A Deadly Offer and a Messy Reception

Gracen never showed up to the reception. He managed to get the cake delivered there on time, having dealt with that infuriating phone call we received just hours before from our baker. There was some mix up and she made us the complete wrong flavor of cake with raspberry frosting I am seriously allergic to. Now here I have this beautiful, three tier delicacy I can eat without completely swelling up my face, but it doesn’t mean much with no groom to feed loving, messy bites of it to.

Julian showed up there pretty early on though. He showed up with a still wailing Ben in his arms, tantruming to be put down. Julian turned him loose in the reception hall so he could take me aside, rambling in a hoarse whisper about the vampires who came by my apartment. “It just didn’t seem safe to stay there, in case more of them--”

“It’s fine. Luc knows, and he told me all about it, just…”

I calmed him down, and I calmed Ben down, but then the little tornado got into the wedding cake the second I wasn’t looking and knocked the whole thing over, spattering my dress with the remains.

A normal bride would have probably broken down crying at that point, but me? I laugh.

I laugh, and sigh, and I wish Gracen were here to see this. He could have held me in his arms, and…

Julian’s already doing it, rubbing a soothing hand right over my back, while Ben runs wild, fleeing my predicted anger and hiding beneath the table cloth. “My life will just always be straight chaos, won’t it?” I keep laughing. “I used to thrive on chaos...”

“But maybe it’s time to settle down,” Julian fills in.

We leave Kate on babysitting duty, since she was the first to lure Ben out from under the table. “You don’t mind spending dinner having a toddler throw chunks of food on the floor?” I press.

“Let’s see… a choice between getting pestered and hit on nonstop by that annoying paramedic guy, or to spend my night watching the world’s cutest little boy… This is going to be the best part of my day.” She scoops Ben up into her arms, kissing his cheek. “Sorry your wedding was a complete sh-- sheep show,” she corrects, for the sake of little Ben.

I really just wish she hadn’t said anything. I didn't need the reminder of what a mess my new life is.

I tell the DJ he can just go home once dinner ends. There’s no real guests to entertain, and there seems to be no point to dragging out this evening any longer.

Then Luc arrives. He walks into the banquet hall alone, and when I ask him what happened with Gracen, he informs me, “He dealt with that whole Resa situation, but now he’s passed out. And I mean out cold. Probably for days, with how hard he was flexing those limited mental muscles of his.”

I run out to that car to check on Gracen. He’s laid out unmoving in the back seat with open, staring eyes streaming blood. I asses all his injuries, test his pupil response – nothing. I kiss him on the forehead, gently close the car door, then turn on Luc and try to claw his eyes out.

Julian holds me back. “Leah. Leah! Luc did not arrange for him to get hurt like this. Right?”

“No! There was no evil scheme. I did not do literally anything. It was completely his initiative. He thought he could wrap things up in an hour and be back at your side right in time for the first dance and all that, but…” He shrugs. “With great power, comes great possibility of brain hemorrhage.”

“Just… Someone drive me home already,” I sigh, slumping back against the side of his Bentley. “So long as my apartment really is safe now, not on the verge of another attack and attempted kidnapping…”

“It is fully safe, and the matter fully settled,” Luc assures me. “But it is far too early in the evening to be turning in and going home. Just look at that lovely venue.” He gestures toward the empty reception hall.

“We are not going back inside, just so you can fuck me in my wedding dress!” I snap. “And where were you planning it even? Closet or under the table? Because neither is at all appealing--”

“And none of that is what I was suggesting,” he insists. “I have a much better idea.”

He retrieves a violin out of his trunk and heads back into my deserted reception. Kate’s still chasing Ben around, but they slow their game to listen in, as Luc starts playing an entrancing, most romantic tune.

He looks pointedly to Julian, and Jules clears his throat with an awkward, “Uh… I know you’re probably not in the mood for a dance, despite what Luc… I get that this was supposed to you and Gracen’s night.”

“I somehow doubt that Gracen was actually going to dance with me anyhow,” I sigh. “Even tonight… We never had a single rehearsal.” I know we were both beyond busy with Ben and with work, but since Gracen doesn’t even know how to box-step, we should have at least made time for a lesson or two.

