“You let me escape when he had been torturing me under your previous Alpha’s orders. Why?”
It had taken me a moment to place him, but I remembered now. I’d seen him in the Jeep’s rearview mirror, holding back the other shifter who wanted to chase us down.
“Torture isn’t honorable, sir. It was wrong, what they did to you.” This time, he let his gaze rise to my face.
As I sensed, he was an honorable male. The kind I’d want to have my back. “Then stand him up. He nearly killed my mate, and no one who harms a hair on her head gets to live to see tomorrow.”
“You’ll regret it!” Dominik gasped as Valens’s knee was removed from his neck, and he was dragged to his feet. “We were just pawns. You’ll see! This isn’t the end, and you’re all going to die. You’ll never stop what’s coming for you now!”
I ripped Dominik’s throat out, his screams reduced to gurgles, and then, blessed silence.
It was finally over.
Olivia
Three weeks later
Rebuilding a sad, broken pack was no easy feat even in the best of circumstances. It felt like no time at all and also an eternity since Lucien had become the new Alpha of the Hungarian pack, and every single day was fraught with new difficulties. Petr? Varga and his father had been terrible leaders. They hadn’t cared about their people, and it showed in every facet of the pack’s life.
We’d been staying in their pack mansion, since that was what was available, and every single day, it just grossed me out a little more. Their pack lived in poverty while the Vargas had lorded insane wealth over them. It made me furious, but at least things were starting to slowly work toward equilibrium with Lucien at the helm. In time, we would build these wolves into a happy, healthy pack.
Tonight, though, wasn’t about the pack. Tonight was the full moon, and it was about Lucien and me finally completing our mate bond before the Goddess and our friends.
We were gathering soon. Our closest pack mates, maidens, and a few top members of the new Hungarian pack had been invited.
Right this minute, Elodie and Fiona were putting the finishing touches on my hair in the beautiful bridal suite in Hungary, near the pack’s mating grounds.
“I think it looks good,” Elodie said, shooting me a smile. She wore her formal maiden’s robes, the ones that made her look like a Greek goddess.
“Good isn’t what we’re after for a bonding ceremony. We’re after ‘make him mad anyone else even gets to look at her because she’s so fuckable.’” Fiona shot me a naughty wink.
Elodie snorted. “I don’t think that’s a word.”
Fiona grinned. “It is when your mate is an insatiable wolf shifter with zero refractory period. Trust me, he’s fuckable. And with one more little zhuzh-so is our sweet Olivia.” She pushed a small, white ranunculus bloom into my updo, and nodded. “Perfection. If he doesn’t swallow his tongue, I don’t know a damn thing about what an alpha wants.”
I laughed, because what else could I do?
They’d done an excellent job prepping me for the night, and when I walked out to see the rest of the Blackwater pack females there, I nearly burst into tears and ruined all their efforts.
Brielle, Shay, and Leigh waited just outside the doors, and they passed me between them for hugs and congratulations. I wasn’t sure they’d be able to sneak away from the Maiden’s Enclave for this, and the fact that they’d traveled all the way to my new pack lands to be here… well, it was the cherry on top of the perfect evening plans. I could even sense the very, very heavy shielding spell Brielle had used to mask her travels for the occasion.
By the time we were done, the moon hung in position overhead, and it was time. But I had one more question before I walked down the aisle.
“Any luck on getting the stone back together?” I asked Brielle in a hushed whisper, even though there was no one else in sight. We couldn’t be too careful since we were still getting to know who we could trust.
Her expression told me everything before she even answered. “No. We’re missing something, I just know it. But don’t worry about that tonight. It’s been a long few weeks for all of us, and tonight, we’re celebrating. Let it all go and just focus on you and your mate.”
“You’re right. I was just hoping… I guess I was hoping for good news.”
She sighed. “I know, and I love that you care so much. I know we’re going to figure it out. The Goddess wouldn’t give us such a great gift and then not make a way for us to use it.”
Her face grew desolate, but she quickly covered it with a smile. I knew that meant bad news. They’d been looking into the pack records, digging for proof of what Dominik had claimed, that the Hungarian pack were just pawns in a larger game. I hadn’t heard any definitive answer yet on who was pulling the strings, but it didn’t look good.
I decided not to ask, not tonight.
Tonight was about love.
I blew out a breath and accepted my bouquet from Shay. I’d grown the flowers myself and shaped them into a bouquet using my powers. They were actually all still alive, and I was going to plant them in my little garden tomorrow, a permanent reminder of this night, behind our new home.
“One last thing,” Brielle said, pausing, her gaze roaming down my body as if she were inspecting the dress. “Show me your feet.”
“Uh, what?” I asked, but picked up the hem of my dress anyway and stuck out my foot. I wore simple ballet slippers, the green ribbon matching the dress.
“Knew it! Take ’em off. It’s pack tradition. You have to be barefoot, something about better access to the earth’s magic.”
“I’m not sure I can get back down there with my dress zipped. Elodie had to help me tie them on.”
“I’m not getting down there, that’s for sure.” Leigh grinned at me and rubbed her very pregnant belly. “I might pop.”
“Hush, now. My niece isn’t ready to come out for a little while yet.” Bri shot her a look and dropped down to help Elodie untie my slippers so I could slip them off. “There. Now you’re absolutely perfect.”
“You three better go get in your seats. The Hungarians were not playing about getting there early.”
Shay growled, eyes narrowing as visible white light buzzed up her forearms. The three of them turned and hustled away, leaving us to come more slowly.
“My money’s on Shay and the pregnant wolf,” Fiona quipped, looping her arm with mine. Elodie did the same on the other side, and the three of us walked down the path after the others.
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