Mated To An Enemy

Ashleigh reached her hands out to her father and her brother, taking that last step through the archway into Lily’s Rest.

She saw her mother smiling back at her as she held out the bouquet of lilies.

Ashleigh took a deep breath as she felt his gaze on her. Caleb. The familiar feeling of his eyes, his longing, and his desire for her.

She licked her lips and slowly exhaled, calming her senses.

Corrine stepped forward and hugged Ashleigh.

“I’m so happy for you,” she whispered. “He’s a good man.”

As Corrine pulled away, Ashleigh smiled back, “I know.”

She bowed and took the flowers from her mother. Axel and Wyatt stepped up beside her. She linked her arms with each of them before they continued up the aisle.

Ashleigh felt the heat of his gaze and the warmth of his love. But she couldn’t bring herself to look at him, afraid that she would be overwhelmed by her emotions if she did.

Instead, she looked at those close friends and family that were able to attend their impromptu ceremony.

Saul and Peter smiled brightly at her as she glanced their way. Two men she had in some way known for most of her life, yet only become friends within the past year.

She thought of Peter, the doctor willing to stand his ground to an angry Alpha in order to protect his patient.

Saul, the quiet sentry that broke his temperament only once, when he opened her eyes to the truth about Granger.

She took a moment to be thankful for the unique friendships she had built with each of these men.

Across the aisle, Fiona winked and blew her a kiss as Corrine took a seat beside her.

Ashleigh smiled to herself, thinking back to the Fiona that pinned her body down under her heel, with a bow staff to her throat, demanding that she yield.

Just past her, Galen placed his fist to his heart and tilted his head in a meaningful bow. Ashleigh felt a tug of nostalgia as she remembered how he had insisted on calling her Luna when they first met in Summer. He had been sure that this day would come.

And finally, Bell was in tears. Messy, happy tears. Ashleigh couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her.

In her mind, Ashleigh could see Renee sitting beside Bell, also crying those same happy tears. But, of course, Bell would claim that hers were entirely from laughing at how dramatic and sappy Renee was.

Ashleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Slowly she pushed it back out and with it, she let go of the lingering pain she held to for Renee. This was a happy moment, one that Renee, of all people, would have insisted be filled with nothing but happy thoughts.

Her father and brother came to a stop. Wyatt pulled away first.

He leaned forward and kissed her head. He smiled at her and then took her hand and kissed it before stepping away to perform the ceremony.

Ashleigh turned to her brother.

Axel looked away as though he were annoyed.

She smiled up at him as he adjusted one of the curls that hung at the side of her face. He had spent two whole hours braiding, twisting, pinning, and curling. He had attached every small flower in her hair himself, making sure they sat perfectly.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For making me look beautiful today.”

Axel sighed and leaned in to hug her.

“You look beautiful every day,” he said softly.

She smiled as he pulled away. He gave her a slight grin and squeezed her hand before he moved to sit down next to Saul.

Ashleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose as she prepared to look up at the man that waited for her.

Her heart was already pounding madly in her chest, and her mind was filled with all the emotional weight of what was happening all around her. She felt as though she were ready to burst as she lifted her eyes to his.

He took her breath away. Not in how he was dressed, or in the features of his body that she already knew she craved. But in how he looked at her and how he felt toward her.

Caleb’s smile melted away the nerves and the fear that she carried in the smallest corners of her heart. His grey eyes looked on her and shone with the love and protection of the Goddess herself.

He reached his hand to her as though he were asking her to trust him with her life, and she did. So, she took his hand before family, friends, and the Goddess, to join themselves together for the rest of their lives.

***

“It has been my honor to stand here with every pair that has wished to be joined together under the light of the Goddess. To offer her blessings and honor the bond shared between them. I have been blessed that the final weddings I am able to perform, were those of my daughters.”

Wyatt smiled at Ashleigh and then at Bell.

“May the light of the Goddess always shine on your bond,” he said, turning back to Ashleigh and Caleb.

“Now, let us hear from those that would be joined, Ashleigh?”

Ashleigh smiled and then turned to face Caleb, she swallowed nervously. But looking into his eyes, she felt a warm calm settle over her.

“You and I have had a very unconventional relationship, since the moment we met,” she began. “I was lost in a way that I never would have known without you. My entire sense of self was based on lies and assumptions and meeting you was like a wildfire.

“You set me, my world, my everything ablaze and burnt it to the ground. It was terrifying and uncontrolled, and exhilarating.”

Ashleigh smiled and Caleb laughed. The metaphor was disturbing and yet, fitting.

“And like a wildfire, when the damage was done, and smoke was cleared, new life sprang forth inside of me. When I finally stepped back from what I thought was my duty, my reason for being.

“That was when I truly saw you. When I understood that the only place I belonged, the only place that I, Ashleigh, not berserker, not the daughter of Winter, just Ashleigh, wanted to be, was by your side.”

Ashleigh paused, taking a breath, and looking at him, just seeing him.

“I love you, Caleb. And I will spend the rest of my life making sure that you always know that.”

“Thank you,” Caleb whispered.

“Caleb,” Wyatt said, “It’s your turn.”

Caleb nodded and turned back to Ashleigh. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Most of my life, I have known my purpose. I have known who I was meant to be, where I was meant to go, and what I was meant to do. And through all of it, I have always assumed I knew better,” he said with a smile.

Galen tried to cover his laugh with a cough.

“When I felt the pull of our bond, I felt the way you pulled against it. But still I followed after you,” he paused, raising an eyebrow and giving her a mischievous grin. “Actually, that might have been the reason I gave chase so strongly.”

This time Galen did not bother to cover the laugh.

“You had your reasons, and honestly, I had mine. We both tried to fight the bond between us, we both thought we knew better. But the Goddess in all her wisdom knew more than either of us, and I will thank her each night for that.”

Caleb smiled, touching his palm to Ashleigh’s cheek.

“You are the brightest star in my sky,” he whispered. “I look to you for light in the darkness, and your heart guides me when I am lost.

“I have made, and will continue to make, mistakes. I will anger you and hurt you, but I hope that you will always know how much you mean to me. That you will understand me when I don’t understand myself. That you will keep me honest and make me see the things that I do wrong, so I might grow into the man that you deserve.”

Ashleigh sniffled, and Caleb smiled as he wiped her tears.

“I love you Ashleigh, more than I have ever loved anyone. And I am grateful for the chance to prove it to you every day for the rest of our lives.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“Thank you,” Ashleigh whispered through tears.

Wyatt stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“We have received the blessing of the Goddess under her shining light. These wolves have given their oath to each other, witnessed by us here on this sacred night. As the father of the bride,” Wyatt smiled, nodding gently toward Ashleigh. “And as my final act as Alpha of Winter, it is with the greatest pleasure that I declare the start of the union between Ashleigh of Winter and Caleb of Summer!”

Cheers went up, and Caleb grabbed Ashleigh, he pulled her into him and kissed her with all he had.