75. Wedding day madness pt. 2

[Mercy]

"Wait, Alaric wants me to be his lieutenant?" Samantha gasped happily, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"You look pleased about that. I thought you'd want to stay by Sam?" I asked, furrowing my brows in curiosity as I watched her. *'Being Alaric's second means she won't be able to be around Sam as often, so how is she so happy about this?'*

"Sam and I talked about a lot of things before I decided to get turned. We choose to have Damien turn me because of the ownership laws and because of the position it would give me in this world. Sam's been training me non stop since I was turned, making sure I'm a lieutenant worth a damn. I mean, once someone asked me to be one, anyway." She said with a nod, then started walking back towards the house.

"Staying by Sam maybe what her heart wants, but in order to move up in our world, she may need to move to another continent to have a job as a lieutenant," Sinclair said as he came to a stop, motioning for the rest of us to stop as well. He looked back and forth between Samantha and me; his golden eyes narrowed as he glared at the two of us for a long few moments. "We cannot tell them not until after the wedding. Though I'm not particularly fond of bringing this up on their wedding day at all, it must be done, as we do not know when any of these things will come to a head."

"Yeah, I get it. But shouldn't we also talk about what we should tell everyone first?" I asked.

"Your engagement to Alaric, Samantha being chosen as his second, beings trying to move up in the world, or an ancient and very powerful being beneath my house?" Sinclair said, then snorted with a shake of his head. "Only one of those things should be an immediate priority, as it could very well be the death of us all. Except for your engagement, of course. Congratulations, little recreant."

"I imagine people go after each other all the time to try and move their place up in the world. It doesn't really seem like it's huge news that they're coming after us, seeing as how we took down Edward." Maeve added with a nonchalant shrug, making me look at her curiously. *'Did she not hear when I said they were coming after her?'*

"You must have missed the part where I said they're coming after you, Maeve. Yeah, all of us, but you first because of your power and the fact that you're the one who took him down. It won't take long before they break someone, and they spill on what you can do, especially seeing as how you told everyone you were a fae." I said, waiting for her to have any sort of reaction to the news, finding myself surprised when it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

"As I said, it doesn't seem like huge news. Don't tell me that I'm the only one who saw it coming? It's obvious. The big bad is taken out, the people who took out the big bad, become the new big bad, the people underneath them will try to become the big bad instead." Maeve said with a giggle, shaking her head.

"We live in a world where vampires take high office, and everyone else remains in the shadows, waiting for their chance. I wondered how vampires could be so rich and powerful without anyone realizing that vampires exist, and I came up with the most obvious reason. People do know vampires exist, and that's where all of the stories come from. All of those stories, movies, and books are based on something more than humans' pure imagination. Every idea comes from something, and I find it hard to believe otherwise." Maeve added, then looked back and forth between the three of us, taking a step back when she saw the way we were watching her.

"Did you just- Holy shit!" I gaped at Maeve, then looked at Samantha, sharing a look of bewilderment and amusement.

"You aren't allowed to talk for at least the next few hours," Samantha said before walking back towards the house, shaking her head.

"Why am I not allowed to talk?" Maeve asked as she walked alongside me, watching me curiously.

"You just destroyed my brain, in like, two seconds flat," Samantha said with a grin, taking a deep breath before saying anything more. "But, Sinclair's right. It's clear what we have to tell them first."

"Yeah, also, how did you know about my engagement to Alaric?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Sinclair, who was walking just behind the three of us.

"Your feelings, and his, when we were talking about the wedding and clearing out the yard," Sinclair responded with a shrug, holding the door open for us to walk into the house, headed towards the library where I could hear heartbeats. *'I wonder why I couldn't hear that thing's heartbeat in the tunnels, but Sinclair said he did hear one. Better yet, what kind of wall is leathery with veins and breaths? I believe Sinclair when he said that's all he saw, as I could tell he was telling the truth, but that only raises more questions.'*

"Where did you four disappear to?" Alaric asked as we entered the library where He, Octavia, Kerr, and Sam were sitting.

"We followed Sinclair when he went to look for Maeve, but she was just using the bathroom," Samantha said as she sat next to Sam, smiling at him before leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Oh, I accidentally spilled the beans about you wanting to ask Samantha about being your lieutenant. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." I said as I sat on the arm of the couch next to Alaric, smiling apologetically as he looked up at me, then to Samantha.

