The supernatural community hailed them as heroes.
Kieran and Aiden, the bonded mates who'd stood against extremism and won. Who'd united vampires across the world for a common cause.
"You're celebrities now," Marcus said wryly. "How does it feel?"
"Exhausting," Aiden admitted. "I just want to marry my mate and live our lives in peace."
"Peace might be difficult. You've become symbols—of change, of progress, of love conquering hate. The world won't let you retreat into privacy."
"Then we'll be public symbols," Kieran decided. "Use this attention for good. Show the supernatural world that bonded mates aren't aberrations but the future."
"Spoken like a true leader," Celeste said, having stayed in New York after the battle. "The vampire community needs leaders. The old ways are dying. Perhaps you two could help shepherd in the new."
"We're not politicians," Aiden protested.
"You're better. You're authentic. You've lived the struggle, paid the price, earned the victory." She smiled. "Consider it. The Council of Elders would welcome representatives who actually understand modern love."
They promised to consider it.
But first, a wedding.
Two weeks later, under a new moon, they held the ceremony in a private estate Marcus owned upstate.
Two hundred vampires attended, along with a dozen witches, several shifters, and even a few demons. The supernatural world turned out to celebrate love triumphant.
Aiden wore a white suit that made him look like an avenging angel. Kieran wore black, elegant and timeless.
Marcus officiated, using an ancient bonding ritual that predated Christianity.
"We gather to witness the union of two souls," Marcus began. "Souls that have found each other across lifetimes, that have loved and lost and loved again. Kieran Ashford and Aiden Ashford, you stand before this assembly not as strangers taking a leap of faith, but as eternal partners finally claiming what you've always been."
"Kieran," Marcus prompted.
Kieran took Aiden's hands, his voice steady despite the emotions overwhelming their bond. "I've loved you for a thousand years. I've lost you a hundred times. I've waited in darkness, in despair, in hope so fragile I was afraid to acknowledge it. And now you're here—not just returned, but transformed, powerful, eternal. You're my mate, my partner, my other half across all existence. I vow to love you in this life and all lives to come. I vow to stand with you against any threat. I vow to build a future worthy of the past we've survived. Forever, Aiden. I'm yours forever."
Aiden was crying—blood tears streaming down his face, not sad but overwhelmed with joy. "Kieran, I remember everything now. Every lifetime, every love, every loss. I remember the monastery where it started. I remember dying in your arms so many times. I remember the three weeks we had as vampires before I was taken from you. And I remember waking up as Aiden Luxury, feeling incomplete, not knowing why. Until I saw you across that room and my soul recognized what my mind had forgotten." He squeezed Kieran's hands tighter. "I vow to never leave you again. I vow to fight for us with everything I am. I vow to make every moment of the thousand years you waited worth it. You're my home, my heart, my forever. In this life and all lives, I'm yours."
Marcus smiled through his own tears. "By the power vested in me by centuries of tradition and the magic that binds our world, I declare you eternally bonded, forever mated, married in every sense that matters. You may seal your union."
They kissed as the assembled supernatural creatures erupted in applause and cheers.
The celebration lasted until dawn—music, dancing, blood wine flowing freely. Vampires from around the world celebrated not just a wedding, but a victory. A declaration that love, in all its forms, was worth fighting for.
As the sun threatened the horizon, Kieran and Aiden retreated to their suite, finally alone.
"Husband," Aiden said, testing the word.
"Husband," Kieran agreed, pulling him close. "After a thousand years, I finally get to call you that."
They made love as the sun rose outside their sealed chamber—slow, intense, full of promises and passion and the perfect certainty of forever.
"I love you," Aiden whispered against Kieran's lips.
"I love you," Kieran replied. "In every lifetime. In every way."
And for the first time in a thousand years, that love existed without shadow, without fear, without the threat of loss.
They had forever.
And forever started now.