Love Letters and Thirst Tonics (Moonvale Matches Book 1)

47. Fiella

The next few weeks passed in a whirlwind.

Redd and I stood, hand in hand, surrounded by witches in the town square. They gathered around us in a circle, their hands upon us, chanting quietly.

Magic hummed in the air. My hair floated around me as though caught in a sea breeze. My skin prickled with awareness. The scent of spring and fire surrounded us.

The ritual would bind our souls together, forever joining us. Linking us. Making us one.

We would be tied irrevocably and completely. If one of us passed to the afterworld, the other would follow. We would never be apart. Together until the end and afterward.

Redd and I were standing facing each other, a small cauldron boiling between our feet. He held my hands in a gentle but firm grip, grounding me. I squeezed his fingers in reassurance. He squeezed mine back.

I stared into his eyes and could see his love shining back at me. He glowed with life like never before, his happiness showing in the flush of his skin. He fought to keep the smile off his face, ever the stoic, but I could see the muscles in his cheeks twitching.

This was it. Redd and I, forever. As one.

I felt a brush against my ankles and looked down to see Sookie and her orange friend. The two cats were purring, butting us with their heads.

The chunky orange cat had been following Redd around more and more lately. I sensed a friendship forming.

Redd halfheartedly pulled his foot away from the critter, but it followed him, and he gave in, allowing the cat to claim his ankle as its own. I smiled.

As the ritual came to a crescendo, the magic in the air thickened. My hands grew clammy, a sweat breaking out over my skin. Redd rubbed his thumbs over my knuckles, the gesture familiar and comforting.

That’s when I felt it. His soul inching closer to mine. His soul was warmth, and safety, and security. Spring and the tides. The power of the forest. The reassuring squeeze of a friend. My soul reached for his–a magnet. Undeniable.

The two were meant to be together.

My eyes fell shut. His soul caressed mine and then latched on. I heard his sharp inhale of breath as much as I felt it from within.

His essence overwhelmed me. Encompassed me. Filled me entirely.

It wasn’t that I felt incomplete before, or like my being was missing anything, but once Redd’s soul united with mine, any emptiness inside me was filled. It felt good. It felt right.

I pulled my eyes open to find that Redd was already staring down at me. Our eyes bore into each other, communicating things our words would never be able to say. I could feel his intentions, almost as though they were my own. He was happy. Happy wasn’t a vast enough word for it. He was fulfilled. Complete. Overjoyed.

We were one.

Around us, the witches stopped chanting, and the town broke into applause.

I heard my best friend cheering the loudest, her voice booming over the crowd, and my smile grew so wide I feared my face would crack in half. My heart wasn’t built to contain this much joy.

All I could focus on was Redd. He leaned forward, capturing my lips in a ferocious kiss. The sensation was different than before, and entirely overwhelming.

When we finally broke apart, Redd resting his forehead against mine, I finally registered the cheering around us. Our friends and neighbors were hooting and hollering.

“I think this calls for a drink!” Ginger’s voice rang out over the noise.

The cheers became louder, and the crowd headed towards Ginger’s Pub.

Redd and I lingered, soaking up the moment.

“Hello, my beautiful mate,” Redd said quietly, caressing my cheek.

The suns were shining within my chest, warming me from the inside out. “Hi, mate.”

“I would like to throw you over my shoulder and lock you in the cottage for the next few days, but I suppose we better go celebrate with the others.” He gazed at me longingly.

I gulped, suppressing the shiver that tried to travel down my spine. “Well, we could ditch them.”

He growled. “Don’t tempt me, Fiella.”

I laughed. “Okay fine. One drink, and then we’ll slip out the back door.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “You better drink fast.” His eyes raked over me, from my hairline to my toes and back up again. He licked his fangs. He grabbed my ass, squeezing hard. I squealed.

“Can you two cut that out? We’re in public! Gods, I think I’m scarred for life,” Kizzi shouted, stepping forward with her hand over her eyes.

I pulled away from Redd reluctantly, taking his hand in mine. “Don’t be a hater, Kiz. We just love each other.”

“Well, love each other a little less. Ugh. It’s gross.” She lowered her hand from her eyes and looked at us both skeptically before diving forward, throwing an arm around my waist and then around Redd’s. She squeezed us tight. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Redd patted her awkwardly on the head.

Her voice wavered as she spoke. “I’m just so happy for you guys. Fiella, you’re my best friend, and my favorite person in the whole realm, and I’m so glad you found someone who understands you almost as well as I do.” She sniffed, her head buried between Redd and me. “And you, Redd, I wasn’t sure about you at first because you were kind of an asshole, but you’ve really grown on me. But I’ll scoop your eyeballs out with a spoon if you ever hurt my best friend. And I mean that.” She squeezed harder for a moment before releasing us. She stepped back and dragged the back of her hand across her eyes, sniffing hard before composing herself. “Now let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

My eyes welled with tears and my throat constricted. Redd and I shared a look. “Alright, let’s go,” he declared.

Before I could say anything in response to Kizzi, she whirled and sped toward the pub.

Ihad never seen the pub so packed. It seemed as though the entire town had shown up to celebrate the occasion. Folk were filling every table, every barstool, and had even overflowed onto the street. Everyone mingled, holding goblets and laughing.

