One week before the wedding
I TAKE OFF my blindfold and look at myself in the mirror. Immediately, I want to punch Brad and Howard in the face. I’m wearing a luminous pink t-shirt, with ‘almost hitched’ written across the front. And on the back is a ball and chain. It looks fucking stupid. But it doesn’t end there. Oh no. There is a box beside the mirror. Inside it are luminous bangles and rings, which I’m supposed to wear, a shot glass on a necklace, and a tiara, which is attached to a green curly wig. Fucking wankers. I could go alpha on them and say no, but I would never hear the end of it. So I put all of it on and leave the room. Devon is the first to see me as I enter the kitchen. She can’t hide the surprise on her face, and then she bites her lip. Not the sexy come-hither kind, no it’s an I’m trying not to fucking laugh kind. Her eyes close and she turns away from me. Her shoulders are shaking in silence. Just as everyone else bursts into laughter, she turns around, and I see the tears running down her face. I give Brad and Howard a fucking evil stare. Bastards. This is all them.
‘I’m not fucking wearing it,’ I tell them both, ripping the wig off my head.
‘Oh come on, it’s not that bad,’ Devon squeaks barely able to keep her giggling under control. Brad pulls off his jacket to show an equally luminous t-shirt with, ‘We’re on stag duty’ written on the front. And it has the same ball and chain on the back.
‘See, you’re not alone, it’s all fun, man.’
‘I don’t see your tiara and wig?’ Brad smacks Howard in the shoulder. And he too takes his jacket off and shows off his t-shirt.
‘Just for the fucking record, I said I didn’t like this idea, but this dipshit insisted.’ Howard throws a thumb Brad’s way. Brad rolls his eyes and pulls an ‘I’m bored’ face. Then the kitchen begins to fill with all the males and Brad hands out the stupid t-shirts to them all. They all put them on with no complaints. That is until Harrison walks in. I watch as Brad hands him a t-shirt. Harrison won’t even take it from him. He just shakes his head.
‘Awww come on, man. It’s just a bit of fun?’
‘No.’
‘But we all have to wear them.’
‘I said no.’
Brad rolls his eyes as Harrison turns away, and he flips him the bird behind his back.
‘Don’t fucking push it,’ Harrison growls. Brad laughs and puts the spare t-shirt on the table.
‘Everyone, grab a shot necklace from this box, and we have some bangle things too.’ To my surprise, everyone reaches in and grabs one—everyone except Harrison.
‘You not coming?’ I ask him.
‘Yeah, I’m coming. You all dressed like that, bound to be trouble.’
‘Not gonna happen, not tonight.’
‘I’ll be sober, just in case.’ Harrison replies stone-faced.
***
We’ve had far too much to drink, and not nearly enough to eat, and I feel tipsy. I lean up against the wall and reach for my phone.
Jared- All okay at home?
Devon – All is good. They’re feeding me
Jared- I’d like to feed you something
Devon- Oh?
Jared- Yeah, you just wait till I get home ;)
Devon – I’m waiting :)
Jesus, that woman is perfection. I feel my dick jerk at the mere thought of her.
‘Hey, handsome, are you looking for a bit of fun before you tie yourself down?’ I shake my head and look back at my phone. As I try and type back, this woman’s hand snakes out, and she cups my dick. I smack her hand away.
‘I said fucking NO!’
‘Aww, come on, you’re already hard for me. Take me to the bathroom?’
‘Get over yourself. This isn’t for you.’
‘I don’t see anyone else around…’ The cheeky fuck tries to touch me again. Now I’m getting pissed off.
‘Listen, I’m not interested. Under-fucking-stand?’
She pouts, and her hands go to her hips, I look at her properly then. She’s actually a pretty girl. ‘Why the fuck do you treat yourself that way? Have some respect for yourself,’ I tell her.
‘I’m all about having fun, shame you aren’t. I could have shown you a real good time.’ She pouts again, not in the least bit offended by anything I’ve just said. Jesus Christ, did I get old all of a sudden? I walk away from her, leaving her sulking from my rejection, and head back to the table where the guys are. They have two bottles of whiskey and are filling up their shot glasses. Shouts and whoops fill the air as my glass gets filled, and we knock them back. Then a barmaid comes over with a tray full of something with flames coming out the top. She slides them across the table, winks at Harrison standing just behind me, and then leaves.
