Running With The Pack: Big Easy Shifters: Book Four by Knox, Abby (best book club books TXT) 📗

But solving the riddle of that rivalry meant nothing to Pen on the day of the wedding. As maid of honor to her newest friend, Pen saw it as her duty to make sure Rosemary got her one wish on her wedding day: her father walking her down the aisle.

By god, the wolf pack was going to make sure that happened. All of the wolves—Pen, Bobby, Gavin, Vann, and Ash, the groom himself—were going to make sure of it.

Pen busted down the study doors through brute supernatural force and managed to startle Lionel just long enough for Vann to grab him and for Gavin to knock him out with a magical inhalant. Ash, being the groom, had other matters to attend to that morning. Still, he had procured the magical elements needed to subdue the pugnacious patriarch.

Even passed out, it took all four pack members to stuff the old man into the back seat of Pen’s SUV.

The group arrived at the riverboat venue looking like a car full of clowns in formalwear. Pen left it up to the menfolk to trundle a woozy, compliant Lionel dressed for the long walk down the aisle. Pen then went to work burning the crystals that would further work their soothing magic over the bride's ferocious father. Once all was going according to plan, Pen watched the slightly confused but docile Lionel look at his only daughter in her wedding gown. From there, Rosemary had everything under control.

Watching Lionel gaze at Rosemary the way a father should gaze at his daughter on her wedding day, Pen knew that day’s caper had all been worth it. Sooner or later, Lionel would sober up. Still, hopefully, by that time, Ash and Rosemary would be married, and the reception would be in full swing. Everyone involved had hopes he would have seen the error in his extreme stubbornness by then. Who can hold a grudge in the face of the happiest couple ever?

Was this solution to Ash and Rosemary’s problem tacky and inelegant? Maybe. Brutish and illegal? Definitely. Pen didn’t care. Her pack took precedent, and Ash’s happiness depended on keeping Rosemary happy.

Pen and her lifelong friends would do anything for the good of the pack, including high crimes and frequent pretty misdemeanors.

While the ceremony took place, Pen glanced around and realized something. Almost everyone in the pack had paired off with a panther shifter—all except for her and Bobby. Case in point: The long-haired, bearded and tattooed Gavin was possessively staring at Rosemary’s cousin Chastity. Those two had apparently fallen into each other’s arms while black-out drunk the night of the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The second exhibit was the team of Vann and GiGi. Vann was making puppy dog eyes at GiGi while Ash and Rosemary exchanged their vows. Just a few months ago, the two of them had been introduced at Ash and Rosemary’s rooftop engagement party and had been together almost ever since.

As for Pen? She had no eyes for anybody—never had, never would have—but Bobby Jordan. Her best friend. He was her closest confidant, yet he never knew her darkest secret: she loved him more than anything.

But Bobby? Bobby was clueless. Always was, maybe he always would be. At the moment, though, he was sending clear signals to Pen that he was interested. More than interested. Obsessed. His wolfish eyes had not peeled themselves away from Pen or her dress since he’d first walked arm in arm with her preceding Rosemary and her father.

When the officiant arrived at the part where she asked the assembled guests if any of them had any reason why these two shouldn’t be married, there was one interruption. Lionel rose to his feet. Pen turned to watch him, and held her breath. She readied herself in case she needed to tackle him.

But there was no need for any more tackling or subduing. His words were slightly slurred as his psyche emerged from the magical spell. “I just wanted to say, ‘I will remember you. Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by. Weep not for the memories.’” And with that, he gestured for the officiant to carry on. He sat back down in his seat, the mother of the bride looking relieved he hadn’t said something offensive.

Someone could have knocked Pen over with a feather. Did the scariest man in New Orleans, maybe the entire southern United States, just stand up and quote Sarah McLachlan at his daughter’s wedding? Pen’s eyes swept over the room and assessed everyone’s reactions. Some clueless older folks were misty-eyed. Others were glancing around wondering what the hell had just happened. The rest of the guests who had evidently recognized the passage? They were red faced, biting their lips, covering their eyes and mouths. No doubt half of that crowd fought back an explosive case of the giggles. The energy in the room was that of someone farting loudly in church.

Following that strange little interlude, the officiant smiled politely and soldiered on.

And, Bobby resumed staring at Pen. He appeared so fixated, Pen felt herself worry he might wolf out in front of all the guests. She tried to communicate with her eyes that if he did wolf out in the middle of this wedding, Rosemary would kill him dead.

Bobby watched her so closely, he was almost derelict in his best man duties. When Ash turned with his hand out, waiting for Bobby to hand him the rings, Bobby’s attention was on Pen and only Pen.

Her heart hammered in her throat, and her lungs felt like they were on fire with panic and embarrassment. Wedding guessed tittered at the absent-minded Bobby.

Pen widened her eyes and jerked her head in the direction of the groom. Bobby finally snapped out of whatever trance he was in and remembered what he was supposed to do at that moment.

Other than that minor flub—and Lionel’s odd-but-heartwarming interruption—the ceremony carried on without a hitch. The