Chapter 17 #2
“You had no issue choking me!” I snapped back.
“You tried to run,” he said smoothly. “You tried to shift and run,” he added. “It was for your own good.” He shrugged. “Plus, I never hit you.”
“You held me up in the air by my throat!”
“But did I hurt you?” He grinned when he saw me flounder. “All I bruised was your pride, Rowen, and look, you recovered beautifully.”
“Solana and her children will be safe with him,” Wolfe told me. “You will learn to trust him, but for now, trust me.”
“And me. I agree,” Killian added.
“And me,” Thalia said. “As a female, there is no one better to protect you than Diesel.” Her smile was warm when she looked at him, and Cody kissed her shoulder.
There was a story there, and now was not the time to ask it.
“And the, um…grandparents?” I asked, refusing to look at Killian. “They are very old.”
“And caring, and able,” Killian stressed, his voice like steel. “Solana will be well looked after.”
“We should ask who else wants to go,” Brand said thoughtfully, cutting off any further protest. “We’ve seen it these last few weeks. There are ones who just won’t fight.”
Wolfe pushed his hair back and sighed. “I’m hopeful that there are fewer of them tonight after the ceremony.”
“And what is the ceremony?” I asked tentatively. “I assume I’m part of it.”
“I’ll explain later,” he murmured. “One of the younger wolves was hurt yesterday, left to die.”
“Who?” Killian demanded.
“Perry,” Brand told him.
“I healed him,” Wolfe assured them all. His gaze flicked to mine. “But he gave me the name of his attacker. We can’t find him. He’s left the territory.”
“Who?” I asked, because there was a reason they were telling me here, in the privacy of our home, with his most trusted beside us.
“Lewis.”
I leaned on the counter for support as my knees turned weak. The name fell like a blow, a blow I wasn’t prepared for. “Are you sure?”
“Perry was able to share what happened to him through the mindlink,” Wolfe answered solemnly.
“Perry wasn’t supposed to be there,” Brand added. “Lewis was waiting for Axel.”
Axel grunted. “I was predictable,” he explained to Killian with a look of self-disgust.
“There are others,” Diesel rumbled. “I know their scent now.” He looked over at me and added, “Most are Hollow.”
“What are you saying?” I asked, feeling numb.
“A coup.”
I looked over at Brand, who had turned in his seat to face me. “Against who?”
“Me,” Wolfe answered grimly.
“But not you,” Diesel said softly. He’d kept his gaze on me the whole time. “Why is that?”
I looked around at them all. “Is this what this is?” I asked them, drawing myself to my full height. “You think I’m behind it?”
“No.”
I looked at Wolfe, who stood, his big body uncurling from the seat. “Why?” I challenged him.
“Because I know it’s not,” he told me simply.
“But it doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing this for you, although I think it’s unlikely.
” He saw my grimace and gave me a soft smile.
“I need you to trust us and not let on that you know. We will do the ceremony tonight, remind this pack that we are united and stand together, and then in the morning, we’ll talk strategy. ”
“What will a ceremony do?” I asked him, only him. “We’ve already married, we’ve shown them I’m with you.”
“We married for political gain last time. This time, they will see their alpha and his mate willingly joining because they want to, not for anything else.”
And tonight, after the ceremony, you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours.
You mean sex? I asked him.
Not just sex. Great sex, he told me with a smirk. Sex so good you’ll be screaming for more.
I didn’t realize I was having sex with Diesel.
Wolfe growled low in his throat, and I didn’t hide my smug smile at his reaction.
Be careful, Rowen. It’s not wise to tease me.
Then don’t presume to tell me what kind of sex I’ll be having later. I’ll decide if the sex is great.
We shared a look across the room, oblivious to everyone else, and I saw the look of satisfaction in his eyes as he watched me.
Welcome home, mate, he said softly.
And I knew he meant it.
The fires burned high in the ritual pit, casting long shadows over the stone circle. The druid must have been preparing all day, ever since Wolfe told them there was to be a ceremony tonight.
