Chapter 18
Caesar stood next to Jupiter, the bonfire roaring at his back, the pride standing in two sections in front of them with a space between for Sera to walk to join them.
He’d asked Lucius and Amadeus to escort her, even though traditionally the couple walked together.
He wanted all his sons to be part of the joining ceremony.
Caesar wasn’t just taking Sera for his mate officially, she was going to be part of their family and that meant she was their mom.
Shifters didn’t really use the stepparent terms.
Family was family.
Sera was their mom now. They might be adults, with Jupiter and Lucius starting their own families, but they still were excited about having Sera as part of their family in the role that their biological mom hadn’t cared to fulfill.
Caesar was dressed traditionally in only black slacks. The pride females had gathered an outfit for Sera to wear, and he was touched by how swiftly they’d welcomed her into the pride.
He saw Sera’s silhouette as the shed doors opened. Jenni, Rhomi, and Sidney hurried ahead to take their places among the pride, while Lucius and Amadeus escorted her to Caesar.
His heart was in his throat as she drew close and he saw what she was wearing: a shimmery gold top and black pants, a nod to the lion and jaguar groups merging.
When the trio reached him and Jupiter, they welcomed her to the family, and then Lucius and Amadeus joined the rest of the pride.
Caesar took the container of prickly pear from her and she faced him.
Jupiter stood at their sides with the bonfire at his back, the flames casting the whole area in orange and gold.
“You look radiant,” Caesar whispered.
She beamed at him. “Sexy male,” she whispered back.
Jupiter bent and picked up a small wooden bowl filled with ash, then lifted his hand for quiet. The pride went reverently silent, the crackling bonfire the only sound in the paddock.
“The ash in this bowl was made from the bark of the annatto tree,” Jupiter said with a loud voice. “It grows where wild jaguars roam, deep in the heart of the rainforest. Jaguars use the ash to mark their soulmates during the mating ceremony, to represent passion and fierce, enduring love.”
Sera smiled sweetly at Caesar. He’d ordered the bark from a local shop after she told him about it.
They each dipped their fingers into the bowl, the red-gray hue of the ash coating their fingertips.
She reached up first, her touch reverent as she pressed her fingers to his upper arm, just below the curve of his shoulder, and wiped the ash along his skin.
He mimicked her motions, pressing the ash gently into her skin.
Jupiter turned and held the bowl over the bonfire. “As these ashes return to the fire that created them, so may your bond as soulmates burn brightly—untamed and unbroken.”
He tipped the bowl into the fire, causing sparks to fly.
After setting the bowl on the ground, Sera handed Jupiter the bracelets.
He said, “The impala lilies come from Africa, the place of our shifter ancestors. It’s important that we hold tight to the traditions of our people so that we never forget what we are or where we come from.
The fierce beasts that prowled in the darkest of nights cherished their mates above all else.
It’s because of these fierce protective instincts that our beasts must mark our mates, a visible claim that not only permanently imprints the male’s scent on his mate, but also scars the skin.
“Sera, do you accept your place at Caesar’s side as his beloved mate? Do you welcome the marking that his beast will give to you tonight, knowing in your heart that this is the first night of the rest of your mated life?”
As Caesar had told her to do, she lifted her hands toward Jupiter and said, “I accept Caesar, his beast, and his marks.”
Jupiter placed the bracelets on her wrists, and she pushed them up past her elbows, trailing the lilies’ essence on her skin.
Caesar lifted the bowl of sweet prickly pear cut into bite-sized pieces.
“Caesar,” Jupiter said, “do you swear yourself and your lion to Sera? Do you promise to be with only her for as long as your heart beats? Do you promise to make her life as sweet as the prickly pear fruit, as lovely as the lilies, and to protect her with claw and fang as long as you live?”
“I swear,” Caesar said, feeding a bite of prickly pear to Sera. They took turns feeding the fruit to each other until it was gone. The pride drew close and growled as a group, the sound growing louder.
“I welcome you, Sera, to the pride, and I declare this night that when Caesar has marked and mated you, you will be as a lioness in the pride, honored and adored. The pride will stand with you and for you against any who would harm you.”
The lions all roared in approval, and Sera sniffled with a smile.
When the roar had died down, Jupiter continued, “Caesar has chosen his soulmate, and by ancient law, his bonded mate becomes our alpha female. But even with the tradition, there is a choice. If any among you feel she is unworthy to lead beside him, speak now. Growl your dissent, and it will be heard.”
Silence followed.
The whole world seemed to be holding its breath.
As Caesar knew would happen, not a single growl rose from the pride members.
Jupiter nodded once. “Then by the strength of our silence, we accept Sera. Lift your voices with mine and welcome your new alpha female.”
Jupiter roared first. Another lion added his voice, and then another, until the entire pride was roaring, including Caesar and Sera. The air trembled with the sound, a chorus of thunderous approval that echoed into the night.
Caesar took Sera’s hand and pulled her close as the roars echoed like waves on the shore, love for his sweet soulmate blazing in his chest like a furnace.
She was his, and now she was also theirs.
Alpha female.
Soulmate.
Love of his life.
* * *
Sera had never felt so loved in her life. The roars of approval, the sweet male at her side. She was in absolute heaven.
They greeted the pride one by one, accepting their congratulations, and made their way to the buffet—a line of tables filled with food and drinks underneath the trees.
Music filled the air from speakers around the space.
She and Caesar ate and then danced, bodies pressed tightly and soft whispers of love spoken between them.
“I have an idea,” Caesar said softly as he dipped her low and then raised her, turning them in a circle to the music.
“Do tell.”
“Let’s hurry down to the house while everyone’s busy. I’m ready to mark and mate you, Serenade, and make you mine again and again.”
“Lead the way, Alpha.”
By the time they made it down to the house, she was a bundle of sexual energy and ready to tear his clothes off. And hers.
But then he dropped to one knee in the family room and her breath caught in her throat. He lifted a ring from his pocket. It was a beautiful, dark red stone in a yellow gold setting.
“This was my mom’s. It’s a fire opal and it was her favorite stone.
When she passed away, she left it to me with a note that I should save it for my soulmate, because there was nothing better than the union of two people who were meant to be together, chosen by fate.
The moment I met you, Sera, I knew you were mine.
You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I love you from the very bottom of my heart.
You’re my soulmate and my alpha female, but I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes stung with tears as she first nodded, and then let out a breathy, “Yes!”
He slipped the beautiful ring on her finger and rose to his feet for a kiss that made her jaguar purr and her skin prickle.
“I love you, Sera mine,” he whispered against her lips.
She hooked her fingers into the waistband of his slacks and tugged as she took a step toward the bedroom.
“I love you too, Caesar. Let’s show each other just how much.”
“Again and again,” he said, his voice rumbling with promise and a purr from his lion.