On the day of my wedding, I stood in a beautiful white dress, patiently awaiting my cue to enter the main chamber of the small, Phoenix chapel.

My father stood proudly by my side, leaning on his cane and dressed in his nicest suit. We’d chosen to get married back in Phoenix to keep him from having to travel far, and because it just made the most sense for us – to take this next step forward where it all began.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Sarah. Hell, you look just like your mother on her own wedding day.” He warmly smiled, noticing how my chest swelled with nervous anticipation. “God rest her soul, I only wish she were here to see you now. She’d be so proud of you, sweetheart.”

His affectionate gaze quietly dropped down to Connor, fast asleep in my arms. “…Both of you.”

“This means the world to me, Dad.”

He tilted his head, his eyes filling with tears. “I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry that it took me so long to understand…”

“In the end, you did,” I fought back my own grateful tears. “And that’s all that matters now.”

The attendant waved back for us.

“It’s time!” She whispered. “Bride, you’re up!”

My father crooked out his elbow. “Ready?”

Taking a deep breath, I held my sleeping child tightly and slipped my free arm through his, holding close to his side.

“I think so.”

Upon our cue – when Here Comes the Bride began over the speakers – we marched forward.

There were just enough pews in the chapel to allow one Devil’s Dragon to stand on either side between the pews. Each one of them looked proud as they nodded to me in turn, their eyes falling upon the sleeping infant in my arms – I gratefully recognized their respect with my beaming smile.

Hunter was standing at the front, watching me in a handsome, crisp suit.

With a mesmerized gaze, he stared at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and it made me choke back tears that this amazing day had finally come.

He snapped out of it just in time to descend the stairs and walk towards us, meeting us at the halfway point.

Dad straightened, holding his cane to him.

Hunter took it, the strength of that moment clearly not lost on him, and accepted my father’s hand in a firm, proud shake. He handed the cane back to Dad before his legs could fail; Dad released his arm to pull his impending son-in-law into a warm embrace, his hand clasped around the back of Hunter’s head.

They separated, and Hunter offered his arm.

Together, we moved forward.

My father followed closely at the rear as the Devil’s Dragons fell into single file behind him. We ascended the stairs and separated; my father hung behind me at the top, and the Dragons filled the first pew of the chapel.

As the music died, we turned to our minister: our first and only choice as the man for the job.

Grizz Hawkins beamed down on us.

With an open bible held in one large hand, and a microphone in the other, he flicked a switch on the side with his thumb and began to speak.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness–

He was interrupted with a rising cacophony of loud noises from outside. Faintly in the choas, I could make out the sounds of roaring engines…

Hunter locked eyes with me.

“Take Connor and find somewhere safe. I’ll protect your father.”

I didn’t question my man.

I turned quickly, scanning the room for an exit. The only way out looked to be from the entrance, unless we started breaking windows…

In an instant, Hunter had already unbuttoned his suit jacket and withdrawn a pair of pistols. My frantic eyes took in the Devil’s Dragons, all pulling their weapons, locking and loading in formation.

The doors flew open.

Everybody stopped.

Without a word, dozens of bikers wearing an array of patches filed into the room. They started taking up pews behind the Dragons in organized chaos, quickly filling out every seat in the room. They kept coming, lining the walls and packing the room until only the main corridor was free.

Stunned, Hunter lowered his weapons.

The rest of the Devil’s Dragons followed suit.

As the room stood still in silence, I could see that they weren’t all bikers, although the majority of them were. A large minority of our unexpected guests simply looked like toughened convicts in street clothes. With almost the entire room crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, the chapel had become a swelling sea of faces of all races, both men and women… and all eyes focused on us.

Down the main corridor walked a small handful of thugs, coming towards us with wide grins. As they approached, Hunter stepped in front and held an arm to hold me back as I tensely held my sleeping son in my arms.

