Page 119 of Feral

“Naw, they’re all on the outskirts of the property. I think Gran might’ve given them a talkin’ to.”

My knot was starting to soften already, and I was a bit disappointed by it as I took her swiftly toward the house. I had never thought I’d love being knotted. I knew it would feel better than anything I’d ever experienced, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional part. The sense of mutual belonging that passed between us when I was knotted inside of Daphne. She was mine and I was hers in that moment in a way far more intimate than the purely physical. Now that I’d experienced it, I knew I’d crave it like a drug. But I also knew I’d have to be careful with my mate. She might have lube to help take me twice in one night, and salve for after, but she was still Mundane, and I could still hurt her.

So I carried her into the house, laving her mating mark with my tongue, savoring every sigh I conjured from her lips. I couldn’t seem to stop running my hand up and down her spine, over the curve of her arse, the swell of her breasts. She pressed little kisses to my chest and I jumped when she bit my nipple.

She arched an eyebrow, smirking at me.

“Turnabout is fair play, my mate,” she said.

The thrill that shot through me to hear her call me ‘mate’, the heated way she looked at me, and the sting of her little teeth against my flesh, all made it very difficult to keep myself from finding a way to stay knotted inside of her. But by the time we made it to the bedroom, my knot had slipped free and a rush of my seed came from between her legs.

“Oh my goodness!” she clamped her knees shut as a set her down

“It’s alright,” I said with a chuckle. “I’ll draw you bath and you can get cleaned up.”

She stared down at the puddle she was making on the bathroom tile and then back up at me.

“Was it that much before? It couldn’t have been.”

“Och, no.”

“Moon time is going to take some getting used to,” she said, cleaning off her legs as I drew a bath.

Daphne had said she loved me, she’d called me her mate, and every little thing she said about the future with me made my heart soar. After the bawbag I’d been all day, Daphne still wanted a life with me.

How did I get so lucky? And how do I hold onto it?

There was one thing she had not seen, and I prayed she never would. It was the one thing that I didn’t know if she could ever accept. But if it meant having a chance to make a family together, weathering the happy and the sad beside one another for the rest of our lives, then I’d find a way to control the violent side of my nature. Daphne was worth every bit of sacrifice I had to give.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Daphne

Iwould’vedoneanythingto stay wrapped up in Fraser’s arms the next morning. But we were barely given enough time to wake up fully before Lowell was knocking on our door telling us that we had over slept. I wasn’t exactly sure what to wear to this handfasting until Gran came in with a beautiful dress made of MacDonald tartan.

“I guessed at the size so I hope it fits,” she said, decked out in a Were version of the same dress.

“It’s beautiful, thank you,” I said through tears.

“Och, it’s nothin’. Yer a MacDonald now, you have to look the part. Now, get dressed, breakfast is a grab and go. Campbells will be here in two hours. So much to do!”

The rest of the morning rushed by at a shocking pace. Breakfast and final preparations happening mere moments before the entourage of black SUV’s pulled onto the property. Many of the Were’s from clan MacDonald were already here and waiting at the clearing for the ceremony to begin. So most of the Werewolves that poured from the vehicles wore Campbell tartan and looked around as if they were here under protest.

I glanced up at Fraser, who’d been stern faced all morning. He was looking straight ahead, but he gave my hand a squeeze of encouragement so I straightened my shoulders. I’d not give the Campbells any reason to think ill of Fraser’s mate, even if I was one of the only Mundanes here.

My gaze scanned the Were’s present, searching for Ruben as I had been all morning. So far, he hadn’t shown up and I started to worry that I’d miscalculated. Perhaps there was another play at work that I hadn’t thought of.

Or maybe the Protectors got the the Apple after all.

I banished the thought quickly because a very old Were leaning on a cane and the arm of a devastatingly beautiful female Werewolf were approaching us. I assumed this was Calum, the very old leader of clan Campbell, and his grand daughter Imogen.

While he was hunched and frail looking, Imogen stood proud and tall beside him in a dress of Campbell tartan. Her fur was a coppery red that shimmered in the sunlight and her blue eyes missed absolutely nothing as it took in the scene before her.

Calum nodded to all of us and waited for Angus to step forward. Fraser had run through what to expect today and I had to admit that behind the fear and worry, was an excitement at what I was about to witness. Not one book that I’d come across had been able to detail a traditional Werewolf handfasting ceremony. Yet here I was, seeing it all.

I’ll have to ask Fraser about writing this down later. He was so upset when he thought I’d write a tell all about their traditions he may not want me reporting any of this.

The traditional handfasting that Calum had insisted upon began the moment the bride and groom spied one another and would find it’s culmination at the trellis. I held my breath as Angus broke off from us and stepped up to Calum and Imogen.

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