Page 22 of Love in the Forest
He drew back and kissed her. Aloud, he said, “Your people saved you. I’m not sure I could have done it alone.”
One of the vampires, a tall male, was on the phone to the Tribunal, the seat of government for all of Five Bridges, for identification and assistance. A great number of wizards had gone underground and were rumored to perform heinous crimes against all species, including their own. There was a good chance this one was on the watchlist.
“He was after the blood chalice,” Abby said. “I knew he wanted it for blood sacrifices. He’d also made it clear I was to be the first. If you hadn’t gotten here—”
He held her tight again. “But I did and I’m here now.”
She looked up at him. “But Braden, what are you and I supposed to do? I can’t leave here. I can’t marry a wolf. You can’t live in Crescent.”
He smiled. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll leave my pack and move to the condos near the White Flame Club. There’s a significant ex-pat community building up over there, all species, all living in that part of Elegance.”
Her eyes widened. “You would do that? For me?”
He caressed her face. “You’re the one for me, now and always. I don’t understand how this happened between us, but my wolf knows that you’re my mate and I think you feel the same about me.”
She nodded slowly. “I do.”
“So, we’ll make it work. I don’t know how, but we will.”
“You would actually leave your pack.” She shook her head as though still in disbelief.
“It comes down to this. Either my pack accepts you as my mate, or I have to step down. Maybe it’s time anyway given the level of contention within the pack these days. We’ve had brawls that have come close to taking lives in recent months. The only thing that made a difference was the chalice. For whatever reason, your blood has power. Even the wizard understood its value.”
Abby glanced at the mauled figure on the floor. One of the vampires unfurled a sheet and covered him up. At the same time, the doors opened and a Trib officer walked in. His identification of the wizard as number three on their watchlist wasn’t a surprise.
After the wizard was removed from the chapel, Braden asked Abby if she would be willing to meet his pack tonight. “I don’t want to wait to get things settled.”
Abby nodded. “I agree.”
Braden contacted his lead beta and ordered a meeting for the entire pack.
Abby took her vampires from the meditation room. He stayed where he was knowing she needed time with her people after the horrendous battle with Conagh.
After a few minutes, he found her alone in the courtyard. What he sensed from her was the same resolve he felt himself. “I’ve arranged for my pack to assemble, but I want to make sure this is what you want, that I’m not pushing you. Are you willing to meet my wolves?”
“I am, except…Braden, I can’t ask you to give them up. I can’t.”
He smiled as he took her hands in his. “I didn’t set out to choose a vampire. Your species would have been my last choice. Well, maybe a deadtalker since I can’t stand the idea of ghosts hanging around the burrow all the time. But it comes down to this, you’re my mate, that’s all there is to it.”
She laughed. “Are you sure? I mean absolutely, one-hundred-percent sure?”
He nodded then squeezed her hands. “Whatever the future holds, we’ll face it together. Agreed?”
He needed to know that she was truly with him.
Abby met his gaze but didn’t respond right away. He let her take her time. “Do you know what the last vampire said to me before she went to her rooms?”
“You mean just now?”
“Yes.”
“What?” He couldn’t imagine.
Abby laughed, released his hands then slid her arms around his neck. “That if I didn’t want you, she had first dibs.”
Braden grinned. “Seriously?”
“Maybe things are changing in Five Bridges, maybe they’re not. But I do know one thing. I’m not letting you go. I can’t. I won’t. I’m unwilling. You’re my man and you’re right, whatever happens with your pack or my people here in the complex, we’ll figure it out. Maybe we’ll both move to that condo in Elegance. Just let me get cleaned up first. You can come with if you want.”
