Several of the pack members came to the house to take care of the children while Clara and Rowanne helped Autumn get ready and got ready themselves to serve as bridesmaids while Malcolm went to David’s house to prepare with him. Foster would meet them at the house where Autumn was expecting him to walk her down the aisle.
So far, everything was right on schedule. He was both nervous and excited about everything. What was there not to be crazy about? He was about to walk down the aisle with the love of his life, and they already had a great family waiting for them at home, in addition to the extended family present at the wedding.
Somehow, they had managed to move the last of their things into the new house, though not everything was completely unpacked. The place had turned out beautifully and would grow with them over the years.
Right now, the top floor was empty. They had put the nursery on the second floor, where the library and study would eventually be. The baby beds would be replaced with toddler beds that would ultimately become single beds in their own rooms.
It felt like their whole life was planned out perfectly, yet Malcolm knew that there was still quite a lot that had been left to chance. Today was one of those things. He wanted it to be perfect, but he knew the surprise he had planned for her held a certain risk. Still, it was something that he just had to do.
“Man, look at you. You’re a fucking disaster,” David said as he arrived at his house.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Your hair is all over your head and you haven’t even shaved? You know you’re getting married today, right?”
“God. I totally fucking forgot about that!” Malcolm joked.
“Come on, let’s get you in the house and get you all pretty and shit, bro.”
“You gonna paint me up like one of them high-class escorts?”
“Fuck no, but I am going to loan you a damned razor to shave that ugly mug of yours. Why any damned chick would want to bone you, much less marry you, is beyond me.”
“Don’t be jealous, David. I mean, I know how miserable you are at home with that hideous wife of yours, but don’t take it out on me.”
“Malcolmmmmm,” a woman’s voice called out from over his shoulder.
“Speak of the devil!” Malcolm chuckled, leaning forward to hug her.
David’s wife, Niva, was tiny. She was barely five feet tall and built like a perfect little Barbie doll, even after the birth of five kids last year. They had been working on a new litter for David to have a shot at Alpha but had pretty much struck out, and there was not enough time to make the year deadline even if she got pregnant in the next thirty seconds.
With the exception of Tommy, whose wife was due any day now, everyone else had managed a litter, but only one had managed more than triplets. Unless Tommy’s new wife managed more, the Alpha position would go to Terry, with four girls and no male heir, but that wasn’t a deal-breaker, as he could always have a boy later in another litter.
He wasn’t a shoe-in, especially when you considered how large Tommy’s family was. If anyone could top four kids, it would be him and his girlfriend. Thinking about it made Malcolm a little sad, but he pushed it away. If not for the fact that he had fallen in love with a bear, he might have a shot at it. Then again, he wouldn’t trade Autumn for all the Omegas and Alphas in the world.
“Alright, you, let’s get you to the bathroom and get you all slicked up for this wedding,” Niva told him, leading him down the hallway with her hand in his.
He glanced back and gave David a wink, nodding toward the hand holding.
“In your dreams, pretty boy,” David joked.
David knew he would never cross any lines with Niva, even if David and Autumn were no longer in the picture. It was a code between them that surpassed death. Of course, now that he had Autumn in his life, there wasn’t a woman on the planet who could turn his head.
By the time he was done in the bathroom, David and Niva were ready to go. Niva was straightening the cummerbund on David and turned to give him the once over, quickly attacking his cummerbund and bowtie to get it in order.
“There, now you two look almost presentable,” she teased.
“Thank you, Niva.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Are you nervous?”
“More than you know,” he said.
“What about Foster? Do I need to hunt him down and polish him up before the ceremony too?”
“Nah. I think he’ll be just fine,” Malcolm told her, “but thank you for taking care of all of us. You’re a peach.”