The Wolf's Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats (35 page)

“I’m honored, truly.”

The clock ticked down quickly and they were
suddenly standing outside the double doors to the sanctuary of the
chapel where fifty people were waiting. She smiled at Lisa from the
side of the hall out of view of the doors as they opened and Rhett
escorted her down the aisle where she took the place of Matron of
Honor. If Cades had been with her, she would have been a bridesmaid
and walked with Alek if Jason could have stood letting her touch an
unmated male. The doors swung closed and Callie and James and took
their place on the runner.

“Are you nervous?” He whispered.

“A little. Dreams don’t come true every day,
you know.”

“They’re nervous, too, trust me. I’ve never
seen Eryx fidget so much in my life.” He chuckled and she grinned.
Her stomach tightened as the doors opened and everyone in the
church stood up. Besides their family, the tiny church also
contained the mayor and his wife, the fire chief, his wife and
sister, and a few neighbors of Rhett and Lisa’s. But the only
people in the world she cared about were waiting for her on either
side of the minister.

As she and James walked down the aisle, her
vision narrowed to their grinning faces, the twin looks of love and
hope and desire that showed in the glittering depths of their eyes
was all she needed to see to know that she’d found her true mates
in the unlikely pairing of a rogue she-wolf and twin mountain
lions. Whatever choices brought her to this place, she couldn’t
have been happier than she was at this moment, and their real lives
were just beginning.

Chapter 24

**Ethan**

The wedding was a blur. His wife, a vision in
white and positively glowing with happiness, filled him with such
pride that he wanted to shout from the rooftops how wonderful it
felt to find love, finally.

Pastor Giselle performed the ceremony that
beautifully included the three of them together in one marriage,
and they’d decided ahead of time that he would get to kiss her
first. Every time they were faced with something that one of them
needed to take the lead on, they just worked it out. Eryx gave him
a lot of leeway, too. It just showed that Eryx had a deeper tender
side than anyone had known.

The small crowd in the chapel clapped for
them as they walked down the aisle, and their
church-acceptable-kiss, which Callie had made them practice ahead
of time, gave way to a heated exchange in the foyer when the double
doors closed behind them.

“We missed you so much, sweetheart,” he said
into her ear, hugging her tightly before passing her to Eryx.

“I missed you, too.”

They had just moments before the doors swung
open for the receiving line to adjust themselves but Callie’s
flushed face and bright eyes gave it all away. She was one happy
bride.

As their guests, minus their family, left for
the reception at the enormous boarding house that their father and
uncles called home, they stood for a hundred pictures in the
church, outside the church, and in the church’s small garden.
Callie was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen in his life and
knowing that she belonged to him and Eryx gave him such a sense of
pride. To come to this point in his life, to be married and five
months from having twins, was like the most beautiful dream he
could have imagined. His sweetheart filled the hole in his heart
and made him complete. He would spend the rest of his life
worshipping her.

When it was just the three of them in the
church garden with the photographer and their family had gone on
ahead to get the party under way, they spent that time in quiet
reflection while the photographer, a friend of the pastor, moved
them this way and that way. Callie finally complained that her hand
hurt from holding her bouquet of lilies and the photographer took
one last picture and left them to head to the reception to start
taking pictures there.

A chauffeured town car was waiting for them
in front of the church, but they took their time walking to it,
Eryx holding the bouquet for her as she walked between them. “It’s
been a long day, are you tired, love?” Ethan asked, worried that
she would push herself too hard to make everyone else happy.

“I’m good.”

“Are you happy?” Eryx asked, casting a glance
at her with that same look in his eyes that Ethan felt, too. That
it was a dream and they were going to wake up, alone, back in
King.

“Of course. I married my two best guys and in
a few hours we’ll be on our honeymoon. It’s been a great day.”

She sat between them in the car and as it
pulled away from the curb for the short drive to their family’s
home, she said, “Are you both happy? I’m pretty high maintenance,
you know.”

