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I ached to kiss my mate. She was such a brilliant woman, so strong in so many ways. Everything about her turned me on. If given the privacy, I’d drag her away right now and ravish her until she went limp from pleasure. But since we were in the midst of defending our relationship, I had to save that energy for later.
Hopefully, it would be saved for a mating ritual.
“They make fantastic points,” Troy announced calmly. “I believe that means we must deliberate soon.”
Blake held up his right hand. “I’d like to know why you want this bond to be recognized by your alphas.”
“Because I love him,” Virginia replied. “Can’t you hear it in our hearts?”
I smiled at her. “I love you too.”
That sigh she released was divine. It was like she had been waiting a thousand years just to hear me say those words. And gods, I had been waiting a lifetime just to utter them in her presence. Nothing about it made me feel shame or guilt. It only made me want to cement my relationship with her. It made me want to mate.
She squeezed my hand and raised my knuckles to her lips. “I’m glad to hear the feeling is shared.”
Troy looked between us, an expression of pure triumph on his face like he was admiring a picture he had just painted. He gestured again to us. “Blake, I believe this is good enough testimony. Let us deliberate.”
Blake grumbled under his breath and then muttered, “Fine. Give us ten minutes,” and rushed us out the door.
What I saw outside shocked me to my core. Elias and Francine were waiting with Archie and the twins.
Francine held up a freshly baked pie. “You were right about the kids knowing how to bake.”
Virginia chewed on her lower lip while accepting the pie. “Oh, well…yes, they’re quite talented, aren’t they?”
Elias clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Troy will make sure everything is done right in there.”
“Blake will also make sure things are done properly,” Francine rushed to add. “He’s a kind and generous alpha. He’s not going to take this lightly.”
I nodded with thanks, feeling warmed by their gestures of support.
Behind them, figures wandered through the fields, past the corn maze, past the barns, and came from the thick of the woods as well. Laurencia and Wendell were among them. As soon as Laurencia reached us, she mumbled something quickly under her breath and stuck out a tray of cookies.
Virginia beamed. “I love oatmeal raisin.”
Laurencia gasped victoriously and glared at Wendell. “I told you!”
“Volume,” Wendell advised while tapping her chin. “And yes, you were correct.”
Isaiah bubbled up from behind Wendell, a tank of a guy who carried a basket full of goodies. He held it out to me since Virginia was occupied with pie and cookies. “Jada has been on bed rest since her feet are swollen. She knitted these caps for the kids. I put some soaps in there that I made from animal fat. I got a big thing of bacon at home too.”
I smiled while accepting the basket. “Well, you didn’t have to—”
His laughter boomed around us as he slapped me on the back. “I don’t do shit I don’t want to!”
Chuckles bubbled around us as the crowd grew. Skye held her belly while shuffling up to Virginia, handing off a bag of items. The yard next to the neutral cabin grew with gifts and people, and then plates of food were being passed around, and cups with juice overflowing went to the kids, and then the kids darted off to play near the pigpens.
Francine kept an eye on them while Virginia stood in the middle of it all with her face stained with tears.
I wrapped an arm around my mate. “We can’t lose, Ginny darling. Do you see this right now?”
“I can’t see a damn thing through my tears.”
I cackled while taking some of the gifts from her. She seemed overwhelmed. Maybe if she sat down and had some food, she would feel better. As soon as I got her seated, I knelt next to her. She rested her hand on the back of my neck. The way she lightly stroked my skin while talking to other people made it feel like she was ground into me.
In my heart, I felt our bond expand. Strength from our friends enhanced our relationship, making it far more capable of handling anything that was thrown at us. Support like this didn’t come very often in the outside world. This was truly a side effect of being a shifter.
I had to keep blinking to see if I was dreaming. It was hard to chew on all of this at once. But it only solidified the love I had in my heart for my pack.
