Page 19

Chapter

Eighteen

Brick had been to dozens of mating ceremonies over the years, but now it was finally his turn. He felt like he’d been waiting an eternity to find his truemate, even though the reality was that it really hadn’t been all that long in the scheme of a shifter’s long life.

He stood with his father at the bonfire next to Adam and Cinder. The fire roared in the pit, filled with special logs. Cherry for a sweet life, oak for loyalty, pine for fertility, and ash for protection.

He wore dark jeans and shoes but no shirt, plus the traditional woven leather bracelets the male gave his female during the ceremony.

Alli had wanted to come for the ceremony, but since it was for wolves only, she sent a gift basket. It was waiting for them at the garage apartment, where they were going to spend their mating night.

“I hear them,” his dad said with a low voice.

Brick’s heart kicked up a notch. He couldn’t wait to see his mate.

The pack went silent as the small group of females approached. Along with his mom and aunt, Jade had asked Dove and Brooke to help her get ready, females she’d enjoyed getting to know since she’d arrived in the pack.

He heard her delicate footsteps as she made her way to the clearing.

The sun had set, and the woods were bathed in flickering light from torches set up around the perimeter of the clearing and the bonfire.

However, he would have been able to see everything about her anyway. She positively glowed with happiness.

Mating would do that to a person.

Hell, he was sure he was glowing too.

The females left her to walk to him alone, carrying a cluster of white sage tied with raw cotton fabric that Cinder had blessed with her magic.

The white sage represented cleansing and protection, the raw cotton symbolizing leaving the past behind and starting fresh.

It was the perfect symbol for their future.

After tonight, she wasn’t only going to be his mate in truth but a full member of the Thorn Hollow Pack. Her past was behind her and she would now have the full support of his pack.

And him, of course.

She always had his full support.

As she reached him, they turned to face each other. Adam and Cinder positioned themselves so they stood close and could look past them to the pack.

“Tonight, we gather under the stars to witness and celebrate the mating of Brick and Jade,” Adam said, his voice strong and clear in the quiet night.

“In this moment, we honor the journey that brought them together and the future they will build as one. From this night forward, your lives are woven together like a sacred blanket, bound by love and trust. Are you ready to declare your bond before the pack?”

Brick went first, removing the bracelets and slipping them on Jade’s wrists. “I, Brick, choose you, Jade, as my mate. I vow to protect you and our future offspring with my life, to honor your strength, to stand by your side in all things, and to love you with my whole heart.”

Jade sniffled and smiled at him. She handed the sage to Cinder and took his hands. “I, Jade, choose you, Brick, as my mate. I vow to stand by your side in every season, to be a helpmate to you in all things, to be the balance to your wolf, and to love you with my whole heart.”

Adam rested his hands on their joined hands. “As wolves, your bond is not just physical, but it’s also spiritual. Truemates are special and are to be cherished above all else. You are now two parts of one whole, stronger together.”

Cinder laid her hands on top of Adam’s. “Jade and Brick, as your alphas and your family, we welcome you into the pack as mates. Let your wolves howl in celebration, and the pack join in!”

Brick and Jade lifted their heads high and let loose howls of joy from their wolves. The pack joined in, the woods echoing with their happiness.

Adam and Cinder stepped back and Brick pulled Jade into his arms. “Baby, I love you from the bottom of my heart.”

“I love you too.”

He kissed her, pulling her close and letting his wolf revel in being fully mated and marked with his beautiful female.

He eased from the kiss and smiled at her, then nodded at Adam.

“Let’s eat!” Adam shouted.

Cinder gave the sage back to Jade. “You can keep it or toss it into the fire.”

Jade looked down at the bundle and said, “I’d like to toss it into the fire, but keep a sprig to press in a book for a keepsake.”

She gently pulled a sprig of sage from the bundle and gave it to Brick to hold.

Then she moved to the edge of the bonfire and said with a low voice, “This is the end of the hold my old life had on me and the start of my new life with Brick and the Thorn Hollow Pack. I banish my demons and dark thoughts to the past, and I embrace my future and all the good things that life has to offer.” She tossed the bundle onto the fire and turned to face him.

“I’m starving, but I also want to shift. ”

“Eat first, then shift?” he offered. He tucked the sprig behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

“Good plan,” she said.

“I’m starving too,” Cinder said, elbowing Adam.

“On it,” he said. He put his arm around his mate and said, “All right, you two, now I heard you were thinking about not staying in the alphas’ house?”

“We’ve been talking about it,” Brick said. “There’s an empty house on the street where my folks’ place is. We like the alphas’ house, but it’s a little noisy.”

“It’ll be noisier when the baby comes,” Cinder said. “I think you’re right. I love having you both at the house, but it’s not for everyone.”

Brick liked the idea of having a place for him and Jade all to themselves. Then they could walk around naked and not worry about anyone crossing their paths. Not to mention that Jade worried about being too noisy during sex, and he liked it when she was as loud as she wanted to be.

They reached the alphas’ house where the cookout was being held.

Tables had been set up in the yard and the pack was milling around and waiting for them.

He and Jade sat at the head table with Cinder and Adam, plus his parents and Adam’s parents, and they were served by members of the pack.

The menu was everything they liked, from grilled steaks slathered with compound butter to mac and cheese and Jade’s favorite peanut butter pie for dessert.

He kissed her temple and said, “I’m so glad you’re mine.”

She cut into her steak and grinned. “I’m so glad you’re mine too. And I’m really looking forward to getting back to the apartment tonight.”

“Oh?” he asked. “Feeling sleepy?”

“Heck no!” she said with a laugh. “I want to sex each other up all night. But first, we eat and shift, and then we’ll see where the night takes us.”

To the heavens and beyond with pleasure to spare, he was sure.

The pack families came by to congratulate them, and when they’d eaten their fill, they shifted and ran around the woods.

He loved seeing his beautiful mate in her furry form, with her white paw and bright amber eyes.

She was smaller than him but quick on her paws, chasing him as much as he chased her.

By the time they were out of their shifts, the moon was gone from the sky and the woods had quieted. He drove them to the apartment and carried his mate up the stairs to their temporary home.

But before they tumbled into bed, he asked her to marry him and gave her a ring that had belonged to his great-grandmother.

As her happy tears fell and he slipped the ring on her finger, he didn’t worry about anything but making her happy in as many ways as possible, in and out of bed. He wanted to always see her smile, always keep her safe.

He’d never been happier than he was at that moment, kissing his mate. She was the other half of his heart and the most important person in his life.