“Waiting for the bridal party in the water,” he said. The bigger boat started playing a wedding march, and Amy took Patrick’s arm and walked along the rail until reaching the back. They donned the rest of their scuba gear, then went over the side and through the top hatch on the shark cage.
The music changed to Pachebel’s Canon, and Brent took my arm. “Are you ready, Vicki?”
“Let’s do this,” I said. Leo and Ivan walked ahead of us, taking places on the stern’s corners, then I walked with Dad to the back as everyone cheered and took pictures. It only took a minute for me to get geared up and into the cage.
The shark tourism cage was much larger than most I’d seen, easily handling the wedding party. Ian was in the center, holding a waterproof pad with the wedding ceremony printed on it. On the right side facing me, Nicholas and Patrick waited in custom-made and hilarious Bodyglove wetsuits painted to look like tuxedos. Amy was waiting on the left side.
Naturally, Linda had set us both up with small cameras attached to our masks, and Ian had one too. I could also see fixed cameras in all four corners of the cage.
I slid down into place, standing on the cage next to Nicholas and facing his father. “Dad’s technically the captain of a ship, so I asked him to marry us,” Nicholas sent over the link.
“It’s perfect,” I said.
We were using full-face masks that allowed us to communicate and also fed speakers topside. “Dearly beloved, we gather here today to celebrate the union,” breath, “of Nicholas Corcoran and Vicki Lawrence in holy matrimony.” Breath.
If you took away the Scuba gear’s noise, being underwater, and the Great White Sharks swimming by the cage, it was a pretty standard ceremony. There were only a couple of times Nicholas had to squeeze my hand to get my attention back on my wedding as I watched the big Aussie sharks coming close.
“Does anyone have cause for why these two should not be joined together? Speak now, or forever hold your peace.”
I’d kill them anyone who did. “Speak now, and the sharks get a free meal,” I replied. Ian laughed, and then we exchanged our vows.
“Do you have the rings?”
Patrick took a web pouch out of a wetsuit pocket and handed it to Ian, who opened the top. Nicholas reached in and removed my band, right as a fifteen-foot Great White bumped the cage behind us and startled him. “NOOOO,” I said as I watched the ring flutter towards the bottom of the cage. There was only sixty or so feet of shark-infested water below.
I reacted first, snatching the ring at the knee level. When I did, I bumped heads with Nicholas, who also was grabbing for it. “I got it,” I said as I stood back up, rubbing my head. I let him take it from me, and he placed it on my finger. “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love,” he said.
“You’re bleeding,” Nicholas told me as I took the other ring from Ian. “Dad says to hurry.”
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you,” I told him.
We stayed facing each other and holding hands. “By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Australia, I pronounce you husband and wife.” Breath. “You may kiss the bride.”
We pulled our masks off, and he pulled me into his chest as our lips met underwater. I didn’t want the kiss to end, but the blood brought several sharks to the cage, and they were getting aggressive. We put our masks back on and cleared them as the crowd applauded the announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Corcoran.
The boat operators pulled the cage back, hauling me out first since I was bleeding. One of the deckhands had a first aid kit out, cleaning the small gash at my hairline from where I hit the edge of Nicholas’ mask. Scalp wound bled a lot, unfortunately. We ended up closing it with Superglue; luckily, my hair would cover it. The others were out of the water and out of their wetsuits when I finished. “Let me help you out of that wetsuit, my wife,” Nicholas said as he wrapped me in his arms. We kissed as he pulled the zipper down in back, ignoring the hoots and hollers of guests on both vessels. Once I was dry, I put my dress back on, and we went back to the big boat for the reception.
The shark boat stayed close for the next hour, allowing any who wanted to get in the water. Most of my guests weren’t SCUBA qualified, but the dive operation had a semi-submersible made of acrylic they could get into and stay dry. I was probably the only bride in history who threw a chumsickle instead of her bouquet, and I was okay with that. The sharks cooperated, giving the guests an adventure you don’t get at OTHER weddings.
