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I’d automatically blocked out Zayn from my line of sight for the rest of the night, and he hadn’t gotten in my way. At some point in time he took off from the gardens, not following any of us back to either pack. Which was a good thing … he’d seen the monster I could become, the vicious Alpha I had to be when it came to the safety of my pack. Axel’s betrayal had to be dealt with swiftly and publicly. After the attacks, it would not only serve as a reminder that I would find and kill anyone that endangered my pack’s safety, but it helps morale, and gives the pack hope that we’ll overcome this threat. It’s good that Zayn saw that now, before he allowed himself to get too attached. I tamp down on the urge to chew my bottom lip as dread sinks in my stomach like a leaden weight.This was what I wanted, right? Zayn isn’t meant for this life, and it’s good that he found that out now.
I push those thoughts down and focus on something positive, now that we caught Axel, we won’t constantly be putting out fires when it comes to the Langleys. No, we found their leak and will use that as a first step in bringing this fight to their doorstep. I felt sympathy for their past, and my family’s role in it, but both of our packs deserve to live normal lives without being fearful of attacks outside the Opal Moon or during a celebration. They deserve to live their lives without having to worry about if a memorial will be crashed by a swarm of bears ready to attack. My eyes dart around, checking the entrance and the road beyond. But the guards still stand at the closed gates, not a car or bear in sight.
“Mia was a light in our life, she made us proud every day she went out to defend our pack, to make a better life for us.” Mia’s mother stumbles over her words and chokes back a sob. Her eyes take on a look of determination that I respect as she takes a moment to calm herself. “We’ve been with the Whitlock pack since the beginning, and we’ve seen it grow under the leadership of Alpha Whitlock, Zeke and Arsenio. We’ve been proud to stand and fight beside you despite all the hardships we’ve had to overcome.”
My hand tightens on Everett’s out of instinct, but I keep my eyes trained on the family, soaking in every one of her words. She struggles to keep her voice clear regardless of the tears freely flowing down her reddened cheeks.
“Mia was proud to fight with you too, and even though she’s gone now, she died a hero—she died defending her pack and the people she loved—she died protecting the lives we’ve built here for the future generations.” A sob breaks through her pursed lips but steel hardens her tone. “This alliance between our two packs brings us even more hope for a brighter tomorrow, and Mia would be proud to help defend that.” She stifles a hand over her mouth and her and her husband move back over to Zeke’s side. My heart warms as he places a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. Her emotional words ring in my ears, making me want to know more about the struggles this pack has faced. Zeke mentioned it before, but since he didn’t go into detail I assumed it wasn’t his story to tell.
I glance up at Everett. His eyes are on the family, and I can tell he’s suppressing whatever emotion is attempting to bubble up to the surface. His face is an impenetrable mask, giving nothing away other than the nearly imperceptible softening of his eyes.
“Our family has been with the Draven pack for generations, our son taking after my father’s footsteps in a beta role within the pack.” I glance up at the petite woman now at the dais, and she swallows thickly before continuing. “We haven’t had an attack like this in years, so we’ve let our guards drop. My son died protecting his pack, something he lived to do every day, so the best way we can honor him is to be vigilant and follow our Alpha’s lead against the bears.” Her wife steps up to her and pulls her into her side, and she keeps her head high as tears roll down her cheeks. She’s right, the best thing we can do is keep ourselves and each other safe and claim our vengeance against the bears.
I stand, pulling my hand from Everett’s and clasping it over my heart. My head inclines in respect to both of the grieving families and I stay where I am. I could use this gathering, to talk about the two fallen wolves, to speak about what we have to face and imbue hope into the pack, but this isn’t the time. Instead, I let my actions speak for themselves as Everett stands beside me, his movements copying my own. Because today is not about me, it’s not about motivating the pack in our fight against the bears. It’s about Mia Jones and Oliver Brown, two wolves that died together, protecting their pack and putting their lives on the line so that others could go home to see their families that night. They deserve today, and their families deserve today to mourn their departure, too early from this world, and celebrate the life that they led. I didn’t know them, not like their families did.
Others rise to their feet around us in a show of respect for those who passed and their loved ones that will carry on their memories. Sobs echo out from the front and I keep my eyes low, allowing the families to have their moment undisturbed, and soak in our immense gratitude.
“Thank you, everyone,” Silas says after a moment of silence, allowing everyone to pay their respects. “All those who would like to join may follow us to the pack graves where they will perform the burial ceremony.” I glance up at him and nod in thanks, glad to have him on my side. He and Seline are honestly the two in this pack that I trust the most right now, and time will have to tell about Monte. He hasn’t done anything to make me suspect him of something, but Silas and Seline have been by my side through the thick of it this week and only time will prove if we are able to work together after I called off the fake engagement.
I turn and stride down the aisle, needing to get out of the crowd for a bit. The image of Axel’s lifeless body flashes in my mind and I squeeze my eyes tightly, attempting to chase away the memory as bile climbs up my throat. When I open them again they lock onto Arsenio’s amber ones where he stands at the back of the crowd, and my brows crease in confusion as to why he hadn’t joined me and Everett. Selfishly I wish he had sat on my other side, the perfect fire to complement Everett’s ice, letting their comforting presences soothe me. My footsteps bring me closer to him and the bonds hum in relief from the proximity both with him and Everett at my back.
“We should speak in private,” Everett murmurs, his hand wrapping around my waist. “I don’t have much time before we need to go to the burial.”
I nod and lead them towards the house as Arsenio falls in at my side. The tension in my chest lightens at the thought of getting away from everyone for a few moments before accompanying the family to the pack burial grounds to pay my final respects.
