"Are you sure about this?"

My father's question caught me off guard as I raised my hand to my ear to put on the Lunasta earrings I'd discovered in my mother's trunk. Another thoughtful gift. His eyes met mine in the mirror, and I relaxed when I found amusement glittering by his glasses.

"We're mated, Dad. A wedding won't change that." I secured the earring and ran my finger along the glittering tear drop. "Is there a reason you're asking?"

He shrugged and tugged on his bow tie. "Just that for a man who is about to marry the love of his life, he sure is grumpy. I thought he was going to rip Nas' head off... literally."

I sucked my lips in to hide a smile. Calix had good reason to be irritable, though I'd never tell my father the true reason. After our intense love making the night I gave him the photographs of his family in Faerie, I woke up and decided I really did want to abstain from sex until our wedding night.

There hadn't been a lot about our relationship that had been traditional, and if we were going to do this, I wanted to go full force. Plus, my lady bits were already buzzing in anticipation of tonight. This week of waiting had pushed my mate to the edge, and I fully expected him to go absolutely feral. No reservations.

"Did Nas do anything to deserve it?" I asked, attempting to distract myself from the sudden influx of panty wetting fantasies that filled my mind.

"He might have mentioned how pretty you looked."

"Then he definitely deserved it. Mentioning anything about the way a male's mate looks, especially before something like this is asking for trouble. Nas knew what he was doing."

"Fae," Kevin grumbled, shaking his head. "Always so damn territorial."

Fabric rustled as I turned around, and I smoothed my hands over the filmy, gold skirt. "Well, how do I look?"

My father's eyes misted over, and it took him two tries to speak. "Breathtaking, baby girl."

"Thank you, Daddy."

I hadn't called him daddy in forever, but it slipped out. He was about to give me away to another man, but I would always be his baby girl. Now that I had let go of my anger and hurt, I was extremely grateful to have him by my side today. Once, I thought this would be a moment I could only dream about.

He took my hand in his. "I never really talked about your mother to you because..."

"Obvious reasons," I finished for him with a watery laugh. Oh no. I couldn't cry. This mascara was human made and would not hold up.

"Right." He lifted a shoulder to wipe a tear off his cheek so he didn't have to let my hands go. "You're so much like her. In looks and in personality. I wish she was here with you today."

"It would be nice, but the person that matters most is here. You."

"And your mate, of course."

We laughed together as he pulled me into a fierce hug. Neither of us had ever done well with overly emotional displays, at least not with each other. Humor had always been our go to when things got too deep, but it was also a telling sign of how big our feelings were. If he was cracking jokes right now, he was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Come on. Let's get you married."

He dabbed at my damp cheeks with a handkerchief and slid an arm through mine. I picked up my cascade bouquet of mauve and blush peonies, checked my reflection once more in the mirror, and smiled softly at the woman I found there. How far she had come since her thirtieth birthday.

"How many actually showed up?" I asked him as he led me through the community center. The actual wedding would take place in the clearing. Between a bunch of magic wielding Fae and their deep love of nature, getting married in a church had never been an option.

"Everyone."

I stumbled. "Everyone?"

"Why are you surprised?"

"I'm a stranger, and honestly, I thought they would hate me after how I acted when I first arrived. Not to mention, we refused to break the Vow so they could go home."

"You're my daughter, and you're Fae. We've built a community here, and everyone supports everyone."

I pursed my lips. "It was the open bar, wasn't it?"

"Probably."

We were outside now, making our way to the clearing as sunset neared. Calix was a Summer Fae, but it was autumn. My favorite season. And what better time to have a wedding than at the golden hour, when all the vivid colors were set on fire?

Soft string music drifted through the trees as we followed the curving path through the trees. The melody was unfamiliar but beautiful, calling to something inside of me in a way that only Fae music could. I wondered how it would sound played in Faerie, on their instruments, and my heart ached for those trapped here. Never again would they experience the richness of their home world. It was like losing the ability to see in color.

"You okay, baby girl?"

We might not have always done well with emotional displays, but Kevin Quinn had always been perceptive. He knew when I was sad or happy or angry. I joked it was a superpower he developed to survive my teenage years, but sometimes his keen eye was too much.

So, I settled on a half truth. "The music."

"Yes." His expression told me he didn't buy it. "The music."

We reached the entrance to the clearing, and I gasped. With so little time, I hadn't had much of a hand in planning the wedding. I gave Kinley a general outline of my dream wedding, shared a Pinterest board or two, and focused on tying up the loose ends of my life before we returned to Faerie. She had taken my dream and given it wings.

By some magic—literally—she had conjured oak trees to line the clearing. Their branches tangled together, forming a golden canopy over the aisle. While it did not glimmer like the trees in the autumn palace, for once, I found something in the human realm infinitely more beautiful in its simplicity.

The aisle itself was a nod to Calix's court. Roses in every color had been captured at the moment of their perfection and trapped beneath glass panes. At the end of the aisle, they burst forth from the ground and grew into an arch of vines and flowers. Warm white lights twinkled between the branches, and beneath it all, in the very center, stood the most beautiful thing of all.

My mate.