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My heart sinks all the way to my butt. It’s probably infected.
You sure?
I nod at him and force a smile before turning my attention to Rook.
His eyes are glued to me as if he’s been watching the whole time.
He leans over Rafe. “You’re a fucking rockstar,” he whispers to me, and a hefty portion of that simmering rage dissolves.
Rafe stands, drawing the attention of every wolf in the room who’d been pretending they hadn’t noticed the stand-off between Belle and I.
I don’t know if the witches noticed, but Rafe draws their attention easily enough, and they all turn to face him.
“We’ve never shared our mountain with so many for the Solstice, and I’m happy to do so, regardless of the circumstances.” He picks up his beer glass, lifting it high, and the whole meeting hall follows suit. “To the return of the sun and longer days ahead. To new friends, new challenges, and the promise of a better tomorrow.”
The room erupts into a mass of “Hear, hear!” and “Cheers!”, but Rafe isn’t done.
“And to my amazing mate.” Rafe turns his green gaze to me, and my nose and cheeks get hot with the sudden attention of the whole pack, a full coven, two vampires, and a demon slayer. “Willa, you are the reason so many of us are here tonight. You’ve brought together multiple packs, a huge coven, and some smelly vamps—”
“Hey!” Eden shouts playfully.
“Seriously, though. You’ve bridged rival packs and supernaturals who’ve mostly kept to their own territories. Being with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Oh shit.
No.
Don’t do this now, Rafe.
Don’t make me cry in front of everyone I know.
He smiles at me, and to everyone else, I’m sure it looks like a regular smile, but I see the sadness in it.
That bittersweet smile says everything his words haven’t. “I love you, Willa, and I’m so happy I get to spend the rest of my life with you.”
No matter how long it is,he whispers in my mind.
I duck my head just before my eyes well.Bastard,I whisper back.
Drago squeezes my thigh under the table, and fortunately, the betas’ feast is too big of a distraction for anyone to notice that I’m losing my shit.
For the rest of the feast and the time spent socializing after, both the witches and my pack make certain to keep Belle and me at opposite ends of the meeting hall.
But that doesn’t keep her eye from homing in on Rook.
But every time I catch her staring at him, he never seems to notice.
Because he’s too busy staring at me.
Chapter24
The Stroke Of Midnight
At the stroke of midnight,my mates, the witches, and I gather in the center of the meeting hall. The betas were diligent about clearing away the remaining food and pushed the tables to the outside of the meeting hall to make space for the magic retrieval ceremony.
Most of the rest of the pack returned to their cabins for their Solstice celebrations.
Including Mari and her new “friend”, Josie, who I was shocked to see at the feast. Josie looked a lot better than the last time I saw her. Her cheeks weren’t so hollow, her gaze wasn’t as haunted.
