Page 19

H azel

The Chapel of Eternal Commitment was everything Hazel had nightmares about when she thought of weddings.

Cascading white flowers hung from every surface, the air was thick with the scent of magical lilies, and everything sparkled with enough enchanted crystals to power a small city.

It was beautiful, romantic, and absolutely wrong for her.

"Don't you look lovely, dear," the wedding coordinator gushed, adjusting Hazel's veil for the fifth time in ten minutes. "Such a radiant bride!"

Hazel stared at herself in the mirror and saw a stranger. The dress was perfectly fitted, the makeup was flawless, and the magical enhancement spells had given her skin an otherworldly glow. She looked exactly like the kind of bride who belonged in a place like this.

She also looked miserable.

"Radiant," Hopper croaked from his perch on the vanity. "Sure, if you consider 'dead behind the eyes' radiant. You've got all the joy of someone attending their own funeral."

"Hopper," Hazel said quietly, "not now."

"When, then? After you've legally bound yourself to a man who thinks a teddy bear is an appropriate relationship counselor?"

The mating bond throbbed in her chest like an infected wound.

It had been getting worse all day, the magical connection stretching and aching as whatever distance separated her from Bullseye continued to grow.

She'd tried to suppress it, tried to tell herself it didn't matter, but her magic kept reaching out for his like a plant turning toward sunlight.

"He made his choice," she said, touching up her lipstick with hands that trembled slightly. "Money over everything else. Dragon gold over innocent lives."

"And you're making yours," Hopper observed. "Security over happiness. Teddy bears over true love."

"It's not about love," Hazel said, though the words tasted like lies. "It's about doing what's practical. What's safe."

"Right. Because nothing says 'practical and safe' like marrying into a family of supernatural law enforcement officers who think magical rights are suggestions."

A knock on the dressing room door interrupted them. "Hazel, sweetheart?" Smokie's voice carried through the wood, thick with nervous excitement. "It's almost time! Are you ready to become Mrs. Lawman?"

Mrs. Lawman. The name made her skin crawl.

"Almost ready," she called back, proud that her voice came out steady.

"I can't wait to see you! Mr. Snuggles is so excited he's practically vibrating. He says you're going to be the most beautiful bride in supernatural history!"

"The teddy bear has opinions about your appearance," Hopper said dryly. "This is your life now. Congratulations."

Hazel closed her eyes and tried to center herself. She could do this. She'd survived the mating bond forming, she'd survived having her heart broken, and she could survive this wedding. It was just a ceremony. Just words. It didn't have to mean anything she didn't want it to mean.

The wedding coordinator knocked and entered without waiting for permission. "Time to go, dear! The groom is in position, the guests are seated, and the sunset lighting is absolutely perfect!"

"Perfect," Hazel repeated numbly, standing up on legs that felt like they belonged to someone else.

The coordinator bustled around her, making final adjustments and murmuring about how lovely everything looked.

Through the window, Hazel could see Niagara Falls in the distance, the water catching the last rays of sunlight like liquid gold.

Under different circumstances, it might have been romantic.

"Your bouquet, dear," the coordinator said, pressing a massive arrangement of white roses and magical baby's breath into Hazel's hands. "And remember, slow steps down the aisle. This moment should last forever!"

Forever. The word echoed in Hazel's head as she walked toward the chapel's main doors. Forever married to Smokie. Forever pretending she didn't have a mating bond with someone else. Forever wondering what might have been if she'd been brave enough to fight for love instead of settling for safety.

The wedding march began, floating through the air with magical enhancement that made every note ring like crystal bells. Hazel took a deep breath and stepped through the doors into the chapel proper.

The space was packed with supernatural law enforcement officers, their families, and what looked like half the officials from three counties.

Sheriff Lawman stood at the front, beaming with satisfaction, while Smokie practically bounced on his toes beside the officiant.

In his arms, clearly visible to everyone, was the infamous Mr. Snuggles.

"Oh good," Hopper muttered from her bouquet where he'd hidden himself. "The teddy bear gets a front-row seat to your misery. How romantic."

Hazel began the long walk down the aisle, each step feeling like she was walking toward her own execution. The guests turned to watch her, their faces full of smiles and approval. They saw a beautiful bride, a perfect wedding, a fairy tale come to life.