Redd and I were intercepted every few steps with hugs, congratulations, and well wishes. So many smiling faces passed by that they began to blur together. Old Man Wilbur, Velline, Ani, Lunette, Tandor– everyone was here. My heart squeezed with a tender ache.

We eventually made it to the bar. Ginger sat down two of her largest goblets, full to the brim with cider.

“Bless you.” I reached for the goblet gratefully. “I need this after all those conversations. I love this town, but I don’t think I’ve ever hugged so many folk in one day!”

“Of course, honey.” She patted my shoulder. “I made sure we had lavender blueberry for the occasion.” She winked at me. “No other flavor would be acceptable today.”

I had to swallow to keep my throat from tightening or my eyes from filling with tears. It was easy to forget that the people around me actually knew me and cared for me. The reminder was enough to catch me off guard.

Ginger nudged my shoulder. “You better not be getting soft on me.” She smiled. “I just wanted my girl to have the perfect day.” She grabbed Redd’s shoulder too. “And her favorite guy too, of course.”

He thanked her warmly.

After countless conversations, laughs, and smiles, the crowd began to thin.

A smooth voice filtered into my ears. A voice almost as familiar as my own, and one I hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Fiella, my darling, you look beautiful!”

I turned to see my Ma standing in front of me. She looked exactly as she had the last time I saw her. Her silver-streaked golden hair was woven into an intricate braid, and her wrists jangled with a multitude of bracelets as she lifted her arms to wrap me in an embrace.

“Ma! What are you doing here?” My chin rested on her shoulder as she squeezed me tight. Her familiar strawberry smell made me smile. I caught sight of my father standing behind her. He was smiling broadly, his blunt human teeth gleaming. “And Pa! I didn’t think you guys would come!” I had written them a few letters in the past weeks, informing them of the ceremony, but I hadn’t heard back. I assumed they were traveling to the far reaches of the realm and hadn’t received my messages.

I hugged my Pa next. “And miss our baby girl’s mating ceremony? Never!” He ruffled my hair like he used to when I was a little.

I extracted myself from Pa’s strong hug and pulled Redd forward. He smiled broadly. “Ma, Pa, this is Redd. My mate,” I introduced him.

Redd stepped forward and took my Ma’s hand, kissing her knuckles fondly. She allowed the gesture and then pulled him into a hug. “Nice to meet you in person, Redd.”

My Pa shook Redd’s hand firmly, clasping his shoulder in a way that was surprisingly friendly.

“In person?” I looked between them confusedly. “What does that mean?”

“Your mate here has sent us a few letters.” My Ma said, smiling at Redd. “He wanted to get to know us a bit, and to invite us to the ceremony. And the grand re-opening of your shop! Sorry we didn’t respond to you, dear, we wanted it to be a surprise.”

I looked at Redd with my jaw hanging. “You did?” My heart warmed at the thoughtful gesture. “You really think of everything, don’t you.”

“I had to introduce myself to the people who raised my sweet Fiella,” he joked, tucking me into his side.

Another voice chimed in. “And we’ve been so excited to meet you, Fiella! We’ve heard so much about you!”

Redd released me and whirled around. “No way! Ma, you told me in your last letter that you couldn’t make it with how busy the shop has become this season!”

“And miss my son’s mating ceremony? Ha! We’ve been planning this with miss Fiella.”

I smiled smugly. Redd wasn’t the only one who could send secret letters. Redd’s parents and brothers joined our circle, the family standing out with their suns-toasted complexions and dark, wavy hair.

“Woah, Redd, you didn’t mention that she was taller than me!” Ollie exclaimed, sidling up next to me.

I scoffed and tilted my head down (more than was necessary) to meet his eyes. “Are you intimidated, young vampire?”

He smiled good-naturedly. “Of course. You know Redd here had lots of nice things to say about you when he–” Redd cut him off by slipping an arm around his throat, pulling him into a headlock and rubbing his knuckles over the younger vampire’s hair.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough, bud. Don’t go telling all my embarrassing secrets to my new mate after I’ve just locked her down.” Redd said.

My parents and Redd’s got along very well. Surprisingly so. We all lingered for what felt like hours, telling stories, getting to know each other, and just enjoying the company,

Redd couldn’t keep his brothers’ mouths shut for long, and my stomach ached from how hard I laughed at their stories. My favorite was about Redd trying to chase down their pet dog and ending up falling face-first into a pond.

After many, many more hugs and laughs, Redd and I extracted ourselves from the melee, sneaking back to my cottage hand-in-hand.

In the entryway, we ditched our cloaks and our boots. “So, mate,” Redd said lowly. “We finally have some time to ourselves.” He prowled towards me.

“It seems we do, mate.” I backed away from him, a challenge.

He noticed my retreat and growled. As I turned to flee, he snatched me around the waist, throwing me over his shoulder. I squealed, kicking my feet and half-heartedly pounding on his back. “Let me down, you beast!” He swatted at my ass.

“Never.” He slapped my ass again, harder this time. I flinched, but heat spread throughout my stomach at the action. I stopped resisting, instead squirming against his hold.

He tossed me onto the bed on my back, immediately laying his body over mine.

“I’m building us that new bed tomorrow.” He grumbled before pressing his lips to mine.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, arching into him. I mumbled against his mouth “We might as well wreck this one, then.”

“You wicked, wicked creature. I like the way you think.”

We didn’t speak any more after that.