Page 30 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

“We have come to pay you the respect you deserve and request that you give us the permission to be true mates in the eyes of the entire pack,” Ray explained, his voice clear and his head held high. The way he met Dash’s gaze was admirable, and Macie was more than a little glad she wasn’t facing the alpha on her own.

Dash scoffed again at that and shook his head. “I think it’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

Macie’s jaw clenched and her hands tightened into fists. Hiding them between her hips and the sides of her chair, she hoped that her cousin wouldn’t notice just how uncomfortable she really was.

“You’ve already announced your intentions before the entire pack,” Dash pointed out, glowering between them both as though he was about to scold them or worse, refuse to acknowledge anything to do with their being mates.

What if he tries to punish us by having me be part of the alliance between Silverdale and the demon wolves? The thought only crossed her mind for a second, but it was enough to scare her half to death. That monster had already threatened her life once. The thought of being anywhere near him again, or even married to him, made her feel all kinds of wrong. She still couldn’t believe that her sister had anything to do with him.

“We did not do that out of disrespect,” Ray began, sounding as though he was choosing his words very carefully. “We would not have done it at all if not for the fact I thought Macie had every right to be at that pack meeting.”

He glanced at Macie then, offering her a smile of reassurance. She tried her hardest to return it, but the truth was that with every second that passed, she was growing more and more nervous about how her cousin was going to react to their being there in the first place. So far, he had given very little away save for the fact he was not pleased at how they had handled things so far.

It was only when Dash started to laugh that Macie felt a mixture of confusion and relief. She turned to look at him, startled by the sound. Furrowing her brow at him, she demanded, “What is so funny?”

“The looks on both of your faces,” Dash admitted, still chuckling. He shook his head then and added, “The two of you need to realize that I am not my father.”

At those words, Macie felt a huge rush of relief the likes of which made her feel dizzy.

“What are you saying?” Ray asked, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Macie held her breath, trying not to allow her hopes to get too high even though she was certain she knew her cousin.

“What I am saying is, I am not my father and I do not pretend to hold any sway over who mates with who within the pack,” Dash explained, shaking his head and looking at them both with a smile on his face. “How could I possibly do such a thing when Raya and I found each other the way that we did? It wouldn’t be right for me to try and deny the two of you the same happiness that we have found.”

“Then we have your permission?” Macie blurted, unable to stop herself from doing so. Again, Dash laughed.

“Yes, not that you really need it.”

Macie’s relief grew tenfold when she thought of the tiny life that was growing deep inside her. A part of her wondered whether she should tell the alpha that little detail, but then she quickly decided against it. There was time enough for that later.

“I have just one condition,” Dash stated just as Macie was beginning to feel as though nothing could go wrong for them. Her heart skipped a beat and the serious look that crossed her cousin’s face made her feel unnerved once more.

“We’ll do whatever it takes,” Ray announced, though Macie wasn’t so sure.

“It isn’t exactly a ‘we’ thing,” Dash admitted to them both, and he then turned to look at Macie, making her skin crawl with discomfort. “If you are going to be seen as mates in the eyes of the pack, then you have to complete your full moon ritual.”

As soon as she heard the words, Macie knew she had been right to feel unnerved. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she opened her mouth in order to tell her cousin that might not be entirely possible.

Before she could say anything, Ray stood up and said, “She will be ready.”

Epilogue - Macie

When the full moon finally came, Macie wasn’t at all sure that it was going to be a successful night. Though Ray assured her it would all be fine, she couldn’t help but feel that everything was going to go wrong in front of the rest of the pack.

Shifting alone in the woods with Ray was entirely different to shifting with the entire pack watching and as she stood in the center of the clearing with the full moon beaming down on her, she felt as though her heart might explode right out of her chest. It was only seeing Ray standing at the front of the pack that gave her any comfort at all.

Though he didn’t speak, she could see the pride on his face and sense his admiration for her as she waited for Dash to finish his usual speech.

As the time for her shift grew nearer and nearer, Macie closed her eyes and tried her hardest to call up her wolf. With eyes still closed, she turned her face up to the moon, enjoying the feel of the silver moonlight that bathed her skin.

“As the newest member of the pack, I give Macie Silverdale the right of first shift!” Dash called finally, and Macie felt her time coming.

Remembering all the times that Ray had told her to be calm and breathe, to coax her wolf out gently, she did just that.

Just as the fear that she might not be able to do it started to set in, Macie felt the beast rearing towards the surface, almost as though she too wanted to feel the cold light of the moon upon her fur.

Come on, please, just let this go well! Macie pleaded, and in response she felt her wolf springing forth. Though the pain was strong and mind-numbing, it was not nearly so agonizing as it had been the first few times that she shifted. Remembering all the times she had done so with Ray at her side over the last few weeks, she coaxed her wolf forwards and as she finally made her first shift before the entire pack, she heard them all beginning to cheer.

In the next moment, she was surrounded by howling as the rest of the pack started to shift. The pain of her own shift was quickly overwhelmed by the sudden unity that she felt surrounded by the rest of her pack. They gathered around her, all in wolf form, grazing their pelts past her own before they turned and began to race off into the woods for the usual full moon frolicking.

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