Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 23

Three days later- 

The death of Keeta and X quietly simmered away as if it'd never happened. It was easy to forget how lethal my husband was; the power of his influence flew under the radar as those bound to his word dare not cross him. While we were said to be out of the mix when it came to politics, it would seem reputations were long-lasting, and the gray-haired man had never quite sacrificed his leverage when he turned things over to Helen. 

In the way a child takes their toys and goes home, Echo bowed out of the challenge on the retired dictator. Retracting her forces, she fell quietly back in line with the heroes. Choosing to return to the edge of the sea, far away from us and very close to her escape, she awaited orders like a good soldier with Kestrel at her side. 

Kestrel, the only one who stood a real chance against the former Alpha, was maimed beyond useable condition. He would require months of rehab, for he had been gifted the very injuries that plagued the warlord. In the silence that follows an act of correction, our wedding day had finally arrived, and I couldn't say I wasn't on edge for fear of retaliation. 

Public events seemed to attract the eyes of those who wanted to make an example. Killing Keeta was one thing, but the death of X put our heroes on edge. Lotta was doing her best to control the backlash, but it was common knowledge exactly who killed him and why. Once more, Lycans had become something that couldn't be trusted, but the government wasn't willing to risk their own skin to punish us. 

In fact, I was shocked by the lack of scolding, but perhaps it was just as it was in our time. Who dare stand against him and face the retaliation that fell upon those deemed guilty? It was easier to step back, allow the storm to pass than to stand its way, and risk the fall out of a man who rallied forced faster than most history books could recall. 

Lotta was his friend; much to her own dismay, she enjoyed him and respected him too much to act against him. I felt the same of Tiberius; while the Siren missed his pet, his alliance with a slumbering dictator seemed too important to defy. It sent a clear message to all of those watching, the message I had asked my husband to send that night I was returned to his arms. 

Do not cross the Alpha. 

Chispa marches over, placing her hands on my cheeks, thumbs on the sides of my mouth, and pulling them up into a smile. "You're a former king getting married on live television, and you look like you've been kicked in the balls. Maybe you should; I don't know, smile?"

Over and over, he'd asked me to marry him; I have to say that I was quite pleased with our rooftop ceremony. Now that it had arrived, the familiar uncertainty was resurfacing; what would people think? How harshly would we be judged, and what would the backlash look like? Was I ready to share this part of my life with the world? 

Now that it was time, all I could think was that he belonged to me, and I didn't want anyone laying judgment on that. 

"Old habits die hard." I sigh, reaching to touch my hair only to have her swat my hand away. "You know, you can be kind of annoying." I point out to her, earning a sneer. 

"I'm your wedding planner; you're not supposed to like me. I'm here to make sure you enjoy this wedding and that you're too drunk to remember it by the end of the evening. I've done everything in my power to make it as much like your first one and yet as different as possible, so you better enjoy it." Chispa pinches my cheek and then kisses it, wiping the smudge of lipstick off with her thumb. "Your husband was quite adamant that he wanted you to be happy."

A small smile curls onto my lips. "Then you shouldn't have enacted a twenty-four-hour rule."

For the past twenty-four hours, we'd been kept completely apart with no contact, much to Verando's frustration and Chispa's romantic vision. Separating me from him had not been an easy task; I'd been forced to room with Marcello, who I found I did like quite a bit. He was dry, but he was a good man, much as it was awkward between us given our lack of shared interests.