I wasn’t sure I could love this woman more than I already did. Her fierceness. Her loyalty. “It’s most likely a rival pack—these things happen sometimes. They can’t set foot on our land without us knowing about it.”
She crossed her arms. “No.”
I tried to ignore how incredibly hot she was right now and tried a different tactic. “What if I ask a friend—a dragon shifter friend, who is a former MP and sometimes works for a private agency—to coordinate security? The sheriff said he’d ruled out the remaining contestants. Mia, Lauren and Alice had nothing to do with it. Even though I picked you, they’ll still benefit from the publicity if the show sells to one of the networks. But that won’t happen without an ending.”
Daphne pressed her lips together into a thin line. I could tell she was considering it.
“Does your friend breathe fire?”
“Of course.”
She exhaled loudly and paced around the center island. Then she stopped in front of me and poked a finger at my chest. “If you die, Travis, I will come into the afterlife and kill you again.”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed that beautiful mouth. “Such a vicious little Alpha.”
She fisted her hands in my hair. “Only when provoked.”
My inner wolf was right. She abso-fucking-lutely was my fated mate. I was smitten the moment I laid eyes on her on the ferry; I just didn’t know it then.
But that got me thinking about the White Wolf Moon, and a fresh wave of uneasiness settled over me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Daphne
The final charm ceremony went off without a hitch a few days later. Portia was thrilled to do my hair, makeup and nails again. I even let her put on short tips in Midnight Garage and Nails’ signature color combination. The blush pink gossamer dress I wore, which matched my moonstone charm perfectly, billowed out behind me when I walked. The girly-girl in me, which wasn’t a huge part of my personality, really wanted to look pretty for Travis. I didn’t give a shit how I’d look for the cameras. Well, maybe justa little.
Mia, Lauren and Alice looked amazing as well. Mia took a few group selfies and promised not to post them until she got the okay from Jada.
Travis brought in that private security firm with his dragon friend, Xavier, who locked the place down tight. I truly felt safer with fire-breathing dragons circling the perimeter. If I were a baddie, I wouldn’t want to risk doing something nefarious and getting scorched by one of them.
The ceremony itself was held in the garden gazebo used for weddings at the ranch. Fairy sprites lined the walkway, and I admired their beautiful colors as I made my way over the cobblestones to where Travis waited for me. He’d already spoken to the three other women to get their “reactions” on camera. Mia was classic-Mia and actually cried. But afterwards, she quickly wiped her tears and gave Travis a hug, then introduced herself to one of Xavier’s men, and they made plans to hook up later.
Jada had insisted on using Drake/Secret Shadowsbranding. After her meltdown about the final charm ceremony’s cancellation, she quickly got on board with it being moved to the ranch and went all in on the cowboy theme. She even found me white cowboy boots to wear, which was why the cobblestones weren’t giving me too many problems tonight.
Travis held out his hand and guided me up to stand in the center of the gazebo with him, a soft smile playing on his lips. He wore a pair of fancy cowboy boots and a western-style suit, open at the collar, with a yoke and whip-stitched lapels.
“Heaven’s Moon, you take my breath away,” he whispered for my ears only, but the boom mics probably picked it up anyway.
“Thanks. You do too.” I took in every detail of his handsome face. The strong nose, dark brows, chiseled jaw, and those beautiful, wolfish eyes. Was that a hint of worry in his expression or just my lingering insecurities about public displays of affection that promised the moon and ended in tears?
He waited for the nod from Jada to start his monologue. While it was heartfelt and lovely, it was definitely scripted for the camera, and more than once, he called me ‘darlin’.
But then, who was I to talk, because mine had been scripted for the cameras as well. I put my foot down, though, when Jada wanted me to refer to him as my Big, Bad Alpha.
“Daphne, will you allow me to put this final charm on your bracelet and become my fated mate?”
It was only after I held out my wrist and told him yes that I realized he’d added the wordfated. At no time when we’d rehearsed our lines had he used that word. Was it a slip of the tongue? Had Jada told him to add it to boost the Date-A-Wolf narrative like she tried to do with me? Were fated mates even a thing?
Just as my arms slid around his neck and he bent his head to kiss me, I noticed those faint lines of worry between his brows again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Travis
“Do you want me to have a woman to woman talk with her?” Jada asked, setting down her planner.
It had been several weeks since the final charm ceremony, but she still carried it everywhere. You’d think there was an affinity spell between her and her calendar.
