Page 197 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

She turned to slap at him, but he danced back and out of the way, almost slamming into Paul Collins who stood just outside the circle, hands shoved into the pockets of his dark blue suit pants, his white shirt highlighting his rangy, muscular frame and the width of his shoulders.

Something horrible curled in her chest at the sight of him. At the sight of that arrogant look on his aristocratic face as he watched her stumble forward. Was he enjoying her confusion? Her embarrassment as the crowd screamed her name to come take her part in the pack’s acceptance of the mating? She hated him. He was the one who had started the nickname Poison Ivy that Stellan and his friends loved to tease her with.

She just wished he’d shut his big, arrogant, smart-arse mouth and stick with bleating his prophecies like a male Cassandra.

She shook her head. No, she didn’t wish that, truly. She wasn’t mean enough to wish the horror of his prophecies on anyone, even on the bane of her existence.

Why was he staring at her like that now? He looked almost curious? Or worried. Did he not think her capable of giving a speech of welcoming and acceptance for her friend and her mate? She’d show him.

She marched forward, anger buoying her, filling her with courage in the face of possible public humiliation. She’d never liked making a spectacle of herself, hated public speaking. But this was different. This was for Siobhan and Chloe. She could do this.

Walking up to the newly-mated couple, she took her place between them, holding out her hand. Siobhan put her hand on Ivy’s first then Chloe followed and Ivy encased both hands by placing her other hand on top of theirs signifying their togetherness, their acceptance within the pack, and unity of the whole, echoing what the Alpha must have done earlier when accepting the mating into Pack McVale and starting this celebration.

Siobhan leaned in and whispered to her, ‘I’m so glad you are here. I was worried you wouldn’t make it.’

Ivy jerked to look at her friend. ‘I’d pull myself out of my death bed to be here with you.’

‘Don’t joke about that,’ she said, a cloud shivering across Siobhan’s expression before she grabbed Ivy up into a fierce hug. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

Siobhan let her go before she could ask her what all that was about, and lifted her arms, the fringes of her jacket swishing around her. ‘Quiet everyone. Let Ivy speak.’ She took Ivy’s hand again and suddenly everyone was looking at her with expectation.

Ivy didn’t know what she was going to say—she still couldn’t remember this mating taking place—but she opened her mouth and hoped for the best, leaning on the traditional blessing of welcome from a maternal Were to a newly-mated couple. As she spoke the blessing, she watched Siobhan and Chloe’s faces as they stared at each other. She had a feeling they barely heard or saw anything around them as they smiled secretly at each other. Ivy stumbled over her words—the sexual energy between them was off the charts, blazing into her so strongly she couldn’t help but blush. Wow. They seriously needed to get a room.

Everyone around her laughed and Siobhan knocked her shoulder against Ivy’s, her face aflame, but humour and happiness in her eyes. ‘Ivy!" she said.

Ivy realised she must have spoken the last words aloud. Rather than let her true embarrassment show, she took a ticket from her friend’s usual moxy and beamed at her. ‘This kind of feeling between a mated pair can only mean good things if I’m feeling it this strongly. And nobody deserves this happiness more than you two. I wish you happiness and peace and the blessing of the Goddess upon you. Only, when you have children, can I request you not use Stellan as a sperm donor. I can’t think of anything worse than my brother’s spawn growing inside my best friend.’ Everyone howled with laughter as Stellan’s growl of protest rumbled through the night.

‘I’ll get you back for that, Poison Ivy.’

She waved her hand at him. ‘Yeah-yeah. You wish. Now let’s get this mating ceremony finished so these two can retire to their home before they make me combust with their lust.’ More laughter burst into the air as she grabbed first Siobhan then Chloe into a hug, then she stepped back, ceding the floor to Chloe’s best friend, Megan.

She sighted her parents and went to stand next to them rather than with Stellan who was on the opposite side. She received their hugs and stood between them, her father’s arm slung around her shoulders, while her mother linked their arms. Their actions settled her in a way nothing else could.

Nothing else except …

Her gaze slid to Paul. He’d drawn closer to the circle and was standing just to the right behind Stellan, his face now lit by the flames of the torches marking the circle and the bonfire in the middle. He wasn’t watching the mating ceremony.

He was watching her.

She shivered, the shiver prickling to centre in her core, clenching there.

Her mother shot her a look. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Fine,’ she muttered.

‘Are you cold?’ her father asked, hugging her to him, her mother moving in closer on her other side, her hand now rubbing up and down Ivy’s back.

‘No.’ The night had the chill of early autumn on it, a cool breeze blowing up from the ocean that hid beyond the cliffs at the edge of their packlands only a kilometre away, but she’d been dancing and what with the fire and the bodies crowded around, she was hot rather than cold. ‘I’m actually a bit overheated I think.’

Her parents backed off a little, shooting concerned looks her way.

‘I knew we shouldn’t have let you dance with Stellan for so long. Let me go get you a drink to cool you down.’

‘Some water would be nice.’ Her throat was rather dry.

Callum McVale slipped away and out of the circle.

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