“We don’t think you’re high maintenance,
sweetheart,” he chided her, sliding his thumb along her jaw. She
closed her eyes with a sigh and cuddled into his palm. “You’re just
ours.”

Eryx picked up her hand and kissed the rings
on her right hand that he’d given her. “Just. Ours.”

Cheers from their family and friends greeted
them when they walked into the large, open downstairs of the
boarding house. The great room was lined with couches and chairs
and small side tables along all the walls, and the kitchen counters
and tables were stuffed to overflowing with everything that their
bride loved.

Their cousins ran around half out of their
adorable suits already, chasing each other and darting around the
adults’ legs. Callie sat between them on a comfortable sofa and he
went to fix her and himself a plate. She said that whether she felt
in the mood to eat or not, the babies were always hungry, and they
were all very hopeful that she wouldn’t get sick. The dress didn’t
lend itself to quick getaways to the bathroom.

After they ate, with no mishaps, the stereo
was cranked up and they danced with their bride for the first time.
It might have looked strange, her in the middle of the two of them,
but it felt completely normal. They were so used to sharing her
that it felt odd to think otherwise. She was more than enough for
both of them to share. So full of love and hope and compassion that
she shone over their family like a bright sun.

They were about to cut the cake – chocolate
with buttercream frosting – when the doorbell rang. Every cat in
the place went very still because on the other side of the door was
the wolf pack. Their protective instincts went into overdrive, and
it wasn’t just the two of them that worried about her emotional
state. Their uncles and even Alek came to stand near them to show
their support as their father went to open the large double oak
doors.

Cadence and her husband Jason stood in the
center of the long front porch, the others spilled out behind them.
They were not dressed for the party, wearing jeans and casual tops.
Cadence held a small silver wrapped box with curled ribbon in her
hands. “I wanted to speak to Callie, if that’s alright?”

He and Eryx looked at each other and then at
their wife. They could feel her tension, her body wound tight and
muscles locked, and he was about to step in and say that there was
no one at the house that wanted to speak to the wolves at all, when
Callie cleared her throat and said, “Sure, Cadence.” She did not
let go of their hands and when they were out on the porch, she
positioned herself slightly behind the both of them as if they were
protective walls. And that’s what he felt like. A defensive wall,
ready with claws and fangs.

“I’m so sorry, Callie. I just wanted you to
know that. I know I made you feel bad and I asked Jason to turn
around and come back here so that I could apologize in person and
give you your gift.” She shifted the box in her hands like it
contained the solution to the problem she’d created.

“I’m not coming back to Allen.” Callie said,
her voice strong and sure. “My life is here, with my husbands and
my family.”

Cadence’s eyes shifted between the three of
them and she fought down a grimace. “I know that. I didn’t mean to
ruin your day, I just, I just miss you so much, Callie. I never
thought you’d leave the pack. I thought we’d be raising our kids
together and,” she caught herself from whatever she was going to
say and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I was selfish and rude. Can
you forgive me?”

The pause was significant, but if she wasn’t
the wonderful woman that she was, Ethan wouldn’t have known that at
least on the surface, she would accept Cadence’s apology. She
stepped between them and hugged her and took the gift. She never
said she forgave her, but if Cadence realized it, she didn’t push
it. He thought that Cadence’s behavior and desire for Callie to
still be miserable was unforgiveable, and apparently, so did their
sweetheart. Callie kissed her cheek and stepped back between them,
the small box in Eryx’s hand now as their arms wove protectively
around her. “Have a good trip back to Allen,” Callie said and
without another word, they all turned into the house and the doors
shut behind them.

“Are you okay, sweet kitten?” He asked,
cupping her face in his hands and searching her lovely eyes for
pain.

She wrapped her hands around his wrists and
kissed the inside of each palm. “I’m good, actually. We’re married
and we’re about to cut the cake. The babies are hungry for
chocolate.” She wriggled her brows at him and he laughed and kissed
her. How anyone could have ever mistaken her for weak, he didn’t
know. She was the strongest person he’d ever known and his life was
better because she was in it.

