Two Weddings (and One Near Funeral)

T-5 Days

“Jackson? You got a second?”

Kat was sitting at her desk. Only moments ago, she’d been concentrating on paperwork. Now, she fiddled absently with a sheaf of invoices as she waited for him to answer.

He set aside his pen. “Sure, what’s up?”

She didn’t look at him, which was the first sign of trouble. “You’re keeping an eye on Mac, right? Because this wedding stuff... It’s making her a little squirrelly.”

Plainly put, it was freaking her the fuck out. “I’ve been talking to her. Is there something specific you’re worried about?”

“All the strange wolves piling into town.” Kat winced. “Hell, it’s making Sera defensive and snarly, and she’s pretty laid-back. I talked to Zola about it during my last self-defense lesson, and she said it’s why she and the other non-wolves have been staying away. But Mackenzie’s right in the middle of it.”

“She hasn’t had it easy,” he admitted. More often than not, her encounters with Alec’s parents had ended with her wanting to smack them, though he’d chalked it up to the fact that they were both assholes. “She’s hanging in there, though.”

“Sure she is. Because she’s Mac.” Kat dug about in her desk and surfaced with a binder-clip. “Just... Well, sometimes I think the rest of them forget that she’s new to this. I’ve gotten the vicarious empathic experience of Miguel’s transformation to a full shapeshifter, and I’ve got a new appreciation for how fucked up the changes can be.”

“I’m paying attention,” he said gently. “Don’t worry so much.”

“I know.” Papers secured, Kat dropped them on the desk and turned to give Jackson a wide smile. “I always worry. But not about Mackenzie so much. Not when she’s got you.”

“That she does,” And he knew what was really worrying Kat. “How’s everyone else doing?”

He’d seen her play dumb with a dozen other people. Avoid the topic, change the subject. To him, she told the truth, her pain and confusion clear on her face. “I don’t know. Andrew will barely look at me, much less talk to me. Alec’s too busy to pay attention, and I don’t know if Andrew and Julio are that close. I’m afraid no one’s looking out for him.”

“What if I promise Kenzie and I will?”

Kat gave him a dubious look. “Will Mackenzie be nice to him?”

He had to laugh at that. “She likes him, Kat. Really.”

“Uh-huh.” Kat leaned back and bumped the drawer shut with her foot. “Five more days, and life can go back to normal. I can’t believe they pulled this wedding together this fast.”

“Funny what you can do with copious amounts of money, huh?”

“It seems like a waste,” Kat retorted. “All that money to throw a party for a bunch of people they don’t like anyway. If I ever get married, it’s going to be in Vegas. Elvis or bust.”

“Hey, I’m with you,” he agreed. “But Carmen and Alec don’t exactly have the luxury of owning this day all by themselves.”

“Sucks to be Alec and Carmen.”

“Yes, it does.”