AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sun looks like it’s setting. It must be late in the day, which means I’ve slept most of it away. No surprise there. I’m positive Ellison kept the morphine coming on a regular basis.
She’s sleeping beside me. My beautiful Mac. I’m sure it must have been a long night for her too.
She’s lying on her back with her hands stretched over her head. Her tank top has worked itself up, exposing her bare stomach, and I can’t resist reaching out to touch it.
I place my palm against her flat belly and imagine what it will look like in several months if there’s a part of me growing inside her. “You will be loved. I’ll always do what it takes to keep you safe. You and your mum.”
Ellison stirs and I move my hand to her cheek. “Mac.”
Her eyes pop open and she turns to look at me. She reaches out to touch my face and the sensation is odd. Feels fat and numb. “I’m happy to see you in the land of the living.”
“I’m very pleased to wake up and find you next to me.” There isn’t a more beautiful sight.
Her hand finds mine. “Are you in much pain?”
I was a human punching bag all night long. Being in pain is my only option at the moment but I won’t tell her. “The morphine is helping.” Not a lie. I’m sure I would be much worse without it.
“Then I’ll keep it coming.”
“Much appreciated.”
“You need to ambulate and empty your bladder.”
“Such romantic conversation from my girl.” I laugh, and then grimace because it hurts like a son of a bitch. “Mmm . . .” I groan.
“Certainly not romantic but necessary. I can’t have you throwing an embolism.”
“True. That would not be great.” We’ve come too far for that kind of complication.
“I need your help, baby.”
“You’ve gone through hell and back for me. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Anything.” Ellison gets out of bed and comes around to my side. “Take it slowly. No sudden position change.”
I couldn’t move anything suddenly if I tried. “You’ll get no argument out of me.”
I use Ellison for support as I get out of bed and then halfway to the bathroom. “I think I can manage from here.”
“Maybe so but you forget that I know how much morphine you’ve had. I have zero trust in your judgment or your legs.”
I remember what this was like for Sin. “You know I’m going to piss blood.”
“I’d be shocked if you didn’t.” My girl isn’t faint-hearted, and it is definitely something I love about her.
Ellison helps me back to bed when I’m finished and props no less than six pillows behind my back. “Feel like eating something?”
My gut has taken a lot of abuse. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“Maybe try some soup? Broth?”
“I’ll give it a try—for you.”
She stops in the doorway and turns back to look at me. “I love you, James Conall Breckenridge.”
“I love you, Ellison Brooke MacAllister soon to be Breckenridge.”
It’s been a week since endurance. I’ve recovered quickly, thanks to my girl’s expertise nursing care, and now it’s time for her initiation into The Fellowship. She will become one of my people.
The ceremony is taking place at Thane and Isobel’s. Sin and Mitch are acting as witnesses, and a huge party with whisky will follow at Duncan’s. Nothing fancy since our wedding will happen in a few weeks. Eighteen days to be exact. But who’s counting?
Ellison has been getting ready forever. I’ve heard countless swooshes of aerosol bottles. There’s no way she hasn’t used every one in the bathroom.
I stand in the doorway looking at my watch. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon.”
“I’m almost done.” I’ve heard that before.
I swear she looks no different than she did when I stood here tapping my watch twenty minutes ago. “You look beautiful.”
She smooths her hand over the back of her hair. “You don’t think it looks frizzy?”
“No.”
“Too poofy?”
“No. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
She whirls around and adjusts her dress. “Do I really look okay for an inception ceremony and partying at Duncan’s afterward?”
Her dress is off one shoulder, black, and tight. S. E. X. Y. Her hair is twisted at her nape into some kind of loose knot with flowers scattered throughout. Oh, Mac and her Pinterest fashion addiction.
“You are breathtaking.”
That brings a smile to her face. “Do you remember telling me that your wife would be breathtaking?”
I recall that day vividly. When Ellison asked me to describe the qualities of my wife, all I could think of was her. Wistfully wishing it could be her, but at that point thinking there was no way.
“I remember. And I believe you hit every quality that I told you she would possess.” Ellison is everything I ever wanted in a mate.
