EMMA
“Here comes the bride. I mean, brides,” Rob joked, sharing a rare smile.
As our pack alpha, he stood beyond the flower-decked archway, prepared to marry us in a civil ceremony on Wolf Ranch.
Both of us.
Lyssa and I.
We decided to have a double wedding since we found our own fated mates. In her case, double wedding had more than one meaning since Lyssa was marrying two men today.
Lily, Clint and Becky’s adorable daughter, was happy to be a flower girl, tossing pale pink petals everywhere as she skipped down the aisle.
Our three grooms followed–first Johnny, then Knox and Travis, walking side by side. They assembled before the arch, each looking devastatingly handsome in their vests and bowties.
I was in a strapless, floor-length Cinderella gown. Pale pink roses were woven in a crown around my head. Lyssa wore a strapless mini-dress that came to her mid-thigh. Her hair was in an up-do. We both carried bouquets of pink roses.
Johnny’s parents, sister and her mate and pups had come and our parents were here. A dozen members of the Two Marks pack had driven from Wyoming with Lyssa and her mates, so our outdoor wedding site–a gorgeous field of wildflowers beside a mountain lake was filled with guests.
I linked elbows with both my mom and dad to walk down the aisle because I refused to buy into the patriarchal idea of being “given away” by my dad. They each kissed my cheek, then walked back to repeat the ritual with Lyssa.
Lyssa and I had spent many long hours on the phone talking about whether she should tell our parents that she, Knox and Travis were a throuple.
On paper, she was marrying Knox, but in the eyes of the Two Marks pack and the rest of the shifter world, she was already mated and marked by both of them.
As it turned out, our parents took the news without any meltdown at all. Lyssa broke it to them when they visited her in Wyoming, and after they digested it, told her they thought it was great. That she probably required two men to keep her interested and tied down.
I didn’t think my new brothers-in-law would have any trouble with Lyssa being too flighty or wild. They gave her more attention and focus than even she could suck up.
Since our talk the day Chapman returned to his ranch, I was no longer jealous of what she had. Of her life. I didn’t have two mates, but I was the center of Johnny’s world–a place I treasured being every single day.
I constantly discovered new things I loved about him. Like the fact that he knew twenty “light-bulb” jokes or the way he was devoted to learning shibari to tie me up in new fantastical positions. Yeah, we’d moved past fuzzy handcuffs.
We’d moved into a little house in town, and I had a job doing graphic design for the local newspaper. I also picked up some freelance work for a movie producer Stan had worked for in the past.
“We’re gathered here today to honor not one, but two sacred bonds.” Rob wasn’t a minister or a judge, but he still carried the authority of a natural leader in his voice. “Emma and Johnny, please step forward.”
I pivoted to face Johnny, who instinctively reached for both my hands.
Oh boy. My eyes filled with tears immediately. I wasn’t going to make it through this ceremony without crying like a baby.
To my shock, my very manly hot cowboy also teared up, blinking hard and swallowing as he squeezed my hands. “I love you,” he whispered.
Of course, half of the guests could hear him with their superhuman hearing.
“Johnny, I understand you’ve written your own vows?” Rob asked.
Johnny cleared his throat, reaching for a folded piece of paper he pulled from his pocket. His hands shook as he unfolded it.
“Emma. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I never hoped” –he stopped to clear his throat when he choked up– “I never thought I would find you. The one,” he said. I knew it was code for his fated mate.
“I didn’t think I’d be that lucky. I didn’t really think I deserved it.”
Oh God. Now the tears spilled down my cheeks in earnest.
“But you came into my life and changed everything in a single moment. Now you’re the reason I live and breathe. You’re more necessary than oxygen or sunshine. Making you happy is my primary goal in life and seeing your smile, well…” He broke off again and chuckled while blinking hard. “It’s all I crave.”
I covered my mouth to hold in my sob. He was killing me.
How was I going to say my vows after this?
“I promise to be your man. To protect and provide. To work every day for your happiness.”
I swiped at the tears running down my cheeks.
“I won’t stray. Nothing in this world could make me leave your side. I will support you in whatever you want or need.”
Johnny looked up from his paper. There was a question in his gaze.
Weddings weren’t a part of his culture, but he’d been willing to do this ceremony for me because it was part of mine.
My chest was so full I felt it would burst. His vows were perfect. Heartfelt and succinct.
I reached for his hands. I’d memorized my short vows. “Johnny. I promise to spend my whole life with you. To be your best friend, lover, confidante, and the mother of your children.”
Johnny’s eyes were red.
“I promise to love you, honor you, and communicate. For richer or poorer, in sickness or in health. I am yours.”
Johnny reached for my face and pulled me in for a passionate kiss.
“You may kiss the bride,” Rob joked, and the guests laughed. “But I think there was supposed to be something about a ring first?”
“Oh yeah.” Johnny broke the kiss and flashed a lopsided grin my way.
“Johnny, do you take Emma to be your lawfully-wedded wife?” Rob asked.
“I do.”
“Emma, do you take Johnny to be your lawfully-wedded husband?”
“I do.”
Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled out both our rings. He handed me his, then held out my rose-gold band with a Morganite stone. “Take this ring as a symbol of my love, which has neither beginning nor end.” He slipped it on my fourth finger.
“With this ring, I pledge my everlasting love to you.” I put the gold band on his wedding finger.
“With the power vested in me by the state of Montana, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Rob smiled and our guests applauded. “You may kiss the bride…again.”
Johnny cradled my face, lowering his lips to mine in slow motion. “I love you so much, Emma,” he murmured before kissing me.
My heart nearly burst. I kissed him back with all the love in my heart. More love than I ever dreamed possible.
“I love you forever,” I whispered back.
“Lyssa, Knox, and Travis, please step forward.”
I could barely see through my tears as Johnny looped his arms around my waist from behind, and we stood to the side of the archway to witness my sister’s marriage.
I couldn’t imagine being happier. Marrying Johnny felt like my destiny and getting to share my special day with my twin was the icing on the cake.
