dragged him into the gaping elevator. “He’ll go on trial with the wolf pack and be removed from society. He won’t bother you again.” Drake turned to leave, then stopped and spun around. “Veronica, if you two decide to finish what you started tonight, know that we’d be happy to welcome you into our family.”
“Thank you.” She grinned sweetly, clasping her hands in front of her. Her hair was a dark, tousled mess, falling over her shoulders in a rich wave. The white terry cloth tower robe hugged her body, parting at the collar, revealing a faint mark where his mouth had been not thirty minutes earlier.
When he and Veronica were finally alone, adrenaline bled from Logan’s veins. He approached Veronica, slowly, cautiously. He didn’t want to spook her.
“Come here.” She brushed her hands over his back and down around his flanks. Her touch felt heavenly. A groan escaped his lips as her fingers dug into his hair. “I was so worried about you.”
He gazed deep into her chocolate-brown eyes. They were rich and deep, shimmering with reverence. He leaned his face into her hand and shivers raced down his spine. She stroked his neck, running her hand along his fur in a loving caress. The fight in him simmered down, and he shifted as she touched him. He was still on all fours when his fur melted away and his body returned to proper form. The air was cool on his bare skin, but he didn’t care. He shivered from her touch, not the weather.
“Hi,” she whispered, bringing her mouth over his.
“I thought I’d lost you, so soon after I’d found you. I don’t know what I would’ve done.” He stroked her cheek where a yellowish bruise was surfacing. “Don’t ever leave my side again.”
“Is that an order?” She smiled and brought her face to his neck to nuzzle into him.
“No,” he said, “it’s a plea, and believe me…I don’t beg for much.”
Dragging his knee beneath him, Logan sat and pulled Veronica over his lap. She was precious. Delicate.
“I love you,” she said against his lips.
“It took me nearly losing you to realize exactly how much you mean to me. I love you, Veronica.” He kissed her, and let the world melt away. “Forever.”
Epilogue
As Logan stood beneath a rose-covered altar on the beach in front of his vacation home, his feet were surprisingly warm. His knees weren’t knocking and not one doubt was spinning in his gut. Logan had never been surer of anything in his life. They’d be together until the end of his days; he knew it with every bone in his body.
They’d moved in together a few months after Leah and Jake’s wedding. Logan had laughed more in the last year than he had in his whole life. He’d been worried about their connection weakening, but instead, their bond intensified. Their love didn’t fade with time or make him question whether he was pretending to be happy or if he really, truly was.
He used to believe people who got married were simply looking for someone to take away the ache of loneliness. The only times he felt lonely was when Veronica was missing from his side. It wasn’t that he wanted to be with someone. He wanted,
“Here we go,” Jake said from behind Logan. “You ready for this?”
A lifetime dedicated to Veronica? If the last year was any indication, he couldn’t imagine living a life without her.
“Hell yes.”
Logan stared across the empty beach, to where his future sister-in-law walked toward them, a single long- stemmed pink rose in her hand. She smiled as she met them, and then took her place on the opposite side of the sandy aisle. Besides Jake, Leah, and Drake—he’d happily agreed to marry them and welcome Veronica into the family—there were no other guests in attendance. No one to distract from this moment.
It was perfect.
With the soothing hush of waves lapping against the shore behind him, Logan gazed up the beach and caught sight of his bride. His chest swelled with pride. A white dress hugged her curves and fell to her feet in flowing ripples of lacy fabric. She was angelic and heart-stopping, holding fading pink roses tied with a white ribbon. As a warm breeze moved through the locks of her hair, the scent of devotion hit Logan’s senses. It was sweet and pure, melting him from the inside out. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
As she stood beside him, radiating happiness, Logan squeezed her hand.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, unable to take his eyes off her.
She smiled, her cheeks flushing pink. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself.”
Stepping forward from beneath the arch, Drake spread his arms between them. “Logan and Veronica, you’ve come here on this glorious day to celebrate the love that you have for each other. Over the course of this year, I’ve come to know you as a couple, and I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people who love each other more than you do. You cherish your differences, confronting challenges with no fear. Only love. That’s what life is all about.”
Logan could barely make out Drake’s words over the rush of blood in his ears.
“Do you, Veronica Vale, take Logan Black to be your wedded husband?” Drake asked.
Her glossy pink lips curled into a smile. “I do.”
Logan couldn’t have prepared himself to hear the words. Her voice caused a full-body assault to rack through him. His teeth clamped down. His eyes pinched closed. Air whooshed past his lips and his legs weakened.
“Will you love him like no other and care for his well-being over your own?”
Logan sensed the hard pounding of her heart.
She squeezed his hand. “I will.”
“Do you, Logan Black,” Drake said, turning to him, “take Veronica Vale to be your wedded wife?”
Those words. That fluttering heartbeat that beat for him. “I do.”
“Will you love her like no other and protect her, even if it means giving your own life?”
“I will.” Logan swelled with pride.
“You may now exchange rings and declare your love to each other,” Drake said.
Logan turned, taking a two-carat solitaire from Jake’s hand. “I’d do anything for you, Veronica.” He slipped the ring on her finger and brushed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “I’d walk through Butchart Gardens to get to you, smell every flower across the fifty acres and find you the most fragrant one. I’d dance with you until dawn every day, just to see you smile, and carry you to bed when your feet got tired. I’d do anything to see your face light up, to watch you smile and hear you laugh. I love how you look in the morning, with your hair a wild mess and your eyes all cute and puffy. I adore how you stare at the skyline of Seattle like it amazes you, and hope you look into the eyes of our children the same way, in sheer loving wonder. I’m in awe of the way your body molds to mine. The way I can see your fighting spirit in your eyes. I’m beyond grateful that I’ve found you and will dedicate my life to making sure you feel happy and loved every day, from this day forward.”
She swayed into him, adoration glistening in her warm brown eyes. She took a silver band from Leah and slid it on his finger. He’d never wanted a ring to settle there, but if it meant he would be with Veronica, he’d never take it off.
“Logan, I can’t imagine my life without you. You make me feel safe, precious, and treasured. My heart knew it loved you before I did. With every beat it drew me nearer to you, and I’m so glad I finally listened. On the outside, we may not look like we fit. I’m more on the serious side, and a cat person till I die.” She smirked. “And you’ll never convince me to get rid of my pussy.”
He laughed at the word
“Had to squeeze it in there.” She shrugged as Jake and Leah erupted into hoots of laughter. “But beneath the surface, we want the same things. I want you, Logan. Just the way you are, with your gentle heart and