‘On three!’ Brad shouts. Everyone takes up their fiery glass: ‘One. Two. Three!’ We all down the liquid. It’s quite nice actually. Leaves a nice burn. As everyone is swallowing their shot, we all go quiet, and it’s then I hear what’s going on behind me.
‘What the fuck you staring at, huh? That’s my fucking girl!’ I turn to find a big dude in a soul seekers cut, squaring up to Harrison. What the fuck? I stand and move to his side. But I’m drunk, and it shows.
‘You got nothing to say to me?’ The guy demands. Harrison just takes a deep inhale, as if he’s bored. His arms are still folded across his chest, and he hasn’t moved a muscle.
‘Listen, buddy, move the fuck along. No trouble here,’ I say hoping to calm the situation down.
‘I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to this dumb fuck.’ The words leave his mouth at the same time as he pokes a finger into Harrison’s chest. He hates to be fucking touched. I cringe as it happens, knowing he’s in for a whole lotta pain. Harrison moves so fast, the guy’s finger is broken and pointing the wrong way in a second. Blink, and you would have missed it. Now the guy is wailing like a little girl. Fuck. Harrison goes back to his stance like nothing happened. But, what do you know? The guy didn’t come alone. Another five men rock up wearing the same cuts, realising what has happened, they all spoil for a fight. Two of them come at Harrison and me right away, and as I throw a punch, Harrison jabs the other in the throat, rendering him useless and rolling around on the floor gasping for air. I knock the first guy on his arse. Then all I see is a free-for-all. The place is packed and everywhere I look, someone is fighting. Jesus Christ. Harrison is doing just fine, and I’m pretty sure he could have dealt with the five of them on his own. But my pack would never allow that. And pretty quickly, the original five, and the dude who started it are all knocked out. But the place is in chaos. Chairs are being thrown, and people are throwing punches at just about anyone in their way. We all look at each other, and I shake my head.
‘Time to go?’ I grin because this could only happen to us.
‘I think so,’ Howard replies with a smirk. We make our way to the door in a group, pushing anyone out of our way. We don’t get out unscathed though, a barstool comes hurtling towards us, and Harrison almost catches it, but it knocks the wind out of him for a second. Doesn’t take long for him to hurl it back to where it came from though. The guy who’s thrown it is standing there—definitely not expecting it to come back at him like a fucking boomerang. He’s knocked off his feet and Harrison, losing his cool, goes after it. The guy is already out cold, but the guy behind him gets Harrison’s wrath. Poor bastard. There are a few punches thrown our way while we get across the room to where Harrison is besting three men all at once. We all look fucking ridiculous in these bright pink t-shirts, with necklaces around our necks. But despite taking a punch I didn’t see coming, the whole night is great.
We make our way to the taxi stand.
‘Umm, remind me again why you were staying sober, Harrison?’ Brad pipes up. Harrison just shakes his head. ‘Oh, that’s right. Because we were bound to get in trouble because of our t-shirts?’ he grins. ‘Someone just remind me how we got into a fight just now? My memory fails me,’ Brad continues ragging Harrison the whole way home in the cab. Harrison is being remarkably patient. Maybe the irony of it hasn’t gone unnoticed, and he’s internally laughing. We arrive back home, and I find my woman in the kitchen, dishing out pizza.
‘I assumed you guys would be hungry?’ She smiles. I know she’s done this just for us because the females have already eaten. And I love her for it. She really has taken the role of alpha female in her stride, and she makes damn sure everyone is cared for. Harrison is last through the door. I’d called ahead and told her we were on our way home and she had heard all the jeering at Harrison. So as he walks in, she goes to him and hugs him. I’ve never seen her do that before, and I had NEVER seen Harrison allow anyone near him—ever. But he doesn’t flinch. He looks uncomfortable, but he doesn’t back away. I stand, staring in shock. Not because it’s my woman, but because of what she’s doing. She steps back and holds his face between her palms and asks if he is okay. He nods and grunts in response, but doesn’t pull away. Well, fuck me. No one says a damn thing as she shimmies her way back to my side and plants a kiss on my lips. Then she giggles and pulls at my t-shirt. You gonna keep that on?’ she murmurs. I pull it over my head and haul it at Brad, who is stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth.
