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Holy shit. Can I get any luckier?
16
Ryker and I make the time to have dinner with my parents.
If I had any second thoughts about going through with the ceremony tonight, I can’t remember a single one by the time the meal is over. Being around my mom and dad for the first time in so long is soothing to my wolf, and having Ryker sitting next to me, rubbing my knee as he talks to my dad about the last Alpha meet just completes the scene.
My mom has an infamous sweet tooth and my Aunt Corinne is a talented baker. Put the two of them together, and I’m not surprised that Mom brought not one, buttwodesserts with her into Accalia. A three-tier spice cake for the pack to share after the public part of the ceremony, plus Mom’s favorite: a strawberry shortcake that the four of us demolish after dinner.
I mean, why not? Considering the spice cake is more of a distraction for the rest of the Mountainside Pack while me and Ryker go off to finish our mating in private, I’m not gonna get a slice of that.
Plus, I’ve hit my fill of caffeine. I could totally use the sugar.
At least, that’s how I justify it to myself. Since we’re all shifters here—three of the four of us alphas—no one at our dinner table sees anything wrong with how much I scarf down.
After dinner, Ryker arranges for Warren, the stand-in Beta, to bring my parents to the den. They only plan on sticking around through the end of the ceremony, so they don’t need a bed for tonight; until the Luna comes out and the pack gathers, they’ll hang out in the den with some of Ryker’s council.
With a deep kiss and a promise to meet me under the moon, my intended and I go our separate ways to get ready for the ceremony. Ryker wants to shower and change into the shirt and slacks he picked out, and he heads to the bathroom. I need to make sure that I can still squeeze into my fitted dress after eating nearly half of the strawberry shortcake myself so I’m off to the bedroom.
Luckily, I can, and in some kind of tailoring wizardry, I actually have some semblance of curves; not a lot, but at least I don’t look like a stick. I leave my hair to fall loosely down my back, taking the little time I have left to do my make-up.
For years, I always relied on a minimal look when I did my face, but since moving to Muncie, I got a kick out of experimenting with eyeshadow styles that bring out my eyes. Since it’s my mating night, I go with differing shades of bronze and brown to highlight the honey gold color of my irises. A double-coat of mascara finishes off the look and, though I’m far more nervous than I thought I would be, I’m ready.
Ryker left ten minutes earlier to walk from his cabin to the outdoor area of the Alpha’s cabin where the rest of the pack has probably assembled already. With a quick peek out of the front room window, I see that it’s grown dark out, the only light shining down from the full moon above the trees.
I offered to drive with him, but after the way he reacted to being in my Jeep yesterday, I wasn’t surprised when he refused. As its Alpha, Mountainside belongs to Ryker, and the mountains beneath his boots sing to him; in a way, Accalia is the mistress that I’ve always been envious of. His loyalty is to the pack first. Of course he’ll want a few minutes alone with his territory before we perform the Luna Ceremony and change everything for both usandthe Mountainside Pack.
Me? I’m not about to walk over there in these shoes. My Jeep is as beloved to me as Accalia is to Ryker, and when I realize that it’s time, I climb inside, take a deep breath, and start the engine.
Ryker was able to head straight through the trees. Accalia has, like, four roads on the entire mountain. I have to go a long way round, but though Ryker’s wolf can give my Jeep a run for its money, he’s walking on two legs. The advantage is mine, and when I find an all-too-familiar spot to park my car, I watch as Ryker walks out of the woods about fifty feet ahead of me.
It’s déjà vu all over again, only this time? I’m not heading to the Alpha cabin because I want to confront Ryker, or because I can’t find him. I know exactly where he is, and when I move as quickly as I can toward the beacon that is my soon-to-be-bonded mate, I’m not angryorconcerned.
I’m elated.
This is really happening—and I can’t freaking wait.
I only have eyes for Ryker. Though I have the attention of everyone seated in rows upon rows outside of the Alpha cabin, I allow myself to drink in the sight of him poured into a set of more formal clothes.
Because this is still Ryker Wolfson, he’s wearing a silken, black button-down shirt that molds to his muscular chest. A pair of perfectly creased black slacks. Shiny, black boots. He’s grown his chocolate-colored hair out even more these last two months, ever since I mentioned how I loved it shaggy instead of closely cropped to his skull. With a sharp part on the side, he’s styled the length so that it appears effortlessly attractive.
Oh, Luna. A deadly predator with style and a wolf’s easy grace, and this male is all mine.
He’s standing next to the podium, already taking his place. His head is angled, tongue pushing against his bottom lip as he looks me up and down. Following another human tradition, he left his cabin earlier without peeking at how I dolled myself up.
If he thinks I look as gorgeous as I think he does, then I did good.
As soon as I join him at the podium, I give Ryker a nervous little smile, then turn to take in the rest of the ceremony that Trish and Audrey pulled together. They did an amazing job, considering we only just arrived in Accalia with the news that we planned on performing the Luna Ceremony the next day.
I look out among the filled seats, searching. My mom and dad are sitting right up front, Dad waved when our eyes meet. I wave back, then keep looking.
Nope. No sign of my former roommate.
Though I already accepted that Aleks wouldn’t feel comfortable watching me promise myself to Ryker, I had thought… I don’t know what I thought. I guess I just hoped that he’d accept that this is what I chose to do and be happy for me.
And, yeah. That’s such a selfish thing to hope for, but I can’t help how I feel any more than he can.
A pang of disappointment mingled with guilt stabs at me. I try not to give it away, especially since I’m surrounded by close to fifty shifters, some who have the empathic ability to sense emotions, but I should’ve known better than to think Ryker wouldn’t guess.
