Althena Book 2

92. My Husband

Drogon kisses my back. "Chris is here, babygirl. It's time to get up."

I wiggle around and stretch my toes. "Good morning."

"Good morning, baby."

I go pee and then sit on Mike in the living room. He cuddles me while I wake up. Then we eat breakfast and get on the helicopter. We get out at the Greenwood District house. I love this house. Clayton, Akmae, and Conner are building a big arch. They are bending sticks to make it.

Mike smirks. "She put you guys to work."

Conner gives me a kiss. "Yes she did. You stick the white and pink flowers in it, babygirl."

I stick the flowers in the arch and make it look pretty. I space them out as best as I can. Then Chris drags me into the house. He's impatient. The 4 girls we brought from the Darkburn palace are waiting for me in a bedroom. The bed was taken out. So, I have lots of space to get ready.

They spend a couple of hours making me fancy. They redo my nails and curl my hair. My makeup looks perfect. I put the dress on and nearly cry. It fits me with no clips. I put my shoes on and smile in the mirror. Then they clip the veil in my hair. I feel like a bride.

"Thank you all. I need a minute."

"Of course, ma'am."

I sit on a stool in front of the mirrors and stare at myself. I love that man. I'm so happy to marry him and spend my life with him. But I am unbelievably sad. I look around the empty room and wonder if it's empty for everyone when they get married.

"I did it, momma. I grew up. I'm going to marry a prince today. He loves me. We're happy. I wish you were here. I'd give anything to see your smile or have you fix a curl in my hair. I met your mom. She's nice. Your sister, not so much. Dad went insane after he refused the bond with you. He's with you now. So, you already know that. I guess you know everything. Dad, I wish you were here too. I'm sorry I was so full of hate when I first met you. I should have let it go. I would have had more time to get to know you. And you hated yourself for what you did, you didn't need my hate adding to it. I'm sorry for that. I've made so many mistakes."

I get into my jewelry bag and put on my necklace and bracelet.

"This wedding is not a mistake. He's mine. My soulmate. I'm never going to let him go."

I put on my ankle bracelet.

"I'll never let any of them go. They are everything to me."

The door opens and granny smiles at me. "We're ready for you." She pulls part of the veil down in front of my face. "You're a beautiful bride."

"Thank you." Tears fill my eyes. "I miss them extra on days like this."

"I know, sweetie. Me too." She hands me an ornament. "Your grandfather made this for our wedding arch. The man leading everything will tell you when to hang it on yours."

It's a wood carving of the moon goddess holding a moon. Two braided leather straps hang from it. At the end of each strap is a wolf pendant carved from bone. "It's beautiful."

"Most people buy them. They're made from gold and silver. Gems. Bright and shiny. But we didn't have money when we started out. Mine was borrowed from a friend and he made his."

"Why did you decide to get married?"

"We wanted to celebrate. Our families made the wedding possible. My mom made me a white dress. One of his cousins let him borrow a suit. The ceremony was perfect. Then everyone who came brought a dish of food to share. It was simple, but that didn't matter to us. We had each other."

"It sounds perfect."

"When you have real love, you'll never need much else. You'll figure out a way through everything. I know you have plenty of it."

Chris comes in on his phone. "It's time to make Cyrus the luckiest man on the planet. I need your engagement ring."

"No."

"No options. Hand it over."

"No."

"You have to put the wedding band on. If you already have the engagement ring on, it's not going to go on right. I will keep it in this container and hold it until the end. I promise not to set it down."

Granny rubs my shoulders. "He's telling the truth. The band will go on your finger. You can put it back on after the ceremony."

I pout and hand the ring over. Chris smiles and drops it in the cleaning solution. "I'm happy it's finally getting cleaned. We're on the move." He hangs up.

We get to the living room and everyone is outside. I can see them through the window. They have some chairs set up out there. The arch is in the yard. It's decorated with red, blue, white, and pink flowers now. Cyrus is standing by it with Dacious and another man.

Granny smiles at me. "You look perfect. All you're going to do is walk down the aisle after they open the doors. Walk to Cyrus."

"I can do that."

Clayton comes in as granny and Chris leave. "Wow, a real bride."

"I've never even seen a wedding, Clayton. And why are you so fancy?" He's all done up as a prince.

"Mom made me. Weddings are something we have to dress up for. Remember if you ever get invited to one."

"Good tip." I brush his shoulder off. "Aren't you supposed to be out there?"

"I can't trust you to find your way down the aisle alone. I'll make sure you don't get there without falling over." Tears fill my eyes and I hug him. He chuckles. "We should be safe. There's no mud pits between here and there."