‘Bah… stahhd’ he mumbles around the mouthful, making everyone laugh.
‘You know I’m still really hungry,’ Devon whines.
‘Yeah? You want me to feed you, baby?’
‘Ummhmm.’ She nods. ‘Get a plate first though. I don’t want you hungry.’
I do just that and take her right up to our bedroom.
***
(Devon.)
Jared carries me like a child in his arms up to our room, and I’m just dying to rip our clothes off and get naked with him. I’m always so hungry for him and was going stir crazy when being pregnant meant he wouldn’t touch me. But thankfully, he came to his senses and now fucks me however I want to be fucked. He always takes more care now though, and I can’t blame him. I’m carrying precious cargo. We sink back onto the bed, and I’m yanking at his clothes. He’d promised to feed me, and I wasn’t going to let him forget. He lifts my top over my boobs and flips my bra so the cups sit under the mounds, exposing them to his mouth. He sucks and laps at each nipple with his tongue, and I just about lose my mind. He knows just what I need, when I need it. I throw my head back, and he sucks at my neck, licking up the side, right up to my earlobe, which he takes between his teeth and gently tugs. I moan. It’s impossible to keep it in, being as horny as I am right now. His fingers are tweaking my nipples and his tongue doing all kinds of things to my neck. He kisses along my jaw, then our lips meet, and I part mine in desperation for him. He chuckles low, and I bite my lip.
‘You eager for my cock, baby?’
‘Mmhmm,’ I mumble back against his lips. ‘I need it.’
‘Where do you want it? Mouth or pussy?’ His aroused tone is gravelly and so sexy, I could listen to him talking dirty to me all night.
‘I want to taste you.’
He shifts so he has his back to the bed. ‘Get your ass up here and sit on my face.’
I all but squeal with excitement. I climb over him and perch right above him. His arms come around my hips, and he pulls me down to his mouth. I lean forward, realising that I won’t be able to do this for much longer as my bump gets bigger. I make the most of it, and I devour his cock. I feel him hesitate beneath me, and as he stills, I hum, knowing what that does to him. His fingers grip my hips, and he grinds me against him while thrusting his hips forward. His tongue flicks against my clit, and as he inserts a finger, I almost come apart. He feels me clench though, and with his arm, he holds me to his mouth. I lift my head, unable to concentrate, and throwing it back, I moan his name. His fingers are moving inside me quicker now, and I can barely hold it together. I come apart in no time at all, but he doesn’t let me go. He laps and sucks my clit until I come down from my intense orgasm. My mouth has gone dry, and I’m like jelly. He lifts me, placing me next to him. I lick my lips and move down the bed until I’m face to face with his dick, standing proudly, just waiting to be sucked again. I don’t get there though. He has other plans.
‘Steady yourself. This is going to be hard and fast.’ I’m on my knees already, so I only have to lean forward and disperse my weight until I am on all fours. He is behind me and sliding deliciously inside a second later. I’m mewling and panting, ready to go off again. He reaches around my hip, and under my bump and puts a small amount of pressure on my clit. I go off like a firework. I can feel my walls clamping down and squeezing his cock. Only a few more thrusts and he erupts inside me. The feeling of him emptying into me is amazing. His marking scent fills the room, and he stays seated inside me, pulling me up and back so I am sitting on his thighs. Turning my head, I look into his eyes. Lidded with a sated look, he captures my lips and his tongue licks into my mouth.
‘Love you, baby,’ he says against my lips. I reach up and cup the back of his head, pulling him in for another kiss. As I do, I clench my pussy and he groans. I love that sound so damn much. I’m all cleaned up and ready for bed when Jared brings up Harrison.
‘How come he let you hug him?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, you walked up and cuddled him like it was fine.’
I frown. ‘I’ve hugged him before.’
‘l gathered because he didn’t flinch—he always flinches.’
‘Well, he didn’t the first time either.’
‘When was that?’
‘In the basement, when he was showing me… stuff.’
‘So you hugged it out over torture?’
