Page 42 of Mating Mia (The Alphas’ Perfect Prey #2)

twenty-five

. . .

Four Months Later

Mia

“ Y ou ready?” my dad asks, looking over at me as I loop my arm around his, nodding. My wedding dress is billowing around me as we stand outside, ready to walk down the aisle.

The ceremony is set up on the bluff behind our house, the wild river on one side and the new pack’s bonfire ring on the other.

It’s a tiny wedding consisting of just my parents, the three alphas, and the male officiant.

I thought about inviting my siblings, but they would never understand the thought of me marrying three men.

My mermaid wedding dress has been altered slightly to fit me, as I’m now five months pregnant. Ash is ten months old and will be walking the rings down the aisle in a tiny, rented tux, which we all found so adorable.

Kane, Jace, and Finn are waiting at the end of the aisle. I see them and nearly trip over the hem of my dress. My dad squeezes my arm and whispers, “Steady, kiddo.”

Kane is dressed in all black, wearing a tailored suit with his shirt open at the throat, revealing the slightest glint of his tattoo at the collar.

He looks like the alpha he is —tall, broad, terrifying, and so handsome that it almost hurts to look straight at him.

Finn’s suit is charcoal, his hair pulled back into a neat knot, his eyes laser-focused on me like I’m prey and he’s starving.

Jace is in midnight blue, a color that should be too flashy for a wedding, but on him looks perfect, even princely.

He’s grinning, and I can see from here that his eyes are already wet.

My mom is seated in one of the three chairs at the front, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. She’s wearing blue, too, but it’s more of a soft, washed-out shade.

The officiant clears his throat as we reach the front. I stand there, trembling, my dad’s arm still anchoring me.

“Ready to get married?”

“Yes, Dad,” I say, beaming at my alphas as I approach, and he lets go.

Kane takes my hand instantly, his palm swallowing mine in one big, warm grip. Finn and Jace move closer, flanking me on either side, and just like that, I’m surrounded. I’ve never felt safer.

The officiant is a friend of Kane’s and knows about pack life.

Officiant Thomas starts the ceremony with a short speech about love, pack, and the “unbreakable bond of family,” but I barely hear it.

All I can do is stare at my mates, memorize their faces, etch every detail into my skull so I never forget what this feels like.

“Mia,” Kane says. “The first time I saw you, you were broken. I saw the bruises on your face and the way you shrank from everyone. You deserved better than that, and I hate myself for not finding you sooner. For not being there to protect you.” His voice cracks, just a little, and he swallows hard.

“I promise, from this moment on, to never let you face anything alone again. To be the shield between you and the world.”

He glances at my parents, and my mom is crying, her hand pressed to her mouth. My dad just stares straight ahead, jaw clenched and eyes shiny.

“I love you, Mia,” Kane finishes. “And I will love you until the day I die. Longer, if you’ll let me.”

He lets go of my hands, and I have to blink rapidly to keep from dissolving into tears right there. Jace takes over, grabbing my hands clumsily, his own hands shaking.

“Okay, so,” he says, voice already thick. “I had a whole thing written out, but I can’t remember any of it now.”

My parents chuckle in the background, and I smile, seeing how nervous he is.

“It’s okay, take your time,” I whisper.

“I remember the moment I got to touch you. No, not in a creepy way,” he says loudly, and everyone laughs.

“You were in pain. On the floor with a broken wrist caused by your ex. I wanted to murder whoever had done that to you. When you cried in my arms, I felt it here.” He presses my hand to his chest, right over his heart.

“I knew I’d never be able to let you go.

I promise to always be there for you. I promise to make you laugh when you want to cry, and to never let anyone hurt you again. Ever. Not while I’m alive.”

Tears are flowing freely down my face as I remember the night he carried me in his arms, rushing me through the hospital.

Finally, Finn steps up. He’s the only one who doesn’t grab my hands; instead, he puts his palms on my shoulders, steady and grounding.

“I’m not good at this,” he says. “The first time I saw you, I was captivated, and Jace and I knew we needed to convince Kane that we had found our soulmate.”

“Aw,” I whisper, biting my lip as Finn wipes my tears away with his thumb.

He leans in, forehead to forehead, and his voice drops to a whisper. “I killed the man who hurt you. I’d do it again. And again. I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever hurts you or our kids. That’s my promise to you, Mia.”

He pulls back, and there’s a softness in his eyes that almost undoes me. For a second, it’s just the two of us, nothing else, and I feel the weight of his vow settle around me like armor.

The officiant looks a little stunned by the display, but he recovers quickly. “Well,” he says, “that’s a tough act to follow. But we have a ring bearer who’s been waiting very patiently.”

There’s a scuffle at the back of the aisle, and Ash toddles forward, guided by a hired nanny.

He’s wearing a tiny tux and a clip-on bowtie, and he’s clutching a velvet box like it’s the Holy Grail.

He makes it halfway down the aisle before he trips, faceplanting onto the grass.

I gasp, but Jace is already moving, scooping Ash up and dusting him off like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Ash immediately starts crying with big, dramatic wails, but Kane swoops in, plucks the ring box from his hands, as my mom takes Ash in her arms.

Kane opens the ring box and hands me three bands.

The officiant has me repeating my vows as I slide the rings onto each of my alphas’ fingers. Kane, Jace, and Finn all hold the ring at the same time as they slide my ring onto my finger.

“Oh wow,” I whisper, admiring how the ring glints in the sunlight.

Officiant Thomas says, “You may now kiss the bride,” and before I can brace myself, Kane’s mouth is on mine, possessive and rough and exactly right.

He tastes like salt and sunlight and everything I’ve ever wanted.

Then Finn kisses me, gentler but no less intense, his hands framing my face like he’s terrified I’ll vanish.

Jace is last, and he dips me backward in a dramatic swoop that makes everyone laugh, even my mom through her tears.

We sign the paperwork, and the officiant pronounces us “a pack, in the eyes of the law and of the moon.” The sun is warm on my face, and the ring is heavy on my finger, and I have never in my life felt this loved.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” my mom says as she hugs me while holding Ash. My dad also hugs me before we walk towards the waiting helicopter roaring at the end of the meadow.

As we lift off, I look down at the ground, at my parents hugging each other, at the officiant shaking his head, at the wild green trees and the river that’s been my home for almost a year now.

Kane pulls me onto his lap as the helicopter banks toward the horizon, his arms tight around my waist, his mouth at my ear.

“I love you,” he says, just for me. I close my eyes, resting my hand on my stomach, and excited for alone time with my alphas on our honeymoon.