Chapter 190 The Wedding

Chapter 190 The Wedding
Ivy POV

I woke before my alarm, the first thing I felt being the warm pull of the mate bond. Caden was already awake, and his nervousness reached me before I even opened my eyes.

A smile touched my lips. I reach for him through the mate bond. ~You're nervous.

His answer came through the bond. I'm not.

I opened my eyes and laughed. You're lying.

A pause followed. Maybe a little.

The admission made me laugh again. After everything we had survived, the idea of Caden being nervous about standing beside me at our wedding felt almost impossible.

A knock sounded at the door before I could tease him again. Maya walked in with Sera carrying bags over both arms.
"Don't move," Maya ordered. "Today is my responsibility."

"I was only going to make coffee."

"Exactly. That's how people ruin wedding mornings."

Sera laughed as she followed her inside.
The apartment filled with conversation as they helped me get ready. Maya fixed my hair while Sera helped with my dress. They argued over my shoes, changed their minds about my lipstick, and laughed when Maya nearly dropped one of her bags.

For the first time, getting married did not feel like some huge event tied to the wolf world. It felt like a morning with people I loved.

When I finally faced the mirror, Maya went quiet. The dress was simple and white. Nothing formal. Nothing designed for an Alpha King or a Keeper. Just something I had chosen because I liked it.

Maya stepped behind me and met my eyes through the mirror."You look beautiful."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Her expression softened."After everything, I never thought we'd actually get here."

I turned toward her."Neither did I."

She took my hands."You deserve this, Ivy. You deserve a life that's yours."

My throat tightened."Thank you."

Maya pulled me into a hug."You're my sister. That's all that matters."

I held her close, letting the moment settle inside me. Across the apartment, Caden was getting ready with Lucas.

"You look more nervous than you did before the summit," Lucas teased.

Caden adjusted his jacket."I wasn't standing in front of Ivy at the summit."

Lucas laughed. Caden looked toward the door, then smiled."Fighting the old world was easier than this."

Lucas's expression changed. The teasing faded."She deserves the life you fought for."

Caden nodded."I'm going to give it to her."

\---

The ceremony was small. Maya, Lucas, Sera, Alpha Chen, Alpha Sofia, Alpha Rafael, and the others who had become part of our lives gathered around us. No throne stood behind me. No pack banners filled the room. Nobody called me Keeper.

Today, I was only Ivy.When I walked toward Caden, the mate bond warmed between us. His eyes stayed on mine as I crossed the room.

Every memory came back at once. The first time we met. The battles. The separation. The months without the bond. The choice to stay together anyway.

None of it had been easy.Yet here he was.
Waiting for me. When I reached him, Caden took my hand. His fingers tightened around mine.

"You're here."

I smiled. "I'm here."

The ceremony began. Our vows were simple because neither of us needed grand promises. I promised to choose him on the ordinary days as much as the difficult ones. I promised to stand beside him without losing myself.

Caden promised to love me without trying to decide who I should become. He promised to stand beside me, not above me, and to build our life with me.

When the rings slipped onto our fingers, the mate bond pulsed between us. I felt it.
But I also knew something I had not known before.

I would have chosen him without it. The officiant smiled."You may kiss."

Caden pulled me closer and kissed me.
The room filled with applause. Maya cried openly. Lucas tried to hide his emotions until Sera caught him wiping his eye.

"Don't even try."

Lucas laughed."I have something in my eye."

"Of course you do."

The laughter around us made me smile.
The reception stayed just as simple. There was food, music, dancing, and enough teasing to make Caden question every decision that had brought him there.

Alpha Rafael raised his glass."To Caden, who survived ancient wolves, political meetings, and now a wedding."

Everyone laughed. Caden shook his head.
"I think the wedding is the most dangerous part."

Maya pointed at him."Good answer."

Later, Alpha Chen found me near the edge of the room."The council is doing well," he told me. "You don't need to worry about anything."

I smiled."I wasn't planning to."

His smile told me he understood. For once, nobody needed anything from me.
That felt like freedom. When the evening grew quieter, Caden found me outside.

New York stretched around us, bright against the dark sky. The city moved below, unaware of everything we had survived and everything we had left behind.

Caden looked down at my hand."Married."

I looked at his ring."Married."

He smiled."How does it feel?"

I thought about it before answering. "Normal."

His eyebrows lifted."That's all I get?"

I stepped closer."It's romantic."

"You're going to have to explain that."

I rested my hand against his chest. "For so long, I thought my life had to be extraordinary. Every day brought another crisis. Another battle. Another decision that affected everyone."

I looked at our rings."Now I get to stand here with you and worry about ordinary things."

Caden smiled."Like the garden?"

"Especially the garden."

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me.The mate bond settled warmly between us. No prophecy followed. No ancient voice called my name. Nothing demanded that I save anyone.

There was only Caden. My husband. My choice. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. For the first time, I was not walking toward a future because someone needed me to.

I was walking toward it because I wanted it. Caden took my hand. Together, we returned to the people we loved.