purred, smirking when they both blinked at me in shock.

Yeah, I was a shit sometimes.

Shocker.

“She commissioned a house for us,” Jordan rasped. “One of the new homes being built outside of Theripolis.” Her eyes went bug wide as she looked in the box. “Your Highness, did you…”

“The bricks are blessed,” I confirmed. “I can’t bless a whole house in our ways, so I looked it up, and the heir or queen blesses bricks for the house they gift to those they elevate the… Life of.” It was supposed to be station, but I hated how much of a caste system Faerie was. I gave them the opportunity for better lives with the jobs they had.

Maybe I was nitpicking, but it was different in my head. It was nicer.

“And they’re next door to each other,” Cara rasped, turning into Ray.

“For now, you both have rooms at the castle, and of course your mates can live there,” I said firmly. “But now you can have homes of your own and build your lives together—families or whatever you want. May you find all the happiness you deserve.”

Jordan chuckled as she hugged Zack. “The families will start soon.”

Zack gave her a soft kiss. “Like tonight.”

I blinked at them when Cara and Ray chuckled as well. “Oh, okay, well, the builder knows your houses are priority.” I felt a bit awkward and didn’t know how to recover… And Hudson tensed up.

Huh?

Cara cleared her throat. “It’s rather common for wolves to try for children the moment they mate—instincts and all of that.”

“It’s pretty expected even,” Alpha Geoff added.

I nodded but then started coughing as I practically choked on what I wanted to say, staring at them with huge eyes. “Is that bears too?”

Geoff seemed to swallow a laugh. “Yeah, most shifters, Your Highness.”

“Well, that wasn’t in my damn classes,” I grumbled feeling a bit lightheaded. Geoff seemed confused, and I felt it from other shifters as well. “Fairies don’t get pregnant on accident .” I gestured to Jordan and Cara. “They’re getting pregnant tonight . Our magic gives the green light or not if it’s the right timing, not chance.”

It was his turn for his eyes to go wide.

“Stupid bear didn’t warn me,” I grumbled, rubbing my hand over my face before glancing at Hudson. “You’re his best friend. You better tell him that he’s waiting a few decades to mate if we immediately start trying for kids. Stupid, stupid bear.”

“I think he’s aware and thought you were as well,” Hudson said under his breath, clearing his throat as if trying to remind me what was going on.

Luckily, Jordan saved me. “It’s why we pushed back the idea of mating for so long, Your Highness. The problem is really that men—I mean their animals don’t listen enough and understand everything isn’t only what they want.” She reached up and flicked Zack’s forehead. “I think you found the perfect compromise of being married first.”

“Women are always the smarter ones,” Ray immediately said as he hugged Cara.

Oh boy. I chuckled and moved away before I collapsed under all the sweetness.

One of the other things I liked about fairies—and traditions of Faerie—was we weren’t as pretentious as other species. People stood and brought their chairs over to the tables off to the side meant for the reception. I couldn’t see humans ever doing something so normal in their formal clothes. It was nice.

So that area was now the dance floor, and we all had our seating arrangements for lunch… That would also be dinner. Yeah, fairies just kept having all of the food.

No one was shocked. It had been that it was such a long party, but it was also meant to be a celebration of people who actually liked each other, not a status trip or Instagram photo shoot. Fine, this one was a lot of crazy because they were doing it for me, but normally only people they truly cared about would be invited and welcome.

This way they had the mating ceremonies of their dreams because I covered the cost of it all. Ray and Zack could have paid for something small, but with the way fairies ate, it would have been a bit much or maybe seen as insulting if fast food catered it.

They were happy and in love. That was what mattered, and all of the politics was done well because people were happy to be invited to the mating of my aides and the guards who had kept me alive… And a little less salty they hadn’t been to my marriage to Julian.

Worth the price tag for sure.

“This is really great,” Hudson murmured when we were dancing later. “Too big for us, but I like it—the vibe.” He cleared his throat. “I see us more as an autumn wedding though. Maybe this—”

“The autumn after next,” I corrected. “Yeah, I think that’s perfect.” I smiled up at him when he chuckled. “If I have a wedding a year, I will lose my mind, beastie. Darby and I are really, really going to elope. You and I can have a small autumn wedding with just your family and my commanders who will invite themselves.”

“Deal, shorty,” he agreed and kissed me.

I danced with Darby next before Julian and Neldor. Lucca had talked to Zack and Ray about not attending and sent his best. People knew about his father now, and given who else would be at the event, he didn’t want to deal with the crap or take attention away from them. It was best and we all knew it.

