Page 85 of Star-crossed Betas

“I promise to always see you, Connor Kelly, for all that you are. I see how you show your love quietly in a million different ways and how you fiercely protect the people you care about. I know that to be loved by you is a privilege and one I promise to never take for granted. I promise to love you and always be a place of safety for you to call home.”

Cee’s eyes are glassy, his throat bobs, and a single tear escapes, tracking down his cheek. Reaching for his face, I wipe it away with the pad of my thumb.

“Fuck, I swore I wasn’t gonna cry today,” Cee says, scolding himself. “Or swear.” A few of our guests laugh, but I spot Cee's dad in the front row, crying freely. There’s an empty seat next to him we reserved in honour of Cee's mum. Connor’s parents were mated, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him to lose her so suddenly.

Cee takes a few deep breaths and squares his shoulders before speaking. “I’m regrettin' lettin' you go first because we both know you’ve always been better at expressin’ your feelings than I have, so that’s a tough act to follow.” He lets out a small huff.

“I was fortunate that for the first twelve years of my life, I got to witness true love. Every single day. My parents were mated from the age of eighteen, and I got to see what it looks like to love someone steadfastly through good days and bad.

“For a long time, I felt as though our love story had a big hole in it. That the year we spent apart would always mean we were a before and an after, but the truth is that even absent from each other’s lives, you loved me unwaveringly. You loved me even when I made myself a hard person to love. And I loved you despite my best efforts not to.” Our guests let out a chuckle at that.

“So my promise to you is that I will always put my love for you first. I promise to do everythin’ I can to make sure you never doubt it. I promise to weather every storm with you, side by side. I promise to love you fiercely until the day I die because, yes, I refuse to let you go before me.” He sniffles and laughs wetly. I can feel my own cheeks are utterly saturated with tears, and I’m speechless.

Before Alice even has a chance to say the next part, my hands are on either side of his face, and I press my lips to his. He melts into me, and when I pull away and look down into his bright, sparkling green eyes, my heart settles.

I don’t know what the future will bring, but I’m not worried about us. The past six years have only been the beginning of what I know will be our very own epic love story, a love story with no holes in it.

“I’d say ‘and you may now kiss,’ but you went off script and did that already,” Alice says. “So I’m just going to declare you—for the third andfinaltime—husband and husband. Let’s all go eat, drink and dance until our feet hurt!”

Connor Kelly

After the meal, all our guests sit around their tables, drinking wine and chatting away. The atmosphere in the room is so full of joy; it’s palpable. I felt a bit foolish when I suggested to Fee we have a do-over wedding. We’d spent so many years discussing and planning it that I felt kind of cheated when we ended up getting married under such shitty circumstances, but this feels right.

Fee nudges me with his elbow, “I think this is the part where we’re supposed to do the rounds and make small talk,” he says quietly into my ear.

“Ugh. I hate small talk. You love it; why don’t you do this part?” I suggest, hopefully, but he just laughs. He stands, reaching his hand out towards me, and I join him begrudgingly, interlacing our fingers as Fee tugs me towards a nearby table.

Apparently getting the worst over with first, we make our way to Fee’s family table. Things seem more tense than usual, but they’re mostly focused on Henry, who is enthusiastically bashing the table with two spoons.

Why is it so unnecessarily awkward to talk to a table of people who are sitting down while you’re standing? It’s as though I’ve suddenly grown extra limbs I don’t know what to do with. While Fee says hello to his family, I stand there like a spare part with a fake smile on my face. I promised him I wouldn’t make a scene and I’d be civil. However, the anger that still courses through my veins when I think of his mum, Alpha Ordering him to marry Niamh, makes it challenging.

My defences go up when I spot Jasper glaring angrily over at my family’s table. At first, I think he’s aiming dagger eyes at Noah, but when I glance at Sam, who’s to his left, his eyes are wide and faintly bloodshot, but he’s staring right back. Jade also seems to spot the bizarrely intense exchange between her husband and my brother, but she glances away sadly before returning her attention to Henry.

“Am I okay to take Henry to the house for a nap?” she asks Fee as she lifts him from his high chair.

“Yes, of course. The house should be unlocked, and his carry cot is set up in the guest room,” Fee replies and then glances at Jasper, who doesn’t seem to have even noticed that his wife and son have left the table. Fee scrunches his brows at me in question, but I just shrug.

Not going to touch that with a barge pole.

Once we’ve made our way around all the tables, Fee heads across the dance floor to where the DJ is setting up the music for the evening. Before anyone can grab me to make more incessant small talk, I duck out to use the temporary toilets situated behind the marquee.

I get to enjoy a brief moment of quiet solitude while I take a piss in the urinal, but it doesn’t last long before Sam comes bursting through the door.

“Hey, little bro.” His words are slurred, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this drunk.

“Someone’s been enjoyin’ the free bar a bit too much, I see.” I smirk at him as I turn around and zip up my fly.

“You and Phoenix are mates, right?” Sam asks, jarring me with the sudden subject change.

“Um. We haven’t made that part official yet, but yes. Why?”

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“The year when you were apart, how did you manage to stay away? Didn’t your skin itch to be near him?”

“I mean, you saw me that year, Sam. I was a hot mess.” I try to laugh it off and hope he changes the subject because I still get a horrible feeling in my gut whenever I dwell too much on the year we spent apart. He lets out a weighted sigh. “Why? What’s up?”

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