Page 94 of Knot Your Romeo

"How so?" Beck asks, his voice dropping to that low rumble that means he's intrigued.

I grin and hold up another magazine page—this one showing an elaborate multi-tiered cake covered in sugar flowers. "I was thinking we might need to sample a lot of different cake flavors. You know, for research purposes."

"Research," Jude repeats solemnly. "Very important for proper wedding planning."

"Absolutely essential," Eli agrees. "Though I could think of something much more…naughty. We could probably start this afternoon. Right after your call with Lottie."

"Naughty, eh?" I grin at Eli. "Any thoughts on how naughty?"

"I thought we could fill all your holes and you can relay to Jude everything you're feeling."

I laugh. "Well, it has been a while."

"You were recovering." Jude presses a kiss against my temple.

My smile is wide. I love the way they indulge my every whim, and treat my happiness like their personal mission. It still takes my breath away sometimes.

For so many years, I believed love meant sacrifice and compromise, settling for less than what I truly wanted. But being cherished by three incredible men who see my joy as their greatest achievement feels like nothing I ever thought I would feel.

"There's something else," Beck says, his tone shifting slightly. "Something we've been discussing while you've been recovering."

I tense slightly, old habits making me expect bad news. "What kind of something?"

"The kind that involves making this arrangement official in every possible way," Jude says, stroking my hair soothingly. "Not only legal, but spiritual."

My heart beats faster, but with excitement rather than fear. "Yeah."

"But before we claim you, we want you to see a specialist to make sure your body can accept our bonds," Eli explains gently. "We're ready, but only when you're sure, and only when we know it's safe for you."

The thought of bearing their marks, of being connected to them in the deepest way possible, sends warmth flooding through my entire body. "I don't need a specialist. I was going to ask the three of you to do it once we're married."

Beck's smile turns distinctly predatory. "We still want to ensure the Alpha bonds don't conflict with your link to Jude, because that would be a tragedy."

I look between the three of them—my two Alphas and my Omega—my everything, and feel that familiar surge of absolute certainty that this is where I belong. "I don't want that either. When do I see the specialist?" I ask simply.

"Whenever you're ready," Beck promises. "There's no rush, no pressure. We have all the time in the world."

"But if you wanted to think about it," Eli says with studied casualness, "the new moon is supposed to be auspicious for pack to bond."

"Which is next weekend," Jude adds helpfully.

"That's for wolves, not humans." But I laugh at their transparent eagerness. "Next weekend sounds perfect."

The smile that spreads across Beck's face is brilliant enough to rival the morning sun. "Perfect. I'll get a specialist here tomorrow to make sure you'll be fine."

I'm getting married to my pack.

No longer am I the girl I was. The scared, alone girl who was convinced she'd never be worthy of genuine happiness. That girl couldn't have imagined this. She couldn't have dreamed that running away from one nightmare would lead her straight into her very own fairy tale. But here I am, planning a wedding to make us legal and afterward I'll bond with my pack mates.

At last I have a future that looks nothing like the life I thought I could only wish for.

And I did it my way.

36

Eli

One week later