Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
A ubrey
It’s a hot day and City College’s commencement is outside, so I’m dying in this black gown.
Well, I did it. I’m officially a college grad with a rather useless degree in Women’s Studies. I join in the cheering of my fellow classmates and toss my cap in the air.
My parents are in the audience, sitting with my grandma, Caroline, Jan, Madi, and her mom.
I called Jan and Jamie yesterday to let them know that Billy had dismantled Sentience, and they are totally safe now. Jamie still wants vindication, so she’s now free to pursue a full expose by sharing everything she has with the New York Times.
Madi waves and points up to the sky. I look up. A blimp floats overhead, carrying a banner that reads, “Congratulations, Aubrey!”
I laugh and point at Madi. “You?” I mouth.
She smiles and shakes her head. Billy, then. My mate. Of course.
I scan the crowd.
Where is he? I know he’s here somewhere. He moved me back to his apartment the night he marked me, sending some of his pack guys over to get Pepper and pack my stuff.
When I complained that I might want to keep using the apartment because Madi’s old room is my studio, he showed me the huge bedroom in his penthouse that he’d already converted into a studio for me.
While we were broken up.
Wow.
When I asked this morning if he wanted to come and meet my parents, he said nothing would keep him away.
I warned him that I’d be introducing him as my new boyfriend, not fiancé, because it’s way too soon in a human relationship for us to be engaged.
He growled, but I learned over the past day that letting him see or smell his mark on me instantly soothes him, so I flashed a boob, and he pulled me onto his lap and kissed between my breasts with enough reverence to start a new religion.
The religion of marked boobs.
I spot the row of wolf shifters standing at the back, behind the white folding chairs on the lawn.
Billy, Brick, Nickel, Vance, Jake, and Sully stand against the fence like sentries.
All of them are tall, gorgeous and imposing, even without their three-piece suits.
Now that I know they’re wolves, it makes more sense. They radiate power and charisma.
No wonder they took Wall Street by storm.
I find my way to Billy, and he picks me up and spins me around.
“Ouch. Sore boob,” I murmur, and he instantly puts me down with concern creasing his face. “The blimp was an amazing touch.” I stand on my toes and kiss him then turn to Brick. “Thank you so much for coming.” I give him a hug.
“Welcome to the pack, Aubrey.”
Wow. I’m part of the pack. Crazy!
“Thank you.”
“Welcome to the pack.” Each of the guys hugs me and issues their welcome. There’s a ritualism to it that makes me feel like this is a formal induction. I’ve been marked, now I don’t just belong to Billy, I’m one of them.
I love it.
Madi leads my family over to where we’re standing, and I receive all their hugs, balloons, and congratulations.
“Mom, dad, everyone–this is Billy, the guy I’ve been dating. He was Brick’s best man.”
My dad shakes Billy’s hand. My mom hugs him.
Jan and Caroline decide to play stern dads and give him the stink eye as they shake his hand. Of course, they probably already put together that he’s a billionaire bro and are wondering if I lost my mind.
This will all take some adjustment.
I’m not giving up my ideals, but my self-image will have to change. I know I’ll figure it all out. Madi did.
Billy clears his throat. “Well, if you’d like, I had some food catered in at our place. We can take everyone over in the limos.”
“Your place?” My mom’s brows fly up. “Both of yours?” Props to her for not gaping about the limo part.
“Well, it’s Billy’s place. It’s in Brick and Madi’s building.”
“It’s our place,” Billy says firmly. “Aubrey’s painting murals on my walls.”
My mom’s jaw drops. “Honey! How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell us?”
I glance at Billy. He’s stiff, coming off as aloof, as usual, but I can tell he’s trying. “It’s recent. Billy hired me to paint the murals and things developed from there.” I reach for his hand, and he immediately catches mine.
Madi, who is tucked against Brick’s side, smiles. “It’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see. Let’s go!”
We walk toward the limos, but Billy pulls me toward his Porsche. He opens the passenger door for me. There’s a little jewelry box on my seat tied up with a bow.
“I got you a present,” he says. “But if it’s not perfect, we’ll keep looking.”
It’s perfect. I know it’s going to be perfect. Billy pays attention.
