Page 52 of The Warrior's Captive

“Cave or no cave, it’s going to be my new home. Oh! Here’s ’Dad coming now with Brooke. It won’t be long now. Agnar and his men will be here soon.”

***

Nearly an hour later, a small crowd stood gathered in the middle of the Nightfall woods. It was a different location from where he’d once run headlong into Briar May, entirely clueless of how she’d change his life. Half a year later, he was facing her, both of them wrapped in billowing black cloaks. They were made from heavy fabric, suede on the outside, velvet on the interior. They were made for warmth and clearly only used for ceremonies. When they’d all gathered, walking with Agnar and his small band of men out to the woods, the pack’s wiseman was there and he’d handed them out. The garments were large, made for either a man or a woman. The hoods kept some of the driving, blinding snow out of their faces.

Agnar, Ireland, Bathos, and Gideon had arrived shortly after Silas made it back with Brooke. She wasn’t going to join in the ceremony, as he’d thought. She’d come to watch the twins and help out with Sadie while the rest of the pack turned out for the mating ceremony. While the elderly healer was mother-in-law to the pack alpha, as a human she didn’t take part in the hunts. From what he’d learned of the Nightfall Pack, if she’d wanted to, then she probably would have been allowed to attend the ceremony. But sensing that it had implications that stretched beyond the Nightfall Pack, she had perhaps decided her presence as a non-shifter, may hinder, rather than help proceedings.

The whole of the Nightfall wolves were there, which in itself was quite a shock. They’d been given the option of attending or not, in a part of the woods well away from their usual ceremonial grounds. They had outsiders amongst them, and any wolf was notoriously mistrustful, at least at first, of those who weren’t of their own kind. He’d privately thought that many would stay home, and then the weather turned the day before and was enough to keep even the hardiest of them inside, but they were all there.

Most were dressed in heavy woolen sweaters, but some sported thick jackets. It looked like an outdoor festival was about to take place. The crowd assembled around them in a circle.

Kieran and Zora, as the alpha wolves, stood on either side of the wiseman.

“Today is a blessed and joyous day. We celebrate not one mating, but two. Mates, will you please grasp each other’s hands? Where one body ends, let the other body begin. Where one body begins, let the other body end.”

Castor’s hands were warm in Briar May’s, which were slightly cooler. She stared into his eyes and smiled widely. He knew how excited she was about this day. They’d come so far in so short a time. They’d gone from walking their own paths to walking together. They were a family now.

He didn’t look over to see if Agnar had taken Prairie Rose’s hands. Aside from a short greeting when they’d arrived, he’d said nothing to anyone other than Kieran. They’d gone inside Kieran’s office on the main floor of the big cabin for a few minutes, and when they’d emerged, they were ready to head to the woods.

Agnar’s men, his former packmates, were dispersed through the circle, watching on right beside Briar May’s brothers and sisters and all the wolves she’d spent a lifetime with.

“Mating is a solemn vow that must never be broken.”

The wiseman moved to them first. He dipped his finger into a cup that was water and ash to make a black paste. Ash to symbolize what they would all eventually become.

He painted an infinity symbol on Briar May’s forehead with a quick flourish. It took every bit of willpower he had to stand there and let his own forehead be painted. He still instinctively withdrew whenever anyone tried to touch him because that was his natural reaction, protection and defense. Anyone but Briar May. She alone could touch him however she liked, and every time she did, or even looked at him, his blood sang, and his heart swelled.

“I now join you as helpmates. You will be each other’s strength and foundation until the earth reclaims your bodies. You are two souls and will always be two souls, but now you walk one path. Two wolves, side by side.”

I love you, her eyes said, holding his steadily.

He squeezed her hand, pressing down on her heartline in her palm.

This wasn’t how a mating was done in his pack. It was more brutal, and it involved far more blood. The warriors would celebrate late into the night. They’d get drunk and rough fucking in very public places was a common occurrence. There was always a fire, always a feast, always much to celebrate. They fought hard and lived hard. They died just as hard. A mating promised new life. Just like any ceremony, it was a time to celebrate still being alive because they’d triumphed over their enemies and even fate itself.

The Nightfall Pack did their ceremonies in a vastly different way. Over the months, Castor had attended a few full moon celebrations with Briar May. No one in the pack drank, which was odd because the place had been founded off moonshine running back during prohibition, but over the years, it seemed like a sort of agreement had been reached about the problems it could cause. There was no temperance order in place. It was just understood that if a person was part of the pack, they governed themselves and didn’t drink or harm their bodies with drugs.

Also, a very different road than his pack walked, given that at ceremonies, certain mind-altering herbal concoctions were also imbibed quite heavily.

He didn’t feel it was right to face anyone other than Briar May. They kept their eyes locked on each other, faces glowing with the light of true happiness inside their hoods.

No matter how Briar May had struggled to accept that her sister was leaving them, she ultimately understood that it was Prairie Rose’s choice and that it hadn’t been a light undertaking. Her father and her brother would never allow to her go to another pack and be harmed or unhappy. She was to go with Agnar, who had agreed to the mating, not only to keep the peace, but because they felt it was right for them to enter into a bond with each other.

They’d met each other formally a few months ago, when Kieran had taken some of his men and Prairie Rose to a halfway point between both pack lands. They’d spent the afternoon in negotiations, and he understood that Prairie Rose and Agnar both agreed to move forward with the mating after meeting each other just once.

The wiseman’s words drifted to them. Briar May managed not to stiffen or look behind her with despair for her sister. She stood firm and focused on him alone.

“I’ll now seal the union between the Nightfall Pack and the Phaethon Pack. If both alphas would step forward…”

He and Briar May moved aside. Prairie Rose stood with them, their three cloaks whipping like black wings. Kieran wasn’t donned in the black garb which was only for the couples taking part in the ceremony. He had a dark blue woolen sweater on, which was so snow encrusted it made him look like he’d turned into a sheep. His pale hair whipped in the wind, but he didn’t so much as blink into the driving snow. He faced Agnar with a steely resolution. Agnar always looked like a proud warrior, and he was absolutely menacing in the black cloak.

“The Nightfall Pack and the Phaethon Pack are entering into a mating of their own. Each is now an ally of the other. Each will come to the other’s aid if called upon. They nobly swear never to make war on each other, never to steal or raid, harm, maim, or kill. They are as mates now. Two souls with many members, but one body, caring for each other. Phaethon means to shine like the sun. You might be as different as the day and night you represent, but from this day forward, that shall be put aside. You will walk the same path, shoulder to shoulder. You swear this oath in blood.”

Both alphas extended their hand. The wiseman drew out a sharp dagger and cut Kieran first. His blood dripped red into the snow. To his credit, he didn’t flinch. Of course, Agnar showed no signs of pain. Both alphas clasped their palms together and a great cheer erupted from the crowd at last.

There would be no feasting as a regular mating usually had. They’d opted for a private hunt because of the circumstances of having outsiders in their midst. There was a full moon celebration coming in just over a week, and there would be a great bonfire, communal dinner, and pack run then. In a way, it would also be a belated celebration of their mating.

Castor hoped Prairie Rose knew what she was in for when she arrived at their pack lands, but he had a notion that no matter how prepared she thought she was, she’d never truly be fully ready for what awaited her. He wished her the best and knew that Agnar would take care of her. He was a man of his word. He hoped Prairie Rose could do for Agnar, what Briar May had done for him. She’d worked goodness and light back into his life. She’d taken the dark night sky that he was and had strewn the stars back into it.

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