I fan my face and try to stop the tears from falling. "Just don't try to work any chairs."

We laugh at each other for a minute. "We must have gotten the clumsy gene from dad." Then he looks at my ornament. "That's different. I've never seen one like that."

"My grandpa made it."

"Now I want to make mine too. It's more real than buying something. You ready?" He holds out his arm.

I take it. "Yes."

"Last chance to leave out the back door." I laugh as he leads me to the door. "I'm not joking."

"I would never leave him."

The doors open and everyone looks at me. They stand up as he walks me down the aisle. Cyrus watches me from the arch. He's done up as a prince too. He looks perfect.

Clayton gets me to the end of the aisle and Cyrus wipes his eyes off. I didn't realize he was crying. Dacious pats him on the back and says something.

"Do you give this woman to be wed to this man?"

"I do." He lets go of me and nearly runs to his seat. He takes my ornament with him.

It takes everyone a second not to laugh.

"Very good. You may all be seated."

Cyrus takes my hands and leads me to where I'm supposed to be, I guess. We're in the center of the arch. Chris fixes the train on my dress then stands back over to the side. Then he leaves rather quickly. I don't know what that was about.

"Soulmates have a deep fated connection. A deep sense of understanding. They are pulled together by unseen forces and destiny. They share an emotional and spiritual connection. One that isn't affected by space, time, lives. The bonds of soulmates live on forever. When you find your soulmate, you find your home. Your family. The other half of your soul. You find peace."

I nearly cry when he says family. I have a real family. I've had one this whole time. My boys, Clayton, granny, Mary. They're my family.

The man sets a tall table beside us. It's big enough to hold what looks like a little bowl of some black liquid and 2 small paintbrushes. Cyrus sets my hands on it and picks up a paintbrush. He writes -love- on the back of my hand. "Write or draw whatever you want, baby."

"We are gathered here today to celebrate and bind Prince Cyrus Stone and Queen Althena Sage. They have found each other. They have found their soulmate."

We paint each other while he talks. I write -forever- and -family- on his hands. Then I decorate them with hearts. I fit -I love you- on the side. He writes -soulmate- on the back of my hand and decorates mine with hearts too. The man talks for quite a while.

Then he takes the black liquid away and replaces it with clear liquid. Cyrus holds my hands again. Then we place them in the clear liquid. It's warm and feels like oil.

"The words, symbols, and feeling you put on your soulmate are soaking in now."

I smile and watch our hands. It seems like it's rinsing off. Maybe it is soaking in. Cyrus watches me and smiles. Then he pulls my hands out and we dry them off with white towels.

"The wedding arch is a symbol of connection. Two sides. Two lives bent by the hands of the Moon Goddess herself, connect in the middle and become one life. Please place your adornments on the wedding arch now."

My heart stops for a fraction of a second. Then Clayton hands it to me. I take a deep breath and hear Dacious chuckle as he hands Cyrus his. They move away and Cyrus hangs his above his head. It's a gold moon goddess holding an opal moon. Then it has fancy gem strands that diamonds hang from. It is bright and sparkly. He points at a spot and I make sure mine is secure.

"Is that a family heirloom, baby?"

I smile at it. No sparkle. No gems. "My grandpa made it."

He rubs my shoulder. "It's perfect."

"So is yours."

He takes my hands and looks into my eyes.

The man says, "Do you, Cyrus Jericho Stone, take Althena May-Eve Sage to be your lawfully wedded wife."

"I do."

"Do you, Althena May-Eve Sage, take Cyrus Jericho Stone, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"The rings."

My heart stops again. Chris clears his throat and hands me Cyrus's ring. Cyrus gets mine from Dacious.

"Cyrus, place the ring on her finger and repeat after me." He takes my hand so gently and puts the white gold band on it. The diamonds sparkle. "With this ring, I bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of our marriage and our love. The promise of all of my tomorrows."

"With this ring, I bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of our marriage and our love. The promise of all of my tomorrows." He chokes up a little, but he gets it out.

"Althena, place the ring on his finger." I slide the ring on his finger and tear up. "Repeat after me. With this ring, I bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of our marriage and our love. The promise of all of my tomorrows."

"With this ring, I bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of our marriage and our love. The promise of all of my tomorrows." A tear falls out of my eye as we smile at each other. "My forever."

"You may kiss your bride."

He moves the veil and kisses me.

"You are now and forevermore. Husband and wife."

He pulls me into a tight hug and kisses me again. "My wife."

I touch his cheek. He's so amazing. "My husband."

"Ok you two. Save something for later." Dacious laughs.

Cyrus smirks and leads me back into the house.