‘I guess.’ I snigger. ‘I thanked him, and told him how much I had needed it, and that I appreciated what he’d done for me, and I hugged him.’
‘He didn’t push you away? Or leave?’
I shake my head because if I remember rightly, he hugged me back.
‘No, he hugged me back. He didn’t say anything though.’
‘Well, fuck me. I’ve never seen anyone able to touch him like that.’
‘I guess, doing what we did together, helped?’
‘I should be jealous.’
I laugh because he’s pouting. ‘You most definitely have nothing to be jealous about. I love Harrison like I love the pack. He helped me, Jared, hugely, and I needed it.’
‘I know, baby. I’m sorry it took someone else to give you what you needed.’ He looks a little sad at that.
‘Hey, only Harrison could have known because it’s in his nature, and he knew it would help.’
‘I love that you love everyone in our pack. And it’s so fucking sexy when I watch you taking care of them all.’
‘Really?’ I giggle ‘Sexy?’
He growls low and crawls up my body like a predator. ‘Very fucking sexy!’
***
(Jared)
I had the church booked for the big day, on pack land, where I grew up. Devon still doesn’t know where we’ll be tying the knot, but she honestly doesn’t seem to care much now. Initially, she said it had to be perfect, and she was stressed to hell about it. Now though, she keeps just saying it doesn’t matter where it is that we get married—it will be perfect so long as we’re both there. I agree. All the fucking fuss does my head in, but I want it exactly how she envisioned, and it can’t be anything less than perfect. We will only do this once, and I want to make it the best day of her life. So now that we only have a week left, I drag the men to the suit store to get fitted. I tell them to suck it up and get the fucking penguin suits on. Harrison is grumbling the most, Brad and Howard just look uncomfortable, with their cravats hanging loosely around their necks, which match the bridesmaid dresses. The guy comes forward to help with the cravats, but as he walks towards Harrison first, I stop him before he touches him.
‘Any chance these can be tied before we put them on?’
‘These are traditional, sir, that need to be tied around the neck. However, if you are not accustomed, they can be tricky. We do a clip-on equivalent if you would prefer?’
‘Same colour?’
‘Indeed.’
‘Yup, clip-on it is.’
We leave the shop with suits in hand and clip-on cravats. Everyone is a little more relaxed now that we’re in our regular clothes. We decide to eat before we shop for shoes.
‘TGI Friday’s?’ Brad asks. I shrug not caring where, as long as we get food. We head that way, Harrison and Howard both not caring either. As we round the corner though, the queue is huge, so we detour to Pizza Hut.
‘Yaaaay, all you can eat buffet. Yes please, and thank you!’ Brad hollers, pushing through the door. We get seated in a booth near the window, and the four of us all order the buffet. On each hotplate, there are several different pizzas. All sliced so you can serve yourself a slice. I follow Brad and wish I’d gone fucking first. He doesn’t take a slice or two of each—he takes the full fucking ham and mushroom pizza. Leaving me with plain cheese or pineapple.
‘Greedy fucker,’ I grumble,
‘What? I’d only have to get up for more. Pointless, wasting time.’
‘Yeah, don’t worry about the rest of us, eh?’ Howard moans behind me.
‘Oh, get over it, she’ll bring more soon.’ He waves as he walks back to the table. I move to the second hotplate while Harrison and Howard fill their plates. I meet them back at the table.
‘You’re lucky they had ham and mushroom on the second bar otherwise you’d be sharing yours.’ Brad ignores me and just grins around his mouthful. Our drinks arrive at the same time that Harrison and Howard join us. We all eat in silence for a couple of minutes.
Harrison wipes his mouth. ‘Tell me why I need a monkey suit for your wedding?’
‘I told you. You’ll find out later.’
‘I don’t fucking like surprises.’
‘I don’t think you’ll mind this one.’
‘Well, I don’t know. No good looking at me,’ Brad tells him. ‘I’m the best man. Fuck knows what you two are.’
‘You aren’t the best man, dickhead, I am.’ Howard says nudging him.
‘I am,’ he retorts like a spoiled child.
‘Fuck’s sake. You both are!’
‘Both?’ Brad asks as he bites his pizza.
‘Yeah, both. I couldn’t not have either one of you, so you’re the best men.’
