Epilogue
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Alpha-Prime – Two months later
Elite and exclusive Alpha-Prime chapel for the second (more important) wedding…
Axel turned from the officiate to face his hidden bride—again—lifted her heavy opaque veil—again—revealing…his worst nightmare! A sand-claw beast ready to chomp him. Everyone in the Alpha-Prime chapel stood up, screamed and ran for their lives. Axel couldn’t move. The beast roared as stinky slobber dripped down the lacy front panel of the wedding dress, staining it with rusty brown streaks.
He dropped the veil and pushed the sand-claw beast away, stumbling backward as the beast lifted lace-covered paws with razor-sharp talons sticking out of the gloved fingertips, leaping at him as he…sat up in bed, breathing hard, sweating bullets with a scream on his lips.
Beside him, Lucy stirred. “Another bad dream,” she murmured.
“Yep.”
Eyes still closed, she reached out and stroked a soft hand down his back. “The sand-claw beast in the wedding dress again?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe we should call off the second wedding. I know my parents think it’s the more important of the two, but these anxiety dreams are getting worse. We could just head for Earth and a swimming hole with a couple of bottles of Dr Pepper and a big bag of M&M’s, instead of staying here for the pompous, boring and endlessly-long Alpha post-wedding dinner reception.”
“Not a chance. Your parents are hard-core. It was bad enough that Francine had to come to Alpha-Prime pretending to be an Earther hairstylist, since they haven’t relented in their ostracism. I’ll endure the boring dinner reception, thank you very much.”
“I know, but Francine is happier. She says a huge weight of parental expectation and responsibility has been lifted from her shoulders. Besides, I’m the new second daughter, you need to remember that.”
“Right, right, I know. ‘Oh, hello stranger that I’ve never met before. Have you met our second and very favorite daughter, Lucinda? Oh, yes, she’s always been our second daughter, why do you ask?’” he said. “It’s a little creepy when everyone knows you’re the middle daughter of five. I mean, everyone on the entire planet of Alpha-Prime knows about the Duvall five. Rabble rousers in the Outer Basin know all about the five Duvall sisters of the Designer class Duvalls and their arranged marriages from birth.”
Lucy laughed. “Oh, they do not. But I enjoyed your imitation of my mother’s voice.”
“I live to please.”
“Oh, did I tell you Francine got a job?”
“She did? When?”
“Right before we left Earth to come here for this cough more important wedding cough.”
Axel rolled his eyes as Lucy added, “She’s going to work at the grocery store in Alienn, stocking shelves at night.”
“She’s going to be a night stalker? Really?”
“I don’t understand your tone, but she’s really excited about it. The Supernova Supermarket. You know, right next to the Time Rift clock shop in downtown Alienn.”
“Good. I guess. I wish she’d let us help her,” Axel said.
“I know.” Lucy ran her fingertip down his morning-beard-roughened cheek, touched as always by his sweetness. The way all the Greys had welcomed her sister into their loving circle humbled her. “But I think she feels like she’s had people taking care of her all her life, and building a new life in Alienn is something she wants to do all on her own.”
“Well, if she’s happy then I’m happy.”
“Speaking of sisters…” Lucy sat up in bed, crossing her legs. “Valene wanted me to talk to you.”
“This can’t be good.”
“She wants you to help her introduce the idea of Wyatt as the perfect mate.”
“I have no doubt that he is her perfect mate if she thinks so, but I can’t do anything to change the fact that he’s not an Alpha. If they get married, boom, they can’t live on Earth.”
“But Valene wants to stay with him as well as her family on Earth. It seems like a reasonable request.”
“I understand that and I applaud her, but if she marries Wyatt Campbell, a human sheriff, no matter how wonderful he is, they will have to move to Alpha-Prime to be together. I don’t make the rules.”
“We broke the rules to get what we wanted.”
Axel didn’t have an answer for that. “Maybe, but with this second wedding we’re paying a stiff price as punishment.”
Lucy shrugged. “The good news is that it’s only two more days until we have to get married again in grand splendor. I still have one more item to find to make this a perfect second wedding.”
“What’s that?”
“A sand-claw beast mask to wear under my veil.”
“Do not even think it.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else this.” He grabbed one foot and tickled her relentlessly until she swore on all that was sacred she wouldn’t look for a sand-claw beast mask to scare him during their second (and not most important) wedding.
He was too busy to notice her fingers crossed behind her back.
And then they were both too busy to care.
The End