Page 43 of Veil of Shadows

No matter what it cost me.

The song came to a close and even Voss stood to his feet. He clapped his hands as Bexley whooped and hollered. Ronyn clapped his hands above his head while I walked over and hugged both Mark and Cindy as tightly as I could.

“See you guys at the solstice celebration,” I whispered to them, hugging them.

They rejoiced as they packed up and worked their way out of Voss’s place.

“Next!” Voss bellowed.

That’s when Merida poked her head into the house. “I come bearing gifts of food. Anyone hungry?”

“Hey!” Bexley chirped as she rushed over to the woman and ushered her inside. “We’ll always take food. You don’t have to tell us twice.”

“Come on in, girls! They’re hungry!” Merida shouted over her shoulder.

One by one, her healers came in with plates of food from the cooks of the pack. The decadent smells of moist venison and beef jerky filled the air around us. Plates of caramelized fruits andfreshly percolated coffee filled our nostrils. The four of us sat back down with Voss perched behind all of us like always, and we passed around the plates and taste-tested the food for the solstice celebration.

“Oh my God,” Bexley groaned, “I’ve never thought to caramelize melon. How did you do this?”

Merida smiled brightly. “A bit of brown sugar and some heat.”

Voss shook his head as he devoured his venison leg. “Whatever marinade you put on this, use it on all the deer for the celebration.”

Merida beamed with pride. “That’s a new one I came up with. Glad you like it, Alpha. Ronyn? You’ve got that same rub on your jerky. How is it?”

His jaw was much too entertained to talk, but he gave two thumbs up, which was as good as it got with him.

Merida clapped her hands with glee. “Perfect. Now, who’s brave enough to try the wine? Again, it’s a new one. We’re trying to use more apple and cinnamon this time around for a nice fall flavor.”

Immediately, the four of us didn’t hesitate as the next musical group slipped inside. They silently got ready while we chugged back the wine, and the euphoria alone that wrapped around my head caused me to chuckle.

“Damn, Merida,” I said, holding the wine glass out for me to see.

“Thought it was just me,” Bexley muttered.

“Now, this is wine,” Ronyn said with a grin.

“Maybe a bit strong,” Voss said, “but the flavor is amazing, as always.”

Merida pointed at us. “A bit strong, but the flavor is good. Got it. We’ll get to work on a softer batch.”

Bexley finished her glass. “You got anymore of this batch?”

Ronyn chuckled. “’Atta, girl.”

Merida’s eyebrows wiggled. “Got two whole jugs of it.”

“Bring it in here,” Voss and I said in unison.

Ronyn barked with laughter as Bexley giggled with delight. Hell, even I had to look over my shoulder at Voss just to make sure he was serious. It had been a long time since I’d seen that man unwind. Since I’d seen him actually sit back and enjoy something. And the shadow of a grin on his face told me that, for whatever the reason, today pressed every good button he had.

“Well, you heard them,” Bexley said with a giggle, “bring those two jugs in here and we’ll make sure they’re put to good use.”

The wine flowed and the hips swiveled, and the food was eaten as musical act after musical act came to entertain us. We threw open the windows of Voss’s home, allowing the gorgeous sounds to trickle out over the whole of the pack. We heard pups giggling outside while they danced to the music. We saw couples outside on the lawn dancing with one another, the men twirling their women around before dipping them down to the ground.

I found myself thanking my stars that I got to enjoy a day like this with my mate.

14

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