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“Of course.” I wouldn’t let him control me. I’d share his bed, but I wasn’t his possession. I would not be controlled, not by anyone.

Mags huffed out a breath. “Good.”

“You look beautiful,” Rose said. “How do you feel?”

I looked over at her. She was propped up on my bed still. “Nervous…unsure.”

Mags narrowed her eyes. “If he hurts you—”

“He won’t. I’ve seen him with his pack, he loves them, and they love him back. He’s a good male, Mags, I do believe that.” I shrugged. “It’s just that I wasn’t looking for any male.”

She moved up behind me and wrapped her arms around me, looking at our reflections. “You’ll be his mate, but that’s all. You’ll still be you, and you’ll still be ours. You sleep there, that’s all.”

I grinned at her. “Yeah, that’s all.”

She rested her chin on my shoulder. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, all of you.” Oh hell, my eyes started to sting. I ruthlessly fought back the tears. “But I’ll still be here a lot. It’ll be like I never left.”

“I’m never doing this,” Mags said. “I’m going to be single for the rest of my life. Guys suck.”

“Some definitely do,” I said. “But as long as there aren’t any other packs out there with alphas we’ve pissed off in the past, you should be safe.”

She nudged me. “You know what I mean, smart-ass.”

“Bram doesn’t suck,” Willow said.

Mags glanced at Wills. “Well, obviously. But Bram’s different, he’s my best friend.”

Poor Bram.

Mom walked into the room, Art behind her, and she was close to crying again. She’d been weepy most of the day. “It’s time, sweetheart,” she said.

The nerves in my belly exploded into a flurry, taking flight.

Draven was here.

I nodded, and Mom took my hand. We left the room, Nia at my side, my sisters following, and Art helping Rose down the stairs behind us.

Else was waiting at the bottom with Rowena.

The leader of our coven pulled me in for a tight hug. “If you don’t want to do this…”

“It’s okay, I promise,” I said and hugged her back. “Thank you for everything.”

She lifted her head. “If you need us for anything, just say the word.”

Going by the look in her eyes, she meant anything, including breaking all the rules to get me back. I smiled up at her, it was shaky, but I was not going to freak out or lose my shit in front of everyone. They were here because they loved me. They already felt guilty that I had to do this, I wasn’t going to make this harder on them by crying or screaming or fighting it every step of the way.

Else took my other hand, and Mom led us out to the backyard. There was no wind, but the air was cool, and goose bumps lifted over my skin. My entire coven stood behind the arch made of willow branches and covered in foliage and flowers. They looked at me now, love and light shining from them all. I could feel it, their strength, and it warmed me, surrounded me, protected me.

I felt Draven, too, but I hadn’t sought him out yet. And it took every bit of my courage to finally lift my head.

The alpha of the Silver Claw pack stood on the other side of the arch, tall and strong and intense.

His warriors were gathered behind him. And if he was surprised by all of this, he didn’t show it. His steady gaze was locked on me.

He took a step in my direction.