Eryx tickled his fingers along her neck, “Are
you sure it’s the babies that want chocolate, or their beautiful
mommy?”

She wrinkled her nose at them and said,
“Maybe it’s both.”

After promising on threat of a honeymoon with
no sex that they would not try to feed her the cake in any form
that involved “shoving or smearing”, they kissed their wife with
the sweet taste of frosting on her lips. They spent the rest of the
party watching her dance with their family and eat her body weight
in chocolate cake.

They left for their honeymoon at 8, driving
the pickup that was stashed at the boarding house and loaded down
with ribbons and balloons and a just married sign on the back,
heading for Yellowwood Lake Cabin Resort. Their large, private
cabin was just a short walk from the lake and the Yellowwood State
Forest.

Before they left, he and Eryx had taken off
their jackets, vests and ties, and Callie had changed from her
dress into a pretty strapless dress that was form fitting on top
and flowed loose to her feet.

They had already checked into their cabin,
brought their suitcases, and stocked the refrigerator in the small
kitchen that morning. They wanted everything to be perfect for
their first night together.

Already used to being carried between the two
of them, she just smiled endearingly at them as they picked her up
and carried her over the threshold, both kissing her before they
put her down.

“Oh, wow.” She said, turning in a slow circle
in the center of the great room. Several couches and low tables
dotted the hardwood floor, a wall of sliding glass doors looked out
onto a screened back porch with a hot tub, and further to the woods
that surrounded the cabin. Eryx turned on the gas fireplace and
went around turning on the electric candles they had stashed all
over the cabin. They’d both agreed that using real candles when
they were sure to get distracted and forget about them was a bad
idea.

He sat her down on the couch and went into
the kitchen for the tray of fresh cut fruit and cheese, and the
bottle of chilled sparkling white grape juice. Opening the bottle,
he poured three glasses and handed them to his wife and his brother
and they both knelt down in front of her and clinked their glasses
to hers.

“I love you, Callie. My sweetheart. I’m so
glad that you’re mine forever,” he promised.

“And I love you, too angel, more than I ever
thought it was possible to love another person.” Eryx said, “I’m so
glad you came crashing into our lives.”

Her eyes went bright and she said, “I love
you both. Ethan.” She leaned over and kissed him, “Eryx,” and then
kissed his brother. “I’m so happy to be your wife.”

They drank the grape juice which was a little
tangy for his tastes but Callie loved it and took both his and
Eryx’s glasses and finished them, and they fed her small bites of
fruit and cheese until she said that she thought they’d eaten
enough for now, and that it was time to get acquainted as husbands
and wife.

Eryx pulled out his surprise, a pair of
velvet covered handcuffs. Her eyes went wide and they waited to see
what she would say. She sat back against the couch with a smirk and
said, “Whatever did I do, officer?”

Eryx gave him a nod and Ethan scooped her up
in his arms and followed him back to the master bedroom. He laid
her down in the middle of the bed and stretched her arms up to the
slats of the wrought iron headboard. Eryx fit the cuffs around her
wrists, anchored to one of the slats, and leaned over and said with
a heated tone, “Assault with a deadly weapon.”

She laughed and wriggled on the bed, “What
weapon would that be?”

They both answered, “Your pussy.”

Ethan tipped her chin and kissed her,
stroking the inside of her mouth with his tongue so he could brand
her scent into his mind again and again. He traced the delicate
curve of her neck and began to pull the pins from her hair. Eryx,
down to his slacks only, straddled her legs and began to tug the
dress down slowly, kissing the flesh that was bared until the dress
was on the floor and she was laid completely bare before them.

Ethan slipped off the bed and took off his
shirt and toed off his shoes and socks. They’d agreed ahead of time
to keep their pants on until they had given her as much pleasure as
she could handle. Handcuffing her was just one way to make sure
they didn’t rush things. She had a way of touching them that made
both of them forget anything they had planned.