Nothing and no one else existed but Calix.

Eyes locked to his, I moved forward, placing a barefoot on to the glass. Only to discover it wasn't glass, but water. Ripples spread with every step I took, drawing sighs from the crowd. A grin pulled at my lips, and I wondered whose magic was responsible for this. They had to be powerful indeed, to be capable of such a feat in the human realm.

The music swelled, crashing against my eardrums in the same rhythm as my heartbeat. No. Heartbeats. There, just beneath mine, I felt his. Steady and sure and strong. A reflection of utter contentment in this moment.

We stopped a foot away from Calix, and I only barely registered Kinley as she stepped into the middle of the archway. My father pulled me down, pressed his lips against my cheek, and hugged me. I turned into him, soaking in his familiar smell and warmth.

"This is everything I ever wanted for you," he whispered, his green eyes flicking toward Calix. "Not just a husband or a mate, but for you to be happy."

"I am happy, Daddy." Tears flooded my eyes, and I blinked them away rapidly, determined to avoid smeared mascara for at least a few more minutes.

"I love you." With one last kiss, he held my hand out to Calix. "Protect her and love her."

"With my body and soul."

Calix's hand covered mine, and he pulled me up the last step. The silver shine of his eyes grew tenfold as he looked me over, and I felt the ever present hum of desire present in our bond pulse. The lines of his body tensed, and when he smiled at me, there were two small indentions in his bottom lip where he had been pressing his canines into the soft tissue.

"You may be seated," Kinley called out to the crowd.

Gowns rustled and chairs creaked as everyone obeyed. She waited for a hush to descend before turning her attention back to us.

"Among the Fae, there is nothing more cherished and desired than a true mate bond. Most of us dream of the day we find our other half, and when we do, whatever magic it is that fuels it, welds us together and makes us whole. We are complete."

Calix squeezed my hand, and I returned the gesture while the crowd murmured their agreement. Kinley had asked me if I wanted traditional wedding vows, but I told her no, preferring something more personal. Besides telling us to come up with our vows and asking questions about how Calix and I became a couple, she hadn't shared what she was planning to say.

"But there is something I've learned from living in the human realm for the last thirty years, and that is that there is a profound beauty to love that is chosen rather than forced upon you. And one thing I learned after speaking to these two is that with or without the bond, they will choose each other every time."

With every word she spoke, Calix drew me closer. My bouquet fell to the wayside, and he wrapped me in his arms, pressing my chest into his. Giddiness washed over me as I thought about how, in just a few moments, I would officially be his wife. There was something so sweet about that word.

"In Fae bonding ceremonies, we infuse silk thread with spirit and tie it around the hands of the couple as a physical manifestation of the magical bond they share. Calix and Luna have asked to forgo this, and instead exchange rings, as is the traditions of humans. As a mark of choosing. Luna, you may go first."

I took the simple gold band she handed me and slid it onto Calix's left ring finger with a trembling hand. It gleamed against his tan skin, and when I looked up at him, I saw him admiring it with a boyish grin.

"I, Luna, take you Calix to be my husband. Not because of a bond or fate or any other compulsion outside of myself."

A flush spread across my skin as I gathered the courage to say the next words. "Once, long before I knew what a mate bond was, I walked to your room in the middle of the night, and when you asked why I'd chosen you instead of your brother, I said it was because I trusted you. A mate bond cannot create trust, and without it, I would never have been brave enough to forsake my human life."

"Luna." His grip on me tightened.

"I said it once, and I will say it every day forward. I choose you. Today. Tomorrow. A thousand years from now. It will still be you."

A sigh echoed behind us, but neither of looked away. He pressed a hand against my cheek, and I did not imagine the tremor that ran through him as I turned my head and brushed my lips against his palm. Without letting me go, he accepted my ring and slid it onto my finger.

"Little moon," he began, only to stop and suck in a deep breath. "I feared your very existence and dreaded the day you would arrive. I spent nearly three hundred years building a wall around my heart in the hopes that it could withstand you, and as we can see, it failed miserably."

Laughter echoed through the clearing. A tendril of black hair fell across his forehead, and I brushed it back. "Such a romantic."

"If this thing between us was just a magical bond, I could have walked away. I would have walked away to save my people. You asked me once when I knew that you were my mate, but you didn't ask me when I fell in love with you."

"When did you fall in love with me?" I whispered, desperate for the answer.

His smile went crooked. "The day I watched you lead the fierig into the river. I had never been so furious before or so terrified. But I also realized that all the reasons I had been scared didn't matter because there was no danger I couldn't face with a female like you by my side. You weren't just everything I wanted, but exactly who I needed. I love you."

"Well, then..." Kinley sniffled, breaking us out of the trance that had settled over us. She wiped her eyes. "As the humans say, Calix, you may kiss your—"

He didn't give her a chance to finish before his lips crashed into mine. Thunderous applause sounded, and someone cat called as our kiss deepened to something bordering inappropriate.

"Alright, you two," Kinley tugged us apart. "You're about to turn this into an actual mating ceremony if you don't stop, and I don't think your dad would survive the horror."

I pulled away, cheeks pink, as Calix laughed. He threaded his fingers through mine and turned to face the crowd. As we hurried down the aisle, he bent down to whisper in my ear.

"Please tell me the wedding reception doesn't last longer than thirty minutes."

"Sorry," I said, feigning sadness even as I sensed his intense need. It was an echo of my own. "But—"

"But what?"

"Technically, it is basically our wedding night already, and if you do a human line dance with me..."

I trailed off as he frowned and fought the urge to giggle. While planning the wedding, I'd made him watch a few of the reception dances, and he had declared he would skip that portion of the party. No amount of begging had changed his mind, but I had a feeling he would cave when I told him my deal.

Looking almost pained, he asked, "If I do one of those dances, you'll what?"

"I'll let you bend me over a table in the dressing room and fuck me with my dress on."

His grip grew hard enough to hurt as he dragged me to the dance floor and shouted, "DJ! I have a song request."