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I walk toward the man who changed my whole life.

The man who completed me. I walk toward the rest of my forever.

Because that’s what we have now. Yesterday, I watched him die.

I held his cool, still form. But he’s a miracle, and I’m a miracle.

And now we’re about to bond into one for the rest of forever.

I’m fucking beaming by the time I reach Ares, and he just might have swallowed the sun today, because the man is luminous.

I take his hands and just look at him for a few moments.

I love him with every fiber of my being.

And now I get to vow it in front of everyone who matters.

There is no officiant. We don’t need one. No one else has the authority to define what this is between us.

Ares squeezes my hands, never once breaking eye contact.

“Lana,” he begins, his voice already rough with emotion.

But he’s also calm. So confident. “We started as a lie. An arrangement. A performance. But from the moment you looked me in the eye—unafraid, furious, fucking radiant—I knew I’d never be able to pretend with you.

Not really. Not when everything in me screamed mine .

” The word comes out as an emotional whisper.

It snags something inside me. It catches in my chest. I blink furiously, making sure the tears gathered in my eyes do not fall.

“I’ve lived just long enough to know that forever isn’t a promise. But with you, forever sounds too short. I would stretch time until it broke just to love you longer.”

Ares stares into my eyes, and I swear there is some kind of alchemical magic going on right now. I feel his words all the way into my soul, stitching us together, binding us in a physical way.

“Lana, I vow to protect your fire. To honor your darkness. To worship your strength.

“You have brought me to my knees in the most sacred way. You are not just my heart. You are my home. You are my beginning and my end.

“And whatever comes after—this life, the next—I will find you there, and love you all over again.”

I swallow the tears in my throat. This man. This man. How am I ever, ever going to top the perfect vows he’s just spoken?

“Ares, you were supposed to be a means to an end. What we agreed to in the beginning… We were both crazy. I never expected the vampire I was supposed to fake a future with… would become the man I couldn’t imagine surviving without.

” Emotion cracks my voice as I remember what it was like in those few moments after James staked him.

I couldn’t see past it. I couldn’t see a future without him.

“Ares, loving you has broken me apart and rebuilt me into someone I never dared to be—whole, wild, strong. You saw every jagged, guarded piece of me and didn’t flinch.”

He squeezes my hands, brushing a thumb over the back of one of them. He’s so steady, just as he’s been the entire time I’ve known him. Here, holding his hands, I feel so grounded, like nothing could ever shake us.

It will take more than death to rip us apart. We’ve already proven that.

“I don’t care how long we live—ten years or a thousand. It still wouldn’t be enough time to love you the way you deserve,” I continue. “But I’ll spend every breath trying.”

Ares smiles down at me, strength and devotion radiating from the man who has become the center of my whole universe.

“I vow to never flinch from your shadows. To match your ferocity with my own. To choose you again and again—no matter the odds, no matter the war, no matter how many times the world tries to tear us apart.

“You are not just the man I love. You are the pulse in my veins. The fire in my blood.

“And I will love you—through eternity, through ashes, through every impossible tomorrow.”

Ares pulls two small objects from his pocket. He takes my left hand and slides a beautiful, simple band to join the ring I’ve worn since the beginning.

“I do,” he says, his voice rough with conviction as he stares into my eyes.

I take the other ring from his hand and reach for his left hand. The band is thick and black, simple and solid. I stare into his eyes as I slide it onto his ring finger. “I do,” I vow.

Then his hand is at my waist, and I’m rising on my toes, and we’re kissing like we’ve waited a hundred years for this moment. Like it’s oxygen. Like it’s war and peace and forever all rolled into one.

The room explodes in cheers.

Clementine cries with a smile. Sysco whoops and yells, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Juliet mutters, “Hot damn,” and fans herself.

Ares presses his forehead to mine, his arms around me.

“My wife,” he breathes.

My smile splits wide across my face. “Say it again.”

“My wife,” he growls, louder this time. Possessive and proud. Like he’s claiming something the whole world better never try to take from him again.

Around us, the city sparkles. Love burns hot and wild in my chest.

Ares presses his lips to mine again, sealing our vows and silencing the world.

Everything becomes golden. The city lights glitter beyond the windows, and the air in the room is heavy with joy and warmth.

I hear the cheers from our friends and family, a chorus of clapping and hollering that echoes around us as we finally turn to face them as husband and wife.

My face aches from smiling, but I don’t stop.

Ares doesn’t let go of my hand as we walk down the short aisle together. Every step feels surreal. I’m Lana Hunt. I’m married . I married—for real—to the vampire who pretended to be my fiancé to save me.

“Come on, everyone,” I say as we head for the back of the room. “It’s time for some cake!”

And that’s exactly what we do. I don’t know how Ares pulled it off, but he tracked down someone who could make us a breathtaking cake today .

It’s four tiers high. It’s white with black and red and gold accents.

The whole room cheers and gathers round as Ares and I slice a piece and enjoy every bit of the cliché as we stuff each other’s faces with the delicious sugar.

The caterer serves up slices of cake, and I relax just a little as the moment shifts a little more casual.

Before I can process any more, Clementine appears in front of me like a glittering ghost in a satin blazer. Her wife follows behind her, narrowing her eyes at Ares and me.

“Okay,” she drawls in that London accent, a glass of champagne already in hand, “this entire surprise wedding? Beyond iconic. How did you pull this off, considering everything else going on?”

I snort. “Well, we decided last night that we didn’t want to wait any longer. And here we are now!”

Florence narrows her eyes playfully. “I demand a time stamp.”

“This morning,” Ares says with a wry grin. “Seriously.”

The sound that escapes her is halfway between a gasp and a laugh. “Shut up.”

Juliet strides over, grinning, dragging Roman behind her. “Wait. Hold on. You’re telling me this was a today decision?”

I nod, laughing now as everyone else starts reacting.

Florence crosses her arms, expression flat—but the corners of her mouth betray her. “You planned all this and didn’t even call me? I should disown you both.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I say as I wrap my arms around my real, true-blue sister-in-law. “But I hope you can find it in you to forgive me. I literally only tried on four dresses, so you didn’t miss out on much.”

“That magical piece of fabric was dress number four?” Clementine gapes in shock.

“Seriously, that dress was made for you, Lana,” Juliet compliments with a raised brow.

“I can’t believe you pulled this off,” Sysco chuckles as he strides over.

Ares slips his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. “I had to pull some strings.”

“That’s one hell of a string,” Sysco says, nearly sloshing his champagne over the rim of his glass.

“I knew something was going on today. I mean, you were literally dead yesterday, Ares. We killed five men. And then radio silence today? It was giving ‘either we’re about to commit a felony or a wedding.’”

Harry joins the group and raises his glass in our direction. “Didn’t think you could surprise me after all the shit you pulled off without me yesterday. I stand corrected.”

The music shifts. The strings ease into something low and romantic. I feel it like a tug in my chest.

Ares holds his hand out to me, eyes glittering beneath the chandeliers. “Dance with me, wife.”

Wife. Damn, that word feels dangerous and warm and perfect.

We move together like we’ve done this a thousand times. My hand fits in his. His other hand finds the small of my back like it’s gravity itself. Around us, our family and friends fade into candlelight and soft chatter. It’s just us. Just Ares and me, in this still, golden pocket of time.

Our foreheads press together. The music swells around us like silk. And in front of everyone, beneath the glittering lights of the city and the hush of reverent joy, Ares kisses me again. Deeply. Devotedly. Like I’m the only thing that has ever mattered.

The crowd cheers.

I feel the world anchor around me. I’ve never been happier. I’ve never felt more loved. And I know it all the way into my bones—this is the start of our forever.