Page 123 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

The rest of the men were all getting themselves ready and should be walking in to keep me company any minute, but the next face I saw wasn’t Kane, Reed, or Dirge.

It was my sister.

“Galyna,” I said with a nod. She smiled when she saw me, a soft smile I hadn’t seen since I was a boy.

“Well, look at you, all shined up like a new peseta.” She strode to my side and kissed me on the cheek. “She’ll be lucky to have you.”

“You look lovely too, sister. Verymaiden-like.” I joked because their formal wear looked like something out of the fourteenth century, when the chastity rule was strictly enforced and breaking it could get you fed to the nearest gryphon. It was a loosely draping dress, shimmery white fabric with a blue shoulder sash that still identified them as the infamous warrior maidens of the enclave. If the butterfly sword on her back wouldn’t have done that.

Even in times of revelry, the maidens were always armed and ready to defend.

She smiled at the joke, the very same one I’d made to her the night she’d taken her vows to join the enclave, the first timeI’d seen her dressed in the formal robes. Granted, back then, I’d been eight to her fourteen. She wore it differently now. She was no longer a young girl nervous to take vows. Now she’d grown into herself and was a powerful force to be reckoned with.

I’d never understood why she had to join the enclave, until now. Now that I had my own precious mate and omega daughter who needed defending. It was bittersweet, knowing how many women like my sister had died in the omega purge, defending their charges.

“I think the priestesses are going to assign your mate a pair of maidens as protection.”

I blinked, rocking back on my heels at the sudden change of topic.

“I wouldn’t bring it up now, but I need to know if you’d be uncomfortable if I was one of those two. Elodie wants to volunteer, and we’re usually partners. She’s already fallen in with the females of your pack, but you know that doesn’t come as easily to me. If you want another, I won’t be offended. Our childhood was complicated, and?—”

I reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her midsentence. She swallowed hard, unwilling to meet my eyes.

“Our father was not a nice man. He was more than willing to see you as second best, but I never saw you that way. You were my big sister, and that was all. I didn’t care that we had different mothers or that you weren’t a boy. I would be honored to have you at our side, if that’s somethingyouwant. Is it?”

When she met my eyes again, I couldn’t believe there were tears in hers. My big, strong warrior sister was crying?

I pulled her into a hug, shocked to realize that sometime since I’d last seen her, I’doutgrownher. She tucked under my chin now, when I used to fit easily under hers. It was strange, but I hugged her with all the enthusiasm my eight-year-old self had possessed. After a beat, she hugged me back equally hard.

“I would be honored to join your pack and defend yourdaughter,” she choked out, pulling back from my embrace so she could swipe at her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Now, it looks like your pack has arrived to keep you company, so I’m going to find a seat before all the good ones are gone.” She shot me a wink, and for a second, she was my big sister again.

“Those were happy tears, I hope,” Reed murmured as he walked up, trailed by Kane and Dirge. He looked like he’d stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine, and as usual, I wondered how he always looked so damn put together.

“Yes. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.” I looked over at Kane and Dirge. “She said the priestesses are going to assign us a pair of maidens to protect Leigh and the baby.”

Kane nodded. “Priestess Marciana stopped me on the way over. She would typically assign six, two per omega or omega-marked female, but given the scrutiny we’re already under, the priestesses felt that the best course of action would be to assign only two, since they typically protect children these days. Given your status as a prince and Leigh’s pregnancy… it shouldn’t draw unnecessary scrutiny.”

I nodded. I didn’t like to use my family’s status for my own advantage, but in this case, if it protected our pack, I wouldn’t turn down the help. There was pride, and then there was stupidity.

The maidens’ song changed then, and we all turned toward the front of the garden. Dozens of maidens marched in, in two lines, scattering white flower petals over the garden path.

“They’re coming,” Dirge murmured with an anticipatory grin. “I’m going to take my seat.” He punched me on the shoulder hard enough to sting and then made his way to a bench near Galyna, as Reed and Kane took up their positions behind me.

It’s time.

Those nerves were back in full force, but also a longing tosee Leigh so strong, I could barely keep still. I clasped my hands behind me, forcing myself into the rest stance I’d been trained to as a teen. The familiarity grounded me as the last of the maidens took their seats. The priestesses came next. There were five, each wearing a different-colored robe, with Marciana at the back in a navy so deep, it was nearly black under the twinkling lights.

She took her position at the top of the flower mound with a smile and a nod.

Shay came down the aisle first, wearing a lovely blue dress. She gave me a small wave before taking a seat next to Dirge on the bench. Next came Brielle in a shimmering gold gown, carrying a jar of fertility water with pink specks floating in it. She stood across from us behind the mound of white flowers. Olivia was next, wearing deep green and carrying the ceremonial lovelace perfume that acted as a potent aphrodisiac to shifters.

But I only had eyes for Leigh.

When she stepped into sight at the end of the path, her head was bowed, golden hair in a waterfall of curls cascading over one shoulder, dotted with crystals that shimmered under the lights. Her gown was blood red but mostly sheer, and her skin seemed toglowwith life underneath. It draped low over her arms and dipped between her breasts, leaving her collarbones and neck completely free for my bite. The whole dress was like an homage to her beautiful bump as the material hugged and highlighted her every curve, her warm skin flashing underneath with every step.

She was the sun burning bright, and I was her moon, orbiting around her with unending devotion. But when she finally looked up and met my eyes, her smile nearly stopped my heart.

SIXTY

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