None of them could see the mating bond slowly tearing her apart from the inside.

Halfway down the aisle, something changed. The bond, which had been a constant ache for hours, suddenly fluttered with what felt almost like... hope? Hazel stumbled slightly, catching herself on a pew as a wave of unfamiliar emotion washed through the connection.

"You okay?" someone whispered, but Hazel barely heard them. The bond was doing something it hadn't done since she'd left Bullseye at the gas station—it was pulling. Not just aching with distance, but actively tugging her toward something, like a compass needle finding true north.

"Interesting," Hopper observed quietly. "Your magical aura just perked up like a dog hearing its owner's car in the driveway."

Hazel forced herself to keep walking, but her heart was starting to race. The bond was getting stronger with every step, not weaker. Which made no sense unless...

Unless Bullseye was getting closer.

"No," she whispered to herself. "He made his choice. He chose the cargo."

But the bond disagreed. It was humming now, singing with an energy she hadn't felt since their night at Bertha's inn. Whatever was happening, her magic was responding to it like iron filings to a magnet.

She reached the front of the chapel, where Smokie was waiting with a smile so bright it could have powered the building. Mr. Snuggles was dressed in a tiny tuxedo that matched Smokie's, complete with a boutonniere made of miniature roses.

"You look beautiful," Smokie said, his voice thick with emotion. "Absolutely perfect. Doesn't she look perfect, Mr. Snuggles?"

He held the teddy bear up to his ear as if listening to a response, then nodded seriously. "Mr. Snuggles says you're the most beautiful bride he's ever seen, and he's been to a lot of weddings."

"How many weddings has a teddy bear attended?" Hopper asked sotto voce. "And more importantly, in what capacity?"

The officiant, a elderly centaur with flowers in his mane, smiled benevolently at the assembled crowd.

"Dearly beloved," he began, his voice magically amplified to reach every corner of the chapel, "we are gathered here today to witness the union of Smokie Ignatius Lawman and Hazel Meadow Thornfield in the sacred bonds of matrimony. "

Sacred bonds. Hazel's mating bond chose that moment to flare so bright she nearly gasped aloud. It felt like Bullseye was right outside the building, which was impossible. He was hours away, delivering dragon cargo and collecting his payment.

"Marriage," the centaur continued, "is a sacred commitment between two souls who choose to walk through life together, supporting each other through joy and sorrow, triumph and defeat..."

The words washed over Hazel like background noise. All her attention was focused on the bond, which was now practically vibrating with energy. Her magic was responding whether she wanted it to or not, reaching out through the connection toward something that felt achingly familiar.

"If anyone here has cause why these two should not be wed," the officiant said, "let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

The chapel fell silent. Hazel held her breath, half-expecting someone to object, but the only sound was the distant roar of Niagara Falls and the soft rustling of wedding guests shifting in their seats.

"Very well," the centaur said with a smile. "Smokie Ignatius Lawman, do you take Hazel Meadow Thornfield to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do!" Smokie said with such enthusiasm that several guests chuckled. "I absolutely do! Mr. Snuggles and I have been dreaming of this moment!"

"And do you, Hazel Meadow Thornfield," the centaur turned to her, "take Smokie Ignatius Lawman to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for as long as you both shall live?"

The chapel fell silent again, waiting for her answer.

Hazel opened her mouth to say the words that would bind her to Smokie forever, but they wouldn't come.

The mating bond was screaming now, flooding her system with emotions that definitely weren't her own—determination, desperation, and a love so fierce it took her breath away.

"I..." she started, then stopped.

"Hazel?" Smokie prompted gently. "Just say 'I do,' sweetheart. It's easy."

But it wasn't easy. Nothing about this was easy. Because standing here in this beautiful chapel, surrounded by people who expected her to say yes, all Hazel could think about was a minotaur who'd chosen dragon gold over her heart.

Except the bond was telling her a very different story.

"I can't," she said quietly.

"What?" Smokie's smile faltered.

"I can't do this," Hazel said louder, her voice carrying through the chapel. "I'm sorry, Smokie, but I can't marry you."