As they came closer, I saw that most of the group wore patched vests – with the word President beneath. Leading the brigade was a thin, elderly man in dark attire.

He stopped them short of the steps.

“What, no wedding invitation?” He chuckled, looking at the two of us with a cheerful smile. “I can see you losing a few in the mail, surely, but a few hundred?”

Hunter held a look of defiance as he quietly holstered his guns – after all, we were greatly outnumbered – and stepped forward to confront the stranger. He looked angrier than ever.

I feared what was coming…

But then he shook the man’s hand.

What.

The old stranger smiled proudly at Hunter, still holding his hand; his gentile gaze slid to me, watching me hold our son with something that looked like adoration as he nodded with respect. He turned back to Hunter, set his other hand on top of their firm clasp, and spoke up loudly.

“You’re a fool if you think we would miss this joyous day for anything,” he winked. “I speak for all of us near and far when I say, from the bottom of my heart…

“The Outlaws send their warmest regards.”

My jaw almost dropped.

The Outlaws? I gasped in total disbelief, my eyes trailing around the packed room. Holy shit! These are the goddamn Outlaws?

To my astonishment, the others in his group knelt down before us. Every last face in the room that hadn’t been part of the wedding ceremony bowed their heads in reverence.

“Should have booked a much bigger chapel,” the stranger smiled, gazing around at the décor. “You’re lucky only a few of us could make it… you’d need half a dozen rooms like this, easy.”

Hunter turned around, smiling slyly.

“…So much for a small wedding!”

“No shit!” I gasped.

Half of the room erupted into applause and laughter. While I was grateful for the cheering, and all these people that had come so far to see me marry the man I loved, that didn’t stop the fact that I had a sleeping baby in my arms.

I tried to cover his ears from the noise.

But, of course, it was already too late.

“Shhh!” The elderly man turned to face all the others, a thin finger held to his lips. “She’s holding her child! You’ll wake the boy, you idiots!”

A sudden hush fell over the room as Connor stirred in my arms. It was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop halfway across the chapel. With his eyes held shut, our son was already fidgeting when he began to wail loudly, grasping into the air.

If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I would never have believed that a large room filled with the local underworld could give out a sincere and collective ‘Awww’, especially over a child...

Certainly not my child, either…

As if on cue, Connor’s eyes opened.

He looked into the room, and his cries calmed. It was almost as he already knew that these were his people – the ones that, should the fragile peace hold, he might one day come to rule.

Hunter finally addressed them.

“We can’t thank all of you enough for coming. I know plenty of you must have had long travels, and I won’t soon forget your dedication. This is a slightly different head count than we anticipated, so you might be on your own for the reception…”

Laughter rippled across the room.

“But thank you for being here to witness me marry the love of my life…”

Hunter turned to me, filled with love.

“…With our son between us…”

He started ascending the stairs.

“And her father, giving her away to me.”

He turned to Dad, who smiled on his cane.

“Thank you all, again,” Hunter looked over the room. “I will shake the hand of every last one of you before we leave, but there’s one last thing to take care of first…”

The stranger turned back around.

“I think, perhaps, that we have all interrupted far too long,” he spoke, pausing to gaze with total endearment upon my son and me. He took his group back towards the front, waving with a cavalier hand. “Please forgive the intrusion, and carry on as if we weren’t here…”

I looked over the filled chapel.

Sure, buddy, I chuckled to myself.

Like you guys aren’t even here, huh…?

Hunter and I smiled lovingly at one another. This was the last thing I would have expected for our big day, but it was the happiest goddamn surprise I could have ever gotten.

“I can’t believe they’re here,” I whispered.

For all their faults, they’re loyal,” he chuckled quietly. “This is the most of them that have ever been under one goddamn roof…”

The voice in front cleared his throat.

We both turned to Grizz.

“As I was saying…” Grizz noted dryly.

Even our young infant seemed to respect his authority. Connor’s chirping quieted, and he held himself still in my arms…