Chapter 20
The backyard was lit up with string lights, and long tables were filled with trays of food over heating elements, while the pack milled around, waiting for the sun to set and the joining ceremony to begin.
Solan had been away from Kaeli for most of the afternoon, preparing the clearing where the ceremony would take place.
He’d been to dozens of joining ceremonies over the years, seeing males and females come together in front of the pack as official mates and members of the pack, but this was a whole new ballgame.
Because it was him and Kaeli.
Tonight, a day after they’d said I love you in the fogged-up truck, it was finally his turn to tell the pack how much he cared for his mate.
Even though he’d hated being away from her, it was part of the process.
She was with several females—Cinder, Jade, and Mira—getting ready at their home, and he’d spent the day at the alphas’.
The bonfire was the most important part.
The wood chosen held special meaning for the couple.
He’d chosen cherry for a sweet life, oak as a reminder that they were loyal to each other, and ash for protection.
Normally, he would light the fire as part of the prep, but he’d suggested Kaeli could light it with her magic, and Adam had thought it was a great idea.
Solan stood on the back porch in dark jeans and boots, shirtless, tying strips of leather into a braid.
He had already finished one bracelet for Kaeli.
During the ceremony, he’d give her the bracelets as a symbol of their joining—male, female, pack.
Three strands of leather braided into one strong piece.
“You getting antsy?” Adam asked as he joined Solan on the deck.
“Yeah, it’s been hours,” Solan said. His wolf stretched under his skin, wanting to go find Kaeli.
Adam snorted. “The time drags when we’re away from our mates.”
Solan was pretty sure that time had been standing still for much of the day. But the sun was starting to set, and that meant they could finally begin.
Cinder walked out to join them, and Adam drew her close and kissed her.
“We’re ready when you guys are,” Cinder said.
“I’ve been ready,” Solan said. He tied the leather into a knot to form a bracelet and put it on his wrist, along with the other one, to give to her.
Adam grinned. “Let’s get this show on the road, and you two officially mated.”
Solan glanced over his shoulder toward the house as he moved off the deck, aware that Kaeli was in there now with Jade and Mira as her escorts. His wolf wanted to hustle right to her, but he grabbed him by the scruff and turned his attention back to the walk ahead to the clearing.
“She said that if one thing had gone differently for either of us, we might never have met,” Solan said.
“That’s so true,” Cinder said. “Fate is funny like that. If her coven had recognized she was a dual power, they definitely would have kept her there because it would be a boon for any group to have such a powerful female in their midst. I, for one, am very thankful she’s here, because it means our borders will be even more protected once I have this kiddo and she and I are pooling our magics together. ”
Solan wished she’d had an easier time of things with her coven, that her mother hadn’t abandoned her and left her in the hands of uncaring people who treated her badly.
And he very much wished he’d never lost his family.
But if that hadn’t happened, if those terrible losses for both of them hadn’t changed the course of their lives, they wouldn’t be in Thorn Hollow about to join together as mates with her becoming a member.
Their roads, no matter how mangled and broken, had led them to each other.
He glanced upward through the canopy of trees to the darkening sky and thought of his parents, who he was certain were watching the proceedings from the afterlife, arms around each other, smiles on their faces.
He felt at peace, and it was the sort of peace that came on the heels of finding the one right person for him in all the world: Kaeli.
They reached the clearing where the pack was gathered, a reverent quiet settling over everyone as they took their places next to the unlit bonfire.
Kaeli had been working so hard to unlock the spells she’d learned but had never been able to use until they met, and while it was tedious and she was often exhausted at the end of the day, she never gave up, and he adored that about her.
His chest hummed with nerves and pride and something ancient, tying him and Kaeli forever in the eyes of the pack and the wolf ancestors who watched from the great beyond. He’d dreamed of finding a home since he’d lost his, and Kaeli had brought that to him.
A ripple of magic pushed through the woods, and he knew Kaeli and the females were on the way. His wolf sat at attention, a growling purr in his chest as he waited to catch a glimpse of his beautiful female.
Jade and Mira were on either side of Kaeli, their arms linked.
Kaeli wore a crown of flowers and ribbon, looking ethereal and powerful at the same time.
She wore black pants and a corset that revealed enough cleavage to make him want to go caveman on her and run home with her over his shoulder.
He growled in approval, and she smiled at him.
Sweet female.
So fucking his.
Mira and Jade left her side and joined their mates, and Kaeli stood a few feet away from him and the alphas.
Her skin was shimmering faintly, her magic humming and reaching out to him with heat and the scent of honey and sage.
“Tonight,” Adam said, his voice carrying over the clearing, “under the moon and the stars, and the watchful gazes of our ancestors in the great beyond, we join Solan and Kaeli as mates and bring Kaeli into the pack as a member.”
“This is a rare joining,” Cinder said. “Wolf and dual witch. Two paths meant to meet here and now, joined together like a rope that will never break.”
“Kaeli, please light the fire your mate has laid for you,” Adam said.
Lifting her hands, Kaeli’s eyes turned molten red and amber mixed together.
She spoke four words, and her hands pulsed with a golden light.
