Chapter 18 - Bryden
brYDEN
I was up early and showered before the sun was up.
The ceremony wasn’t until ten, and we were having breakfast in our room, not the dining hall. The ceremony would be in Creven’s office. It was nothing fancy, with only a handful of shifters present.
Taking a deep breath, I boiled water for coffee and got milk from the fridge for cereal.
I sat outside on the porch eating and watching the pack wake up.
The guards were changing shifts, and they acknowledged me with a head bob.
Of course they knew who I was, who we were, because the heightened security was for our benefit.
School began early in the pack, so the kids would be done by lunch time and avoid the heat of the afternoon.
Flustered parents brushing their child’s hair or asking if they’d done their homework raced past me toward the school.
The pack members assigned to catch fish were returning with their haul, and knowing I was a bear shifter, they told me to make sure I ate dinner in the dining hall this evening.
The fruit pickers wandered toward the orchard with their baskets, and Evelyn, who was an early riser, bustled toward the library, muttering she’d have to do all the reshelving today.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Evelyn.”
“Just make sure you’re there for story time.”
With everyone going about their day, our ceremony, which was so important to us, would be just another workday for most of the pack. And that was how we preferred it. Neither of us wanted to make it a big deal.
“There you are.” Roland was holding a mug, and he kissed my cheek and slumped into the chair beside me. “I thought you’d raced off to the ceremony on your own.”
That was a joke, but I wasn’t in the mood for laughing. I wanted the formalities over so we’d officially be part of the pack and could move on from the will they or won’t they let us join.
“Maybe once we’re pack, you can suggest that the dining hall make more vegetarian options.”
Roland agreed because he and the zebras were at war.
“Have you decided what you’re wearing today?” He blew on this coffee.
“Just a tee and jeans. There’s no reason to dress up. I’ll remove the T-shirt before Creven makes the cut.”
Roland was disappointed because he wanted to take photos and frame them, and my T-shirts were all secondhand.
“You can still take pics. No one cares what we wear.” Creven had better things to do than give us a dress code.
As we were getting ready for the ceremony, my mate asked if he should be marked on one of his feet. “Like the mating mark.”
But unlike my mark, the pack one needed to be prominent to show other shifters weren’t rogue. It was something shifters looked for when meeting a stranger.
“Once Creven gives you the Stoney River mark, I can mark you again because now you belong to the pack.”
“Nah. I like mine where it is.” He fell back on the bed and shoved his foot in my face. I smacked it away and giggled.
Roland was wearing dress pants and a jacket, and if a stranger had passed by, they would have thought we were going to two different functions.
Creven and Auden were in their office, along with some of the original pack members.
“Because we were all rogue at one point, none of us is overly keen on a bunch of words that mean little other than welcome to the pack.”
Thank goodness, because I’d imagined we might be in here all morning.
“Evelyn will thank you because she was grumbling about the extra workload.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to upset her.” Alpha stood and came around to the other side of the desk. Auden handed him a small knife with an engraving on the handle. “Where would you like the mark?”
I removed my tee and Roland took off his jacket and shirt. We both wanted Alpha to cut us at the base of the throat.
“I, Creven, Alpha of Stoney River pack and a fox shifter, proclaim you, Bryden, a member of our pack. Do you agree to obey our laws and, apart from your immediate family, to always put the pack first?”
“I do.” I tilted my head, and he sliced the delicate skin on my throat. It bled as he cut the skin, but it was no more painful than when Roland had marked me.
“Welcome to the pack.” Alpha shook my hand, as did Auden and the others.
Creven repeated the process with Roland, and everyone clapped as we hugged.
“You’d better hotfoot it to the library, Bryden, or Evelyn will be breathing down my neck.” He reminded me of the pack run this evening which would be our introduction to the rest of the members and might be the first time they had seen a unicorn.
Evelyn was blushing when I walked in, as one pack member was describing a spicy scene in her latest romance novel.
“You’re here,” she shrieked. “This is more your area of expertise.” She disappeared into another room, mumbling about spice levels.
The day was much like any other, with kids wanting books for school assignments, retirees looking for something to break the boredom, and kids wanting story time.
The group who’d been arguing about dragons and unicorns were back, and they’d heard rumors of a unicorn being sworn into the pack.
They grumbled because they weren’t old enough for the pack run, but they’d look out their windows to catch a glimpse of the mythical beast.
“Sorry I’m late.” I tore into the cabin.
The pack run started in five minutes, and I threw off my T-shirt and pants and put on a hoodie and sweats. I’d be undressing soon enough, so it didn’t much matter what I wore.
“Are you nervous?” I asked my mate.
We’d debated whether he should take part in the run because it would advertise that a unicorn had joined. And though Creven had handpicked each pack member, he couldn’t guarantee 100% that everyone was loyal, though he assumed they were.
“Nope. People will stare, but once they get over the ‘holy shit’ moment, it’d be all good.”
We headed toward the river creek where the pack was assembling. Some of the older shifters who didn’t want to run had set up deck chairs by the bank. Young kids were dangling their feet in the water, accompanied by one parent or a family friend.
There were other bears in the pack, so my beast wasn’t a talking point, though he was huge, and one of the kids asked if he was the big bear, the middle-sized one, or the baby bear.
People moved back to allow my mate to shift, and there was a loud, “Awww” as he took his skin. He sparkled and dipped his head as kids gathered around, asking if they could touch his horn.
“Be very gentle,” their parents instructed.
When everyone was satisfied the horn was real, Creven said it was time. His fox took his fur, and he ran beside the river creek toward the perimeter. Roland’s beast was much faster than mine, and we’d agreed he’d go ahead and probably lap me. But after two circuits, he’d stay at my bear’s side.
The heat of the day had passed, and there was a cool breeze as my bear lumbered along the trail. Evelyn’s wolf passed us, but my beast was content to be in his fur and enjoy the run.
Whenever Roland’s unicorn was close by, the beasts parted and stared. They were as much in awe of him as their humans. And when my mate chose to trot beside me, it highlighted that our lives had changed for the better, though the poachers were still a factor.
Some of the wolves and foxes lapped us five times, but my bear held his head high, proud to be mated to a unicorn. And when we returned to the river creek and took our skin, people crowded around asking Roland what unicorns ate and if it was true his horn had healing abilities.
That made me nervous, and I kept glancing over my shoulder because my mate was advertising how valuable his horn was.
I interrupted after twenty minutes, saying we had to get to the dining hall before certain people ate the curry.
That got Roland’s attention, and he glared at the zebra shifters that were far ahead of us.
“Today was a good day,” he noted as we sprinted toward the dining hall. “And Alpha agreed with me about the food choices on offer.”
“Even better.” We linked arms and strode into the dining hall.
My mate was pleased the zebras had been waylaid by Auden and he got his fill of shakshuka.
“The best day.” He smooched my cheek as I served myself fish and chips.
As we walked to our table, all eyes were on us, and I hoped now that everyone knew who my mate was, the attention would wane and he’d just be another Stoney River pack member.