Page 88 of Bound

“For months I’ve been working to establish contacts within the human government, to negotiate a deal to end the testing and raids.”

Now the sudden lack of oxygen in the room had nothing to do with Brody’s overaggressive Windsor knot.

“What sort of deal?”

“I’m not prepared to discuss specifics at this time. But I think we’re all in agreement that keeping current tensions from escalating further is prudent.”

Unable to keep quiet any longer, Brody said, “And you trust the feds to keep their word?”

My uncle’s voice turned cold. “We’re out of good options at this point. Something your pack would do well to remember.”

The line went dead.

“Well, that went about like I expected.” Sighing, Mom took me by the arm, pulling me out into the hall. “This is your day. Stay focused on you and Topher. What do you want to do about your father? I can’t promise how he’ll react, being around so many people. He’s still triggered by vampires. Cal has tried having Rowan come by for desensitization training, but it’s been rough going. Obviously if he panics, I’ll grab him before he can hurt anyone, but if it’s going to upset you and Topher—”

“We want both of you there beside us,” I said firmly. “No matter what.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you. And thrilled to have another son.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

In the living room, I slid onto the couch beside Dad. He didn’t look up. I rubbed the tattoo of Topher’s initials on my ring finger and cleared my throat.

“Better not tell Dallas you’ve got the game on in here or we’ll never get him back outside for the ceremony.” My voice cracked. “Luna already has three different onesies so she and Daddy can watch the Cowboys play on Sundays, plus changes in case she spits up while he’s feeding her.”

The great gray wolf blinked. The rest of my family had disappeared, giving us a moment of privacy.

“Topher and I are getting mated tonight, Dad. He’s the one, the guy you told me I would find one day, back in high school when I first came out to you and Mom, and I thought being an Omega meant I’d be cursed always to be alone.”

Out in the yard, August laughed. Hayden was warming up for the ceremony, tuning her acoustic guitar. I stole a glance at my dad. It was hard to know if he was hearing me, or if whatever had caused him to become trapped in his wolf form had simply shut down the human side of his mind. River had tried to passively get a read on him, worried pushing harder might do permanent damage in his fragile state.

He heard nothing but silence.

“I remember you took me out for burgers, just the two of us. We walked to Zombie Books and you bought me the whole George RR Martin set I’d been saving up for. I never told you how much that day meant to me. How you made sure I knew that we were okay, that nothing had changed, that after what I’d told you…”

I looked away. The gray wolf still hadn’t moved.

“You said, ‘You’re special, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my kid. Mark my words, one day the right guy is going to come along, and he’s going to fight like hell to keep you.’”

A throat cleared behind me. I blinked, not sure how long I’d been sitting there. Topher stood in the doorway, hands shoved into the pockets of his slim-cut trousers, a small worry line creasing his brow.

“You okay?” he said softly.

Gold flecked his irises, his wolf just below the surface. I took in the lazy way he inhabited the doorway, like he had all the time in the world to wait for my answer, all the people out in the yard be damned, and felt something warm and hopeful flutter up from my belly.

“I will be.” I reached for his hand. “But I can feel the moon rising. And with everything, we should probably—” I waved absently, knowing I didn’t need to explain. He’d been able to feel my Omega magic spiraling higher each night for days, my wolf straining the limits of my control.

Threading my fingers through his, Topher drew me from the room. And a heartbeat later, the faint click of toenails on tile followed.

* * *

The full moon rose high and wild in the night sky. My family stood beneath the circle of live oaks out back behind the house, Topher and I at their center, Brody as Alpha, standing before us to focus the pack’s energy. Topher nipped the inside of my wrist, and heat swirled through the bond in a wild flurry of embers. Someone wolf whistled. Hayden’s fingers danced over the frets of her guitar, the ghostly music rising soft and ethereal into the night. Heart pounding, I lifted Topher’s wrist to my lips. This was it, the moment I had both anticipated and dreaded. There was no turning back. If this went wrong—

Fingertips stretched out, delicately caressing my cheek. Our eyes met, Topher’s irises flaring gold with want. My magic raged within my bones, a dark swirling storm I’d fought for so long to contain.

So softly only I could hear, he whispered, “Mine.”

I bit down.