"Did you? That's alright, I suppose. Samantha, what do you think?" Alaric asked her, setting down the book he was reading so he could look from Sam to Samantha.

"I think, yes! I didn't think it would happen so quickly, but I'm really excited!" Samantha grinned, jumping to her feet to hold her hand out to Alaric, who chuckled and stood, taking her hand in his, shaking it.

"I see you've been getting her prepared to become a lieutenant," Alaric said to Sam as he sat back down next to me, chuckling softly.

"Yes, of course. Before she decided to turn, we talked every part of it out with each other. I wouldn't turn her, so there would be no ownership law that applies to her. Of course, I told her she'd be in a high position if Lucifer were to turn her, and we talked out that path as well. Everything was known and planned for before we asked Lucifer to turn her." Sam responded with a smile, nodding to Samantha as she sat back down. "I did not expect it to be you that chose her, however. That only means that we will not be separated."

"How would Samantha become a lieutenant without Alaric picking her, though? Doesn't every elder already have one, and even if they didn't, they're across the world, so how would they know about her?" I asked after thinking about it for a few moments, as the longer I thought about it, the more confusing it got.

"It appears you do not know this, but Elders and Luitenants are in constant contact. We rarely go a week without hearing a word from multiple other continents." Sam responded.

"I knew about Samantha planning to be turned much before we went to meet with Lucifer in Octavia's town. It wasn't until I got there that I met Samantha, but the news of Lucifer turning someone is not something we take lightly." Alaric added with a nod to Sam before looking back at me. "Someone turned by Lucifer gives them the automatic right to sit at the table, as an heir of sorts. As an heir, she has the right to be chosen as a lieutenant before anyone else does."

"An heir does not have to be chosen, of course, as elders and lieutenants are allowed to choose whoever they wish to. Nevertheless, if a continent loses everyone appointed to it, an heir is given that position."

"Wow, so it's not like a big deal, it's a tremendous deal that Damien turned her?" Octavia asked, shaking her head with a scoff. "I knew it was a big deal, but I had no idea it was that big."

"Yeah, is it rude to ask why he would make such a big deal for you? Oh, that sounded really bad. Way worse than it did in my head. What I mean is, did he turn Samantha because you're second in line to be the vampire king? And as second in line, why wouldn't you take Samantha as your second?" I asked, biting my lip as I tried to think of another way to ask, but every way I could think of sounded worse than the last.

"I do not know, as I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. As a matter of fact, I thought it would take months to years before he would agree to it, after making sure Samantha would be good enough to deserve a position like this." Sam said with a shrug.

"Oh, well, that's... It's good that he didn't, I guess." I said, narrowing my eyes in thought as everyone else in the room continued to converse. *'Bast told me that Damien was really close to being a recreant for a while there, before they had the babies, anyway. Maybe he chose her because he thought he would turn recreant, and Sam would take over as the king? That's the only thing that really makes the most sense. I can't think of another reason Damien would do something huge like that.'*

"It's nearly time," Sinclair said, looking up from his book to check the time on the clock before standing, offering his hand to Maeve after straightening his tie. After helping Maeve to her feet, he led her out of the house and towards the cabin where they'd put their clothes for the wedding.

"I'm so glad they're finally able to get married! I wonder what she's going to wear?" I asked as Alaric, and I walked out of the house and headed to the cabin where we'd spent the night, going to get dressed for the wedding.

"Sam told me that the twins had him get something out of their rooms, specifically for this occasion. I believe the twins knew they were going to get married a while ago, and so they had their clothes ready and awaiting this day." Alaric responded, nodding as I looked up at him curiously. "The two of them never cease to amaze."

"Those twins can get scary with the things they do and know," I mumbled with a shake of my head as I walked into the bathroom and started the shower before plugging my blow dryer. I pulled out my phone to check the time, noticing that I had multiple missed calls from Nancy. "Um, Alaric?" I called, my eyes widening in shock as I scrolled through the notifications. *'Holy shit! How could I be so stupid as to forget to take her fucking phone?'*

"What's wrong?" Alaric asked as he ran into the bathroom, looking back and forth from me to my phone. His gray eyes widened with worry.

"We didn't take Nancy's phone, and Damien's basement has a signal?"

"No, it doesn't. That's impossible!" Alaric gasped as he grabbed my phone, scrolling through the notifications before growling and hurtling it at the wall. "I will be back. Do not tell anyone, okay?"