I ignore their stares as we file through the front door and I lead them up to my father—my office. The thought is still strange in my mind, the past few days so much a whirlwind that I haven’t been able to completely come to terms yet with his death.
Their footsteps echo behind me as we make our way up the winding stairs, the clack of my own heels cutting through the noise. I gesture them towards the open door as we near the top of the stairs, allowing them to enter before me as I collect my thoughts. It seems strange to have two people I would have considered my enemies only days before now casually strolling through my house, now my allies, my mates.
As soon as I step through the door, Everett catches me around my waist, his strong arms pulling me against his muscled chest covered by a navy tailored suit jacket. His other hand tangles in my hair undeterred by my loose braid as his lips capture mine. He devours me, and I don’t bother pushing back from him, and finally allow my body to mold against his, our chests pressed together so close I’m not sure where he starts and I begin.
My lips part under the pressure of his kiss, my mouth swallowing his growls as his tongue caresses mine. The door clicks closed behind me and I can’t seem to care if anyone saw us before. Everyone knows now anyways that these three men are my mates, along with Zayn after his speech at the party. They know that our lives will be entwined with each others’, but I refuse to let myself worry about that part. We’ll figure everything out—the engagement, and our two packs.
He breaks the kiss far too soon, and a moan of protest leaves my lips, now feeling cold and bereft without his. A chuckle rumbles through his chest as he places another sweet kiss on my lips. His hands move to cup my head, his thumbs running across my cheek in a tender caress.
“What was that for?” I ask, my voice still thick with lust and I attempt to blink away it’s haze over my mind.
“That was for finally telling the truth, little wolf,” he grumbles in amusement, the sound rough yet sweet sending tendrils of desire through me and I rest my hands on his pecs, needing some support to avoid swaying on my feet. It takes me a few moments before realization clears my mind. His lips twitch, clearly seeing the lust clearing from my eyes. “We had a deal.”
His hands slide down my neck in a slow, tender caress, his calloused fingers rough on my skin. He continues over the shoulders of my black oversized jacket and down my arms. My own hands fall to my sides, my fingers itch to explore his body like he does to mine, but as they twitch to trail over his sharp rugged jaw he lifts my left hand and places it in his gently, bringing it up to rest in between us. My lips part, about to ask what he’s doing, when his other hand moves to his suit pants pocket.
My brows furrow in confusion for a moment, that is until he pulls his hand out with a small jewelry box grasped in between his fingers. A gasp escapes my lips as he opens it, yet I don’t feel the same leaden weight of dread settling in my stomach as I had when Monte presented me with his mother’s ring.
Tingles prick along my skin, as nervous excitement rushes through my veins. The giddy feeling bubbling in my chest surprises even me, and I can’t help the smile that splits across my face. I glance up at him and his lips quirk in amusement, but his expression relaxes, his shoulders slumping slightly in relief. Honestly, I can’t blame him for being hesitant, I’m even surprised at myself. If someone had told me a few days ago that I would be here, in front of my mate, the Alpha of the Whitlock pack, my limbs thrumming with elation … I would have immediately thought they were delusional.
He flips open the jewelry box and my heart leaps in my chest as the afternoon sun beaming in through the window ignites the diamond, casting sparks of light dancing across the room. My lips part in wonder as he plucks it from the box with his hand still clasping mine, as though he doesn’t want to let go. Standing still, I’m mesmerized by the incredible ring, not because of its size—although it has to be a few carats—but because of the sapphires surrounding it, their blue hue cast into the diamond in the center when the light hits it, making them glow the same icy blue shade as his eyes.
He swallows, and his eyes soften, letting me see how much this truly means to him despite all his usual bluster. I have no doubt that he’ll attempt to play this off as part of the deal, but both him and I know the truth, and I can’t wait to unlock more secrets behind what makes the rugged, savage, and sexy alpha tick.
My breath catches in my throat as he slips the white gold band on, and I attempt to hide the glee inside me at having a piece of him so close to me. Every time I glance down at my hand, I’ll hear his rough taunting tone in my ear, feel his massive hand enveloping mine. I’m sure that had something to do with his choice, so I don’t bother saying anything, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of noticing. Because although it’s a heartwarming gesture, everything is still too fresh, too new for us, and I can see the still open wounds from the words of rejection in his eyes, hardening himself in case they slip from my lips once more. So I bite my tongue, not wanting anything to ruin this moment.
I was scared of this connection with Everett, and the strength of it. Our personalities are too similar, too likely to wound the other to save ourselves from pain. Our pasts carry so much baggage that we’ll need to work through to understand each other. I can see that now, echoed in the ice coating his eyes. We barely know each other yet, barely trust one another, and I know it will be a long road ahead of us, but it’s the only one I want to travel down.
A possessive growl rumbles from his chest, and I feel an answering one rumble from my own, neither of us wanting to take the chance to stumble on the wrong words. But we could claim each other in this way. I send my emotions down the bond, his eyes widening at the force and acceptance I let him feel. A gasp leaves my lips as he pushes his own emotions to me, the care and devotion settling over me in a warm comforting hum.
“I’m glad you’ve finally accepted the truth,” he growls, breaking through the silence and the thick tension that had settled between us. “You’ll be my wife, little wolf.”
The retort on my lips is cut off by the warm press of a body against my back. “Yeah, yeah we’ll have to see about that, alpha,” Arsenio chuckles, the bond pulsing between us as he wraps his arms around me from behind. Everett purses his lips but doesn’t respond. Instead he presses closer to my front, the two of them sandwiching me between their hard chiseled bodies. I inhale deeply, both of their scents mixing together, fire and ice, both cooling and setting me ablaze all at once.
