23. Wedding

23

WEDDING

M om cries when she sees me. I do my best to blink back my tears.

"There has never been a more beautiful bride." Mom chokes the words out. "Madeline, I am so proud of you."

Today, I am fulfilling the alliance and marrying Prince Damek.

I also happen to love him very much.

I never expected this . When I first came here, I never imagined that I would find love. And when I heard of the alliance, I didn't even dream that happiness would be possible.

But then I met Damek and everything changed.

The door creeks as it opens behind me. I swivel around to face my dad. He stands in the doorway, staring at me.

"Madeline, wow." He steps forward. "You are so beautiful."

I step closer to him and hug him.

My dress is red—a traditional color for a vampire bride. Succubi and incubi don't have traditional dress colors, but I'm happy to follow this vampire tradition.

Our ceremony is a mix of both succubus and vampire traditions. Damek insisted that I should celebrate both sides of me and he's right.

When I first moved to my dad's estate, I didn't like either side of me. I hated being half vampire on principle. I thought they had rejected me. And I hated my succubus side because I was always an outsider. Coming here has taught me that it's okay to be both. I love both sides of me.

The door opens again and I look over to see Eden walk in. She smiles at me and my heart warms.

"You're beautiful," Eden says.

Maybe I should feel strange being in a room with Dad, Eden, and Mom, but I don't.

Mom will be going back home after the wedding, but I enjoyed her time here. It was nice to feel like my family was whole. And I will never forget Eden's sacrifice in allowing my mother to stay here. She had every right to hate my mom, but she accepted her for me .

I hug Eden and she squeezes me back.

"Are you excited?" Mom asks.

I take a shaky breath. "Excited and nervous."

I'm excited about spending my life with Damek—I know there is nobody else I'd rather bind myself to.

There is a knock on the door. When the door doesn't open, I yell for whoever it is to come in. Kaine pokes his head inside.

"It's time for everybody to take your seats," Kaine says.

I take a deep breath and look at Dad as Eden and Mom leave the room.

Today, my dad is going to walk me down the aisle. When I was a small child and I imagined my wedding, I always wished that my father would be around for this moment. As I got older, I gave up on that dream but having him here means more than I expected.

"Princess Madeline, you look beautiful," Kaine says.

I look at my old advisor and smile. "Thank you, Kaine."

"Prince Damek is lucky." He turns away, closing the door as Mom and Eden walk out.

I look at Dad. "I guess it's almost time."

Dad looks at me with tears in his eyes. "I regret a lot of things when it comes to you, but I am so glad that you're here now. I hate all the things I missed out on in your life."

"All that matters is that you're here now. I've always dreamt of the day my father would walk me down the aisle. I'm glad you're here."

He hugs me tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad."

A few minutes later, Dad walks me down the aisle.

The moment is everything I ever wanted, but it's better than I imagined. When I thought of my wedding day, I never realized how in love I would be. I didn't know it was even possible to feel like this.

Damek waits at the front for me, wearing a tux. He looks absolutely breathtaking. As I walk toward him, his eyes never leave mine.

Any nerves that I felt are completely gone as Damek and I say our vows to one another. Promising to love him forever is the easiest promise I've ever had to make.

When the ceremony is over, we don't head to a big celebration—this is one succubus tradition I was glad not to follow. Instead, we leave for our honeymoon.

Damek and I decided we wanted a quiet honeymoon, so we're going to his family's vacation home on the island where he proposed and I couldn't think of a better place to go.

When we get on the plane to leave, Damek looks at me with an expression that I can't quite read.

"What?" I tilt my head to the side as I study him.

"I'm starting to regret our honeymoon destination," he says.

"Why?" I ask. "I think it's perfect."

"It's the plane ride." He frowns. "It's far too long. We should've stayed the night somewhere close by. This entire trip is going to be torture."

I chew on my lip to stop the grin.

Okay, maybe he's right about that. It's definitely going to be a long trip, but it's still not as bad as the traditions I'm used to. I tell him so and he groans.

"How do incubi handle hours of celebration? I think I'd go crazy," Damek says.

I laugh at how impatient he is.

To be honest, I'm a little impatient too, but I know it'll be worth every moment of waiting.

"We've got the rest of our lives together." I lean my head on Damek's shoulder. "This is just the beginning."

He squeezes my hand. "I still can't believe you agreed to marry me. I feel like I tricked you somehow. How is this real? How are you mine?"

"You're mine too," I remind him. "This goes both ways." I sit up so I can look at him. "This really is going to be a long flight."

"I told you." His fingers trace gently along my cheek as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You looked beautiful in your dress. I'm selfishly glad you decided to wear red."

"I wanted to follow both of our traditions." I shrug, trying to show him it's not a big deal.

"It meant a lot to me," he says.

I lean forward and press a kiss to his lips.

He groans. "This plane ride is going to be torture enough without you kissing me."

I give him my best innocent look. "Then you should stop being so kissable."

"Kissable?" he asks.

I nod. "Your lips were just beginning to be kissed."

"You are trouble." He shakes his head.

"And you love it."

"Absolutely I do." He kisses me—once, twice, three times. "I love you, Madeline Rune."

My stomach twists when he says my new last name. "I like that sound of that. I love you too, Damek Rune."