Page 108 of The Gamma's Second Chance

“You are happy?” he asks, lowering his voice so only I can hear him.

My eyes never leave my mate as I nod. “I am.”

“Good.” He kisses the top of my head. “That’s all I have ever wanted for my little girl.”

“Come!” My mom claps her hands and waves at us to follow her. “We have much to do to prepare for your ceremony tonight.Leave those,” she adds, pointing at our luggage Nolan turns to grab. “Someone will take them to the villa you’ll be staying in during your visit.”

Nolan nods at her and rubs his palms on his jeans before he takes my hand as we follow my parents. Up the hillside and around the winding paths through the white villas, my feet traversing the path by memory.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Nolan asks when we’re almost to my parents’ house as he gazes out over the sparkling, crystal clear water and around at the beautiful buildings and flora. “To leave this place? To tie yourself to me?”

I turn my face to the sun, soaking in the warmth and breathing in the sweet scents of the island. A breeze off the water flutters through my hair and the fabric of my yellow dress, and I exhale as it dances away from me, then open my eyes.

It’s a beautiful place, and I miss it, but it isn’t home. Not anymore.

I step in front of him, facing him, and pause, forcing him to stop in his tracks as I move in closer and drape my arms around his shoulders. “First of all, I already have your mark,” I remind him, tipping my chin up and baring my neck to him.

He growls, and his hands slide up my outer thighs to my hips, his eyes darkening as they lock onto the mark he gave me.

“Second…” I lick my lips and wait for him to return his gaze to mine. “Crescent Lake is my home. My lycan and I knew that even before we laid eyes on it. Every piece of music I’ve ever written contains essences of the lake, the trees, and the mountains. There is nowhere else I can imagine living out my days, and no one else I want to spend those days with.”

His eyes close and he leans into me. “Daisy…” He exhales and shakes his head. “I am so—”

“Let’s go, Cassandra,” my mom says, interrupting Nolan. He frowns and we both glance to where she stands at the top of thehill, on the path that leads towards the temple. “You must get ready at the temple grounds.”

His brow furrows more, and he tightens his grip on me. “But—”

“You will see her in a few hours, at your ceremony,” she says to him, waving me towards her again. “You will get ready here, at my home.”

He swallows and rests his forehead to mine. “I’ll see you very soon,” I say, cupping his cheek.

His reply is a fierce kiss, his hands wrinkling the fabric of my dress as he presses my hips against his body, not caring that my parents are watching. “I love you,” he says, backing away, keeping his hands on me until the last second.

I smile at him, and he walks to the doorway, giving me one final glance before disappearing inside with my dad. My mom waits as patiently as she can as I make my way to her on the top of the hill, and we navigate the winding path together, side by side, as it narrows and heads deeper into the center of the island, where the flowering jasmine vines and massive hedges and ancient trees hide the temple of Selene.

I sit on acushioned seat in front of an ornate, antique vanity table with a large decorative mirror, wrapped in a silk robe as my mom styles my hair. The small room in the building just off the edge of the temple grounds is empty except for my motherand me, as is the tradition for this ceremony. Shimmering light from the twilight sky bathes the minimalist space, highlighting the gold in my mother’s eyes that match my own as she watches her hands twist my strands into a loose crown braid.

It’s beautiful, but I doubt the hairstyle will last the night. Not with the way Nolan loves to tug on my hair when we’re caught up in our sexual desires. Or with how he combs his fingers through it lovingly when we’re catching our breath in the aftermath and I’m drifting to sleep.

But my mind keeps conjuring an image of him pulling jeweled pins from my hair as we kiss under the moon and the stars in the open-air temple, my hair tumbling down my back as he drops each one onto the floor before he slips his fingers into my loose waves, and kisses down my neck until…

My cheeks heat, and I glance down at my hands in my lap, twisting them together and spinning my ring around my finger, distracting myself from the spellbinding vision my mind keeps replaying. I’ve kept the ring on since the morning after he asked me to be his, only removing it to shift into my lycan and explore the forest with his wolf. Not that I needed to, since I have his mark now, but the ring brings me joy and peace.

And it’s pretty.

“Daisy,”he mindlinks me, a frown in his tone.“You did not tell me I would have to wear these damn pants again.”

My eyes close at the sound of his voice, and I lift my clasped hands to my chest. It creates an ache in me, hearing him and knowing he is on the other side of the island, across the temple grounds and over the hill. We’ve spent almost every second together since he gave me his mark, and the wild, primal side of me can’t handle that he has yet to receive mine, too. It’s easier when he’s nearby, within reach, but the distance between us as we prepare for our ceremony is almost too much to bear.

“What’s wrong with them?”I ask.

“I hate them. I hated them the last time I was here, and I hate them now.”

“Why?”

“They’re…clingy.”

“You won’t have to wear them for long,”I point out to him, giggling at his intense distaste for a clothing item.

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