Page 72 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

“Ladies!” The bridal suite’s door flew open with a bang, Gracelyn on the other side. “It’s time to head down to the clearing. Ohhh, you all lookgorgeous! Lucky, lucky males tonight! Oh, I can’t wait. I bet at least one of you two starts a fistfight.” She clapped with glee, the baby sleeping peacefully snuggled on her chest completely unbothered by her noisy mother’s excitement, even though she had hermom voiceon lock.

I stepped forward, drawn to baby Dawn like a magnet.

“May I?” I whispered, gesturing to her downy little head poking out of the wrap.

“Girl, for you I’dwake her up. I don’t know how you did it, but Iknowyou saved my life. Our lives.” She dropped a hand to the baby’s back, and I heard a tiny sniffle.

I gave her a warm smile and let my fingers dance lightly over the baby’s soft, dark hair. She was perfection, her little rosebud lips suckling lightly in her sleep. “Don’t cry on me now, Gracelyn. Somebody’s got to hold it together, or this ceremony is going to fall to pieces.”

She straightened, propping her hands on her hips. “Don’t even think about jinxing this! I have pulled off amiracle, and tonight’s going to be perfect. Assuming we’re not all late. Let’s go!” She spun to the door and stopped. “Wait! Feet!”

We all rolled our eyes, but stuck out a foot so she could see our bare toes.

Apparently, Kane’s pack had a tradition that you bonded in bare feet, to better access the earth’s magic. I’d never heard of such a thing, but after our time here… maybe I did believe the magic was a bit stronger, a bit more primal than back home in Texas.

So, bare toed I went to meet my mate, my love. My heart beat a little faster as I stepped out the door and toward the rest of my life.

A gentle hummingmelody and the heady scent of jasmine greeted me as we approached the ceremonial clearing, twilight finally sinking into full night like its lost lover’s arms.

“Okay, you three wait here. I’ve got to get in place, and then you walk in when the music kicks up. Remember, Brielle is first, chin tucked, and you two flank her. Blackwater pack isverytraditional, ceremonial keeper etiquette included.” She shot a pointed glance to Leigh, whose color was high.

She didn’t snap back, though. She just nodded and took up her position behind my right shoulder, while Shay took the left.

Gracelyn slipped down the path with a double thumbs-up, and we waited, nothing but the sounds of our own beating hearts and the gentle hum to show there was anything special happening tonight.

It wasn’t long before the humming turned to gentle singing, which rose and wove through the tree limbs like magic. I didn’t know the words; apparently, they were Romanian. Gracelyn had assured me that they were a beautiful tradition in the home country… and that Shay could be in charge of the music at the after-party.

Not that I wouldbeat the after-party. I would be in the bonding cottage, with Kane. I shivered, even though I felt hot with nerves. The cool night air on my shoulders was a blessing from the Goddess.

The Goddess, who was really listening.Yeah. That was going to take some getting used to.

“I think that’s our cue, Brielle. Are you ready?” Shay’s words were soft, nonjudgmental. Just like my bestie.

I blew out a shaking breath and started walking down the path. The ground under my feet was surprisingly soft, strewn with real flowers that we crushed under every step, adding to the thick perfume in the air.

It was only a minute, and the path widened to reveal the large clearing. The trees around the edges were old, older than time if you believed Pack Blackwater’s stories, and seemed lit from within as they towered over our pack mates. They gathered in loose groups on both sides of the clearing, but my eyes weren’t on them.

I couldn’t look anywhere but at Kane, standing with his hands clasped behind his back in the middle of the clearing, inside a circle of mounded flower blossoms in every color, his eyes glued to mine. He was a vision of masculinity, his jaw hard and clean shaven, his lush lips curved into a soft smile, and his dark hair swept back smoothly from his forehead. He wore a pair of black slacks over bare feet, with a sapphire-blue button-up that matched my dress exactly, unbuttoned at the throat. That little expanse of tanned skin hit different when I saw it here, now.

In just a little while, I’d be peeling him out of that shirt and leaving my mating mark there, binding us together for the rest of our lives. I shivered again, nothing to do with the crisp night air now. Now it was all liquid heat, pooling in my belly at the thought of me and Kane,alone.

I walked a little faster as I covered the last of the distance, and a few chuckles reached me from the watching wolves. I didn’t care what they thought. I was eager to be in the arms of my love.

I stopped a foot from him, inside the circle of flowers. We swayed toward each other, like magnets trying to click into place. But we couldn’t, not yet.

Gael and Reed stood at his shoulders, and I knew Shay and Leigh bracketed mine.

Reed stepped up first, a large, antique golden key in his outstretched hand. He laid it at my feet. “For prosperity,” he said, voice raised for all to hear, before stepping back behind Kane.

Next was Leigh’s turn.

“For fertility,” she said, dropping to her knees between us and sprinkling scented water from a jar on our bare feet and ankles.

“For passion.” Shay surprised me when she stepped up, boldly saying her part despite the many males surrounding us.

Perhaps my shy bestie is starting to crack open her hard shell, after all this time?

She dabbed the insides of my wrists and the spot behind my ears with a perfume stick I knew was heavily laced with lovelace, a known aphrodisiac for shifters. She repeated the action, dabbing Kane efficiently before stepping back into her place.

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