Page 10 of Finding Closure

Of course she did.

I kissed her cheek and hurried off. Ara had lost one of her lovers while she’d been frozen. One she could have helped and saved. The other resented her for leaving and wouldn’t even speak to her. The third—I couldn’t remember, but honestly I didn’t blame her for her attitude.

I just wished I could fix it all.

“She’ll find her happiness one day,agra,” Darby whispered when we were at the portal. “Just like we did. She’s a good person and deserves it.”

“Yeah, she does.”

We went through to Faerie and filled in Izzy and Claudia. They shared a look and didn’t seem that surprised.

“I would advise giving her a month’s severance and just cutting the contract,” Claudia said, looking tired. “If Ara’s cousin can help, that’s great. Your break from school is around the corner, and I spoke to Geiger about this. He’s approved for me to work from home as I need. So I’m really not worried. Finding her a preschool will be the problem.”

“I have an idea on that,” I promised. “And better than a vamp-only preschool.”

“She does need to socialize with vamps,” Darby worried. “She’s going to start feeling isolated that she’s different.” He apologized as he squeezed my hand.

Yeah, I knew that feeling well.

“It might be better to open a fucking day care just so we can get her kids to be with,” I grumbled and opened the portal to where we needed.

“Your snark is adorable, but you’re not wrong,” Julian admitted once we were through the portal. He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. “But not today. Today is about love and happy.”

“Today is about love and happy,” I agreed. I smiled as he moved his arm around me and we went to greet people.

Someone from Cara’s family saw me and they all started kneeling, conversations and preparations dying all around us.

I moved quickly over to them and went to the eldest, her great-grandfather. I bent down and moved my hands to his shoulders and helped him up. “Please, today, I am simply a guest of your family, and I am honored to be a part of this. Thank you for including me.”

“You could never ‘simply’ be anything, Your Highness,” he said as he bowed. “You honor us by attending and the opportunity you gave our Cara. She has become the pride of our family serving our future queen.”

“I’m proud to have her at my side,” I promised, glad when her family beamed at the praise. “Your daughter was raised right and is always amazing. The fact she is the love of someone so close to me is the best fate, and I’m thrilled at their future.”

I was touched they were such good people, but… Talking like that and being so formal with so many eyes wasexhausting. Thank fuck Julian understood that and smoothly got me out of there and to a corner. I had to do it a lot more and several times, but he always made sure to give me a bit of a break or move me to people I didn’t have to posture around.

Something the people we went by found amusing.

I sat in the most honored seat with other invited royals and leaders flanking me. All the wolf elders were invited, which part of me thought was a crock. People were shocked when I said that, but Zack and Ray were lone wolves. I was annoyed that was a thing.

Just like the wolf who ran the ranch I owned through the light trust, they were shown the door because they were a threat to their Alpha for being powerful and strong. Instead of moving on from barbaric ways of killing leaders because of physical strength which didn’t always equate to the best leadership, people were just kicked out.

And the elders supported that. Did nothing for those sometimes-young kids. Zack and Ray had been older and out of college and joined the supe police but… Yeah, I still thought it a crock of shit.

Still, I slapped on a smile and played my part. I was glad it was the Vogels and Diazes on either side of me though, so I didn’t have to interact with the wolves. My relationship had never really recovered with the Brookses after their daughter had called me a whore and started shit with me. She’d never really apologized the way she should, and I’d lost my friendship with Nicole.

Maybe one day we could fix it, but as of right now, I was glad I didn’t have to see her much.

Faerie traditions were different than human ones for matings or weddings. There was no giving away of the bride that came from the times she was property. It was more like some Asian traditions where the couple walked in together as a unit already, asking for the blessing, but they came in from different places.

Cara and Jordan came from the right whereas Ray and Zack came in from the left, so it was even backwards from human positions. It was ridiculously sweet as Ray kissed Jordan’s cheek before moving to his mate and Zack doing the same with Cara.

Alpha Geoff officiated the ceremony and did a great job. He was a bit surprised when Cara and Jordan let out their wings at the end but rolled with it. They also let out a flash of magic, and we all let out our wings—Neldor and I had first because otherwise it was rude for them to have done it in the presence of royals—to show our blessing of their mating.

The magic built and built before sort exploding as the fairies claimed their mates. Everyone else gasped at the surge of magic they received or experienced for the first time.

Julian simply squeezed my hand. Yeah, we’d felt that.

And I blushed thinking about exactly how we’d felt that. Oh boy.

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