Page 22 of Love Bites

Yet right then, he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone look as glorious as she did.

Yes, the paleness of her face and her wide-open eyes told him she wasn’t as calm as she tried to look, but it did nothing to diminish her features.

When he stepped fully onto the grass in the center of the circle, the crowd that had gathered quieted, their attention on him.

It seemed he was the last to arrive.

Even the elders were in their places, Shannon’s watchful eyes boring holes into him. Iona was also there, her place near the elders letting him know what side she stood on. She didn’t look particularly sad that he was mating someone else, but she also didn’t look happy about it. He couldn’t blame her since none of this made sense, but honestly, he didn’t know what her endgame was. He would have to watch out for her since he didn’t want Brie hurt because of his past.

He looked at the others, for only a moment though, because his attention was on the woman about to bind her life to his.

Brie stood between her parents, Willow and Jasper, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Willow stared at him, a mixture of hope and anger in her eyes. He could understand the anger, and he prayed he didn’t fuck up the hope. Jasper, on the other hand, looked ready to commit murder.

Again, he didn’t blame the man.

“Gideon,” Kade said as he walked around Jasper, his hand out.

Gideon shook it, not even wincing as Kade squeezed. The two of them were past power plays, but today was a different day.

“Kade.” He looked past the Redwood Alpha to the rest of the Jamensons who filled the circle.

And there were a lot of them.

It seemed that every single aunt, uncle, and cousin had made the trip. Even Gina and Quinn had come with their son, Jesse who was now in his twenties. He hated himself for pulling Brie away from this, but these were the cards they’d been dealt.

He swallowed hard then turned to walk toward Brie and her parents.

“This is pretty fast, Alpha,” Jasper growled out.

“Jasper,” Willow whispered then squeezed her mate’s arm. “Gideon, welcome to our family,” she said, her voice strong. “We’ll move out of your way, but after the ceremony, we’d love to get to know you more.”

Gideon swallowed hard and stood straight as Willow patted his arm before pulling her mate away.

“You hurt my baby girl, I’ll kill you,” Jasper growled, his voice so low that Gideon knew only the two of them could hear. “I don’t care that you’re the Alpha. You’re the man taking my Brie.”

Gideon nodded. “Understood,” he whispered back. And he did. Jasper wasn’t challenging the Alpha, but the man who would mate Brie. There was a fine line, but Jasper hadn’t crossed it.

Yet.

Gideon finally took the last steps toward Brie and sucked in another breath. She tilted her head and stared at him, her wide green eyes blinking slowly.

“You ready for this?” he asked, his voice brisk.

“Of course,” she said simply.

There was nothing simple about what they were about to do, but he nodded anyway.

Ryder, his brother and Heir, took a few steps closer to them. The other man would be performing the ceremony that day since Gideon couldn’t do it himself as Alpha and Kade couldn’t do it on Talon land. Any one in his hierarchy could do it, but Gideon wanted Ryder. He was calmer than the others and would be able to make the words meaningful. Or at least try to.

Mitchell, as Gideon’s Beta, had been through too much shit in his life to have to be forced into it. The other man might be in charge of the daily needs of the Pack, and had the bonds and scars to prove it, but he also needed his space. His Enforcer, Kameron, was too harsh, too used to fighting to protect the Pack from outside forces to perform the ceremony. Brandon would have been a good choice as the Omega since he could feel all of the emotions of the Pack, but it didn’t feel right since Brie wasn’t a Talon yet. If Gideon had been mating a Talon member, it would have been different, and Brandon’s calming force would have been useful. Walker also would have been an okay choice as the Healer, but the man had his own reasons for staying away—reasons even Gideon wasn’t entirely sure of.

Ryder would have to do, and Gideon trusted his brother to make it worth it.

Gideon shook off those thoughts and held out his hands, surprised to find them trembling. Brie slipped her hands into his before anyone else could notice his weakness and squeezed. His wolf calmed, soothed at her touch.

It was the first time in over thirty years he felt as though his wolf could take a breath. Was it Brie? The fact that she was about to be his mate? Or because she was a submissive wolf?

He didn’t know, but he had a feeling she would constantly surprise him. Honestly, he didn’t know how he felt about that, but now he had to take the next step.

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