Page 39 of Bonded Beyond Regret

“Love you, Nyx.”

“Love you, Sam.”

Our wolves purr, contentment and hope flowing through our bond to chase away the lingering regret of our past.

CHAPTER 16

NYX

Even with Samuel sending me feelings of acceptance, love, and reassurance through the bond, I’m nervous. Tonight is a big night. I have no doubt that the pack is aware there has been a change because they can feel it through the pack bond, everyone will know what it is in just a few minutes.

Sudden heat at my back has me leaning back onto a hard, solid chest as his arms wrap around me. I know it’s Samuel without looking. He’s the only one who seems to be able to settle my racing feelings and heart.

“They already love you,” he reassures me.

I nod, but don’t respond. I can’t.

My wolf puffs up with pride in my mind.“We are about to be announced as Luna of our pack. It is exciting.”She soundspuzzled, unable to understand how momentous this is,“What are you scared about?”

“Everything,”I breathe out. She chuffs like I’m being ridiculous, and I can only sigh in response.“This is a huge responsibility. The entire pack will look to us for help and for support.”

“You’ve already been doing that. Look at Samantha. Look at Marlene. What about the omegas in the kitchen? Then there are the older pack members who talk to you last week about tonight and what to do with the pups. That was before you were marked,”she points out.

I know she’s right, but it’s still such a big thing that I’m about to do.

When I was mated to Andrew, I was relieved. I never had dreams of being mated to a ranked member and I loved training and finding my place amongst the warriors.

“Andrew was the perfect mate for the female we were,”my wolf soothes me,“but Samuel is the right male for the female we have become. We can do so much good here. We can change the lives of wolves who are lost, broken, and struggling. We have found our purpose.”

“What about opening a bakery?”

“You can still open the bakery,” Samuel assures me, and I startle slightly, not realizing that I had said it out loud. “Yes, being Luna is a big responsibility, but I’ll support you however I can. We can make sure you have enough time for the bakery. And it’ll be an opportunity to help give purpose to people who need it.”

“Like Marlene,” I muse.

Samuel buries his face in the crook of my neck and nods. “As you grow, you’ll need more help there and it’ll give people an opportunity for employment as well as to be creative.”

“Baking has always felt like mediation to me. Just like training.” As Samuel holds me and the picture of our future becomes clearer, I nod. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Samuel chuckles softly and tightens his hold for a moment. “I know you are. I’m here for you, Nyx. Always,” there’s a soul deep promise in his voice.

“I’m here for you, too.” I sigh and turn my head enough to kiss the underside of his jaw. “Always.”

“Thank you,” he breathes out, his tone heavy and filled with gratitude.

After I turn in his arms, I look up into his blue eyes. I swear they’re glowing in the dusky light. We love to run under the moon when it’s easy to feel the magic of the Goddess, but there is something equally as special about dusk. It’s a transition, a time of change, but constant as well.

I am a lucky she-wolf to have this male look at me with so much love.

My eyebrows pull together, my voice full of curiosity, “What are you thanking me for?”

“This life,” he looks right into my eyes so I can see his sincerity. “For being brave and taking a chance with me. For allowing me into your heart and blessing me with not only your love but Aisley’s as well. It had only been a year since everything in my life changed and the pack was the only thing that kept me going. Now I have so much more filling my life. I have you, Aisley, and hope for a future. I have a family.”

I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and pull him down toward me. Normally he’s the one kissing me, but this time I take the lead. I kiss him softly at first, wanting him to feel the sweetness his words envelop me in, but then it turns heated. Because that is what he does to me.

“You never have to thank me for this life,” I whisper against his lips, “because you saved me. You and our pack.”

I feel his lips curve into a smile before he looks up at the sky and then out across where the pack had gathered. He kisses my forehead and murmurs, “It’s time and you’re ready.”

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