Page 68 of A Wolf’s Wound

Hannah

“Are you ready?” I ask April.

I swear she’s more worried than I am, and it’s my mating ceremony. I can’t believe Ryder ever doubted I would say yes, and after his sweet proposal, I poured my heart out to him. I love him, and even without the mate bond, there was never any looking back for me.

“Almost!” my friend calls out. “Just redoing my hair. This stupid braid keeps falling out.”

My mom chuckles. “April, I love you, but this is the first wedding I’ve ever been to when the bride was ready before the maid of honor.”

“Sorry!” April says, scowling at a rogue piece of hair that won’t lie flat. “I just want everything to be perfect for Hannah and Ryder.”

I smile at her and tuck the hair back in its braid. “You look gorgeous, April. And just having everyone here is all I need.”

“That’s sweet, but there are going to be a bajillion pictures,” April says. “Not that I could compete with how fucking awesome you look.”

“Language!” I laugh, looking at my mom.

She also laughs. “Please, girls, I heard worse from Mason this morning. Now, are we all ready?” she asks, looking from me to April.

“Yes,” April nods. “Hannah?”

“I am so ready.” I grin. “I can’t believe I’m finally getting married!”

“Come on,” my mother says, opening the door to the cottage’s bedroom, where we’ve been getting ready. The house is empty, but outside on the lawn I can hear voices and the faint notes of a song.

Ryder and I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to get married than the backyard of the cottage, right where he asked me to be his mate. Although to be honest, at first he was reluctant.

“I almost had a heart attack right here!” he’d said when I first suggested the yard as our location. “Waiting for you to say yes just about did me in, woman.”

“But I did say yes,” I reminded him. “So it’s a happy place.”

“It is.” He’d smiled at me. “It’s perfect.”

We’ve both moved into the cottage for good now. April moved back into the apartment, which now features a brand-new, and very thick, front door. She has a new roommate, another friend of ours from school. We meet up at least once a week after work, and April and I talk almost every day.

April opens the back door and steps out onto the rose-petal path that Ryder’s brothers made. As the music swells, she and Shadow walk down the aisle together.

My mother takes one of my arms and Mason, who was waiting by the door, takes the other. “I’m so happy for you,” my mother whispers as we begin to walk toward Ryder.

“I can’t believe I’m going to have a Stone for a son-in-law,” Mason grumbles good-naturedly.

I smile again, remembering how well he and Ryder got along at the rehearsal dinner last night.

I have a feeling that my parents will be visiting the Stone compound almost as frequently as Ryder and I will be taking trips to spend time with the Blackwood pack.

At the end of the aisle, I kiss first Mason and then my mother on the cheek. Then I step forward, and Ryder takes my hand. He looks incredibly handsome in his tuxedo.

“You look stunning,” Ryder says softly to me. He squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back.

I know I should be listening to the officiant during the ceremony, but my mind wanders. I think about the first time I met Ryder. The first conversation I had with him. The first kiss.

And I think about everything Brian did. How that should have driven me and Ryder apart but instead pulled us together.

I will never like Brian. I’ll never be able to think about him without feeling angry and upset and sad.

But right now, I can also see the role he played in bringing us to this place. And I feel a tiny flicker of gratitude.

I shift my weight from one foot to another, regretting my choice of shoes. Before I have time to think about that more, though, the officiant is asking Ryder and me to repeat the vows that she says.

Ryder asked me if I thought we should write our own vows, but I said no. Part of the reason was because I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone. Part of it was because I like these words that are in each pack ceremony, the way they link us with all those who have come before us.

But the biggest reason was because I knew Ryder had already said his vows to me on the day he asked me to be his mate.

Hearing those words drove away any lingering doubts I had about my ability to be in his life and also maintain my independence.

They filled me with the confidence to say yes, and I’m so glad I did.

The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur with cheers and kisses, speeches and toasts and dancing.

April takes a turn dancing with each one of Ryder’s brothers.

I kick off my shoes and take a turn on the dance floor—first with Cody and then with Ben.

Mason dances with Lori, and my mother and Ryder’s father share a dance.

