Page 122 of Victorious: Part 3

Even Rhonda got some measure of justice. When they captured her trying to flee during the prison riot, we all thought she was merely another Cartel puppet. However, the truth was far worse, yet also better. Javier had been blackmailing her, holding her sister hostage in another facility, forcing Rhonda to be his informant.

She was never willing.

She was enslaved.

The club showed her mercy. They let the courts handle her case instead of our usual brand of justice.

“Are you nervous?” Sadie asks, appearing in the mirror behind me with Poppy at her side.

I consider the question as I watch Poppy in the reflection. She looks so grown up in her junior bridesmaid dress, her blonde hair pinned back with small white flowers. There’s still that edgeto her, there always will be, but she’s healing slowly.

We both are.

“Not nervous,” I say finally. “Excited. Ready.”

And I am.

After everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve survived, this feels like the reward at the end of a significant ordeal.

Alpha and I have earned this moment, this peace, this happiness.

“The guys are already out there,” Bea reports, peeking through the window. “Dutch is at the altar, trying to look official in his suit. He keeps tugging at his tie like it’s trying to strangle him.”

We all laugh at that.

Dutch officiating at our wedding was Alpha’s idea. He wanted this to be a real Defiance affair, and he wanted a brother to marry us, not some stranger. And Dutch, despite his grumbling about‘fancy wedding bullshit,’was honored to do it.

“Theo and Lock made it,” Clover adds, smoothing down her dress. “I saw them talking with Loki by the bar setup. And Montana’s mom looks so happy to be here on day release. Warden Garver’s keeping close to her, making sure everything goes smoothly.”

Valerie.

God, seeing her at the clubhouse, free and smiling, still makes my chest tight with emotion.What that woman had endured in Javier’s prison.But she’s here. She’s alive. She’s watching us celebrate love instead of war.

“Time to go,” Bea announces, and my heart starts beating faster.

This is it.

This isreallyhappening.

We file out of the room in order, Sadie first, then Bea, thenPoppy with her basket of blue and white petals. Clover, my matron of honor, gives me one last smile before taking her place in line.

“Breathe,” I whisper to myself. “Just breathe.”

The music starts, something soft and acoustic that Alpha picked, and through the open doors of the clubhouse, our family is gathered on the lawn.

Everyone is here.

Every single person who matters.

My heart catches when I spot Maverick at the end of the aisle, waiting to walk me down. My brother. My family. The man who has had my back since day one, even when I didn’t deserve it.

“Ready, sis?” he asks, offering me his arm.

“More than ready.”

We step outside, and the late afternoon sun hits the white fabric of my dress, making it shimmer. A soft gasp rises from the crowd, but I only have eyes for one person.

Alpha.