Page 82 of Curses & Kitsune

“Open them!” Raiden’s voice is so full of excitement that my heart skips.

I open them and find a big empty room with strings of lights hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the room is a blanket with boxes of food and a bottle of sake. I’m still not sure what I’m looking at, but it’s a sweet gesture. “When did you find time to do this?” He never ceases to amaze me.

Raiden circles behind me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, fingers lacing against my chest right over my heart. “I had some of my men put the dinner together. I bought this place a few months ago. Couldn’t figure out what to do with it, though. Until now. It’s ours if you like it.”

“A big empty room?”

Raiden sighs at my teasing. “No! It’s a restaurant, Sunshine. Our restaurant.”

My heart swoops. I spin around to face him, searching his face for any sign he’s teasing me. “A restaurant. Just like your grandad.”

Raiden nods. “Yeah. I’ve got to make a choice before tomorrow.” Wetting his lips, he paces away from me. “I’m thinking cozy. Like my grandfather’s place. Somewhere families can come for a meal. I still have my grandfather’s recipes for ramen and curry and rice bowls. If you want anything else included on the menu, let me know.” He motions toward the big windows up front. “We can have some tables there. Some plants. Put some artwork on the walls. Make it our own.” His voice comes to life with excitement.

Tender emotion wells in my throat as he paints a picture for me. I see him at work in the kitchen, chopping scallions with practiced ease. At the door, I bow and welcome guests to their tables. There’s no yakuza, except a few associates from the pack who stop in for meals and to say hi to Raiden. Ren visits and oohs and aahs over the place. Pictures on the walls tell a story of us, me and him, and the life we’ve built together. A life full of happiness, good food, and love.

My eyes are wet when I put my arms around my mate and hold him tight. “I love it,” I whisper hoarsely into his neck, rubbing my hands up and down his strong back.

Raiden sighs in relief and holds me tight, nuzzling his forehead against mine. “Then it’s ours.”

I laugh softly, blinking back tears. “Are you sure? You won’t miss the excitement of yakuza life?”

He shakes his head and brushes his lips over my forehead, thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I’ll hand over the pack to Ren’s care soon and leave the Namikawa-kai behind me for good. I never had a choice in joining the yakuza, Jinta, but I have one now, and I choose you. I choose us. Now and forever.”

I push myself onto my toes and kiss him again and again, tangling my fingers into his soft hair. “I love you.”

Raiden shivers against me, then kisses my lips, my cheeks, and my forehead. “You, too.”

I’ve never felt more loved, more cherished, than I do when I’m with him. “Let’s eat, and we can talk more about the restaurant.”

Raiden squeezes my hand. “Sounds good.”

Together, we sit on the blanket beneath the strings of gently glowing lights. We eat and drink sake and talk long into the night. For the first time since we met, Raiden opens up about the future he sees for us without fear or doubt, and I allow myself to dream of the life we’ll have.

I can’t wait to see what we’ll create together, and with Raiden by my side, I know I’m in for an adventure.

Chapter 28

“The Namikawa-kai Ascension Ceremony will now begin!”

Ren holds my gaze as she drinks from her cup until it is empty. She then folds it in special paper and tucks it into her robe. Lifting my own cup to my lips, I drink until there are no drops left.

Bowing low before me, Ren says loud and clear, “Please accept my pledge!”

When her eyes find mine, I dip my head as pride for my friend warms me from head to toe. “I accept.”

Ren Makoto is now the leader of the Namikawa-kai, the first woman to ever hold such a title in this organization.

And I… I’m free. As we clap rhythmically together as a pack, I remember the day when I first joined the Namikawa-kai. It felt like the end of the life I’d once known, a life of poverty and hunger and despair, but it also felt like leaving one cage and entering another. All my life, I believed I would live and die a yakuza. The tattoos will never fade. My criminal past will always be a part of me, but it doesn’t have to define me.

Jinta and our little restaurant… that will be my future.

After the ceremony has concluded, we continue the celebrations at my home in the suburbs. There’s food and drink, and many of us shift to wolves and run in the woods, hunting anything that moves. I sit out on the porch and enjoy the quiet of the night. Ren comes out to sit beside me, face upturned to the moon.

“Congrats, boss,” I tell her.

Ren smirks. “I like that title.”

“It suits you more than me.” I take a sip of sake. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”

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