Page 121 of A Wolf's Wound
I swear she’s more worried than I am, and it’smymating ceremony.I can’t believe Ryder ever doubted I would say yes, and after his sweet proposal, I poured my heart out to him.I love him, and even without the mate bond, there was never any looking back for me.
“Almost!”my friend calls out.“Just redoing my hair.This stupid braid keeps falling out.”
My mom chuckles.“April, I love you, but this is the first wedding I’ve ever been to when the bride was ready before the maid of honor.”
“Sorry!”April says, scowling at a rogue piece of hair that won’t lie flat.“I just want everything to be perfect for Hannah and Ryder.”
I smile at her and tuck the hair back in its braid.“You look gorgeous, April.And just having everyone here is all I need.”
“That’s sweet, but there are going to be a bajillion pictures,” April says.“Not that I could compete with how fucking awesome you look.”
“Language!”I laugh, looking at my mom.
She also laughs.“Please, girls, I heard worse from Mason this morning.Now, are we all ready?”she asks, looking from me to April.
“Yes,” April nods.“Hannah?”
“I am so ready.”I grin.“I can’t believe I’m finally getting married!”
“Come on,” my mother says, opening the door to the cottage’s bedroom, where we’ve been getting ready.The house is empty, but outside on the lawn I can hear voices and the faint notes of a song.
Ryder and I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to get married than the backyard of the cottage, right where he asked me to be his mate.Although to be honest, at first he was reluctant.
“I almost had a heart attack right here!”he’d said when I first suggested the yard as our location.“Waiting for you to say yes just about did me in, woman.”
“But I did say yes,” I reminded him.“So it’s a happy place.”
“It is.”He’d smiled at me.“It’s perfect.”
We’ve both moved into the cottage for good now.April moved back into the apartment, which now features a brand-new, and very thick, front door.She has a new roommate, another friend of ours from school.We meet up at least once a week after work, and April and I talk almost every day.
April opens the back door and steps out onto the rose-petal path that Ryder’s brothers made.As the music swells, she and Shadow walk down the aisle together.
My mother takes one of my arms and Mason, who was waiting by the door, takes the other.“I’m so happy for you,” my mother whispers as we begin to walk toward Ryder.
“I can’t believe I’m going to have a Stone for a son-in-law,” Mason grumbles good-naturedly.I smile again, remembering how well he and Ryder got along at the rehearsal dinner last night.I have a feeling that my parents will be visiting the Stone compound almost as frequently as Ryder and I will be taking trips to spend time with the Blackwood pack.
At the end of the aisle, I kiss first Mason and then my mother on the cheek.Then I step forward, and Ryder takes my hand.He looks incredibly handsome in his tuxedo.
“You look stunning,” Ryder says softly to me.He squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back.
I know I should be listening to the officiant during the ceremony, but my mind wanders.I think about the first time I met Ryder.The first conversation I had with him.The first kiss.
And I think about everything Brian did.How that should have driven me and Ryder apart but instead pulled us together.I will never like Brian.I’ll never be able to think about him without feeling angry and upset and sad.But right now, I can also see the role he played in bringing us to this place.And I feel a tiny flicker of gratitude.
I shift my weight from one foot to another, regretting my choice of shoes.Before I have time to think about that more, though, the officiant is asking Ryder and me to repeat the vows that she says.
Ryder asked me if I thought we should write our own vows, but I said no.Part of the reason was because I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone.Part of it was because I like these words that are in each pack ceremony, the way they link us with all those who have come before us.
But the biggest reason was because I knew Ryder had already said his vows to me on the day he asked me to be his mate.Hearing those words drove away any lingering doubts I had about my ability to be in his life and also maintain my independence.They filled me with the confidence to say yes, and I’m so glad I did.
The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur with cheers and kisses, speeches and toasts and dancing.April takes a turn dancing with each one of Ryder’s brothers.I kick off my shoes and take a turn on the dance floor—first with Cody and then with Ben.Mason dances with Lori, and my mother and Ryder’s father share a dance.
“This was the perfect day,” I say to Ryder late that night.The party is still going outside, but we want to be in our bedroom, just the two of us.This is the first time we’ve been alone together since yesterday afternoon.
“It really was,” Ryder agrees, taking off his bow tie.
I begin to pull bobby pins out of my hair, undoing the complicated updo that April insisted complemented my dress.“I think I have more pins in my hair than actual strands of hair,” I joke as the pile grows.