Julian on the other hand will never need a dance lesson. He could be a freaking ballroom instructor, and so could Luc. I don’t need grinding bodies and pounding music to make it a tantalizing experience. I just need his eyes on me and his hand in mine. That’s why our fingers twine in an instant, and we have a long, fairy tale waltz, as Ben sets to napping on his auntie Kate’s lap, and Luc watches the pair of us with knowing triumph.

He puts aside his instrument and lets a plugged in smartphone take over musician duties, after a few dances, when he sees my smile has fully returned. Then he spins me away from Julian and right up against his chest. “Leah looks parched. Why not get her a drink, Jules? You won’t want to watch me upstaging your efforts now anyhow.”

“Of course I want to watch,” Julian replies, as his eyes track the pair of us with wistful appreciation. “I could watch you dance all night…”

“You make it better joining in!” I laugh, spinning away from Luc and throwing up my hands as a more uptempo Latin song comes on. “But a glass of champagne would be nice just about now…” I hardly drink at all, since Ben, but those bottles lined up unopened on the bar are expensive as hell, and I could really use the refreshment.

Julian heads over there without further encouragement, and Luc slides his hand around my waist in perfect, respectful framing, stepping in graceful cross-weave, as he taunts, “Dare say this isn’t the wedding you truly wanted.” He lowers me into a dip. “Me looking at my finest, giving you two, perfect partners fully able to engage you.”

“This is the reception I wanted,” I breathe, letting him pull me up and leave our lips hovering just inches apart. “The wedding I wanted for us, back when we first took our vows. But I want it with all three of you, and I am going to be getting it with Gracen. I don’t care how many times I have to reschedule.”

“How much credit card debt you amass…” he cruelly counters.

“I don’t need your money,” I breathe, sliding my thigh up his leg. “I don’t need your taunts. And I don’t even need that lovely dick of yours pushing in between my legs.” He smirks. “Not tonight.” I twirl right away from him, keeping us at careful arms length throughout the next chorus. “Tonight I am wearing this pristine, white wedding gown, and I am keeping it clean.”

“Tonight should be the perfect start to forever,” he counters, spinning me back in and pressing his lips to my neck, just the lightest little kiss.

I pull back in an instant, stopping the dance. “You don’t mean…”

“I was going to pay that visit to your wedding bed to make you mine forever,” he admits. “Freeze you in time, exactly as you are…”

“I do not want to be a vampire, especially not *your* vampire,” I enforce, and all he does is smirk.

“Just have some champagne and think about it. I don’t *need* to turn you now, with Resa safely controlled, done criticizing and threatening me for getting intimate with a lowly human.” I prickle. “Yet I still want you to come home with me.” He smooths his hands down my sides in skin-tingling tease. “Come back to the coven and stay there, Leah.” He sways my hips, guiding me back into our intricate tango. “Live coddled in luxury and decadence, as my true, immortal bride.”

“Just what are you two discussing, so quietly and close together?” Julian asks, folding the glass of champagne into my hand.

“You know, the usual.” I shrug, taking a sip. “How Luc wants to turn me into a vampire behind your back, potentially killing me and making sure you could never again drink my blood, and you’d both lose your souls…”

Julian’s eyes instantly harden, and Luc throws up his hands. “Why would you tell him that? Now he’s going to be grumpy all evening.”

“And it’s your fault, love,” I whisper in response, kissing his cheek. “He would have noticed pretty fucking quickly if it ever actually came to pass that I choked down your blood. I would not do anything that costly and potentially fatal unless we were all in sober agreement. Honesty is the best policy in marriage. It’s time you learned that, Luc.”

I, for my part, am a truthful and proper bride this day. That’s why I retire from the dancing, still pretty much sober, and I take Ben back from Kate. We head straight home. I let Luc and Julian carry up Gracen, but then I send them back to their coven, and I lay down in bed beside the foolish, frustrating love of my life, and wait patiently for him to wake up.