Page 118 of Blade's Battle
“That’s not the part that worries me. It’s the part that follows.”
“Why?” Tess asked, looking totally relaxed as she squatted before Anna. “Your DNA thingies will do their stuff, permanently calming Blade’s wolf. Blade will be fine, and you’ll hopefully get some healing benefits from his shifter genes. At least enough to heal those bruises around your eyes. I mean, really, Anna, did you have to hit the guy with your helmet?”
“My helmet protected my head from the impact fabulously. Unfortunately, it did nothing to shield my nose from the guy’s fist.”
“Ouch.”
“Ouch doesn’t quite cut it, but close enough.”
“Well, let’s see what we can do with some makeup to at least get you down to one skin color instead of. . .” Tess gently poked around her eyes. “Four. Which will it be? Black, purple, sickly yellow or pink.”
Anna laughed. “How about if I wear sunglasses?”
“And cover up those baby blues? I think Blade would kill me, and then Damien would kill him, and all that fighting throws the whole ceremony off.”
“What if it doesn’t work, Tess?” Anna asked, her voice suddenly serious as all of her fears threatened to drown her.
“Look, no matter what happens with his abilities, you’re saving him from going feral. And Blade loves you. You and he will find a way to make it work, no matter what.”
She was right. Even Blade said he was fine with taking another job in the pack. The shifter wanted her and a place to belong, and that was something they could achieve together.
Anna shoved all those old fears to the back of her mind as she sat on the edge of the bed to let Tess do her magic with the makeup. In less than an hour, Anna and Blade would be permanently bonded, as Kurt and she had been. She looked at the dresser where someone had placed the wedding picture of her and Kurt. It had to have been Blade. No one would have gone through her backpack. He’d even replaced the frame. Kurt was a part of her past, and Blade didn’t want her forgetting where she’d been or give up on where she was going. She and Blade were meant to be. He’d known it for some time as had she. She simply hadn’t been ready to admit it. With every fiber of her being, she knew her destiny was with Blade. Nothing could stop them from blood-bonding.
* * *
BLADE
Blade approached the dais from the north side of the lake, with Frank at his back. The day was already off to a bad start and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it would get worse. The fact that Frank was walking with him instead of Callen felt wrong. Not that he had anything against Frank. He considered Frank a brother. But Callen was the one who had brought him into the pack, the one who kept him walking a straight line, the one who reminded him what was important in life when he let his past weigh him down.
Anna entered from the South, with Tess behind her acting as her maid of honor. He didn’t mind the human custom, though he knew there were some shifters present who would scorn it and him for the change. But the custom was a part of who Anna was, and if it made her happy, then he was all for it. That’s when he realized Anna was the one he’d be leaning on now, more than Callen, Frank or any of his adopted brothers. She was the other half of his soul, the light to his darkness, his family and his future all rolled into one beautiful, bright, sweet, wondrous package.
Golden curls escaped her ceremonial hood, and when she turned in his direction, his breath escaped him. She’d never looked more angelic than at that moment. There was an energy about her, one that made her eyes shine bright and her entire face glow. Full lips parted ever-so-slightly, and he could hear her breathing hitch, a sound which traveled through him and settled in his soul. He started bouncing until Frank placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. The excitement of seeing her, of knowing they’d be joined, was hard to contain.
“Can’t believe she wants you,” Frank said.
“I know,” Blade said, without taking his eyes off Anna as she approached.
“Hi,” Anna said, before a very alluring shade of pink colored her cheeks.
“Hi,” Blade said back.
Damien raised a brow. “Ok, then. Not the usual greeting, but I guess it will do.”
“Oh, I forgot!” Blade said, as he reached forward, eased Anna’s hood back and then leaned into her neck. Instead of a quick sniff to verify that this was his mate, he licked a long, slow path from her throat to the back of her ear. “Yes, she’s my mate,” he said as he pulled back.
Anna turned a deep red, but she was beaming. “I don’t think I can top that.”
“You don’t have to. Just say I’m your mate.”
“Hmm. I need to be sure,” she said, her eyes and voice so teasing he was starting to get hard, which was far from ideal considering he’d lose his robe soon enough and he was naked underneath. Anna leaned in, pulled his head down a bit so she could reach. She didn’t sniff as was customary or lick as he had. Instead, she placed her mouth over his. During a very slow, exquisite kiss, she cupped his balls—in plain view of everyone. A huge roar of laughter went through the crowd.
When she released him, she turned to Damien. “I had to be sure.”
“Of course,” their alpha said with a bemused tone as he picked up the first gold cord from the small table and began wrapping it around Anna’s neck. That first crossing indicated her vulnerability and Blade’s duty to protect her. Damien draped the cord down her back next, between her shoulder blades and over to her front where it crossed between her breast, a symbol of protection of one’s heart. The last crossing occurred over her hips, to represent the promise of ensuring and protecting the family. The end of the cord dangled at her side, waiting for the final joining. Blade’s heart raced. This was really happening. Anna would soon be his.
As Damien draped the second gold cord in the same manner around Blade, Anna’s eyes followed every turn of the cord. Blade could practically see her thinking about the meaning behind the ceremony too.
Damien poured red wine on both sides of the ceremonial blade, a four-inch dagger with a gold- and ruby-encrusted hilt that had come from his birth pack. It hadn’t been used in a blood-bonding in over a decade, and he never thought it would be used again. His parents, his brother and his birth pack would be proud to share this day with him.
