Page 99 of Wedding the Werepanther

Dewdrop divides his time between helping Shadow, snuggling on my lap, or demanding I get out of my chair and play fruit fetch with him.

And Victoria? Victoria pouts her ass off like she’s entered the pouting Olympics and is going for gold. A heavy feeling suffuses the house, punctuated by the constant sighs of wind gusting through the windows. The lights never reach full brightness, as if someone put them all on a dimmer switch and spun the dial low.

When pouting doesn’t work, she still keeps the lights low, but switches over to seduction mode, scenting the air with sandalwood and jasmine and scattering rose petals all over my room with Dewdrop’s help. I don’t bother to tell her that petals plucked from silk flowers aren’t as effective as real roses.

And Iespeciallydon’t mention that her last-minute attempts to get me and Shadow to consummate won’t work. Once he learned about my childhood and why I’m so concerned abouthaving agency, he insisted we hold off on penetrative sex until after the marriage contract dissolves.

Thank god, the werepanther is truly amazing with his tongue.

Shadow finishes with woodworking for the evening on Friday and comes inside. He leans over my shoulder, squinting at the page of dialogue filling the right screen. “You at a stopping place? Let’s have dinner.”

“I could eat.” I hit save and send a backup to my cloud server.

“Want to go into town or—”

Doors slam throughout the house, followed by the all-too-familiar sound of locks clicking.

“You’re not going anywhere until you consummate!”Victoria writes.“This is the last night, and you’re going to spend ithere.”

I leap to my feet and throw up my hands. “You havegotto be flipping kidding me!”

“There are only sixteen more hours to go until the marriage contract dissolves.” Shadow grips my shoulder. “We can do this.”

“You’re right, we can. But that’s not the point.” I jab a finger toward the parchment. “The point is she needs to stop doing this.” She needs to stop taking away my ability to choose.

“I’m about to loseeverything.”A feeling of anguish weighs on the air.

“What exactly are you going to lose when the marriage contract dissolves?” I ask, starting to feel bad for her. I might not like what she’s doing, but I still hate seeing her in pain. “I’ll still be here. Dewdrop will still be here. Shadow…” I falter, not wanting to speak for him.

“I will, of course, still be here,” he says.

“Well?” I cock an eyebrow at the parchment. “What do you say? Will you unlock the doors?”

“Will you have one last date here tonight?”she writes.“A proper date with wine and steaks and candlelight?”

I share a glance with Shadow, who murmurs, “It’s up to you.”

This wonderful, joyous, amazing man is letting me have the one thing I crave, the one thing that helps me to feel safe. He’s giving me the complete freedom to choose. My heart leaps against my ribs, ready to take flight.

“I could murder a steak.” My lips curl.

He grins back. “Then steak you shall have.”

The quiet snicks of locks clicking open echo through the house, and the lights and mood brighten as we get to work.

Shadow puts his new grill skills to the test, and I set the dining table under Victoria’s careful direction, using all the best china. Dewdrop helps by fetching things from the kitchen, with Victoria opening and closing cabinets for him.

In less than an hour, we sit down to a candlelit dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and leafy green salad. Dewdrop gets a special treat, too. His new favorite thing is for me to cut a watermelon in half and let him dive in. It’s messy, but he loves it so much, I can’t say no.

The ribeye is tender, the potatoes buttery, and the crisp greens taste bright and fresh. Dewdrop scoops a handful of red, sugary pulp into his mouth and makes happy smacking noises.

“I’d like to make a toast.” I lift my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. “To good food, great wine, and the best company any girl could ask for.”

We clink glasses and drink while Dewdrop does a happy loop in the air and the sound of kitchen-cabinet applause comes from the next room.

“I too would like to make a toast.” Shadow’s green eyes sparkle as he smiles at me. “To family.”

A lump forms in my throat, and I take a moment, feeling too many things all at once. Joy and sadness and love swirl throughme. I haven’t had any true family since Grandma passed, and this little one I’ve made is precious. I put on a brave face for Victoria earlier, but a part of me still worries everything could change once the marriage contract dissolves. I believe Shadow when he says he’ll stay, but the old hurts of past rejection will always haunt me, no matter how much I try to move past them.