After tonight, I’m never letting go.
Chapter 14
Kyran
The moodin my house is warm and inviting. Two words I wouldn’t normally use to describe the place, but then a lot has changed. I’m not as driven toward maintaining solitude as I was not so long ago. The girl standing among a cluster of my clan members is the reason why.
“It must seem like everything’s being rushed.” Lucas offers me a brief smile over the top of Tara’s head. “But somebody was feeling impatient.”
“Wouldn’t you, after everything?” I ask as I approach, handing Tara a glass of wine in hopes of loosening her up a little. She’s nervous, and understandably so. Instead of waiting for the weekend, it only seemed smart to perform the ceremony tonight, one day after I announced I’d claim her. I’m not taking any chances. I already came too close to losing her.
“Are you nervous?” Jenna, Lucas’s sister, looks sympathetic.
“A little,” Tara admits, which is an understatement. I sense what she’s going through, and I wish she didn’t have to, but she’s been given next to no time to adjust to all of this. And she didn’t know until today, when I announced the change in plans, that the ceremony is held in front of the entire clan. Out in the open, under the sky, with everyone to observe.
“I’ve heard once you get into it, you sort of forget there’s anyone else around.” When I lift my eyebrows, Lucas shrugs. “It’s true. It’s like it’s just the two of you.” Is he lying for her sake? I hope not. I want this to be good for her.
We did a lot of talking about it once I gave her a crash course in what to expect. She understands. This is the only way the clan will accept her. We have to abide by certain rules, if not all of them. It’s bad enough for some of them that I’m claiming a wolf to begin with. We don’t need to upset anybody else.
It was Lucas’s idea to get together with a handful of the fully supportive clan members so Tara can feel a little more accepted and welcomed before we go out to the clearing, which is being prepared by others who might not be completely on board but who know better than to defy my decision. Everyone knows what happened to Regina and her partners last night. In a way, the whole thing is a warning in case anyone else decides to go rogue and decide they know better than their alpha. Joseph promised he would oversee things and make sure it all goes smoothly, and I trust him.
“Here’s an important question.” Jenna’s eyes twinkle with mischief. “Has he tried to cook for you yet?”
Tara bites her lip and glances up at me, obviously fighting off a laugh. “He did his best. I’ll be doing the cooking, I think.”
“You know, some people like having their cousins around,” I muse. “Others end up getting their balls busted.”
“It’s just not one of your strengths, that’s all. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Jenna can’t hold back a laugh now, and neither can Tara. The way they’ve gotten along so far gives me hope. Jenna has a lot of friends in the clan—she’s naturally personable and likes to think of herself as the social director. She also has a lot of trust. When others see she’s given this union her blessing, it will make them that much more likely to get used to it. That’s what I’m hoping for, at least.
I leave her with a few of the other women, pulling Lucas aside. “You would tell me if you thought I was making a mistake, wouldn’t you?”
“I would be the first one to tell you, obviously.”
“But you haven’t.”
“No, because you haven’t,” he replies, eyeing the women as they laugh and gossip. It’s obvious Tara is a little overwhelmed, but in a happy, dazed sort of way. She didn’t expect this. Frankly, neither did I. “What fate puts in motion, we don’t have any place questioning. It doesn’t really matter what I think. But for what it’s worth, she seems like a nice kid who won’t have any problem with calling you on your bullshit from time to time.”
“I don’t deal in bullshit.”
“Sure. Lie to someone who hasn’t known you his entire life.” He gives me a nudge with his shoulder as we watch Tara throw her head back and laugh. “I’m glad for you. I really am. I think you’ll be happy together.”
I agree.
With less than an hour to go until the ceremony, Lucas gathers everyone together and ushers them out of the cottage, leaving Tara and me on our own. “Everyone’s so nice,” she gushes, pink-cheeked, beaming. “I’m still a little nervous, but they told me it’s no big deal. It doesn’t even have to take that long.”
I rub a hand over the back of my neck, snickering. “I like to think my stamina is better than that. But no, it doesn’t have to take forever. And as far as I’m concerned, we’ll be the only two people there. Like Lucas said.”
“As long as we get to come back here and do it as much as we want.” She’s wearing a wicked grin when she takes me by my shirt collar and pulls me down for a long, slow kiss that has me wishing we could go straight out to the ceremony now.Especially with her tongue stroking mine and her body melting against me.
Finally, I have to regretfully break the kiss. “Easy, now.” It takes everything in me to go against what my body wants, but we have to save it for the ceremony. “Not much longer.”
“I can’t believe I’m dreading it and looking forward to it at the same time.” She touches her forehead to my chest and sighs. “And every time I get nervous, I remind myself I get you in the end. That makes it worthwhile.”
She’ll never understand what it means to hear her say that. After spending so many years, decades, telling myself there was no mate for me, here she is. She’s not what I expected, but then sometimes the biggest blessings come by surprise.
The clock ticks painfully slowly, but unlike the meeting last night, there is no dread that comes with the passing minutes. They can’t move fast enough for me. The sooner she is officially mine, the better. “Are you ready?” I call out, looking out the front window toward the lights flickering in the trees. Torches surrounding the ceremonial altar on which I will take her. Their flames dance between the gaps in the branches, calling to me.Soon. Soon.My bear is agitated, but it’s excitement, anticipation, finally getting what he wants after weeks of holding back.
The bedroom door opens, drawing my attention away from the torchlight. She’s dressed in the same simple, white robe I wear, with her long, black hair hanging down her back and looking like raven’s wings against the fabric. It’s her tentative smile that draws me to her and makes me take her face in my hands. “You’re so beautiful. Have I told you that enough?”