“I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“So close.” And that pregnancy test is even closer. I’m anxious, excited, and terrified to find out the verdict.
“I guess I’m ready to go.”
I pat my chest over the interior pocket of my jacket for the hundredth time to make sure the black velvet box is still there. “Come on, Mac. Let's go make you one of us.”
I’m adrenalized when everyone moves into place for Ellison’s inception ceremony but chills run up my spine when Thane begins to speak. “We have gathered here tonight to receive Ellison MacAllister into The Fellowship as one of our own. James Conall Breckenridge, do you accept responsibility for Ellison Brooke MacAllister?”
“I do.”
“Take the dagger.”
I lift it from the table and grasp Ellison’s hand, my eyes apologizing for the pain I’m about to cause her. I wish she didn’t know this was coming.
She winces when I drag the blade across the center of her palm. I pierce my own hand and lace our fingers together so we’re palm to palm. Blood runs the length of our forearms, collecting at our elbows.
“Will you have her as your novice and guide her in the ways of the brotherhood?”
I squeeze her hand, pressing our palms firmly together. “I will gladly have her as my novice and guide her in the ways of the brotherhood.”
“Repeat after me, Ellison.”
Thane states the adapted-to-fit-Ellison Fellowship decree and she repeats after him. “I will be loyal and never betray any of the secrets of The Fellowship. I will never violate the family of another member. I will allow my sisters to guide me in my role. My blood is Jamie’s blood, as his is now mine. From this day forward, we are one family known as The Fellowship. This I solemnly swear.”
A few words, a little blood, and it’s done. Ellison is mine and one of us.
Sin told me the ceremony would make me want to forget the party at Duncan’s. He was right. All I want to do is throw her over my shoulder, take her home, and ravish her.
She is my blood. A part of me. No man or woman can break our bond. Only the power of death.
Our people are waiting at Duncan’s to welcome Ellison into our family. It would be an insult to not show.
“Bleu told me the ceremony was hot. She wasn’t kidding.”
“I know. You have no idea how much I want to steer this vehicle in the direction of home instead of the bar.”
“We have all night after the party.”
“All night, hell? We have the rest of our lives.”
“Very true.”
Duncan’s is packed with well-wishers. I’m a little surprised to see so many of the brothers who publicly declared intent to claim Ellison—Logan included. I’m glad he came. Gave me a chance to speak to him about our argument regarding Ellison.
“Speech. Speech. Speech,” the crowd chants. Shit. I’m not really prepared for that.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” I take Ellison’s hand in mine and lead he
r onto the stage.
She doesn’t look the least bit nervous. “I would like to start by thanking you for coming out tonight to celebrate my inception into The Fellowship. I’m incredibly grateful and overwhelmed by your acceptance. I look forward to coming to know each and every one of you.”
There’s applause and cheers when Ellison finishes.
My turn now. “There was a lot of interest in claiming Ellison. I feel it’s necessary to make it clear where she and I stand so there’s no confusion. I claimed her eleven days ago. I underwent endurance in her place three days later, hence the reason I’m limping and look like I’ve been hit by a train. She is mine. We have notified the district registrar of our intent to marry, and she will become my wife in eighteen days. But I left off one very important detail. I never properly asked her to be my wife.”
This wasn’t how I planned to propose but it feels right.
I drop to my knee and she covers her mouth with her hands. “Jamie.”
I remove the black velvet box from the inner pocket of my jacket and pop it open. “Ellison Brooke MacAllister. We started out as acquaintances and then friends. I felt the change happening—the one where I was falling in love with you. It was a deep, profound, true love but I tried to fight it. Deny it. I thought I wasn’t the right man for you. I was wrong. Our love was inevitable. Totally and utterly beyond our control. It knew what we needed before I did. I love you, Ellison. I want to be your husband. I want to be the father of your children. Will you marry me?”
She nods. The smile on her face isn’t one I’ve seen before. It’s pure joy and sunshine, and I feel like one very lucky son of a bitch. “Yes. I will marry you.”
I take the ring from the box and slide it on to her finger before bringing it to my mouth for a kiss. “Into me, you see.”