‘Can I look after the rings though?’ Brad asks
‘FUCK NO!’ we all say in unison.
‘Well, fuck me, I’m wounded. It’s like you don’t fucking trust me or something.’
‘How many sets of fucking keys have you had?’ Howard mocks. ‘And you want us to trust you with the wedding rings?’ Brad mocks offence and carries on eating. There’s a knock on the window, and I turn to see the same guys we had trouble with, in the club the other night. I sigh as the rest of them clock who’s outside. Brad motions to the guys like a cheeky fucker to wait till we’ve finished eating, then we’ll be out to settle the score. The guy he said it to looks pissed, as we all continue to eat.
‘Don’t fucking need this today,’ I grumble to no one in particular.
‘Well, looks like our fun is over, there are more across the road,’ Howard says, still eating nonchalantly like the fuckers aren’t staring us down through the window. Harrison finishes his slice then moves to stand.
‘I’ll take care of it.’
‘Fuck no, you seen how many there are out there?’ I tell him. ‘Sit down, they can fucking wait.’ He does and takes a drink of his coke. Then a hand slams on my shoulder, and Harrison leaps up out of his chair and gets straight in the guy’s face.
‘Remove your fucking hand or lose it,’ he growls. I finish my last slice and stand myself, shrugging the offending hand off me. Brad and Howard both stand with me, and the guy suddenly realises no one else followed him in. This is one of the guys I’d knocked out. I look around the restaurant and see families with small children and decide this needs taking elsewhere and fast.
‘How about you calm the fuck down, and we take it outside?’ I raise my hand to catch the waitress’s eye, to quickly pay by card. The dude is jonesing now, and I honestly don’t think he’s going to wait until we get outside, so I push him towards the door, at which point his buddy comes through it. Also wearing a soul seekers cut. This one says VP above his name, ‘Bones.’ Maybe, as the vice president, he would have some sense. Apparently not. But he does do a double take at Harrison, who looks at me, knowingly. We get outside with the two guys flanking us. In a packed car park, there are around four other guys circling us on their bikes, leaving around eight more on foot. Not the best odds, but not the worst either. I move forward, and we get into formation. Instinctively, I face forward, Harrison to my right, Howard to my left, and Brad at my back. This way we cover all angles. We don’t even need to discuss it. The VP holds his hands up.
‘I know you.’ He points at Harrison. ‘How do I know you?’ Harrison grunts and cracks his neck, he’s ready. That’s his tell. The VP still has hands in the air as he asks, ‘What’s your name?’
‘Ask your fucking president,’ Harrison growls, leaping forward and knocking the first guy out cold. All hell breaks loose then, and it’s a fucking free for all.
‘Oooh, you bastard, not my face!’ I hear Brad shout. ‘Now you’re gonna make my girl mad too.’
I take a punch to the jaw that I don’t see coming because I’m too busy watching Harrison make a move for the VP. He’s laid out three men to get to him, and when he grips him by the throat and lifts him off the ground, everyone stops fighting, scared as shit that their VP is going down. I dust myself off and wait to see where Harrison is going with this.
‘Get him on the phone,’ he snarls.
The guy nearest me moves the fastest and hands Harrison the phone. I shake my head, and he looks around wondering what the fuck to do. When a voice comes through the phone, he answers, ‘Prez…’ he asks nervous as fuck. He looks to his VP who is turning purple.
But it’s Harrison who speaks. ‘Ask him how he knows Harrison Stone.’ That’s the name he uses for contract work. And that’s when the penny drops. He’s worked for these fucktards.
‘Why?’ I hear the prez ask.
‘Umm, he’s here, and we just had a little scuffle, Prez.’
‘WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU FUCKIN MORON?’
‘Not me boss, but—’
‘Put him on the fucking phone,’ he screams.
The guy looks at me. ‘He wants to talk to him.’ He points at Harrison—the VP is now unconscious from lack of oxygen. He drops to the floor in a heap. Harrison takes the phone. He doesn’t say anything, just grunts.
‘We can smooth this out, right? No repercussions? They didn’t know who you are,’ the Pres says desperately.
Another grunt, then, ‘Happens again, they’ll be back in a body bag.’
