A Kink in the Tail

Chapter 48 - The Wedding...what could possibly go wrong.

Shaun was trying to be the best man possible, under the circumstances. The wedding had been running smoothly, the reception room in the main building was elegantly decked out and looked the part.  The marquee was simple, romantic even.  Even the guests, all Lycans of course, weren't as terrifying as he thought they'd be.  Although, from the side looks they gave him he wasn't exactly welcomed. 

He'd only been to a couple of straight weddings and this was about the same, minus the stupid stuff people do for the sake of a youtube worthy video.  He wasn't sure what he expected considering it was two guys getting married, but he did feel a little homophobic when he realised that he'd thought the wedding would be gayish and garish.

The food was splendid and the Grooms looked drop-dead gorgeous. Even the celebrant, a short round woman, had held her own under the glare of many stern-faced Lycans.   Being the odd ones out  Shaun felt the humans had to stick together and he made a point of making sure she was OK and at ease.  He tried to imagine what she thought entering the compound, it had to be a strange experience. She probably thought they were a rich weird sect, hidden away in a quiet town. She also couldn't have missed the fact that all the guests shared the same traits, attractive, tall and sombre looking. From the children all the way up to the elders they bore the same posture and demeanour.

Shaun took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. His suit had matched Adam's latte coloured one. They had made a very attractive wedding party if he said so himself. He sighed and continued to stow away the Celebrant's equipment in a large crate. She had wanted to leave in a hurry once the ceremony was over and was grateful when he offered to pack up for her.  She had disappeared in a cloud of confetti, figuratively not literally. If she knew she'd spent the afternoon in the company of 50 odd Lycans and not humans, she would have run, not walked, out of the compound.

He wouldn't say the wedding was a total disaster, the first half had been rather pleasant but it was close enough to one to leave him feeling flat and disappointed. Everything was fine until the ceremony ended and the reception tables started to fill with guests. That's when it started to turn sour. Several tables remained empty,  the invited Pures not making an appearance was their silent protest to the marriage. The implied insult was obvious to everyone. 

 The Guardian remained calm and poised but his aura darkened. Adam had confided to Shaun that there had been quite a bit of resistance to the Guardian taking a mate, the human marriage brought on even louder protests from certain high-ranked families and a certain arsehole of a Guardian.  Paul never wavered from making the marriage happen.  It made Shaun like him a bit more, although it was still hard to understand the Guardian's appeal.  He was cold but not with Adam.

Shaun shook off the tightness in his shoulders and sat down. Around him, waiters were collecting plates and folding linen. He pulled out his phone and started watching the videos he had taken earlier in the afternoon.

.....

The first video was of Paul and Adam standing together at the entrance to the courtyard area where a marquee had been set up. They were greeting the guests as they arrived and then Lewis took over and ushered them to their chairs. They looked happy, all smiles and bright excited eyes. The white billowing sheer curtains of the marquee enclosed a paved area with several rows of white chairs. The video was taken from the top of the courtyard where Shaun and the Celebrant waited for the Grooms. Soft music was playing in the background. One by one the seats were filled by the who's who of Purebloods. The Alpha and Luna sat in the front seats with their children.  Boo the littlest one, ran the Alpha ragged trying to keep him in his seat, replacing his shoes every time he kicked them off.  They were a sweet unlikely-looking family.  The two older boys sat like mannequins, so alike it was creepy, while the middle child sat next to Virgil holding his hand quietly.