Kai and Wolf stood at the makeshift altar, while Winter and Jacin took the remaining dining chairs. Thorne led Scarlet back out to the foyer, and Cinder could hear him whispering hasty directions before coming to sit beside Cress and Iko on the sheet-draped sofa.
After Cress punched a new command into her portscreen, the music changed to a classic wedding march. The change was affecting, sweeping away the frivolity of the decorations and Thorne’s humor and filling the house with a sense of intent.
Scarlet waited a moment, allowing the music to permeate the ceremony, before she glided through the wall of streamers. Her eyes were locked onto Wolf’s as she took one meaningful, patient step after another.
Émilie sniffled and raised a handkerchief to her nose. “I love weddings.”
Grinning, Cinder glanced toward Kai and found him smiling back at her. If he was nervous to be playing such an important role on such a momentous occasion, he didn’t show it.
Scarlet stopped beside Wolf, and Cress lowered the music’s volume, letting it fade pleasantly into silence. There was another sniffle in the room—Winter, Cinder guessed.
“Dear friends,” Kai began, “we are gathered today to witness and to celebrate the union between Wo—er, Ze’ev Kesley and Scarlet Benoit. Though we are a small gathering, it’s clear that the love we feel for this bride and groom would span to Luna and back.” His copper-brown eyes passed fondly from Scarlet to Wolf. “Of course, we know that the world sees this wedding as a historical event. The first recorded marriage union between a Lunar and an Earthen since the second era. And maybe that is important. Maybe the love and compassion these two people have for each other is symbolic of hope for the future. Maybe this wedding signifies the possibility that someday our two races will not only learn to tolerate each other, but to love and appreciate each other as well. Or, maybe…” Kai’s eyes glinted. “… this relationship has absolutely nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with our shared human need to find someone who will care for us as much as we care for them. To find a partner who complements us and teaches us. Who makes us stronger. Who makes us want to be our best possible self.”
Cinder heard yet another sniffle—this time from Iko, and she nearly choked. Iko, like her, couldn’t cry, but that had never stopped her from faking it before.
Kai continued, “I think that when every person in this room looks at Ze’ev and Scarlet, they don’t see a Lunar and an Earthen. We don’t see an agenda, or two people trying to make a statement. I think we see two people who were lucky enough to find each other in this vast universe, and they weren’t going to let any boundaries of distance or race or even physiological tampering get in the way of a happy life together.”
Cinder listed her head thoughtfully. Distance. Race. Physiological tampering. It was almost as if Kai wasn’t just talking about Wolf and Scarlet. He could just as easily have been talking about their own relationship. She squinted at Kai, newly suspicious, but his eyes never darted toward her, and she began to feel self-absorbed for thinking it. This was Wolf and Scarlet’s moment, and Kai respected that.
But when he was writing this speech, the similarities must have occurred to him. Right?
She held her breath, listening a little more closely to Kai’s words, wondering if he’d intended a meaning that went beyond this one ceremony.
Kai reached into his pocket and pulled out two golden rings. He handed one to Wolf, then took the bouquet from Scarlet and gave her the other.
“In preparing for this ceremony,” Kai said, setting the bouquet on the mantel behind him, “I did some research and learned that the word Alpha has held many meanings across history.”
A chuckle moved through the room. They all knew of the “alpha mate” relationship that Wolf and Scarlet had, and over the years it had developed into an inside joke among them. But Cinder also knew it was a joke founded on a deeper truth. Wolf and Scarlet took the designation seriously, in a way that even Cinder could admit was painfully romantic.
“Alpha can refer to the first of something,” said Kai, “or the beginning of everything. It can be attributed to a particularly powerful or charismatic person, or it can signify the dominant leader in a pack of animals, most notably, of course, wolves.” His serious expression tweaked briefly into a teasing smile. “It has meanings in chemistry, physics, and even astronomy, where it describes the brightest star in a constellation. But it seems clear that Ze’ev and Scarlet have created their own definition for the word, and their relationship has given this word a new meaning for all of us. Being an Alpha means that you’ll stand against all adversity to be with your mate. It means accepting each other, both for your strengths and your flaws. It means forging your own path to happiness and to love.” He nodded at Wolf. “Now I’ll have you place the ring on your bride’s finger and repeat after me.”
Wolf took Scarlet’s hands into his, as tenderly as he would pick up an injured butterfly, and slid the band onto her finger. His voice was rough and wavering as he recited—“I, Ze’ev Kesley, do hereby claim you, Scarlet Benoit, as my wife and my Alpha. Forevermore, you will be my mate, my star, my beginning of everything.” He smiled down at her, his eyes swimming with emotion. Scarlet returned the look, and though Wolf’s expression teetered between proud and bashful, Scarlet’s face contained nothing but joy. “You are the one. You have always been, and you will always be, the only one.”
Scarlet took the second ring—a significantly larger version of the same unadorned band—and pressed it onto Wolf’s finger. “I, Scarlet Benoit, do hereby claim you, Ze’ev Kesley, as my husband and my Alpha. Forevermore, you will be my mate, my star, my beginning of everything. You are the one. You have always been, and you will always be, the only one.”
Wolf folded his hands around hers. From where she sat, Cinder could see that he was shaking.
Kai grinned. “By the power given to me by the people of Earth, under the laws of the Earthen Union and as witnessed by those gathered here today, I do now pronounce you husband and wife.” He spread his hands in invitation. “You may kiss your—”
Wolf wrapped his arms around Scarlet’s waist, lifting her off the floor, and kissed her before Kai could finish. Or maybe she kissed him. It seemed mutual, as her hands wound through his disheveled hair.
The room exploded with cheers, everyone launching to their feet to congratulate the still-kissing couple. Scarlet had lost one of her red shoes.
“I’ll get the champagne,” said Thorne, heading toward the kitchen. “Those two are going to be thirsty when they finally come up for air.”
* * *
Cinder collapsed onto the stairs and leaned against the rail, where the crepe paper wrappings had come unstuck and were slowly unwinding themselves as the night went on. She was exhausted. Her right foot was throbbing and her left leg felt like it was filled with lead. She’d never danced so much in her life, not even at last year’s ball, when she’d been too self-conscious about everyone staring at her to spend more than a handful of songs on the ballroom floor. But this felt different. Cress had somehow compiled the perfect list of songs, and every time it seemed the party was dwindling, a song with just the right beat would come on and everyone would be up again, laughing and spinning. Kai and Winter had even taught the others a few basic waltz steps, and Iko had made it a point to steal multiple dances with every person in the room. She, of course, was tireless. Even Émilie had been folded easily into their festivities.