Page 120 of Feral

“I request the hand of this female to be my mate,” he said, loud and clear.

“Will ya provide food for her belly, shelter for her head, and fire for her warmth?”

“Aye.”

“Will ya give her pups to cherish, joy in the darkness and comfort for her tears?”

“Aye.”

Calum turned to Imogen, whose expression hadn’t changed the entire time.

“Dearest Imogen, do ya accept him?”

Her glittering gaze hadn’t left Angus, and there was a tension between them made up of many shades of emotions.

“Aye grandfather,” she said at last.

From what Fraser had told me, if Angus was going to back out, he’d have done it at that point. There was no turning back now, at least none that would result in anything but extreme shame to our clan and the highest kind of insult to the Campbells.

Calum took his grand daughters hand, brought it to his forehead for a brief moment and then handed her to Angus. He took her hand with a stern expression on his face and tucked it into the crook of his arm. With that, the two of them led the procession of close family members first, followed by the rest of the clan toward the clearing and the trellis, where a priestess was waiting to bind their hands.

My eyes darted around, missing nothing as we made our way near the front of the procession. I felt like I was being watched, and not by the curious stares of the Were’s from both clans. Someone else was watching me, and my skin crawled with the knowledge.

Something was going to happen, but when and from where?

“What’s wrong?” Fraser leaned down to ask.

“Something isn’t right,” I whispered back. “I can feel it.”

My hand went inside the small purse where I’d stowed my Stinger, Amanda Nunes’ gloves and a few artifact bags. I found the Stinger, and my hand clasped the butt of it. I doubted I could be a very quick draw, but it was better than scrambling when the time came.

Imogen and Angus reached the trellis and the rest of us were spread out on either side of the aisle that had been strewn with rose petals. There were no chairs except for Calum, so we were all standing, with Angus’ family at the front to the left. That same feeling of eyes watching me intensified and I looked around. But there was no one but the two clans and those supernaturals that had been hired for the event standing at a respectable distance.

The trellis was made of oak, and decorated with a riot of summer flowers and bright ribbons. If not for the grim expressions of everyone present, one would think from the decor that this was a happy event. To the right of Angus and Imogen was a table covered in a green cloth, wine, bread and the beautiful ribbon for the handfasting laid out on top.

The moment my eyes landed on the ribbon, the power contained with the heirloom reached out and brushed up against my consciousness.

Devotion, kindness, love…oh my god! That’s it!

The priestess began to speak and a chill went down my spine. My gaze snapped to Fraser, his eyes wide. He’d felt it too.

The crowd behind us began to murmur, anger rippling from them. Then, from one of the tents came a very self satisfied Ruben, holding a small, beautiful Golden Apple in one of his clawed hands.

“Well, well, well, what a happy day!” he sneered.

Angus angled himself between Imogen and Ruben, the move protective in a way that was odd considering how much Angus had seemed to hate this arrangement.

“You are not welcome here,” Angus snapped, a furious growl in his chest.

“Yet here I am. And with a gift for the bride and groom.”

“No!” I shouted, launching myself at him as I realized what he was about to do.

But it was too late. Ruben was too fast and the Apple was already in motion.

He’d lobbed it right in the middle of the two clans. A high whining sound built as the Apple grew in brightness until it was glowing like a wicked siren. When the sound reached a crescendo a wave spun out from the Apple and then there was a moment of utter silence before all hell broke loose.

Campbells and MacDonalds began to brawl, clawing and biting one another in a writhing mass of fur, claws and teeth. The only ones unaffected were myself, and Fraser’s family, along with Imogen and Calum.

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