The party continued with a seafood buffet as we headed back to port. The caterers did a great job preparing a buffet, and we ate and visited with our guests for a while before going up top. There, a dance floor and DJ kept the party going.
It was after six when we got back into port, and I didn’t know how the day could get better.
We thanked everyone for coming and made our exit to the waiting limousine. Master Alessandro, Master Emily, and Master Cyprian were waiting inside for us. I spotted our ‘getaway bags’ on the floor that our Moms had packed for us. “What’s going on,” I asked.
“There are a few things to talk about before your honeymoon begins,” Master Cyprian said. “We can talk on the helicopter ride.”
HELICOPTER? Oh, HELL, yeah. We pulled up to a helipad where a big JetRanger was spinning up. The five of us loaded up and put on our headsets, which allowed us to talk to each other without involving the pilot. We lifted off, flying over the boat where people were still partying and headed east.
“Vicki, I don’t know if you understand how important your trust and friendship has been to the Vampire Council,” Master Cyprian started. “I had hoped that our friendship might result in changes over the next four to six decades for cooperation, even alliances to form. You did far more than that. You brought the Vampire, Werewolf, and Mermaid worlds together in mere months.”
“I didn’t do anything special,” I said.
“You are special, Vicki,” Emily said. “You command respect and loyalty from your friends, but you dare to challenge the status quo. I’ve talked to Adrienne about this; any other teenager would have bowed to the Council and done their will. Any other werewolf would never help me, or Master Cyprian.”
“You are the reason the Australian Council is even possible,” Alessandro picked up. “There was no communication between the species for centuries until you showed up and made it happen.”
Cyprian patted my knee. “Because you trusted me, so did Adrienne. Because Adrienne trusted me, I’m still here, and the rebel Covens are gone. The Vampire Council owes you a great deal, including reparations for what you and the other girls went through. The three of us talked about what we might get the two of you for a wedding present. We want to see you settled in Australia, with a strong Pack and strong Alliances. It turned out that Master Alessandro had the perfect present already, but only if you want it. If you aren’t interested, we’ll give you enough to find a place elsewhere.”
My mind was reeling. “You are giving me a house?”
“Think bigger, Vicki,” Emily teased. “Look.”
We were flying east along the Indian Ocean with land on both sides. Master Alessandro pointed out the left side. “That is the mainland, and the marinas and ferry terminal you can see are at Cape Jervis. It’s at the southeast corner of the Neptune Gulf, along the Backstairs Passage. Adelaide is about a hundred-minute drive from there. The ferry takes people to Kangaroo Island, which has been on our right for a while now.” He showed me a map on his phone, so I could get myself oriented.
We were flying close to the mainland coast, which was open, remote, and rugged. Waves crashed into rocks below tall cliffs that rose fifty to a hundred feet from the surf. It was wild and beautiful. “The land starts at the top of that hill,” Alessandro said as he pointed to one of the ridges heading back to the north. The land was mostly grass, with some trees in more protected areas. “The whole property is almost seven hundred acres, with over two kilometers of private coastline.”
“WHAT?”
We flew a bit farther, then the helicopter banked and flew over the coast. “The other property line is below us. It is parkland to the east, with Blowhole Beach there being the main attraction. That beach is two hundred meters long, and in a deep valley that isn’t easy to access.”
We kept flying inland to the back property line, then turned west again before heading back towards the coast. “This is a huge property,” Nicholas said. “It’s got to be worth a fortune.”
*******
“It is one of the largest undeveloped private holdings in South Australia,” Alessandro said as the helicopter approached the pad from downwind. “I’ve owned both properties as investments for a decade now. The parcel where we are landing now is the Naiko Retreat, an executive retreat-slash-wellness center that never caught on. It went bankrupt during the Covid crisis, and I picked it from the bank with a cash offer. The adjoining property came up for sale when the sheep rancher decided to retire, and I bought that property along Campbell Creek as well.”