"No, I'm coming with you!" I gasped as I started to turn off the shower but was stopped by Alaric, who shook his head, grabbing my shoulders to hold me still while he forced me to look up into his blood-red eyes.

"You are staying here. I should be back within the hour, and the wedding doesn't start for another two hours. There's no way Edward could have gotten the phone, and Nancy doesn't know anyone in America. I made sure of that months ago."

"What do you mean, you made sure of it?" I growled, narrowing my eyes as I tried to wriggle free of his grasp, but to no great avail, as he was much stronger than I am and had no issues with controlling me.

"When we first came to America, I was worried that she might try to follow, or have you watched. I did some digging to make sure she couldn't call on anyone here. Her phone shouldn't even work right now, so I need to go and see what's happening. If you tell anyone, they will immediately cancel the wedding, and you know it. Just tell them that I had some business to take care of. We can just add it to the tab of shit we need to tell them." He said, then pulled me into a hug before kissing my forehead.

"Okay, go. But if I don't hear from you in the next hour, I am going to tell them."

"Alright, one hour, I swear it." He said with a curt nod, kissing me quickly before running out of the cabin, not wasting a single second before doing so.

"Oh, fuck," I groaned as I went to pick up my phone, and by no great surprise to me, saw that it was shattered. "I swear to god, if he dies, I will fucking murder him."

________

[Alaric]

I ran as fast as I could towards Damien's house, pushing myself to my absolute limit, surprised when I found how fast I was able to run when I tried. *'The enhancement Nia had given me didn't just make me stronger than a recreant, but I'm faster than one now, too?'* I thought, then came to a stop when I heard someone following me. *'It's got to be Sinclair. He's the only recreant around, and only a recreant can run that fast.'* I thought as I looked behind me to find that it was indeed Sinclair who didn't stop running but motioned for me to follow him as he continued forward.

"What did the two of you do? Is Edward on the loose?" He asked once I'd caught up to him, narrowing his golden eyes at me with a growl.

"I don't know. Mercy had some missed calls from Nancy, which shouldn't be possible from that basement." I responded with a shake of my head, veering to the right to dodge the trees as I ran past them.

"If that man is loose, Alaric, all hell will let loose."

"Yes, Sinclair, I am aware. Why did you run after me?" I asked him, curious about how he'd known I'd left, let alone where I was going.

"It's clear you have not gotten used to your enhanced hearing. Otherwise, you'd known that I could hear you. With the distance between your cabin and mine, I can only hear when your voice is raised, as it was when you told her you'd take care of it." Sinclair said as he slowed to a stop as we arrived at Damien's mansion's front door.

"How the hell did we get here so fast? The drive there was an hour-long!" I exclaimed as I followed him into the house and past the staircases, where we walked to the basement door. I started to pull the lock off but was stopped by Sinclair as he held his hand up, shaking his head no as he put his ear to the door, motioning for silence while he concentrated on hearing.

"You failed, Nancy. Your job was to raise the child, not turn her against me!" We heard Edward's faint voice from the other side of the door.

"You were going to kill her, Edward! I looked into that little girl's eyes, and I had to take her away from you." Nancy yelled back, her voice thick with tears as she sniffled.

"I was not going to kill all three of them, and you know this! I only kill the weaker two of the three, and the third is allowed to live to reproduce and repopulate my kingdom!" Edward roared back. The hatred in his voice was so powerful; I had to suppress a growl of my own when I heard it. I looked over at Sinclair, who shook his head softly before returning his attention to the faint conversation.

"Oh, great king, how kind you are! Sparing one child out of the dozens you've killed!" Nancy spat sarcastically, then let out a deep sigh before speaking again. "It's your own fault that the elementals are killed off, you power-hungry monstrosity."

"I'm a power-hungry monstrosity? Ha! You're the one who pushed our daughter into being the fuck toy for an elder, you gold-digging whore!"

"Our?" I mouthed to Sinclair as we shared a look of confusion and horror, then went back to listening. *'Forced her into being the "fuck toy of an elder?" Is that what they think she is to me?'*

"Our daughter, Edward? I'm the one that raised her. You're nothing but a sperm donor."

"Nothing but a sperm donor? Is that all I am, Nancy? If I recall correctly, and I do, I'm the one who figured out how to turn you human. ME! If it weren't for me, you'd still be that recreant whore you were when I found you three hundred years ago!"