Plus, it was all being recorded, so he could watch the video later. I felt bad for him, but I knew it was really what he wanted.

I sat next to Sasha with yet another piece of cake in between the meals. “How is she doing?” We both knew who I meant, but I didn’t want others to overhear me say the Von Thann name.

“She’s a mess,” she admitted with a sigh. “I think she’s most upset that no one is upset she’s running the pack until Lucca is ready. Everyone is relieved. No one objected.”

“It was the eye-opener that she ignored too much and everyone knew he wasn’t doing it all for the sloth like she fooled herself,” I muttered, shrugging when she shot me a surprised look.

“I think I’m shocked how much harsher you’re being on her than you ever were on me,” Sasha hedged. “I did a lot wrong in your eyes—”

“No, you didn’t, Sasha,” I corrected. “We had one issue, and it was a complicated one. You had to eat shit for too many years because royals were dying . Your position was shaky in ways I couldn’t ever understand and I wasn’t there. Your ‘crime’ was not changing gears or letting it go on too long so it shit on me. That’s vastly different than what she allowed.”

“She always held out hope he could really recover, and—she never thought he would really do any of it.”

“But he did,” I reminded her. “He did try to get me outed not caring if it got me killed. And she just took a time-out from him. I get it. It was her mating, and she loved him. But it was me, so no, I can’t be her friend like I am you. Plus, you never cared who I was or about my birth. She started standing up more and fighting against him when I was important.”

“I think it started before that, but you didn’t know until later,” she muttered after a moment but nodded, accepting what I was saying.

And moving on. We talked about how it was going and that the bear elders were mostly behaving. They weren’t in a position to risk pissing me off after all they’d done. Shame because I’d had a lot of hope for them in the beginning, but they’d gone too far and let too much go.

The rest of the reception was great. The couples slipped off before dinner even and the rest of us had fun.

Maybe a bit too much fun. I was a bit drunk, and that wasn’t a good look for the future queen at such a public event, so I let myself be carried off.

Plus, I was happy for what I knew was coming next.

The moment we were home, I started undressing.

“You’re drunk,” Julian reminded me as he went into my closet and gave me a nightgown.

I took it from him and tossed it aside. “And I want sex.” I frowned when he seemed hesitant. “Jerk.”

“No, I had a bit too much to drink as well, and I don’t ever want—married doesn’t just mean your body is mine.”

“I’m practically begging for it, and I’m not slurring drunk,” I reminded him. “Fine, get out. I’ll use toys if my husband’s going to ignore my needs.”

“Never, but now I want to see my wife use her fucking toys,” he said with a growl.

Fine, I could put on a show and turn him on.

It was one of my favorite things to do.

Turn him on.

I went to my nightstand and grabbed a few options before lying on the bed and spreading my legs for him. “You take something off each orgasm, and once you’re naked, you fuck me exactly how I command all night. And you kiss my body all over after the first orgasm if it turned you on.”

“I really like this game, my sweet mate,” he whispered, nodding in agreement.

Not even a minute later, he’d lost his jacket and he was kissing my breast.

Nice.

Two minutes after that, his upper body was completely naked, and he was kissing my inner thighs while I fucked myself with a vibrating dildo. He begged to use one in my ass too.

“Fine, but I want another pass to be the boss of you soon.”

He chuckled as he grabbed the one he wanted and lube. “My darling, sexy wife, you are always and completely the boss of me.”

Damn right I was.

I flipped over and pushed up my ass for him, letting him fuck me with both toys while whining that I wanted his cock instead.

He lost the rest of his clothes after that orgasm, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t time yet. Julian took the toys away and moved me onto my side, putting my ankle on his shoulder as he thrust deeply in me. He leaned down to kiss me, making me do more than just the normal splits… And clearly loving that I could.

“Nothing has ever been, nor will ever be more perfect or beautiful than you are in this moment, and no man has ever loved a woman as much as I love you, Tamsin Vale,” he whispered as he slowly moved his hips.

“I feel the same, Julian Vale,” I rasped, holding his face to mine. “I’m so glad I gave you those chances, Doc. You were always worth my faith.”

His eyes flashed shock but then filled with love before crushing his lips to mine. We made love like our souls needed and then held each other as if we were all that mattered.

Well, at least for a little bit because there were a few other men who wanted hot sex after drinking at the wedding… And I wanted them as well.