Page 105 of Hunter

Seeing me and Jax whispering furiously back and forth, Pretty came up the steps.

“Are the girls still not here?”

“The girls are here,” Jax whispered. “But Mallory isn’t.”

“What?” Pretty exclaimed before Jax shushed him. “You don’t think she ran away, do you?”

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” I growled.

Mallory wouldn’t get cold feet. She had been so eager to tie the knot that she had set the date for two weeks earlier than I had asked. I wanted her bound to me as soon as possible, but I had figured she would want to wait a while. However, the day after I had brought her home from the airport, she had dragged me to her mother’s house and announced she had already asked the pastor at the local church for the next Sunday.

I had tried to persuade her to have the wedding at the compound, but she had dug her heels in. It was the church where her father had been the pastor, and she had always dreamed of having her wedding there. I had managed to convince her to have the after party at the compound, but after that, the rest of the girls had immersed themselves in planning the wedding and I hadn’t managed to get my say in anything else.

“Where the fuck is she?” I growled. No way in hell was I getting left at the altar.

The door to the side room open, and I looked up as Janine rushed into the church. She caught my eye and gestured me over.

“Stay here,” I told Jax and Pretty as I jogged down the aisle toward her.

Aside from Mallory’s bright red hair, she was the spitting image of her mother. They both had the same brown eyes, soft jawline, and figure.

Janine was dressed in a silver dress and one of those hats with all the mesh on the side and a flower. Her long, dark hair fell in silky strips down her back.

She grabbed me by the arm and subtly dragged me into the back room where all the girls were gathered. They were all in the middle of settling Adair, who looked confused at the absence of his mother with all the people surrounding him.

The girls all stared as Janine pulled me straight through and out another door that led to the graveyard out back.

And that was where I saw her.

Mallory stood at the near end of the graveyard, her head bowed and her shoulder’s shaking. She was crying, and I felt my heart cave at the sight of her.

Janine pushed me forward, and I gave her a grateful look before she went back inside the church.

I headed toward Mallory, and when she heard me coming, she whirled around in surprise.

My eyes hit hers, and I was stunned.

She was dressed in a long white dress, endless silver embroidery running down the bodice and the skirt in swirls and loops, and heels that made her come up to my chin. Her red hair fell in long curls down over her back and shoulders, her simple makeup making her brown eyes bigger, and her soft lips pink and glossed. Soft trails of tears glistened from her cheeks in the afternoon sunlight.

She was beautiful.

I had heard about guys being breathless at the sight of their bride, but I had thought it only happened to sappy, weak men. I was wrong.

Mallory choked at the sight of me and turned away before I could reach her. “Don’t look at me.” She sniffled.

“Like fuck,” I growled, turning her to face me.

“Hunter!” she hissed. “You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!”

“Even if my bride is crying?” I asked, my voice soft and low.

Mallory stilled, the fight fading from her body. She looked down at her hands and the blue hair pin in her grasp.

Meanwhile, I looked over her shoulder and saw the gravestone she had been weeping over.

Father Michael Joseph Wardwas engraved into the silver plaque.

I looked down at her again, seeing her holding a pin with such care it was as if it would break if she held it too tightly. She ran her finger along the inside of the silver slide, where a pattern was engraved in the metal.

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