Page 39 of Alfie

Then he cupped her face and kissed her sweetly, biting gently on her bottom lip. “Let’s go, baby. Before me—and my wolf—combust.”

“Can’t have that,” she said with a laugh, as he took her hand and led her out of the theater, across the park, and down into their home, where he rocked her world.

Twice.

Several of the mated females in the pack came to spend the handful of hours with Myla after Alfie left to prepare the paddock for the mating ceremony. Jeanie was with Joss, but she’d stopped by to wish her good luck and congratulations on becoming part of the pack.

Jess was an owl shifter and ran the aviary with her mate, Auden. Lark was human and mated to Evan, who was Auden’s younger brother. Myla had bonded with Lark over them both being human and having close families they had to keep the truth from. Myla appreciated having people who could relate to what she was going through in the pack. Sarah, a wolf who was mated to a wolf named Requiem, had come by to congratulate her on the mating, then hurried off to prep the buffet for the pack.

While she hadn’t seen the paddock, Myla had been told that they’d set up a big tent with heaters for the food, along with tables and chairs. The pack would eat after the mating ceremony and then shift and run around the paddock. She couldn’t wait to see Alfie as a wolf again, and also his friends and pack members.

Melody walked into the master bedroom of the little house, a non-shifting wolf mated to Jasper, one of the pack members, and handed Myla a little box. “Sorry I’m late. That male of mine is horny as hell on the full moon.”

The others all laughed knowingly.

Myla’s cheeks heated, but she chuckled.

“I’m so glad I have you all to talk to about things.” She took the box and opened it, finding a necklace with a wolf charm. “Oh! I love it!”

“We all have them,” Jess said, touching hers. “Shifters or not, we’re the soulmates of wolves and that makes us sisters at heart. We’re so glad you’re here, Myla.”

“Welcome to the sisterhood,” Lark said with a grin.

“Thank you all,” Myla said. “I’m so happy to be here. I can’t believe that Alfie and I lived within an hour of each other. But if he hadn’t gone to the bar that night and I hadn’t had a disastrous blind date, we might never have met.”

“Fate is really crazy sometimes,” Lark said. “But also right on time.”

Jess finished curling Myla’s hair, then she stood and went to look at herself in the mirror hanging over the closet door. She was wearing a thick black sweater with a V-neck and dark jeans. Jess had braided the sides of her hair and pulled them back so the marks on her neck were visible. She put the necklace on, the wolf charm shining in the overhead light.

“It’s time,” Melody said, looking at her phone. “Are you ready, girl?”

“Very,” Myla said.

“Then let’s go see your male,” Jess said.

The trio walked with Myla out of the house and to the stairwell that would take them up into the wolf paddock. The door in the floor of the maintenance shed was open and it was dark inside, but there were electric candles flickering to illuminate the space.

The women all hugged her and then left her with Jeanie, who’d been waiting for her in the shed.

“Normally, a family member would escort you to Alfie, or his best friend, but his closest friends aren’t wolves, and although I’m part of the ceremony, we didn’t want you to walk alone, so I’m going to be your escort.”

“Thanks, Jeanie.”

“You’re family now,” she said. “Friends and family and pack members, all rolled up into one. I’m so happy for you both, and I’m so glad you’re here.”

They hooked arms with a smile and Jeanie called out, “We’re ready.”

One of the massive doors opened, and through the darkness, Myla could see a roaring bonfire, pack members standing in the golden glow of the flames, and her mate, her Alfie, in front of it. Snow was falling and the ground was dusted with glittering flakes, and the moon overhead was so bright it was like a spotlight.

“The moon and stars came out to celebrate,” Myla said.

“They sure did,” Jeanie said.

As she walked toward her favorite person, the world dropped away and it was just her and Alfie, and the promises they were making to each other in front of his people.

Who would be her people now.

When Alfie and Myla kissed and she was welcomed into the pack, the howls from the group echoed loudly, and it brought tears to her eyes.