"Have you stopped fighting it? I don't see you running the countryside eating flocks of sheep and shepherds when the moon is full."
"That's the most ignorant thing you've ever said. Herds of cattle, not flocks of sheep. The wool gets stuck in my teeth," he snarked.
She laughed. "Damn it, Parker. I'm upset. Don't make me laugh."
"It's the best time to laugh." He kissed her forehead. "Have a little faith in me, okay? In us?"
"This pretend us?"
"No, not pretend us." He decided now was as good a time as any. He wasn't going to pretend anymore. "You may not feel for me what I feel for you, but my wolf says you're my mate. Do you know what that means for me?"
"It's not--"
"It is." He held up his hand. "I will live for you, I will die for you. My beast is wired to feed you, care for you, to protect you. Your lack of faith in him is a physical wound, more so than you not feeling the same way about me. I'll prove our worthiness to you, Belle. I swear it."
"Don't say that."
"Why not?" His tone had gone cold, and he didn't mean to distance himself from her, but he had to protect himself. At least a little bit. She'd flayed him open and bleeding.
"Because someone else said that to me once. I believed him. I trusted him. Now, he's a monster."
"We're all monsters, Belle."
"No, Evgeni Kumarin wasn't always a monster. There was a time when he was a scholar. A healer. A gentle soul. He loved me and I loved him. He thought he could free me from the Asakku, too." She bit her lip and sniffed. "You'll have to remind me to thank Eleanor for this spell. Otherwise, there'd be blood all over my face and my dress from my tears."
Parker couldn't imagine shedding a single shit, let alone a tear, over Kumarin, but the emotion roiling through his mate was real and it was tearing her up.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I swear to you, this will all be okay. I will make it okay."
"Don't go after him alone, Parker. Please, swear it to me."
He searched her eyes for a long moment, the vow she wanted on the tip of his tongue, but he wouldn't bind himself. There were so many circumstances that could lead to him needing to run this guy down and there was a chance he'd have to do it alone. Parker wouldn't be sidelined from his duty.
"I can't, but I'll give you this. I won't leave our wedding to do it. And I won't do it unless there's no other choice."
That seemed to mollify her for the moment. "I can accept that. Thank you." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So are we really going to Disney World?"
"We can go wherever you like, but you'll be safest, we'll all be safest, at Aphelion."
“You’re right. It would be dumb to go where we just told them we’d be. I mean, while we’re trying not to die.”
“Do you actually want to go to Disney?”
“Um, hell yes?”
“When this all over, I’ll take you to Disney. We’ll rent the whole park for the day.”
She laughed. “You don’t have to do that. That would be ridiculous. I want the whole experience. Sweaty masses of humanity with bawling kids and all.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I mean, I guess if you really want it…”
“I do, Parker. I really do.”
“Done.” He kissed the top of her head. “Remember what I said.”
“Which thing?”
“All of them, of course.”
“You might be sorry you said that.”
“Yeah, I already am, mostly.” He brushed his lips against hers again. “I need to go speak to Maribella. Are you okay here for a few?”
“Yeah. As long as you’re just going to talk to Maribella and you’re not chasing after Shitty McShitface.”
He laughed. “No, I promised I wouldn’t leave our wedding for that. And I won’t.”
“Then I’m fine. Your conversation with Maribella is long overdue.”
“I’ll meet you at the main table in time for cake?”
“Definitely.”
He headed out with the rest of the guests and when he spotted Maribella, Warner was nowhere in sight. His uncle was probably prowling the perimeter. Maribella was sipping a flute of champagne and watching the display around her without a seeming care in the world.
In that, he and Maribella were alike. They’d both accustomed themselves to certain things and were determined not to show the rest of the world they’d been affected.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?”
She quirked a brow. “Sure, nephew.”
So that was how she was going to play it. “You want me to call you Auntie?” Parker couldn’t quite get a read on her. He wasn’t sure if he could or should joke with her, yet. Eventually, it was a matter of percentages, because he couldn’t help who he was, but he could strive to put her feelings first. At least today.