Page 29 of Fated In Winter

She waved her hand over at the new member of the Redwood Pack, as Jason whispered with one of our other siblings.

I shook my head and looked back at my twin. “How the hell did we end up mating at the same time?”

“I have no idea. At least it wasn’t like the same hour or anything. Was it?”

“That would be a fun to find out, though,” Romy said as she came to my side. She hugged Kaylee hard, the smile on her face wide and true. For a woman who had no family, she was suddenly surrounded by Jamesons, and honestly, I didn’t think Romy minded. With any other person, I would be afraid that we would be too much for her. We tended to do that when it came to other people. Not just with my immediate family, but with all of my cousins and the fact that my uncle was the Alpha, we were intimidating. And yet, Jason and Romy had fit in as if they were always meant to be here. But that was the thing with mates. Theywerealways meant to be here.

At that moment, a stampede of wolf pups barreled by on their way to one of the twenty Yule and Christmas trees surrounding the neutral circle. I held back a grin at the antics, then leaned into Romy at her quiet sigh. Eleven baby wolves in wolf form pranced and danced around the adults, letting out little coos and tiny yips. It was so disgustingly cute, even my growly and badass brothers smiled at the sight.

One day I’d have a pup with Romy like that.

One day soon, if I had anything to say about it.

“Are you ready to introduce everyone, big brother?” Kaylee asked as she rolled her eyes.

“You only call me big brother when I’m about to do something I don’t want to do.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side, or at least somewhat behind you, hiding,” Romy mumbled, and I held back a grin.

“You’re going to be hiding then?” I asked softly as I leaned down and took her lips with mine.

“We have been planning this for nearly a month, and I just want to get it over with.”

“Aw, look at you two, birthdays, a Yule party, and new matings, it’s like we’re all adults or something.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed at my sister just slightly so she staggered into her mate’s welcoming arms. Jason glared at me, even though his eyes were filled with laughter.

“Stop manhandling my mate.”

“Once you learn to growl, pup, we can talk,” I teased back, and Kaylee rolled her eyes.

“Welcome to the Pack. We’re fun,” she said.

“I’m not worried,” Jason said, and I could tell he wasn’t. He might not have been born a wolf, but he was learning.

Romy took my hand as the Betas of both Packs gave us slight nods.

We were in the neutral territory between the dens, and today was a Yule party for both Alphas.

However, there were more than two Alphas in attendance. Not that I had been aware of that until we had started planning and I’d realized what we needed to do.

Riaz, the Alpha of the Starlight Pack, had come up with Kaylee and Jason to speak with the Alphas. Alistair, the Alpha of the Thames Pack, was actually in the country rather than over in England with his Pack for the holiday. I didn’t know why he was here, but apparently it was for his own reasons.

Cole, the Central Alpha, and Chase, the new Aspen Pack Alpha, were here as well, and would be for the beginning of the parties before they went back to their dens with their Packs.

We were all learning how to work with the new Alphas as they settled into their positions. The fact that we were all slowly figuring out who we were was a nice change to the wars we had been in for so long.

Romy tugged me up to the stage as I cleared my throat, and people stopped talking to look at us. I had never had so many wolves facing me before, and my wolf didn’t mind it, but I had a feeling that Romy’s was only going to last for so long. She might be dominant, but she wasn’t a fan of being the center of attention. However, she didn’t stand behind me. Instead, she stood at my side, and I looked down at my wolf, the woman who turned one century today. I couldn’t help but grin.

“Welcome everyone to our first official dual Yule party.”

Everybody cheered, and I shook my head, wondering how the hell I was in charge of this.

“And welcome to our Alphas. All of you,” Romy said, and I knew she wasn’t just speaking to ours, who were just now coming over the bridge. They had been told just twenty minutes ago what was happening, so that way they wouldn’t be in too shocked in front of others. More so that way they knew it was a gift, without feeling weak at all. The subtle differences in figuring out the balance in surprising an Alpha weren’t easy, and I hoped we hadn’t messed up.

“To say thank you to our Alphas, to our Pack, and to remind everyone that it is the holiday season, and no matter what holiday that you celebrate, we are here for you, and we are glad to celebrate and rejoice together as one.”

I looked down at my mate as she spoke and smiled. “And, happy birthday.”

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