Wolves lined the perimeter—Blueridge on the left, Stonefang on the right. Not by command, but it looked to be by instinct, and no matter that I saw some of the younger shifters slip in between the lines, it was clear that the divide still ran deep, even now.
Wolfe stood beside me, head high, face carved from stone. My hair was braided, the braid coiled over one shoulder, streaked with mountain ash. A token of my status, Thalia had said.
A symbol of our union, Wolfe had corrected her.
Wolfe hadn’t spoken since we stepped into the circle. Neither had I. Because if I opened my mouth, I might say something I couldn’t take back. My heart was hammering in my ribs, the air felt different, and this felt like far more than a simple unity ceremony.
The druid stood at the center, and I wasn’t sure if I should have been surprised to see Brand and Killian flank them. The druid was either unconcerned or unaware of their presence, as they looked between us, then turned to the crowd.
“The Hollow has bled,” they said with no preamble. “But it has not broken. Stonefang and Blueridge stand here today under one sky, one moon, one law.”
A low growl rippled through the crowd. Not loud. But not hidden. It surprised me that they were being so open in their animosity. Was unity even a possibility? It didn’t feel real. Not yet. Not truly.
It was the first time I had felt this way since I married the man beside me. These shifters weren’t happy, and I doubted that tonight would fix it.
“Tonight, your alpha stands before you with his true mate,” the druid continued. “Bound in leadership. Bound in cause. Not yet in spirit.”
That part was for us. A quiet reminder.
The druid turned to us and extended a bowl carved from ancient bone. Inside, ash, pine, and blood—symbolic offerings from both territories. As I peered inside, I wondered if they had brought it with them.
“Mark each other,” the druid said. “Let the pack see you wear the weight of unity.”
I dipped my fingers. The mixture was warm and sticky. I moved toward Wolfe, reached up, and pressed my fingers into the space between his collarbone and shoulder—where our marriage mark should have been instead of his shoulder blade.
His breath hitched. Just a fraction, but he didn’t stop me. His skin burned beneath my touch.
Then he dipped his hand into the bowl, stepped forward, and marked my chest. Palm flat, steady. Over my heart.
Mine.
It wasn’t said out loud. I doubted it was even Wolfe in my head. It felt like it came from the mark itself.
The druid nodded.
“Blueridge. Stonefang. One pack. Witness your alpha and his true mate.”
The crowd remained silent. Some bowed their heads. Others didn’t move at all. I turned slightly, let my hand rest lightly against Wolfe’s lower back—just enough to say we’re aligned.
His body was tense. His power thrummed beneath his skin like thunder on the edge of a storm. He was barely holding himself in check.
So was I.
Fire lit up my veins, wild and unrelenting. And somehow, Wolfe seemed taller—bigger. Pale silver burned in his eyes as his claws extended, and I couldn’t look away.
The pack shifted. I heard the scuffle of boots and paws on stone. Without needing to turn, I knew—wolves were dropping to their knees. Bowing.
Diesel and Killian moved toward him, his betas flanking him. Their eyes also shone and I’d never seen anything like it. The druid frowned, stepping back, watching closely.
Because this? This was supposed to be a ceremony. But what radiated from Wolfe wasn’t ritual.
It was power.
Raw. Elemental. Unquestionable.
It ignited something in me. My blood surged, hot and reckless, as his gaze found mine.
He extended his hand. I took it. His touch lit a fuse under my skin. My chest rose, breath shallow, and when his mouth claimed mine—it wasn’t soft.
It was hunger.
Fury.
Destiny.
I arched into the kiss, my body molding to his like we’d been waiting years to crash into this exact moment. His hands found my ass, lifted me like I weighed nothing, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, drunk on the feel of him.
Wolfe drew back just enough to look down at me, eyes still burning, our bodies pressed tight. He held me close as I lowered my legs, feeling their shakiness as I stood in front of him, heart racing.
“Home. Now.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I turned and ran.