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, oh great and mighty king of elementals. Oh, wait a second, there are no more elementals because you let them die off because of your stupid fucking experiments!" Nancy shouted with a laugh that sent Edward on the warpath, as I could hear him snarling as he banged into the bars of the cage, no doubt trying to force them loose so he could rip out her throat.

"Those 'stupid fucking experiments' are the only reason you're still alive! The power I stole from my people was all for you because you wouldn't accept just your humanity. Oh no, you wanted to remain immortal because dying with the man you said you loved is just a fate worse than death."

"I did love you, Edward. I had to take Mercy away in case she wasn't going to be the strongest daughter. We tried for centuries to have a child. Did you really think I could just stand by and let her die for not being born strong enough?" Nancy cried out, then started sobbing.

"Don't give me your bullshit, woman; I'm tired of hearing it. You are the one who forced the fae into hiding with your bloodthirsty pursuit of their power. You are the one who tricked those recreants into being our lab rats. You, Nancy, are the one who drove our daughter away. How many times did you almost kill our child? Huh? Don't act as if I killed them for my own selfish needs. I killed my children so that you could live, Nancy. I killed my family, my children, my people, to satisfy you, but it was never enough."

"You want to bring up the fae, Edward? How about that slut fae you had? She gave you her power. We could have had it all if you weren't too busy trying to get into her pants and let her take your power."

"Of course you're bringing her up. Why the hell wouldn't you! I am a man, Nancy, and she is a newborn fae. You know damn well the power fae can hold over a man, the fucking worthless whores."

"Sinclair!" I said in a low growl, grabbing his arm as he started to unlock the door to go and tell Edward precisely what he thought after hearing his words against Maeve.

"What was that?" Edward growled, cutting Nancy off just as she was starting to respond.

"Don't change the subject, Edward. We are down here for the foreseeable future together, so how about you focus your attention on getting me the hell out of here, so I can go kill that fae!" Nancy snapped at him in her high-pitched shriek of a voice, making him growl once again as if he was a dog. "Cute, growling like a dog. I thought they turned you into a vampire, but I guess they only turned you into a loser with nothing."

"They turned me into a loser with nothing, Nancy? I lost my kingdom, my family, my only son, all because of you. We had that surrogate carry our child, so we could start a family, just to find out you killed that baby to steal its power the day it was born!" Edward shouted, then started laughing, a loud and crazed maniacal chuckle coming from his depths.

There was a long and painful pause where we could hear nothing but Edward's laughter until he finally stopped laughing and spoke again in a mocking tone. "Was killing all of my people not enough for you? No, of course, it wasn't. That recreant Nancy is at it again, being the poster child for why recreants are power-thirsty monsters! Not only did she kill off the elementals, but she also started hunting her own kind because Nancy just wants to be one of a kind. The last recreant!"

Edward's words threw Sinclair into a rage, his eyes turning black almost instantaneously after hearing them as he lunged again towards the door, slamming into me as I blocked him, thankfully stopping him before he could hit the door. Unfortunately, I felt a vast majority of my bones breaking from the force, forcing me to collapse to the ground.

I did everything I could to stifle my cry of pain but wasn't sure if I'd succeeded, as I couldn't hear anything from the basement. "Sinclair, they have just told us multiple things we never knew before, and they might tell us more if they don't know we're listening. Not to mention, Mercy put up barriers. How the hell do you think you're going to get through them?" I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me as I snapped my right leg back into place, groaning out as I tried to stand.

"We were supposed to be coming to see about the phone, Alaric. It's clear they are both down here, so how is she getting calls out?"

"It's not her. It's me." A female voice suddenly said from down the hallway, causing both Sinclair and I to snarl as we whipped around to see who it was that could have snuck upon us. I did a doubletake when I turned around and saw that it was Leena. "The phone was on the ground outside, and I didn't have any other way to contact her. I'm sorry!" She cried out as Sinclair grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall, pushing her a few inches up, so they were face to face.

"I thought you went home, Leena? Why are you still here, and why are you trying to call Mercy? You abandoned Maeve, leaving her alone to figure this out!" Sinclair snarled in Leena's face, his hand grasping her throat so tightly, I was surprised he hadn't snapped it, as I would have, knowing that she'd heal from it.

"I didn't leave. I stayed at a hotel nearby!" Leena struggled out as she tried to pry Sinclair's hand from around her throat, her face quickly turning purple as she started gasping for breath.

