"If he touches you, I'll kill him," he whispered against her ear.
"I won't be allowing anyone to touch me." She grinned.
"Gage is about to leave. Should I tell him we'll drive separately?" Darren bellowed, rapping hard on the door.
Kayden shot an angry look at the door and hissed, "In your dreams." He lifted Dani against his chest and walked to the door, nuzzling her neck and making her squirm. Darren moved from the doorway to allow them to pass. Kayden carried her halfway out of the building like that, until she lost a shoe. He went down on one knee to put it back on for her, like she was Cinderella. Darren rolled his eyes and made impatient noises. Kayden was showing off to prove a point, but Dani didn't mind. After the way Darren had acted the first time she came to the Enclave, he deserved to be put in his place.
Driving away from the Enclave, as Kayden watched from the curb, hurt her heart. He looked so downtrodden. Dani nearly asked them to stop the car so she could get out, but Koren was happily chatting away about all the people she couldn't wait to introduce her to. Kayden was right. Koren would have been upset if Dani had stayed behind.
It wasn't a long ride to the place where the bonding was being held. The house reminded her of the Vaughn estate, but Koren said it was a country club of sorts-a members-only club to keep out unwanted human witnesses to blood exchanges and feedings that happened there regularly.
They were escorted to their seats in a room that was similar to a chapel. It was beautifully decorated with bare, white trees from the last pew all the way to the front on both ends of each row. Entering the center aisle reminded her of the trees at school that arched over the walkway and touched like lovers reaching for one another. Everything from ceiling to floor was covered in sheer, white fabric, and all of the flowers were white. The whole room was illuminated by white candles. The effect was stunning. It was like a winter wonderland by candlelight.
She couldn't help noticing the way Gage and Koren snuggled together and looked at each other lovingly. Dani had to work hard at pushing all thoughts of Chase from her mind. She missed him terribly, and seeing all of the happy couples in the room had her imagining the impossible again.
When the music started, and the doors in the rear of the chapel were opened, everyone stood and turned to see the bride. She was gorgeous in a white, old-Hollywood-style gown. It was beautiful, not puffy or frilly, but elegant and sleek. Her short, brown hair finished the look with finger waves. She carried no flowers, but her left arm from the elbow to her wrist was woven with white ribbons hanging at long lengths. The bride held the loose ends between her hands.
The groom also wore a suit of pure white. He waited anxiously at the front of the chapel.
There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen. Only the bride and groom stood in front of their friends and family to share their devotion to each other. There wasn't even a preacher, but an elder member of the council, who introduced himself as Lloyd Vaughn, standing before the couple. Dani suddenly realized that he must be her grandfather, and she had to catch her breath.
"Friends and family, we are here to witness the bonding of these two people, who have agreed to enter into a union of mutual love and spiritual solidarity of their own free will for eternity. In this life and the next, they will nurture one another's mind, body, and spirit. Please join me in celebrating the miracle of their love and the future they will build as mates and best friends for all time."
His rich, joyous voice was so sincere. It made everyone smile at the honest beauty of the coming ritual. He bowed to the couple and left them at the altar. When he stepped down, Dani saw the white-draped table displaying two small ornamental daggers.
The bride and groom faced each other with bright smiles. Dani had to pull out a tissue when tears of joy began to slide down the groom's face. The couple joined left hands as if they would shake hands. The bride wrapped the lengths of white ribbon hanging from her arm around their joined hands and up the groom's wrist and forearm.
"Elliot, I vow to love you for the whole of my existence. I vow to protect you to my last breath. I vow to cherish the gift of your returned love for all time. I vow to always remain grateful for the man who will from this day forth be the one and only mate of my soul." She smiled through happy tears and beamed up at her mate.
The groom smiled down into the face of his bride with unmistakable admiration. He wrapped the lengths of white ribbon that hung from his wrist around her arm and up her wrist and forearm before he began to speak.
"Krista, I vow to love you for the whole of my existence. I vow to protect you to my last breath. I vow to cherish the gift of your returned love for all time. I vow to always remain grateful for the woman who will from this day forth be the one and only mate of my soul."
They both reached with their free hands for the daggers on the table. Dani had no idea what was about to happen, and, frankly, she was nervous. Both the bride and groom lowered their heads and pressed the blades to their lower lips, making the slightest of cuts. Then they put down the daggers. They lifted their faces and Dani saw the thin lines of blood on their lips. They kissed for a long minute, sharing the very source of each other's lives. They tasted the very essence of the other's being.
She was transfixed by the intimate exchange. The couple broke apart and stared at each other in wonder and awe of the moment. The room erupted into cheers of happiness and laughter. Everyone began filing out into the lobby, but the bride and groom never moved. They just stood there, looking into each other's eyes.
Dani was confused. In a human wedding, the bride and groom always left first. Darren leaned down with a wrinkled forehead and asked, "Is this the first bonding you've attended?"
She nodded.
He whispered, as he led her toward the rear of the chapel with a hand on the small of her back, "This is a very powerful moment for the couple. They'll need a few minutes alone before they can share each other with the rest of the party."
Before she left the room, Dani turned to look at the couple one more time. They stood with their lips still just inches apart, gazing lovingly at each other, as if the rest of the world no longer existed for them. There seemed to be nothing but the two of them and their eternal bond.
The celebration after the bonding was much like she would have expected at a human wedding reception. There was a cocktail hour in the lobby while the newly mated couple enjoyed some time alone. Dani was introduced to practically everyone. Koren was so proud to show off her son's girlfriend and the newly dubbed "Angel of Wrath," who was oh so powerful, blah, blah, blah. Dani really hated the attention.
Darren had stuck close, seeming to assess everyone she encountered without being obvious about it. He looked like all the other very attractive, well-built vampires at the ritual. But she was sure most people knew who he was by their cautious reactions and unwillingness to get too close to him. He had a bad reputation for being short-tempered and overly aggressive. He didn't seem to enjoy his duties of the evening, given the wary looks he shot around the room and the exasperated sighs he released from time to time. She felt sorry for ruining his evening with his babysitting duty.
After making a full circuit of the room, she tried, unsuccessfully, to pry herself away from Koren. Darren took a moment to stare aimlessly out the window onto the beautifully moonlit grounds. Dani was reintroduced to several couples she'd already spent time chatting with, until she managed to back out of the group.
Someone grabbed her hand and pulled gently to turn her around. She expected it to be Darren, but it was odd for him to take her hand. He had a way of leading her around by the small of her back, but he had never taken her hand. To her surprise, she found Chase at the other end of her arm. She hadn't seen him until then, and, Lord, he was gorgeous in a dark suit. He flashed that devilish smile that made her look too long at his lips and remember the taste of sunshine and happiness.
"W-what are you doing here?" she stuttered.
He shifted his eyes toward Darren, who still had his back to her at the window about ten feet away. He winked and pulled her quietly out of the crowded room and into a darkened room that wasn't being used for the event. It was quiet but for the faint sounds of the partygoers and kitchen staff busily preparing for the meal to come. He didn't say anything at first. He just looked at her from below those long, dark lashes, his ocean-blue eyes lighting a flame in her core. Dani turned pink under the heat of his obviously appraising stare. Still holding her hand, he spun her around and pulled her into an embrace that lifted her feet up off the ground, her ankles crossed and feet dangling.