Page 43 of Called By Fate

"Me too," Reed agrees, eyes banked with desire. Vin’s are too, glowing gold meaning his wolf is watching. Their lust floods through the bond, momentarily distracting me, but ultimately the food wins out.

"And I thought I was the insatiable one," I quip with a wink before taking another bite. "So good," I reiterate in case they didn't hear me the first time.

Reed takes a bite for himself, and his eyes widen. He gives Vin a nod of approval. “It really is delicious,” he says. "You sure can cook, bro. Thank fuck. I'm a book person, not a food person."

Vin laughs and starts to enjoy his BLTJ alongside us. We sit in companionable silence while we eat, savoring the food and the company. This is how I wish our lives could be all the time. Carefree.

Once we deal with the Elders,I remind myself.Then it can be.

When we’re finished, Vinson takes our plates and washes them off. I help him dry them and then he takes us over to where the shifters are staying. Much like the first time I went to a shifter party, they're all standing around enjoying themselves. Dancing, talking, having a wonderful time. I’m surprised at how many of them there are, and it warms my heart to see them happy and most importantly, safe.

Some of the mated shifters are in their wolf forms, running around and playing with each other. There's a small gaggle of children scampering in circles around their mothers. All in all, everyone seems like one big happy family—like this is any other BBQ on the block or something. I truly love their dynamics.

I spot a Night Weaver or two in the crowd, namely Oliver’s Circle and Malachi. They’re socializing with the shifters with broad smiles on their faces. I make a mental note to speak to Viola about how to get everyone else involved also.

Emma and her mates are here too. Adam, Nick, and Niall look slightly awkward chatting with a few shifters who appear to be Emma’s friends. I’m sure it’s strange for them but they’re doing well, all things considered.

And much to my surprise, some of Reed's faction are here, mingling with the shifters. Hades is holding a ball of light in his hand and doing tricks for them and he’s amassing quite the crowd too. That man is a handful, but he definitely cracks me up. I’m glad he’s on our side.

When Reed sees his faction members, he smiles and waves to them. To us, he says, "It's so nice to see everyone mingling together."

"It really is," I respond. Reed takes my hand in his while I take Vinson’s in my other and we walk into the throng of people, getting lost in the crowd.

18

They really aren't lying when they say time flies when you're having fun. Especially when you’re getting to know everyone and making new friends left and right. Usually, Ash is the charismatic one, but tonight, I feel like it’s me.

The next thing I know, it's dark outside. The shifters gather around a large fire as it’s finally starting to get cool at night. Not that I think it would stop them from having a fire anyway.

Alpha Darren came to us earlier and said he wants to make every shifter that seeks refuge with us a part of his pack instead of the separate ones that form by different households. I couldn't think of a better idea, or Alpha, so I concurred that this is for the best. We’re still working on a pack name, but it gives me hope for the future.

Standing around, the fire illuminates everyone’s faces, casting them with an orangish glow. Hades throws up a few balls of light to help brighten the space. Anticipation mingles in the air as we wait for Alpha Darren to give us his big speech.

Speaking of which, he walks to the center of the giant circle we’ve got going around the fire and claps his hands. “If I could have everyone’s attention,” he calls out with a serious expression on his face, and everyone hushes.

He smooths his hands down his dark jeans, which pairs nicely with his red flannel shirt before beginning. “To start with, I’d like to welcome you all and say we’re glad you’re here. For the first order of business tonight, I want to induct every shifter into my pack who wants to join us. I also want to reiterate that it is not required, but we’d love it if you would.”

The shifters start murmuring quietly but from what I can tell, their talk is positive. Reed squeezes my hand so that must mean he concurs from hearing their thoughts.

Darren waits for the whispers to stop before continuing. “As most of you have heard by now, our Shadowbringer and first Triad endorses my idea. We should no longer be separate. We are one. We are a pack!” He lets out a loud howl that’s followed by several others. Some of the ones close to me even give me a nod of approval, looks of awe on their faces.

“To the future!” Carter, his beta, shouts.

“To the future!” we repeat as one.

One by one, Alpha Darren calls the new shifters up and inducts them into the pack. The process is fascinating. He cuts their palm before saying a few words then placing theirs and his together, and bam, new member of the pack. I’ve noticed palms are important in the magical community. They connect mates and they connect packs. It’s interesting, to say the least.

“This is fascinating,” Reed says in agreement, watching everything with wide eyes.

I glance at Vin and feel an echo of pride and hope thrumming through our soul bond.

When the new shifters have been introduced into the pack Alpha Darren clears his throat to get everyone to focus on him once more. “If everyone doesn't mind, I'd like to do something a little different. We have someone among us who is family, even part shifter, but is not an official part of the pack yet.” He pauses and looks at me. Several other heads whip in my direction, following his line of sight. “I say it's time to bring her into the fold, what about you?”

The resoundingyesechoes around us as Alpha Darren points to me and smiles. "Sadie Sinclair, our Shadowbringer, you are one of us. Would you like to officially join the pack?"

I’m too stunned to speak. Logically, I know I’m part shifter so I don’t know why I wouldn’t be accepted into the pack, but I hadn’t dared to dream.

Vin nudges me softly. Crap, they’re waiting for me to respond.

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