“You are for me too.”She gripped his wrists, her heart full.“I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“You’re mine too, every gorgeous, sexy inch of you.”
They stayed in the embrace for a little while longer, and then she eased off his lap and settled back in her seat.The windows had fogged up, and he turned on the defroster.
“Are you ready to go home,Nightling?”he asked.
“I think you said part three was in the bedroom?”she asked.
“After making love in the truck, I think we can call it part four.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He put the truck in drive and headed toward the exit.When he turned onto the road, he reached over and took her hand.“It’s only been a week.It feels like we’ve been together for years.”
“I think that’s the way it is with truemates.We were meant to find each other.If our lives had turned out any differently, we may never have crossed paths.I thought my life was over when I was kicked out of my coven, but it turns out that my life hadn’t even really begun until I met you.”
“They didn’t kick you out, they steered you right to me,” he said.
She smiled, and something that was broken inside her was healed by his words.“I’m so grateful for the path to you that fate set me on.”
“Me too, Kaeli.”
He pressed on the gas, and they sped down the road toward Thorn Hollow and home, the night stretched out ahead of them, full of possibilities.
And pleasure.
ChapterTwenty
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 saidI love youin 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.