.-.-.-. This was it. I was getting married today. I was getting married to the person I loved most in the world and I couldn't live without. I'd heard off cold feet but I hadn't really understood what it had meant but what I did know was that I felt like I was going to throw up. Ryder had been weird all week since we had gotten back to Caldera. He still hadn't told me about what happened during the ball but it was affecting him a lot. Whenever he was around which wasn't as often as usual, he was quiet and he would just stay by my side with his hand on my waist or wrapped around mine. It was only yesterday at lunch when he had spoken without being spoken to. He had gotten up from the table and pulled my chair out so he could crouch down in-between my legs he smiled softly as he lifted his hands to run them over my cheeks, I couldn't help the smooth smile that pulls on my lips. He'd told me that he loved me and that he was sorry for how he'd been acting but he couldn't wait to see me walking down the aisle and that he could finally call me his wife. I hadn't seen him since. I also hadn't seen any of my guards since then either but Reynolds had woken me up this morning. I'd had different and more guards posted outside my door and it wasn't long after that I had returned to the suite after lunch that the doors had been opened to the girls with their arms full with snack foods. It turns out that all my guards had disappeared off to the bachelor party that they were throwing for Ryder. Ellie seemed to have sensed that it had made me nervous and she put her hands on my shoulders and told me not to worry about it, which was true I should have been worried about the bridesmaids. They had rearranged the lounge so it had seemed more like a large bed with an array of cushions and it's where we stayed until midnight half watching the movies that were on and half was talking about our mates. When the sex life topic came up I felt as embarrassed as what the guard posted on the inside of the door was, we both wanted to be someone else in that moment. I hadn't slept properly that night after they had all left and it wasn't because of the lack of warmth that was missing along with Ryder's presence. When I had gotten to the bedroom I chuckled at the white shirt and the grey hoodie that had been laid out on the perfectly made bed. My feet had carried my across the room and I instantly had the warm clothes that he had slept in the night before in my arms and his scent was invading my senses. I didn't know why I was so nervous that I spent the night tossing and turning. It was all adding up to be so much and today a lot of that weight was going to be lifted from my shoulders, I should have slept peacefully but I hadn't. Exhaustion had ended up taking me at one point and it wasn't until half an hour ago at eleven thirty that Reynolds had gently woken me up. Currently Reynolds was sat in the chair across the suite with his feet up on the coffee table as I paced at the end of the bed. Ellie was supposed to show up at twelve to help me get ready but she was still yet to show up. The ceremony was at two thirty and would go for an hour then we would have an half an hour break so Ellie could redo my hair and makeup and change my dress for the coronation. The coronation was going to be quick and go for half an hour then I had to change back into my dress for the reception at five. "Relax," Reynolds says looking over at me. When I hear his voice I stop and fall down on the end of the bed. I was still in my pyjamas and my hair was messily all over the place as I waited to be made up for the day. Reynolds smiles across the room at me and bounces his legs on the coffee table before he gets up and comes over to sit on the bed next to me. "You love him right." He says looking over at me with a soft smile. Reynolds had always been the one I was closest to out of my guards which is why I guess why Ryder had sent him to be with me this morning instead of getting ready with the rest of the groomsmen. His question wasn't something I had expected and I also hadn't expected him to take my hand as I tried to force the answer out of my mouth. It was an easy answer. "Yeah," it's all I say but it's all that I need to say. "Just think of that when you're walking down the aisle. You might be stressed out but just think at the end of the day you're going to be on a plane and on your honeymoon and everything that's been going on lately and all the shit you've been through, isn't going to matter anymore." His eyes seem to be watering a bit as he keeps talking and I know where his line of thoughts is going. Reynolds had never really talked to me about what had happened to his parents but he had told me that they had died. As of yet I hadn't been able to bring myself to ask him about but when he continues to talk I feel the need to ask him even more. "When you walk down that aisle you become a part of Ryder's family, you become part of our family and we'll all care for you as much as we can. Don't think about anything else." His smile is sweet and genuine. He was like the big brother I could always turn to. He was family. When I wrapped my arms around him to pull him into a hug he didn't freeze or hesitate like he normal would when something more than are hands brushing would happen. It was only a few seconds later that he raised his arms to wrap back around me. With my head resting on his shoulders I chuckle as he awkwardly pats my back. "Do you ever think about your parents?" I ask with my head still on his shoulder staring at the wall behind the bed. "Every day." he replies, his voice rough. "I keep thinking of how happy they would be today. They were always very good friends with Alexander and Allie, it made sense this job is a part of my birthright to be able to protect you and I know that they would have wanted to see the people that mean a lot to both me and them be happy. Why do you ask gorgeous?" He's pulled back from me but he doesn't move from his seat next to me. "Sometimes I feel like you're the only person I can talk to and even though it's a horrible reason but it's something that I have similar with someone in this place." He actually laughs. He full on laughs and has to steady himself before he falls from the bed. The sound makes me start laughing as well. "That's great to know, sort of morbid but great." When we had started planning the wedding Allie had run through so many people that could walk me down the aisle but as soon as I thought I had decided on someone it hadn't felt right and I had changed my mind. When she had suggested Alexander to do it and she did it with a grimace and didn't even wait for me to try to answer before she started to laugh and continued to suggest others like Will, Letty's mate and since I still hadn't decided as of last week she had suggested Josh. They were both prepared to do the job last minute but at the moment I had decided to do it alone. Yet the person I truly wanted was in front of me the entire time.