He’d intended to hold himself back from his edge as long as it took to get her there first, but there was no controlling this runaway freight train. Their merciless pace had only one destination, and he could tell from the desperate way she was whimpering, from the way her body was twitching and shuddering under him, that she was as close as he was. Time, then, for one last, frenetic burst of energy, throwing absolutely everything he had left in him into it—and Lana’s scream of ecstasy split the night right as his vision was completely obscured by stars.
It wasn’t until he’d revolved back into semi-consciousness, still panting hard in the aftermath of the most intense orgasm he’d ever experienced, that he saw what had happened… and his soft laughter woke Lana from her own dazed, semi-comatose state. The bed beneath them was in ruins. At some point, the legs had been wrenched off completely, and the mattress lay atop a heap of splintered wood. The bunk above them had fallen forwards, to his relief, missing both of them—its upended mattress and tangle of bedding made an odd lump in the night.
“Vandalism,” Lana murmured sleepily.
“Anything for my Queen,” Seth replied, gathering her close and pressing a kiss to her temple. Wrecked bed or no, he could no sooner have moved than he could have sprouted wings and flown across the room. In a minute, he thought. In a minute, he’d gather her up and move them both to one of the bunk beds they hadn’t destroyed. Right now, he was a little worried that he might break the spell of the happiest moment of his life so far.
And with that thought in mind, Seth followed Lana into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 25 - Lana
“It’s done!” Lana bellowed, bursting into the office and startling her two favorite men half to death. “It took three blasted months, but it’s done.”
“What’s done? Your hair? Clearly not.” Conrad pointed at Lana’s head, and she lifted a defensive hand to the side of her head to touch the thick white rollers that her dark hair was still wound around. She waved a dismissal at him and tugged the dressing gown she was wearing more tightly around her shoulders. “You are aware the ceremony is in—”
“Conrad, the tunnels are clear!”
Seth grinned at her over the lip of his teacup. He was wearing that misty-eyed look he only wore when he thought she wasn’t looking at him, well-aware she’d tease him about it if she spotted it… which was why she’d started pretending not to notice, at least sometimes. But right now, she couldn’t resist. “I’m in a dressing gown, you lovestruck fool.”
“You look beautiful.”
“You’re going to drop dead at the altar if you’re already overcome by this.”
“I’ll die happy.”
“Love is disgusting,” Conrad said drily, taking a sip of his own tea. Lana grinned, giving her second-in-command an affectionate punch in the shoulder. It had been three months since their own wedding had been averted, and she was incredibly grateful that after a few awkward days and a long conversation or two, their relationship was back on solid ground. He was far too sensible to hold a grudge. He and Seth were even fast friends these days, to her surprise and delight.
“Nobody’s excited about the tunnels. It’s the best wedding present imaginable, and nobody cares but me. Sad.”
“Speaking of which, we’re all running late.”
“The bride’s always late,” she said, giving them both a meaningful look. She’d quickly learned that dragons here didn’t have nearly as many official wedding traditions as humans did, which meant that she was the reigning expert on weddings. Wolves, in fact, didn’t have weddings at all, and even dragons only bothered rarely, usually for political occasions. Lana and Seth had quickly decided that this particular union was significant enough to merit pulling out absolutely all the stops.
Which didn’t mean she couldn’t multitask a little.
It had been an intense three months, that was for sure. She and Seth had returned to the cavern after a restful sleep on a thoroughly demolished bed, fully prepared for the verbal assault of a lifetime from their respective communities. Instead, they’d been shocked by an uproarious welcome—every dragon in the cavern positioned on their ledges and bugling a welcome at the top of their lungs. And amidst the brassy sound, the unmistakable howling of wolves.
Conrad had been busy, they quickly learned, spreading the story of what Lana and Seth had done. The research, the breakthrough, the desperate flight into the forest—she was shocked to realize that everyone seemed to know every detail. It helped, of course, that everyone was absolutely over the moon to have their lost loved ones returned, safe and sound. No deaths, no losses, no injuries… save for a few scratches that Acantha’s sister Morgan had sustained in the joyous wrestling match of their reunion. Morale was high… and Lana knew an opportunity when she saw one. So she’d summoned everyone down to the floor of the cavern, where she’d announced that she and Seth were soulmates. And, in the heat of the moment, she’d invited everyone to the wedding—which had earned yet another uproarious round of applause.
And now she was standing on the edge of the very plateau where she’d first been told she was Queen. The afternoon sun was warm on her face, and the sleek white gown she’d selected from the palace’s collection shone brightly as the light reflected from the dozens of jewels that had been sewn into it. She was a Queen, wasn’t she? If a Queen couldn’t go all-out on her wedding day, when could she?
Pageantry was fun… but it had all dropped away when she’d seen Seth standing there at the edge of the Plateau, cut out against the blue sky behind him, a wreath of twigs and vines nestled in his dark hair and making him look like some elven prince. How was it possible that despite having spent every single day and night together for the past three months, her heart still skipped a beat when he took her hands in his?
“Welcome, all, to an unprecedented royal wedding.”
Conrad’s voice boomed across the Plateau, which was so crowded with seating that the stone beneath the crowd was barely invisible. And that was only a few of the guests. Behind them, more were perched on the mountain—dozens of dragons, perched on cliffs or rocky slopes, talons dug hard into the stone. She’d been shocked and delighted to learn that many had arranged to sit with wolves up there on the cliffs, carefully carrying their earthbound fellows up in their talons to find an optimal view. The prevalence of new friendships between wolves and dragons was something that had absolutely floored Seth. The passageway between the cavern and the forest had been declared a public thoroughfare, and wolves were making regular visits there—including Seth, who with Lana was splitting his time evenly between the cavern and the village. There were even efforts being made to render the cavern more accessible to those without wings, carving stairs and ramps into previously sheer cliffs.
And the library. The library had become the busiest place in the Palace. Arric and Hartwell could barely keep up with all the interest—there were dozens of new research projects being started every day, many of them to do with comparing the history and knowledge base of each shifter community, exploring their wildly different experiences of the same valley. Arric had had to be physically dragged away from his research to attend the wedding today, something Lana was very grateful for. The little man had grown absolutely obsessed with the Fog once he’d heard the story of what Lana had done with it, and she didn’t doubt he’d spend the next hundred years at least conducting a further study. She was rather interested in it herself. The portal she’d opened had banished all lingering homesickness she felt for Earth… she’d done it once, she could do it again, right? Right now, though, she didn’t want to go anywhere. Not when this world was at such an exciting point of change and transformation.
There were still tensions, of course, problems that would need to be dealt with. Lana was aware that a handful of dragons had opted not to attend the wedding—well within their rights, of course. Dragons were famously slow at adapting to change, whether that was here or back home, and Lana knew there may be more trouble up ahead. Seth had told her that not every wolf would be in attendance, either. As far as she was concerned, though, everyone she wanted to be there was there … including every single one of the shifters who’d disappeared.
And what couldn’t she face, with Seth at her side? She’d always been an optimist, and it was hard to be anything else at a time like this. Standing before her loyal subjects with the love of her life at her side and a future full of excitement stretching ahead of her, Lana couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to be than right here, right now.
*****
THE END