Archive of Our Own ^beta

They didn’t get back to the 4th Kingdom as often as they would have liked. It wasn’t so bad for Virginia; she missed her dad, sure, but she was glad that he was enjoying his new life instead of just existing the way he had in New York.

Wolf didn’t complain about being so far away from home, but Virginia could tell that he missed it sometimes. She tried to tell him it was normal to be homesick, offered to hold down the fort at home while he went back to visit, even, but every time she brought it up he told her that the only thing he really needed was her and their little family.

It was sweet, and she knew it wasn’t a lie, exactly, but he’d given up a lot to make sure she had the life she wanted. So when the invitation to Prince Wendell’s wedding arrived, Virginia RSVPed their acceptance without hesitation. It meant getting new outfits for the kids and finding a dress somewhere in the back of her closet that wouldn’t get her thrown out of a royal wedding, but in the end she managed to make them all more or less presentable.

Getting the time off work was a little trickier, but she’d been a waitress long enough to know how to barter and bargain and beg her way into getting what she wanted. She owed pretty much everyone at work a favor by the time they stepped through the mirror into the 4th Kingdom, but she figured she’d worry about it when they got home.

For now she was planning to enjoy the first vacation they’d taken since their second baby was born, and if her dad wanted to monopolize the kids, she wasn’t going to complain about the free babysitting.

Virginia smiled to herself and slipped her arm through Wolf’s, and when he looked over to smile back at her, she leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “It’s nice to be back, isn’t it?”

“It’s nice to be anywhere with you, my darling,” Wolf answered, nuzzling at the back of her neck until she shivered and squirmed away from him.

“Wolf,” she warned, squeezing his arm, “behave yourself.”

“You know I can’t control myself around you,” he said, but he didn’t try to nuzzle her again. “Though speaking of behaving, where did our pups get to?”

“Dad’s watching them. He was so excited to meet the new baby I’m not sure we’ll ever get him back again.”

Wolf let out an absent growl that Virginia chose to ignore, because it wasn’t as though she was actually worried about her father trying to keep their children. Even if he was plotting to kidnap them, after a few hours alone with them he’d change his mind. One had been exhausting enough, but now that they had two it felt like they never even got a chance to breathe.

Not that she was complaining. Virginia loved her life, she loved Wolf and their kids and she even liked her job these days. But the kids kept them busy, so it was kind of nice to have a little time alone together, even if it did mean sitting through Prince Wendell’s wedding.

It was a nice wedding, at least, even though Virginia spent most of it feeling embarrassingly underdressed. Not that she had any experience with royal weddings, and even if she’d known that most of the women would be in gowns, she didn’t own one anyway. It wasn’t as though she had any call for them back home, and she certainly couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on a dress for one event, even if it was technically her dad’s boss’ wedding.

“Virginia?” Wolf said, letting out an endearing little whine. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, squeezing his arm as he led her to their table in the ballroom where the reception was being held. “Why would something be wrong?”

“There is, though. I can smell it.”

He leaned close and breathed in deep, hot breath on her neck making her shiver again.

“It’s nothing. Just…” She paused and let out a sigh, then sank into her chair at their table. “All these women in their beautiful gowns, and then there’s me. I look like I should be waiting tables, not attending a royal wedding.”

“Nonsense,” Wolf said, the word coming out in a growl that made Virginia’s heart beat faster. “You look magnificent, Virginia. Amazing, even.”

“You have to say that,” she answered, but she smiled and reached up to curve a hand around his cheek. “You married me.”

He turned his face into her hand, lips brushing her skin before he opened his mouth and gave her thumb a little nip. Virginia gasped and he flashed his most wolfish smile, then he reached up and took her hand in his own.

“Even if you’d never agreed to marry me, I’d still find you the most beautiful woman in the room…no, the kingdom. In all the ten kingdoms. You’re breathtaking, my darling, no matter what you’re wearing, and not a woman in this room can hold a candle to you.”

It was a load of bull and she knew it, but she also knew that Wolf meant every word. Virginia smiled and leaned forward, her free hand resting on Wolf’s shoulder as she pressed a tender kiss to his lips. When she pulled back his eyes were closed, lips slightly parted as though it was the first time she’d kissed him instead of the thousandth.

“Thank you, Wolf,” she said, and when he opened his eyes she leaned forward and pressed her lips close to his ear. “But you better not let Prince Wendell hear you say that. If he finds out you’ve been insulting the honor of his new bride, he’ll probably have you locked up again.”

“Good point,” Wolf said, pulling away to glance around the room for any sign of eavesdroppers. But no one was paying any attention to them, so Virginia didn’t try to stop him when Wolf turned back to her and pressed another kiss to her lips. “But I still say you’re the fairest of them all.”

“As long as you think so, that’s all that matters to me,” she said, and she meant it just as much as she knew he did.