Page 16 of Wolf Duty

Sonya understood the woman was trying to cheer her up, and it had worked. She felt better. Or at least she didn’t feel like crying anymore. “Do you live in the pack house in San Francisco?” She’d always wanted to visit the Golden Gate City.Be careful what you wish for.She ordered the voice in her mind to shut up.

“Kind of,” Nora said. “Ulf and I split our time between the pack house in Marin and his clan’s fortress in Washington State.” Ulf had to be her Viking husband.

“I have so many questions, but they’re all jumbled in my mind,” Sonya said.

Nora nodded. “There will be plenty of time for questions later.” She gestured at Sonya’s body. “How about right now we concentrate on getting you dressed so you can say your vows and then finally kiss your new husband?”

Sonya looked down at the robe she was wearing and then back at Nora. “That’s a great idea.”

The other woman had already started flipping through the outfits hanging in Sonya’s closet. “What’s your fanciest dress?”

“I only have casual clothes.” Tears welled in Sonya’s eyes again, and she sniffled.

Nora turned around. “None of that,” she ordered. “Only tears of joy at weddings. And there’s no need to worry. I come prepared.” She opened the bedroom door and retrieved a garment bag. “It would have been rude to offer it if you already had a dress picked out.” She smiled and unzipped the bag to reveal a honey-gold silk gown. “It matches your eyes and the highlights in your hair.”

Sonya stared at the beautiful creation. It was everything she hadn’t known she wanted to wear at her wedding. Glossy fabric covered the nipped bodice and flared in a full skirt from the hips. Long sleeves of gauzy chiffon ended in loops made to slip over her middle fingers. “I’m too short to wear this.”

“Nonsense, you’re perfect. The skirt might be a tad long, but that’s why we have safety pins.” Nora pushed her toward the en suite bathroom. “Wash your face, and then bring me your makeup. By the time I’m through with you, the Sunbeam pack will rue the day they let gorgeous Sonya slip through their fingers.”

Bay pulledat the collar that was choking him.

He’d found a full suit, complete with dress shirt and shoes, in his motel room. A text from Nora had explained where it came from,

Nora

In this, you’ll rival Justice on his best day.

He looked good, or at least he looked like a proper groom. But the outfit restricted his breathing, and not just around his neck. The waistcoat could moonlight as a fucking vise.

He looked out at the people sitting in front of him. The faces were familiar only because he’d seen these same people in exactly this location that morning during the pack meeting. Instead of the folding table, a white metal arch covered in spruce and gold ribbons now stood on the dais. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to create a holiday wedding atmosphere.

Bay was standing in front of the arch, next to the male elder who’d interpreted Nora’s legal forms that morning. He would conduct the ceremony. The man smiled encouragingly at Bay. “Brides are always late.”

As long as she actually showed up, Bay didn’t mind how long Sonya took to prepare. Until she arrived, he kept himself entertained by returning Dale’s hateful stare. The alpha had claimed a front-row seat, his girlfriend sitting beside him. At least she sported a friendly smile.

Someone stepped up behind Bay and grabbed his elbow. Startled, he turned around and then had to crane his neck to talk with the man who’d snuck up on him.

“I brought a ring,” Ulf said, looming over Bay.

Fuck, he’d forgotten all about a ring. But that was a human tradition. Was it also a shifter tradition? He’d never been to a shifter wedding. “Do shifters exchange rings when they mate?” Bay asked.

Ulf stared at him for several beats. “Do I look like a fucking shifter?”

“You’re married to one,” Bay said. “Did you give Nora a ring when you married her?”

The Viking lifted his face to the ceiling and sighed loudly. “First of all, mysjälsfrändeand I are handfasted, not married.”

“Whatever. Did you give her?—”

Ulf put a finger on Bay’s lips, shutting off his words. “Second, my true love, the keeper of my heart, my queen, is first a warrior, and second shifter.” He paused. “Perhaps I should have said that first. When I said ‘first of all.’ I don’t think I should have listed her person second.“

Bay jerked his head to the side, away from Ulf’s annoying finger. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” Between the confusing number of firsts and seconds, he wouldn’t be able to explain to Nora what her Viking meant, anyway. “The point is, did you give her a ring when you said your vows?”

The Viking nodded. “Of course.”

“So it’s part of the handfasting tradition?”

The blond hulk shrugged. “Maybe.”

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