"Why are you here, Leena?" I added with a roll of my eyes as I watched her, raising an eyebrow in anticipation.

"I want to help Maeve. That's why I came back!"

Sinclair narrowed his eyes with a growl, searching her bright blue eyes for a few moments before he tightened his hand around her throat, filling the hall with the harsh yet pleasing sound of her trachea being crushed, then tossed her body into the foyer carelessly. "She'll heal."

"She must have gotten here shortly after we left, as the first call was about eight pm, and another at ten, then a few this morning," I said as I looked at Leena's motionless body, listening as I could hear her heart began beating.

"She was telling the truth about wanting to help Maeve. I could see it in her eyes." Sinclair said after listening at the door for a few moments, met only with silence as it was clear Edward had heard us this time. *'I wonder how he could hear us? This door is soundproof, or at least I thought it was as I couldn't hear his screams the night before. I must not have been tapping into my enhanced hearing, and Mercy doesn't have the hearing of a full vampire, either, so she wouldn't have heard it.'* I thought as Sinclair, and I walked into the foyer, crossing our arms over our chest as we watched Leena coming back to life, waiting. "Speak," Sinclair growled the moment she fluttered her eyes open.

"Aye, I deserved that." She croaked out, clearing her throat as it began healing, restoring her ability to speak. "I went back into the faeverse for a few days after finding a hotel to stay in, and I asked about dark fae and Maeve. It took a lot of digging, but I found out that Maeve isn't actually a dark fae, based on what I saw when I was here."

"We know, she's an anodyne. How did you know she wasn't a dark fae?"

"Because she was still in the faeverse after her power was returned. Anodyne is so rare that I'd never heard of them before and could only find a few things about them in our library. I had to speak to one of the first faes to get any real answers, and let me tell you, talking to one of the originals is not an easy feat to accomplish."

"It's been less than two weeks, Leena, so it couldn't have been too hard," I said with a roll of my eyes as I motioned for her to walk out of the house, taking the phone out of her hand before sending a text to Mercy, groaning when I remembered that I'd broken her phone. "What's Maeve's number? Mercy's phone is broken, and I promised I'd call her within the hour."

"It's been about thirty minutes. We can make it back before your hour is up." Sinclair said, then crouched down, pulling Leena on his back, his lip twitching in disgust as she buried her face in his shoulder to block it from the wind.

*'I would have just killed her and tossed her over my shoulder,'* I thought with a snort as we ran forward, neither of us speaking as we were both lost in our own thoughts. I did not doubt that Sinclair was thinking about Maeve and what Edward and Nancy had said about driving the fae into hiding while I was thinking about what they'd said about Mercy. *'Nancy is her actual mother? Why wouldn't she tell her that she was her birth mother, instead of making her think she'd only taken her after she was born? Edward did say that she used to be a recreant, so perhaps the reason she lied about being her mother is so she wouldn't have to explain how she was human, missing her golden eyes. No, that cannot possibly be attainable. A recreant can't turn human, and even if they did, would they really lose the gold in their eyes?'*

"Alaric, I'm getting very tired of saying this, but-" Sinclair said, cutting himself off with a growl. "We cannot tell them anything we've just found out, at all."

"I know, I'm getting tired of hearing and saying the same damned thing." I agreed with a nod, rolling my eyes with a sigh as we arrived at the edge of his property, where Sinclair pushed Leena off of his back.

"I will tell Maeve that you are here, and you wish to speak to her. You will not move from this spot until I return for you- Damn it! I can't leave you out here. You might sense that-" Sinclair said, then let out a long sigh as he looked up at me, shaking his head. "Can you and Mercy keep an eye on her until I've talked to Maeve?"

"Sure," I said with a nod, watching him as he ran towards the cabin on the lake. *'He started to say that she would sense something. Just what is he afraid that she will sense? I knew Mercy was lying to me about where they'd gone. There's something they're hiding from us. Huh, that must be what he needs to tell everyone else after the wedding. I will not ask, in the interest of keeping this copacetic, as I've hidden things from Mercy, and this seems like something worth keeping mum about until the time is right.'* I thought as I led Leena to the cabin where I opened the door for her, then smiled as Mercy ran into the front room, looking at Leena curiously before looking up at me. "She is the one that called you. She found the phone in the yard and recognized your name in the caller ID."

