Page 71 of The Jorogumo

No way would Silas and Touya allow us to rush the wedding, but it was nice to know Haruto wouldn't have minded if we did.

"Nah, we'll do it properly. But I gotta sleep first."

Haruto chuckled, making his chest vibrate against our clasped hands.

I smiled as I let my eyes fall shut, making a happy sound when Haruto kissed my head.

"Sleep well, my sweet mate."

I was so looking forward to doing this for the rest of our lives.

Epilogue

One Month Later

Haruto

There were a lotof benefits to getting married at the Sanctuary. We didn't have to spend a lot of money—the only thing we'd bought was wedding tuxes and a cake from The Baking Bee—and we already had a venue, food, an officiant—because of course, the headmaster was legally certified to perform weddings—and everything we might need. Jacinta had insisted on doing most of the cooking with a few sous chefs they thought were 'passable,' and so Liam and I woke up on the day of our wedding excited and eager to tie the knot.

Of course, Touya came and took Liam away right after he'd freshened up to 'get ready,' even though the wedding wasn't until two.

Before I could start missing him, Silas and Zamir showed up, and they took me to Touya and Silas's cabin, where I was supposed to get ready. Liam and Touya were at Khush and Dustin's house with the two of them—Dustin was eight months pregnant, and Khush would not be leaving his side for the next many months—while someone else would be getting our place 'ready for our honeymoon' since we'd decided against going anywhere. Liam didn't want to close his store so soon after buying it, so we'd decided to postpone it until he either felt comfortable closing or hired someone on.

"How are you feeling?" Zamir asked, raising a brow at me as he held out a plate of breakfast, and I took it even though my stomach was too full of butterflies to eat.

"Excited, mostly. A little nervous, but only because I want everything to go well."

"Damn, Haruto. You're being so sweet I don't even feel like teasing you," he joked, making me laugh.

Despite not feeling hungry, I ate my breakfast while Silas and Zamir told me what all they were planning to do.

"I figured since you guys vetoed bachelor parties, we could at least hang out before the wedding," Silas said, explaining why they'd pulled us apart so early.

So that was what we did. We sat there and chatted about everything under the sun. Zamir talked about his plan to visit The Lair—he'd been putting it off until he felt 'full enough' to be comfortable around humans—and I had a feeling he'd get on well with Nolan.

Then the conversation switched to Khush and Dustin's coming baby, and I wondered if Liam wanted kids. It wasn't something we'd talked about, but I knew that I'd be happy either way, so I decided I'd ask Liam later. It wasn't like it would change my mind about anything.

After what felt like years, Silas declared it was time to get ready, and he grinned as he disappeared into a room, returning with a garment bag with my tux inside. We'd gone with the traditional black-and-white theme, with my shirt and jacket both deep black, with a white pocket square, while Liam's were both white with a black pocket square.

Liam had joked about wanting a bridal gown 'if only he could pull it off,' and I'd told him—quite honestly, I might add—he would look stunning in one. He'd still gone with a tux, but I knew he'd been pleased by my statement, and that was all that mattered to me.

Unbuttoning my shirt, I threw it over the couch, then took the shirt Silas held out. It fit perfectly, and I slid the jacket on, running my palm over the smooth material.

Then Zamir declared he needed to do my hair, and went, "Don't worry, Dustin taught me everything," so I lowered myself a little, giving him easy access to my hair as he applied product and ran a brush through it.

When he tried to put makeup on my face, I decided I was ready enough—though I did accept the moisturizer—and the two changed into their outfits. We hadn't picked best men since we were both close to practically the same people and we didn't want to pick one person over the others, so our groomsmen had divided the responsibilities amongst themselves, much to our relief.

Silas's phone buzzed a few minutes later, and he clapped his hands. "All right, we're ready."

We'd decided to get married in the Lakes area since it was more...scenic. We'd debated over a beach wedding but ultimately decided against it because Khush and Keoni did not fare well in the sand.

According to Silas, Liam and the others were ready, but we had to get to the venue first so they could join us. I was so damned excited to see Liam in his tux, to say my vows to him, to marry him, and I hurried out of the cabin, followed by Silas and Zamir's chuckles as they tried to keep in step with me.

The altar was set up near a large lake, the water reflecting the sun's rays and lighting up the already bright area. I sucked in a breath as I took everything in, amazed by the effort everyone had put into this.

An arch of bent branches tied together with twine and decorated with flowers framed the altar, where Headmaster Morrigan stood in his traditional sorcerer robes, the deep purple material pooled around his legs.

A path lined by the residents of the Sanctuary led the way to the altar, and Keoni waved me forward when I stopped short at the beginning, reminding me that I had to walk to the altar. He had a basket of flowers in his hand and a wide grin on his face.

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