“And the bride.”
I extend my index finger and let one of my claws slide free. Ethan doesn’t flinch.
I turn his palm upward and study the lines etched in it, the calluses he earned in a world that was never built for him, and yet he stayed anyway.
The curved edge of my claw presses to his skin, carefully, controlled. The claw traces down his palm without breaking flesh.
“You are mine, and I am yours. From now until eternity.”
The vow doesn’t stop at my lips. It spirals inward and takes root, not as syllables but as certainty.
Mine. Yours. Eternity.
A resonance settles into my bone and breath and the vacant spaces where pulse meets pause.
My wolf releases a tightness she’s been holding for years. It isn’t surrender or retreat. She’s just letting go of what’s no longer needed. Like every defense she ever raised was only a framework to support us until we reached this point, and now that we’re here, she can finally release it.
Mahal lifts an ornate chalice from the pedestal beside him, silver etched with wolves chasing moons around its rim. The metal catches torchlight and throws fractured stars across his dark robes.
“This vessel represents the union of two souls into one.” His voice carries across the silent crowd. “By sharing its contents, you pledge to share life’s joys and burdens equally. To trust without reservation. To commit without condition.”
He murmurs a blessing over the chalice, words too ancient and soft for the crowd to catch, then extends it toward us.
Ethan releases one of my hands to accept it. He meets my eyes over the silver rim, takes a slow sip, and passes it to me.
I drink from the same spot his lips touched. Warm mulled wine spreads across my tongue.
Mahal extends a hand toward Thea, who steps forward and opens her palm. Two silver bands rest there, forged by the pack’s armorer.
“In the groom’s culture, these rings represent an unbroken promise between partners.” Mahal’s gaze sweeps the crowdbefore us leaning forward. “A circle with no end, a symbol of unity into which your two lives are now joined, so that wherever you go, you will always return to one another.”
Ethan lifts the smaller band. His fingers find mine, and the cool metal slides into place.
“With this ring, I, Ethan of the Outer Lands, choose you to be mine for all eternity.”
I take the second ring. It’s thicker than mine and unadorned, simple yet solid. I press it onto his finger.
“With this ring, I, Rhiannon of Lohalis, choose you to be mine for all eternity.”
Choose.My thoughts hover over this word.
Fate named us. Law permitted us. But we havechoseneach other.
I glance down at my hand. The silver band catches the light, thin and delicate, etched with the moon’s phases in a row. The full moon at its center is faceted like a gemstone, throwing tiny sparks of white glimmers with every subtle movement.
Chosen. Wanted. Grateful.
Gratitude and love pour into me, and tears blur my vision before I can stop them.
Mahal lifts his hands. “And so, you are bonded. May the Moon Goddess always shine upon you.” His gaze shifts between us, his mouth curving upward. “You may now kiss your mate.”
I don’t move. Not yet.
I let the moment exist: let it breathe and settle into my bones like the first deep inhale after breaking the surface of water. The crowd fades to a blur of torchlight and moonlit faces. The whispers dissolve into white noise.
Our hands stay clasped between us. His pulse beats against my palm, as familiar now as my own. It’s not strange anymore. I no longer feel the jarring shock of that first night when our heartbeats locked together and neither of us understood why.
Now, it’s just truth.