"Wow, so I was freaking out for no reason? Good, I don't think my heart could have handled it if they got out." Mercy said, breathing a sigh of relief as she crossed the room to hug me.

*'I can only imagine how you're going to feel when I tell you what I've learned.'* I thought as I kissed the top of her head, then took a step back to look at her, brushing the stray hairs out of her face with a smile. "You look beautiful," I said, drinking in the sight of her little crimson dress, then turning her so I could see the lace straps zig-zagging across her shoulders, the lower part of her back left open. Though I loved the way she looked in anything she wore, the sight of her mostly exposed back in that blood-red dress nearly drove me insane with lust. *'I love the way she looks in anything she wears, but there's something about the way her skin looks in crimson that is driving me mad. I need to tell her what Lucifer suggested earlier, but I need to wait until Leena is gone.'*

"Go ahead and get ready, babe," Mercy giggled as she stood on the tips of her toes to kiss me softly, then stepping to the side so I could go into the bedroom to get ready.

"Alright, play nice," I said, raising an eyebrow as I cast a glance at Leena, then walked into the bedroom where I took off my jacket and my vest, tossing them on the bed before stepping into the bathroom to turn on the shower. I listened to Leena and Mercy talking as Leena told her why she'd come back, telling her the same thing she'd told Sinclair and me.

"Will you tell me about the faeverse?" Mercy asked her as I could hear her opening the refrigerator.

"There's not much to tell. It's like an island in the middle of nowhere. In the center of the island is our city, where some fae act as street vendors. Not because they have to, and they don't get paid anything for it, but it gives us a sense of normalcy to do things like that. The first person to get that idea was praised as a genius, as we'd gone a little stir crazy with nothing else to do." Leena responded with a small laugh.

I continued to listen as Leena told Mercy about some of the things they'd started doing in the faeverse to make their island in the middle of nowhere feel more like earth. I turned my attention to trimming my beard, then my hair, keeping their conversation in the back of my head to hear if anything important was said.

"Alaric, Maeve is coming in hot," Sinclair called from across the yard, warning me as the two of them were coming down to the cabin.

"Thank you. Mercy, Maeve is coming. I suggest a healthy distance." I called as I stepped into the shower, washing as quickly as possible, so I could get dressed and run interference if need be.

"Okay, thanks for the heads up-" Mercy started to say but cut herself off as I heard the front door banging into the wall behind it, sounding like it was just kicked in. *'Yeah, it sounds about right that Maeve would kick the door in. Not like it really matters, as Sinclair could have stopped her if he wanted to but chose not to. It's his door, in any case.'* I thought as I got out of the shower, checking in the bedroom to make sure no one was in it before using my vampire speed to dress in the suit Sam had gotten me.

"Oi, coming back, are we?" Maeve said with a growl I could almost see on her face.

"I'm sorry for rushing off the way I did, Maeve; I was scared. I did some digging in the faeverse about what happened to you, but those two told me that they already knew." Leena responded, looking over at me as I exited the bedroom, using my towel to try my hair before tossing it in the laundry bin.

"Is that what you came back to tell me? That I'm an anodyne?"

"No, I came back to help you in any way I can. I don't know how much you learned about them, but perhaps I've learned something you haven't that could be of use?"

"Aye, sure you have." Maeve snorted with a roll of her eyes, then looked at Mercy before looking at me. "I shouldn't have kicked the door in. I'm sorry. We'll take Leena back to our cabin to stay during the wedding. We'll talk later, but your shite is the last thing I need to worry about right now." She said, then motioned for Leena to walk out of the house, pushing the half-broken door to the side so she could.

"The wedding is in about forty-five minutes, just a heads up," Sinclair said with a nod, smiling at us before following Maeve and Leena back to their cabin. *'Could you have been any more obvious? Jesus.'*

"I'm going to regret saying this, but could things possibly-" Mercy started to say as they left but was cut off as I clasped a hand over her mouth, shaking my head no.

"Do not jinx us, Mercy. I know something happened when you and Samantha followed Sinclair, and it is taking all I have not to question that because I know you're waiting for the wedding to be over to tell us."

"Okay, sorry. Let's finish getting ready. Don't want to be late for my big sister's wedding." Mercy responded with a giggle, pulling my hand off of her mouth before walking past me and into the bathroom, where she started putting on her makeup. *'It's not just your big sister's wedding, kitten.'*

"That saying, wedding day madness, I think we took it a bit too literal."