An orb of flame appeared between her hands, and she lowered them, sending the flames to the fire.
It ignited with a spiraling, golden flame edged with deep red, the wood crackling as the fire spread among the logs.
Solan moved in front of the fire and joined hands with Kaeli.
Adam and Cinder stood with the fire at their backs, and both laid hands on his and Kaeli’s arms. “From fire and earth, from pack and coven, we begin,” Adam said.
“Solan Keane, do you choose Kaeli Shaw as your mate? Do you vow to protect her with claw and fang to your last breath? Do you vow to treasure her magic and strength, and to stand beside her, in battle, in joy, and in every moment in between?”
“I so vow,” Solan said, his voice rough with his wolf.
“Kaeli Shaw,” Cinder said, “Do you take Solan Keane as your mate? Do you vow to honor the wolf who has claimed you and to honor the sacred bond of truemates? Do you vow to protect your family and the pack with your magics, and to stand with him in battle, in joy, and in every moment in between?”
“I so vow,” Kaeli said, her eyes shining with tears.
Cinder and Adam spoke together, “As alphas of the Thorn Hollow Pack, we bless this joining.” Adam continued, “With the pack as witness, I, Adam Beaumont, Alpha of the Thorn Hollow Pack, welcome Kaeli Shaw into the pack as a cherished and honored member, under the protection and authority of the alphas. Pack! Lift your voices to the stars as a testament to what has been done today that can never be undone.”
There was a heartbeat of silence; even the woods seemed to go reverently quiet. And then the pack exploded in a joyous howling chorus.
Cinder squeezed their hands with a smile. “You are bound together as mates and pack members from this day forward. Kaeli Shaw and Solan Keane: welcome home.”
Adam and Cinder let go of their hands and moved away, leaving Solan and Kaeli in the firelight as the pack’s howls echoed through the territory.
Solan slid one bracelet off his wrist and onto hers. “I vow myself to you forever, Kaeli.” He slid the other one onto her other wrist. “And I give you my whole heart from this moment on.”
She sniffled as tears spilled over her cheeks. “I give you my whole heart, too, Solan. Forever. Thank you for bringing me home.”
They kissed, the fire blazing with her magic, and the pack cheered and clapped.
“Let’s hunt!” Adam said.
The pack dispersed, members coming by to congratulate him and Kaeli on their official mating and welcoming her to the pack.
Cinder said, “Kaeli, you can toss your flower crown into the fire, or you can keep it; it’s up to you.”
Kaeli touched the crown. When she looked unsure, Solan said, “You can toss it to symbolize starting a new chapter in your life, or you can keep it as a reminder of what we shared today.”
“I like both those things,” she said.
“I kept a flower from mine,” Jade called out. “I wanted both, too.”
Kaeli nodded and took the crown off, selecting a few blooms and greenery and making a tiny bouquet.
Then she turned to the fire and said, “The first chapter of my life was rough. But it brought me to you, Solan. To Northern Ohio and the pack that’s become family.
I couldn’t imagine anything better. All my dreams came true when I met you on the bluffs. ”
“Mine too,” he said.
She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then tossed the crown into the fire, and they watched it burn quickly and turn to ash.
They parted ways with their friends and headed into the woods to find a place for him to strip and shift. They reached a shadowed place behind a tree and stopped, and she watched him as he took off his boots and pants.
“Did you make the bracelets?” she asked, looking at her wrists.
“I did. All the males do it. It kept me busy for a little while, since I was missing you so much and I wanted to find you a dozen times today.”
“Just a dozen?” she teased.
He grunted. “At a minimum.”
“I really like them a lot, you did a wonderful job braiding them.”
“They represent the trilogy of our new life together: you, me, and the pack.”
She stepped close and stared up at him, her eyes simmering red and amber in the darkness. “You are the very best thing that ever happened to me, Solan Keane. I’m so glad to be yours.”
“You’re the light of my life and the part of myself that’s been missing for so long. You’re home for me, and I’m so happy you’re mine, and I’m yours.”
She went onto her toes and kissed him. He drew her close, his wolf humming in his head. When they parted, both panting for breath, he kicked off his pants and winked.
“Stay close, Nightling. The night is ours.”
“Show me your wolf, Solan.”
He shifted, going swiftly from two feet to four paws. He lifted his muzzle and howled to the sky, declaring her his mate for all to hear.
In the distance, pack members responded, acknowledging his howl as one they’d honor.
She pressed her hand to his neck, her fingers sinking into his fur.
“You’re amazing,” she said. “And all mine.”
They walked away from the shadows and headed deeper into the pack’s territory.
Tonight, they were officially mated, and she was a pack member.
And sometime soon, he’d make her his wife, too, and they’d start a family. He couldn’t think of anything better than filling their home with love and laughter.
It had been empty for so long.
He was never going to be alone again, and neither was she.
The orphan and the exile.
The wolf and the dual witch.
Two souls who should never have met yet managed to find their way to each other.
Tragedy and loss had led to this: this bond between truemates, this future, this life he knew would be beautiful.
Solan couldn’t wait to see what came next.
Thank you for reading Solan!