Page 73 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

Gael was the last, holding up a pair of shining rings. He pressed one first into Kane’s hand and then the other into mine. “For eternity.”

When he stepped back, Kane stepped forward, bracketing me in his arms, at long last. Typically a father or relative would marry us, but since we had none, Adam stepped forward to complete the ceremony. His eyes gleamed with happiness as he looked at the two of us, clasped together like nothing would ever peel us apart.

“Kane and Brielle, we gather here under the Goddess’s moon to bind you two together as mates. It is a lifelong bond, unable to be broken, even in death. Alpha Kane, what do you offer this woman to prove that you are worthy of her love?”

He met my eyes, the gentle smile I knew he reserved only for me sending butterflies swooping around my belly. His nostrils flared, and my scent had to be spiking, as the low heat of arousal since I’d spotted him built into a raging inferno of heat and want. I wouldn’t care if he offered me a shiny rock like a crow. If it came from him, I’d treasure it.

“For my first gift, I’ve begun converting one of the larger rooms on the ground floor of the pack lodge into a lab for you. I didn’t know exactly what equipment you had, but Alpha Todd graciously provided me with an inventory of your lab back home in Johnson City. With help from a few of my pack mates, we placed rush orders for brand-new equipment, to match everything that you had back home, as well as a few new pieces the sales rep assured me you’d be happy with. It’s all been delivered, and tomorrow I’ll be at your beck and call to install it all to your satisfaction.”

I was floored. He was building me a lab? For my medical research. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me. He wasn’t just making space for me in his heart, but in his home as well. For my dreams, my ambitions.

“Brielle, do you accept this first gift?”

Tears prickled the corners of my eyes, and I had to swallow hard to be able to answer Adam. “Yes, I do.”

“Excellent. The second, Kane?”

“I would like to offer my second gift in private, if Brielle will accept that.”

Confused, I nodded. “I accept.” Whatelsecould he possibly have chosen as a bonding gift that he wouldn’t present it here? A lab wasmorethan extravagant enough. It would have cost thousands of dollars to purchase everything I’d had back home, and none of it had been new, top-of-the-line models.

Adam nodded solemnly. “You may exchange your rings.”

Kane held my trembling hand in his much steadier one and slid the stunning, jewel-studded ring onto my finger. It looked antique, with clustered diamonds around a blue stone that perfectly matched the color of our mating marks. The ring itself was carved with leaves and wolves, and every part of it was beautiful to look at.

He offered his hand, and I took it, carefully sliding the band onto his ring finger, letting my fingertips graze his palm underneath. Heat flared in his eyes as it settled into place. His was heavier, a masculine cut with a square stone sunken into the carved gold. It appeared to be from the same era as mine, and I wondered who in his family these rings had belonged to.

“The bond between mates is completed with a bite. It is customary for this to be done privately and must be completed before the moon disappears from the night sky. In the eyes of the Goddess and these witnesses, I bless this joining. Go forth, and claim your mate.”

Kane’s lips fell to mine, and he ravished them like it was the only kiss we’d ever share again. Whoops and hollers rose around us, mixed with howls as a few wolves shifted to run under the full moon. Heat surged in my veins as I clung to him, my fangs dropping dangerously low in my mouth. I must have nicked his lip, because when he pulled back to rest his forehead against mine, the bow shape of his lower lip glinted with blood in the moonlight.

When he leaned down, I thought he was going to kiss me again, but instead, he dropped his lips next to my ear, his voice a whisper too low for anyone else to hear over the cheering.

“Are you ready for me to chase you, little mate?”

A jolt of excitement shot through me. The hunt.

He’d asked yesterday if I was okay with upholdingthatparticular piece of the Old World tradition, and I’d said yes.

I grinned up at him as I stepped back, leaving his warm embrace… just for a little longer. Without another word, I lifted the hem of my billowing dress, and I bolted.

The path to the bonding cottage was lit with fairy lights, and I ran for all I was worth. To fulfill the ancient rites, he would have to fight his way past his ceremonial keepers and then catch me before I could latch the cottage door. If he wasn’t able to capture me, the Goddess was said to have deemed him unworthy, and he would have to repeat the ritual under the next full moon to earn bonding rites.

I didn’t know how far away it was, but I hadzerodoubts he’d catch me quickly. Still, I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. I whooped with glee as I ran, the soft grass and moss squishing underfoot, and the cool night air blowing against my overheated cheeks. The path twisted and turned gently, but I never lost sight of the twinkling lights, and before long, the lovely, ivy-covered cottage came into view. The front door was propped open, a warm light inviting me in. I could just see the corner of a soft and thick mattress, piled high with pillows and blankets in the back room.

I craned my neck to see more as I ran up the smooth cobblestone walkway, and that was when Kane’s arms crashed around my waist, locking me to his chest.

I laughed, nearly breathless with adrenaline from the run and the heady scent of him, as he scooped me up and carried me over the threshold, my long dress trailing underneath us like that of some fairy-tale princess of old.

When we stepped inside, Kane pulled the front door shut and turned the lock with a soft click.

FORTY-TWO

Kane

Istalked forward until I once again caught her, my mischievous mate, and pinned her hands to the cottage door above her head.

She shivered delicately, and the motion sent her breasts rubbing against my chest. I couldn’t feel the peaks of her nipples through the double-layered fabric of her gown, but it slipped and slid easily, like a waterfall of heat between us.

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