I sit in the car seat and wait until Billy’s settled in the driver’s seat to pull the end of the ribbon. The ends fall open, and I pry open the lid.
It’s three rows of pink diamonds. Simple. Stunning. Totally me.
“I love it.” I check his face. “Lab grown?”
“No blood diamonds for my wife.”
His wife. Hearing him say those words sends frissons of excitement through me.
“Is this an engagement ring?” I ask, trying it on my ring finger.
He nods. “Marry me?”
He already knows the answer. He already demanded forever.
“Yes.”
Billy
I unlock the door and pick up Aubrey to carry her across the threshold.
She laughs. “I think you’re supposed to wait until we’re married.”
“Am I? I can’t get all your human wedding traditions straight.” I set her down as the elevator dings announcing the arrival of our guests.
While we were away, the caterers decorated the apartment with silver and black balloons and set up a few high-tops around the room covered in white linen and silver confetti.
“Oh my God! What is this?” Aubrey squeals when Pepper greets us at the door with a graduation cap and tiny cape that represents a gown. “You’re so freaking cute!”
She scoops up the puppy and Pepper frantically tries to lick Aubrey’s face.
“Who is this cutey?” her mom coos. She sends a curious glance my way, like she’s trying to reconcile why or how a man like me would pick a Shi-poo for a pet.
“He’s Aubrey’s,” I say.
“He’s ours ,” she insists, the way I insisted the penthouse was ours.
“You two have a dog ?” Caroline sounds incredulous. She rubs both of Pepper’s ears at once, telling the dog how cute he is.
“Yep. Co-parents.” Aubrey thinks it’s hilarious to say that. I hope she finds it equally entertaining when I put my real pup in her belly.
“Aubrey, this is incredible.” Jan surveys the first mural. It’s still black and white, but Aubrey wove silver accents through the entire thing which somehow brought it to life.
Just like she brought me to life.
“You like it?” Aubrey takes it in with a critical eye. She hasn’t decided if she’s finished with it yet.
“I love it,” Aubrey’s mom exclaims.
“It’s a huge departure from your normal style,” Jan says. “Your exploration of black and white for flowers is truly inspired.”
Aubrey’s eyes crinkle, and she sends me a broad smile.
I wink.
I’ve never winked in my life. I’m not playful. I don’t flirt. I can’t even imagine what made me wink. But then Aubrey puts her hand on her chest and closes her eyes like she’s swooning over the wink, and I feel a million feet tall.
She’s the reason for my personality transplant. She breathed life into me. Her chaos disrupted the rules and strict patterns of my life, and I’ll never be the same.
I never want to be the same.
“Ooh, I love this one!” Caroline exclaims, catching sight of the second mural that Aubrey spent all day and most of the night yesterday painting.
It is technicolor–painted in bright oranges, blues, yellows, and red. A giant blue wolf faces off to the viewer, hackles raised, teeth bared. Me. To his right, just behind his shoulder sits a tiny red dog, safe under the protection of the wolf. Pepper.
Aubrey left herself out of the mural, which bothers me, but she promised to paint me a self-portrait on canvas next.
She claims she loves her new studio that overlooks Central Park, and of course, she can use any of the artist spaces at the Silver Arts Center after we complete the build-out if she prefers.
I nod at the caterers to crack the Dom Perignon as Aubrey tells her family about the Silver Arts Center. They’re all a little stunned at how much has happened that they didn’t know about, but no one seems offended.
The caterers carry out the trays of filled champagne glasses, and I lift mine. “I’d like to propose a toast,” I say.
Aubrey’s face goes soft again. The way she looks at me makes me want to drop to my knees and thank fate and the Moon Goddess for giving me such a female.
“To Aubrey–the woman who turned my life on its head. Who made me change and grow and learn to love. I am so grateful you stomped into my life and kicked me in the head.”
Aubrey’s mom’s eyes widen but everyone laughs.
“To Aubrey,” Madi carols.
“To Aubrey,” our guests chorus back.
Aubrey clinks her glass with mine, sips, and sets it down. Then her arms twine around my neck, and she’s kissing me like it’s our last moment on Earth.
Our guests cheer.
I wrap my arms around her, careful not to squeeze too hard this time, and I kiss her breath away, the way I intend to kiss her every day for the rest of her life.