Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Dragon’s Pretend Marriage Epilogue

Milton

Mom stood in front of me with oil on her fingers. She smiled with tears in her eyes as she marked my chest, turning to Brandi to do the same. It was funny to see her standing on her toes just to kiss Brandi's cheek. They stood with their hands locked together, a The corners of my mother's mouth twitched. "May this union provide peace."

moment suspended in time.

My vision blurred for a second. A few more words were spoken. The canopy above held spelled lights, tiny twinkling orbs that floated low around our heads. Brandi took my hand. She kissed my knuckles. She brushed a tear from my cheek.

Applause exploded around us. What I assumed would take forever had spanned a matter of minutes. Blake stepped forward with Veronica at his side, the two of them wearing dark colors. Of course they were clad in black. My alpha was a badass with a badass mate. He clapped a brotherly hand on my shoulder. "Congrats, buddy."

Neil joined his side and pushed my shoulder playfully. "I thought I'd be married before you."

"In this economy?" Tanner teased. He held out two glasses of champagne-one for me and one for his sister. "Sorry, Neil. Nobody likes lions."

Neil scoffed. "That's not what your sis-" He slammed his mouth shut when growls reverberated around him. "What I mean is that I don't think that's a fair statement."

"It's plenty fair considering you almost insulted his sister," Blake pointed out. "But all's well that ends well, right?" He hugged Neil. "Come on, grumpy. Lighten up!"

Neil and Tanner playfully wrestled while Blake stood back to check the crowd. The canopy shuddered in the breeze. Jermaine stood on the edge of the crowd with a vigilant gaze and a hand pressed to his ear. He kept glancing up at the canopy. Brandi sighed. "Look who's inching toward him."

I scanned the crowd. Elva was making her rounds with a tray of drinks. She smiled and nodded, making small conversation every so often. Jermaine noticed her. Elva didn't notice him. His jaw locked up and his brows darkened with what I thought looked like disappointment.

Brandi elbowed me. "Ten bucks says she spills something on him."

I arched my right brow. "And why do you say that?"

"Last week, while Leah, Lenny, and I were planning the ceremony, Elva and Jermaine got into it big time."

"Really?" I tugged her away from the crowd with a smirk. "What was it about?"

She rolled her eyes. "Jermaine wanted to put cameras up where the lights are."

"That's stupid."

"Right? It would have ruined the whole thing. But he kept insisting that we had to be on our toes because we never know when the enemy will strike again, blah, blah, blah..."

I sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like Jermaine."

"Elva kept making a logical point about aesthetics. Jermaine kept going on about security. They eventually went nose-to-nose with their shouting match."

"And did they kiss?"

She chortled. "I wish they would kiss already. They hate each other."

"More than you hate me?"

"Milton, I've never hated you." She pouted. "Who said I hated my favorite scaly boy?"

I kissed the tip of her nose. "Nobody. I was just teasing you."

"I don't like it when you joke like that. It makes me feel bad."

I cupped her face. "Sorry, moonbeam. I won't do it again."

A grin grew on her lips. "Say it again."

"I won't do it again."

"No, the other thing."

My eyes narrowed playfully. "Listen, just because I'm willing to apologize to you doesn't mean you get to abuse that privilege."

"Come on. Just once more." She peered up at me through her lashes. "Please, sir?"

Ugh, how could I say no to that face? I smiled warmly and whispered, "Sorry, moonbeam."

She kissed my chin. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Let's make our rounds."

Sweet gods, did we have to do that? I figured it was good enough to just get some oil spattered on us and get going. We had a world to explore together. Didn't we get to have some time to ourselves? But she was right-in some ways. We had to make our rounds. This was our pack and they deserved to have our attention on a night when they were giving us their undivided focus. It was only fair.

We headed toward the buffet table. On the way, Elva congratulated us, spinning around to serve a table behind her. What she found was Jermaine trying to butt into the crowd with a few digital cameras. Champagne flutes fell to the ground, some of them smashing against a plastic chair.

Her face boiled. She huffed with irritation while leveling her gaze on Jermaine, preparing to start a shouting match. Blake cut in. He grabbed Jermaine and dragged him away before he could make matters worse. Veronica wrapped an arm around Elva and led her away, effectively ending the fight before it could even begin.

Brandi sighed as she held her hand out to me. "Twenty bucks."

"Do I look like I'm made of money?"

"Don't make me answer that."

I cackled, the joy of it caressing the nooks and crannies of my soul. Hearing Brandi laugh with me was a blissful experience, one that made me grateful she was in my life.

Nothing could have sounded better than her pleasure. Her moans, her whimpers, her bated breath, and her giggles were among some of my favorite sounds. Those, along with her steady breath when she slept made it all the better. Because it meant she was alive. And it meant she was alive at the same time I was alive.

And I couldn't think of anything more gratifying than that.

The buffet overflowed with enough food to last an entire week. Brandi and I filled up our plates, unabashedly retreating to a table near the exit where we could make a quick getaway. No offense to my pack-I just wanted to get my wife alone again. She leaned her elbows on the table while holding up a slice of garlic bread.

I grinned. "Did Lenny make that for you?"

"Yep, they knew I would want it." She smiled. "Don't tease me."

"Why would I tease you about that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Why would you run from me?"

