Page 42 of Fighting For The Pack

I felt a brief thrill at hearing Night acknowledge that the Kings’ grounds were mine.

“Where is she?”

“The last I heard from Dom, she’s staying in a cabin not far from here, resting. My mom is with her; she arrived today while we were sleeping. Doc is with them, too.”

That set my mind at ease. Though we didn’t know much more about Tavi’s condition, at least Violet and Doctor Stan were with her. I would have been worried about them if not for the fact that I’d seen the way Dom behaved around Tavi. I knew that she and Violet were safe with him around.

“Good.” I finished off my steak and then my eggs. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Night watching me in that intent, careful way of his, making me feel fragile and precious. It felt wonderful having so much of his attention, but it also caught me off-guard and made my pulse beat faster. I was so in love with him I hardly knew what to do with myself in his presence. I bit my lip, racking my brain for something more to say.

“And how is Violet?” I asked.

“Her Alpha wound is healing. It’ll scar her for the rest of her life, but she should make a full recovery.”

I nodded. It still haunted me—the way her blood had gushed, the sound of her body hitting the ground—but once I saw her, I was sure I’d feel a bit better about everything.

“Oh! What about Pax?” I’d completely forgotten about the pup. He’d tried so hard to save my life, only for him to fall right into Troy’s clutches.

“He didn’t even have a scratch on him. I know he misses you like crazy. The last I heard from his mother, he was picking books from the library for you to read to him.”

I laughed. “I can’t wait.”

“Do you have any other pressing questions, love?”

“Ah.” My face warmed. I guess I wasn’t being as subtle as I’d hoped. “U-um, the garden?”

“It’s doing fine.” He smiled around the top of the bottle and downed a few swallows.

“And Mable?”

“She’s healthy and, like I said, feeling your loss in the kitchen.”

“R-right. Then, um…”

Night laughed, setting the bottle on the nightstand before settling under the covers. He tugged at my arm and pulled me after him. I caught myself on my elbow and looked down at him. He was so handsome, so present, so masculine. He smoothed his hand over my jaw and buried his fingers in my hair.

“You’re adorable,” he said, pulling me down for a long kiss. When he pulled back, his eyes glowed a gentle chartreuse. “I want to have our ceremony soon,” he murmured.

I blinked and tilted my head to the side. “You mean the Alpha ceremony?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, love, I mean our ceremony. I want to make you mine in front of the Kings, the Wargs, and the whole fucking world.”

My mouth opened and shock trembled through me. He was serious! I’d seen a wolf ceremony only once before, when Mom and I had prepared the food for a celebration when I was thirteen. From what I remembered, the ceremony had involved a lot of flowers, tons of food, and mostly homemade gifts from the attendees. The couple had dressed up for the occasion, as did those in attendance, and there were tons of desserts and dancing.

These celebrations differed from human weddings I’d read about in romance novels; there wasn’t an exchange of rings, the “bride” didn’t have to wear white, and there weren’t any rituals like throwing the bouquet or the removal of a garter belt by a blindfolded “groom.” Still, Night was essentially proposing to me now. He was telling me that he wanted to show the Kings and the Wargs our claiming marks so they would know that we belonged to each other.

Tears filled my eyes. It hadn’t been long since Night and I had met for the first time, but in a lot of ways, it felt like he’d been in my life all along.

“So, what do you say, Bryn?” he asked.

“Yes! Of course I say yes!” I threw my arms around him, and he laughed, taking my weight.

“You’ve got five days to plan this thing, baby, because I want to make this official the day after your Alpha ceremony.”

That wasn’t a ton of time to plan, but I didn’t care. “Why can’t it happen tonight?” I asked.

“Aren’t you eager?” He kissed me again, longer, slower this time. “I want to give the Wargs at least some time to come see us.”

“They’ll be there, too?”

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