‘Thank you!’ The Pres says as Harrison throws the phone back to its owner. We start to walk away when the minion comes up behind me.
‘Sorry, man,’ he says to Harrison.
‘Fuck off,’ he grunts in reply.
‘Can’t believe he hit me in the fucking face. My nose is gonna be swollen all night,’ Brad chimes in, breaking the tension.
‘Be a fucking improvement,’ Howard says taking the piss. We leave the carpark and the VP, who’s still sprawled out, and his minions dusting themselves off. Fuckers.
‘You done a lot of their dirty work?’ I ask as we head back towards the shopping centre.
‘Enough of it.’
‘They obviously don’t have a fucking brain cell between them, starting shit they can’t finish,’ Brad grumbles. Howard and I agree.
‘Hopefully, that shit won’t happen again, but if it does…’ Harrison shrugs his shoulders. I know what that means. He’ll end them. Fair enough. We get back inside the shopping centre, and the place is heaving. School’s kicked out, and the place is teaming with kids. I can see Harrison twitching as a group on skateboards come hurtling towards us. I move to Harrisons left so he isn’t on the end. I think if they bump him, the mood he’s in, he’s liable to lose his shit. Scarring the little fuckers for life.
‘I see a shoe shop, dead ahead,’ Brad says like he’s talking into a walkie. I laugh, shaking my head at his inner fucking child, and we find our way in. We all pick the shoes we want, and we’re done and back in the car within an hour. It’s been a long fucking day.
***
Devon
I’m busy in the kitchen when the men arrive home. I’m cooking a hotpot. I’ve honestly been trying to pass the time, nervously waiting until they got back. I’m seriously hoping my plan works out. I can’t think of another way I’d rather it be. The guys come in, and the first thing I notice is their mood. The second is Brad’s face.
‘Oh my god, what happened?’ I ask in a high-pitched voice just as Maiya walks in the room.
‘What the fuck?’ she asks cupping Brad’s face ‘Who hit you?’
‘It’s just superficial. I’ll be as beautiful as ever in a few hours.’
‘Who did it?’ she asks again, looking at the guys individually as if she can see the perpetrator by looking hard enough at them.
‘Calm down, beautiful. We had a scuffle with the same guys from the bar last week.’
‘What are you taking about?’ I ask, looking at Jared because I don’t know anything about it. Maiya though, clearly does and didn’t tell me. Everyone looks at each other as if they’re naughty kids. Then they all filter out, leaving Jared and me alone. I tilt my head and purse my lips, folding my arms.
‘Baby, I didn’t tell you, because honestly, it wasn’t anything, and I don’t want you worrying about shit that has been dealt with while you’re pregnant.’ My anger dissipates a little, and my heart melts at him protecting our babies. He looks at me with puppy eyes, and I cave, kissing his lips. His chuckle reverberates through me as he hugs me close.
‘Did you speak to Harrison?’ I ask nervously.
He shakes his head and pecks my lips in a chaste kiss. ‘Baby, I think it’s better coming from you.’ I take a deep breath and nod my head. He’s right, it does need to be me, so we go in search of him, and find him in the security room with Brody.
‘Harrison, can I have a quick word please?’
He frowns, but gets up, and follows me as I head to the library. He looks at Jared and then me, with a puzzled look on his face.
‘Umm, I just wanted to ask… and please don’t feel that you have to… I won’t be offended, I promise… but I would really love it if you could give me away at the wedding,’ I blurt it out in a hurry. His face relaxes, and instead of confusion, there’s shock. He swallows, and then looks to Jared, then to me, and then the floor, and I think, that’s it, he doesn’t want to. He grunts and then clears his throat. ‘I’d like that’ he says in a quiet whisper. I smile so hard as I leap at him and hug him. It takes a minute before I feel him hug me back. But I am so happy and relieved that he said yes.
‘Thank you. It means a lot, man,’ Jared says shaking his hand as I release him.
‘Thank you so much, Harrison. I really appreciate it.’
‘I’m honoured,’ he almost sounds a little choked up. And he quickly turns and leaves the room, mumbling, ‘Got stuff to do.’ We say nothing and just let him go. I bite my lip, turning to Jared I’m so excited about the wedding. Everything is in order. The only thing I’m sad about is my dad not being here with me.