I raked my lower lip through my teeth as memories of college returned. I cleared my throat, fixed my tie, and then shrugged. "I never told you about that, did I?" "About what?"

Concern whipped some of the joy from her irises. I didn't want to ruin her big day. But I also didn't want to go another moment without telling her the truth. Honesty-that was what she wanted. It was what I wanted.

What better day than today for that kind of thing?

I leaned toward her. "Back in college, I caught my girlfriend cheating on me with my roommate."

She hissed. "What a bitch."

"She was kind of like you. A free spirit, big thinker, considerate..." I sighed. "After that, I swore to myself that I would never put myself in that position again."

She drifted back, leaving enough space to gaze into my eyes. "Do you think I'm going to cheat on you?"

I smirked. "Honestly, when would you have time? You're practically sewn to me, moonbeam."

"I would never do that, Milton. Not in a million years. Nobody could pay me to even consider doing something like that to you."

"You promise?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Milton..."

"I know it sounds stupid. I just need to hear it." I rubbed her upper back lightly. "From you. Directly. I just need to hear it."

Dragons didn't show emotions like this. We were passionate creatures, fiercely dedicated to our families, but rarely did we expose the nerves that made us feel raw. I was giving Brandi the sword that could defeat me. I just had to trust her with the information.

Bells jingled around us. The wind picked up again. Rosemary and olive oil tickled my nostrils, the scent of my mate drawing me right into her.

She held my face delicately. "I promise I'll never cheat on you, Milton Kane. I'm yours forever. I'll never leave your sight."

"Not even when you need to pee?"

She rolled her eyes with a groan. I stole her lips, loving the way her chuckles tasted on my tongue. It was a truly unique experience, something I knew I would look forward to every single day.

As long as we weren't fighting. And even then, I knew we would make our way through it.

Brandi rested her forehead against mine. I stared into her eyes, holding them sacred in my memory, impressing them into my brain as I would a brand into flesh.

She grinned. "Blake is coming our way."

"Again?" I smirked. "Twenty bucks says he talks about Jermaine first."

"The same twenty bucks?"

I winked. "You bet."

Blake pulled up a chair next to me. He dropped into it, running his fingers through his hair. The strands looked wet.

I studied his shirt. "Buddy, did you fall into a lake?"

He sighed. "Mom was trying to spray Jermaine with the hose."

I chuckled. "Friendly fire."

"It was far from friendly," Blake complained. "Jermaine has been losing his temper too much. He's past his mating age."

Brandi leaned forward. "You think you should match him with Elva?"

He laughed once, dry and short. "You're kidding. They practically hate each other. The reason Mom was going to spray him was because he was going to tackle her." "With his mouth." Brandi elbowed me. "Right, baby?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Alpha. I'm going to have to take my mate's side on this one."

He sighed. "That's whatever. It's a problem for another day." He lowered his voice as he observed the crowd, a pensive quiet lacing between us. "We have bigger issues." "Like what?"

"Like what those wolves aren't telling us."

Brandi stiffened beside me. I knew it was a sore subject. But it was one neither of us could avoid any longer. We had to talk about it.

I nodded. "Have you gotten much so far?"

"Raymond doesn't care about them. If he did, then he would have sent wolves to retrieve them." Blake met my gaze. "He hasn't. That means they were working alone." Brandi squirmed in her seat. "Has your mother been able to tell you anything?"

Blake frowned apologetically. "She says she doesn't remember you coming to us for a loan."

"That's fine."

I shook my head. "No, that's not fine. We're missing something here. Maybe your dad has some old records."

Blake shrugged. "I'll have Veronica look. It isn't much to go on even if it happens to be true."

Anger thickened in the air. It wasn't mine.

So, it must have been my mate's.

I held her hand firmly. "Can they tell you anything about Raymond? About this beef he has with you?"

"Nothing like that," my alpha replied. "But they've mentioned that Raymond has an ace in his pocket."

"An ace?" Brandi repeated. "Like a secret weapon or something?"

Blake sighed. "The guy passed out before I could get much more."

"Damn it," she groaned. "It feels like this whole thing is getting nowhere."

I patted her hand. "Moonbeam, don't get worked up. Let me work you up later."

She blushed. "I'm just frustrated. That's all. Those guys were chasing me for years. I want them to be useful." She looked at Blake. "I'm so sorry. I put everyone at risk by acting so stupid."

He extended his hand. Instinct told me to place her hand in his. He clasped her hands, his expression shifting to pure brotherly affection. "No, I'm sorry, Brandi. If my father had just given you the loan, then you wouldn't have gotten into that position. It's my fault,

too."

Love radiated around the table. Nothing could have trumped this moment, our bonds growing thicker by the second. When Blake touched my shoulder, the love wove right through me, healing years of pain in a matter of seconds.

It felt glorious. Where confusion once sat, confidence now ruled. Whatever uncertainty was left about Brandi dissolved.

I turned to my mate. Pure devotion glowed in her eyes. I took her hands and squeezed them lightly, feeling the radiant pulse of her affection. The world could have ended. Hell, the ground could have cracked open and sucked us into the core of the earth. We could have burned alive.

And I wouldn't have even noticed.

That was what she did to me. That was how much her love commanded my attention.

And I would spend the rest of my life making sure that she felt exactly the same way.

*****

THE END