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She squeezed his hand as she laughed. “Maybe after the second kid, you don’t mind not being cool. Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“If you ever see me trying to buy ‘mom jeans,’ talk me out of them.”
“You bet.”
* * *
Mia stood on the back deck of her alphas’ home. Acksel and Brynn, along with the four elders, waited against the railing while the pack gathered. Lucian’s arms were around her. He appeared to be relaxed, but she could feel the tension in his body as he scanned the area for danger. She trailed her fingers up and down his arms as she watched the pack heed the call of the alpha and draw close. Mal, Nila, and Jack were in the crowd, along with her cousins.
Acksel kissed Brynn’s cheek and then the two of them stepped to the center of the deck. He raised his hand for silence, and the pack quieted. Brynn gestured for her and Lucian to join the alphas. The elders moved behind Acksel and Brynn, and Holis opened the book that Kismet had brought from her king, detailing the berserker oathing ceremony.
“There was a time,” Acksel said, as he took the book from Hollis, “when wolves were an island all unto themselves. A time in our recent past, when we didn’t allow outsiders to join us, when we exiled pack members who chose to mate outside of our species. But the truth of life is that if we don’t evolve, we’ll grow stagnant and die. It’s in our nature to shun the unknown, but there are times to move past that and embrace a future where the safety of the alpha family, the non-wolf mates, and the pack as a whole has to take precedence over those deep-seated fears.
“To this end, I bring to the pack tonight Lucian Rhodes. Most of you know him. He was raised in Wilde Creek. But the male we believed to be human is a berserker, a rare shifter with strength and speed that rivals even our strongest males. There is a reserved position within the pack that hasn’t been filled in decades, called the Prime Protector. The Prime is the guardian of the alphas and their young, guardian of those who are too young or unable to shift. I nominate Lucian Rhodes as Prime Protector.”
He gestured to Lucian, who gave Mia a little squeeze and moved to the alphas. Her mate was shirtless and shoeless, and wearing loose pants. He changed into his berserker, his body bulking and lengthening into a fearsome sight. His skin darkened, razor-sharp teeth glinted in the torchlight on the deck, and his body bulked significantly. His eyes glowed a deep garnet, and the growl rumbling in his chest was one of warning. He glanced at her, and she smiled in encouragement. Her mate was so sexy, in either form.
There was an audible gasp from the pack when Lucian turned his glowing gaze to them.
Acksel cleared his throat. Lucian turned to face him and dropped to one knee as Acksel began to read from the book. “Lucian Rhodes, do you come here tonight of your own free will to join the pack as Prime Protector?”
“I do.”
“Do you swear your allegiance to the alphas of the Wilde Creek pack? Do you swear to guard all who are under the alphas’ care for as long as there is breath in your lungs?”
“I swear,” Lucian said, his voice deep with his berserker.
“Do you swear to protect the pack with your life? Do you swear to honor our ways as your own?”
“I swear.”
Acksel closed the book. “I swear to be a male worthy of your oath. To never ask you to put my safety above that of your family, and to always honor the vows we’ve made today.”
The alpha looked at the pack. “If there are any here who have reason to believe that Lucian is not worthy of joining the pack as a Prime Protector, raise your voice now or remain silent forever.”
Mia held her breath, stealing a glance at the pack. No one stepped forward or raised a hand against Lucian, and after what felt like an eternity, Acksel nodded and she let go of the breath she’d been holding.
“Oath yourself to me, berserker,” Acksel said.
Felix, one of the elders, came forward and untied a leather pouch. He tipped the pouch upside down over his hand and poured black salt into his palm. The salt had come from Kismet’s fae colony, and was imbued with magic. Hollis handed a ceremonial blade to Acksel, and the alpha made a cut on the underside of his bicep, a mark resembling an infinity symbol. He drew the edge of the blade through the pile of black salt, and then he wiped the crystals over the bloody symbol.
Lucian took the blade from Acksel and made a similar mark in his arm, deftly cutting the figure with the sharp tip, gathering salt on it, and then wiping it across the mark. As the salt-covered blade moved over Lucian’s wound, both males’ marks began to glow as if they were being heated. Although neither male made a sound of discomfort, Lucian’s eye ticked and Acksel’s jaw clenched.
Duncan, another elder, took the blade from Lucian. Acksel nodded to Lucian and said to the pack, “I, Acksel Moore, alpha of the Wilde Creek pack, do hereby name Lucian Rhodes as Prime Protector, and declare the oath between us is for the length of our lives. Our beasts are linked inextricably now, forever tied together by the oath. Call your mate.”
Lucian stood slowly and looked over his shoulder at Mia. “Come to me, Mia.”
Her heart jumped into her throat as tears stung her eyes. What she’d wanted from the moment that Lucian had marked her in that raven hellhole was now coming to be. Their fingers linked and she faced her alphas.
Brynn was smiling broadly, and her eyes were shining with tears. She mouthed,love you bestie, and Mia returned the silent sentiment.
Renfrow, another elder, joined them, holding a large leather-bound book. He stood next to Acksel and Brynn. “On this night, Mia Slattery brings Lucian Rhodes before the alphas, the elders, and the pack to declare him as her mate. Our laws are clear in this regard: wolves may take non-wolves to mate, and in doing so, the mate is recognized as an honorary pack member. If there are any among us who would disagree with Lucian’s honorary membership, speak now or be silent forever.”
There was silence, and Mia was glad for it. Even though Lucian was technically part of the pack already because of his position as Prime Protector, it was always possible someone might not like having a berserker as an honorary member. When no one said anything, Acksel said, “As alpha of the Wilde Creek pack, I recognize the mating of Mia and Lucian, and welcome Lucian Rhodes as an honorary pack member and Prime Protector, under the authority of the alphas. Welcome to the pack.”
Acksel lifted his head and howled, and the pack joined in. Mia let her wolf loose and a howl left her own lips, full of joy and longing for the mate she’d always wanted to finally be by her side. The pack joined in, the night filling with the happy noise of a pack welcoming its newest member.
