Two Weddings (and One Near Funeral)

T-9 Days

Watching Alec pace the office was starting to make Jackson seasick.

He rubbed his forehead and squinted up at the scowling man. “Is everything all right? You can take the day off, you know. I’ve got it covered.”

Alec shot him a vicious look. “The second I walk out that door, I’ll get dragged into wedding shit.”

From the way Mackenzie had talked about the events of the previous day, it might not be such a bad idea. “Doesn’t Carmen want you to help?”

This time, Alec winced. “Right now, she probably wants me to die.”

“Bullshit, man.” Jackson propped his elbows on his desk. “Okay, maybe she wants your family to die, but not you. You, she’ll keep.”

“Maybe.” Alec shoved a hand through his hair, which desperately needed to be trimmed. The strands stuck up haphazardly as he blew out a breath and dropped into his chair. “I tried running interference, but it makes things worse. My mother needs to know Carmen can stand up to her, or I really will have to kill the damn woman.”

“This is really bugging you, isn’t it?” Jackson snorted. “Look, man, every big wedding is like this. It’s just months of crap you have to wade through before you get to the honeymoon.”

Alec groaned. “Yeah. Months of stupid political maneuvering. None of this is about us. It’s about a Conclave member marrying a psychic halfbreed and every damn wolf in the country fighting for a front-row seat to see if any of us upstart New Orleans whackjobs do something crazy during the ceremony.”

“Like skip out on it altogether and elope?” Lord knew he’d be tempted.

“I suggested it. Twice.”

And if he thought his bride-to-be would take him up on it, he hadn’t been paying attention. “That lady of yours could kick both our asses without breaking a sweat. She’s tough, Alec, and she’s not going to punk out on a responsibility.”

For the first time, Alec’s lips twitched up in a smile. “Yeah. I know. It’s just harder to deal with when it’s my responsibility and she’s miserable because of it.”

“There is no yours and hers, not anymore,” Jackson reminded him.

Alec snarled. “I’m tired enough of taking this superior shit from Nicole. You don’t get to deliver sage married wisdom until you manage to get yourself hitched, buddy.”

Jackson suppressed a smile. “You want to fight it out? I’ll go right now, bring it.”

The wolf’s fingers clenched, like he really would take a swing, then relaxed as he let out a hoarse chuckle. “Nice of you to offer, but if you let me put so much as a scratch on you, your woman’s going to chew me up and spit me out. She’s not a fan of my entire family right now.”

Mackenzie pitied him more than anything else, but telling him so would probably only piss him off more. “Carmen would crawl over broken glass for you, just like you would for her. This is a poofy dress and a couple of stuffy parties.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Alec slumped lower in his chair. “I might take broken glass over that godawful tuxedo.”

“Shut up, we’re gonna look good.”

Another hint of a smile, and Alec unbent enough to scoop up a rubber band and flick it across the office. “The girls will, at least.”

With an imminent meltdown averted, Jackson leaned back in his chair. “There you go. Focus on the positives. Nothing to it, Jacobson.”

Easy for him to say, of course. All eyes wouldn’t be on him, and he didn’t have to watch the woman he loved struggle to stand her ground against a hundred years of oppressive tradition.