“This was the perfect day,” I say to Ryder late that night. The party is still going outside, but we want to be in our bedroom, just the two of us. This is the first time we’ve been alone together since yesterday afternoon.

“It really was,” Ryder agrees, taking off his bow tie.

I begin to pull bobby pins out of my hair, undoing the complicated updo that April insisted complemented my dress. “I think I have more pins in my hair than actual strands of hair,” I joke as the pile grows.

“You still look amazing,” Ryder says. He unbuttons his shirt and steps out of his pants before noticing I’m looking at him. “What?” he asks.

“Just—you’re my husband, my mate,” I say. “That’s pretty wild.”

“And you’re my wife, my mate.” Ryder comes over to me, just wearing boxer shorts. “My very overdressed wife, I might add.”

“I’m pretty sure you can help me with that,” I say, pulling out the last pin and letting my hair fall around my shoulders.

“Gladly,” Ryder says, unzipping my dress. I step out of it and then unclasp my bra. Ryder cups his hands around my breasts and kisses me, slow and deep.

“Mmm,” I moan, leaning into him. “That feels so good.”

“I know what will feel even better,” he says and I giggle.

“You don’t need to use any cheesy lines. I’m already yours,” I say and he grins.

We sink into the bed and Ryder rolls on top of me. His body is warm and taut, and I run my hands over his back, delighting that he’s truly mine now.

I kiss him and then begin kissing up the side of his face. When Ryder groans with pleasure, I feel a flush of happiness and power run through me that I can make this man feel these things. I nibble his ear and he groans again. “Oh my god, Hannah, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Ryder,” I whisper into his ear.

He nuzzles his mouth against my collarbone and then kisses a trail down me, ending at my hips. He kisses his way over until he’s pressing against me, his tongue warm and firm right where I like it the best.

“Oh god, Ryder,” I moan, grasping his thick hair in my hands. “Oh, don’t stop!”

I come quickly, shuddering with pleasure, and instantly want this feeling again. I roll over so I’m straddling Ryder and lower myself onto him, and he moans. His hands slide to my hips as I move, our bodies connected and sweaty. He pushes into me, strong and deep, and this time we come together.

Afterward, Ryder pulls me close to him. I feel him take a breath followed by a deeper one. It sounds like he’s sniffing something. “Your scent,” he says, sounding stunned.

I flip over so I’m facing him. Ryder looks shocked. “What is it?” I ask, alarmed.

“Hannah…” He trails off, studying my face. He leans forward, inhaling deeply against my skin as a huge, silly grin overtakes his face. “You’re pregnant.”

“What?” I ask. Surely, I can’t have heard him right, what with his face buried in my shoulder. Ryder pulls away from my bare skin, reaching up to caress my face softly, his eyes soft and sparking with unadulterated joy.

“You’re pregnant, Hannah. We’re going to have a baby!”

Every range of emotions crashes through me, my world narrowing to the blue of Ryder’s eyes. My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, my mind reaching for words that just won’t come.

In awe, I look down at my stomach. It looks the same as it always has, yet…

I know he’s right. Somehow, instinctively, I know Ryder’s telling the truth.

I’m pregnant.

The absolute terror that was warring against my joy ebbs away as quickly as it comes, chased off by images of a smiling, blue-eyed baby in Ryder’s arms.

“We’re going to have a baby,” I murmur, dragging my eyes away from my stomach back up to Ryder. Unshed tears sparkle in his eyes as he grins at me, white-hot pinpricks of tears gathering in my own.

Ryder’s lips crash over mine, expressing everything I don’t know how to put into words. Joy, contentment, excitement, anxiety all expressed through the sweeps of his tongue and the movement of his lips.

He leaves me breathless as he pulls away, that same wide grin returning.

“We’re going to have a baby!” he shouts excitedly, throwing his arms around me and dragging me into his chest. I giggle, nestling in closer as my heart swells so large that it can’t possibly fit in my body.

All of a sudden, forever doesn’t seem so frightening anymore.

I just hope the scent Brian created is erased so my forever won’t be tainted by the same troubles we faced at first.