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Enzo

One month later…

S tanding before me in a black and white long sleeve dress is the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. One thing I wanted to do now that things have died down was renew my mating ceremony with Michaela. I wanted this time to be special.

I sat down with Marley so that I could figure out all the many traditions of vampires. For instance, vampires always wear black and red at weddings. So, both Michaela and I are in black and white. I have a red rose pinned on my shirt and she has a halo of red flowers on top of her head.

“Enzo,” McCob, the pack elder, says. “Do you have a gift to present to your bride?”

I grin as I let go of her hands to reach for the gift Chayton is hiding for me. I turn back to her with the box in my hands.

She looks confused.

“I have to apologize,” I say. “I know that I’m supposed to make something by hand, but I think this gift will be much better.”

Lifting the top of the box, I watch as her eyes widen and then the tears fall.

I pull the leather, fingerless custom-made gloves out of the box. Grabbing her hands, I place the gloves on. Her fingers are free, but the cuffs are hidden. On the front and back of the wrists are slits. Each was just big enough that a blade or darts can fit out of.

“I won’t lie. This gift is more for me than you,” I say with a laugh. “I know what looking at those mean to you. We can’t remove them, but you can cover them whenever you want and still wear short sleeves. Which is why this gift is also for me. Now, your wolf marking can be on display, and everybody can see who you belong to.”

She chuckles and wipes her eyes. “Thank you.”

I nod my head, feeling proud.

“Great goddess,” McCob starts.

“Wait,” Chayton says. “We have one more very special part to add to this ceremony.”

Again, Michaela looks confused. I wave Tech over while Chayton steps up to me. Marley walks over holding a silk white scarf.

“Oh my goodness,” Michaela gasps, clutching a hand to her chest.

“This is a very important part of vampire ceremonies,” I say to the wolves around me. “It represents the binding of two families. And I think it’s even more important now that we are combining more than just families.”

Marley ties the scarf around both our wrists. She places a kiss on her sister’s cheek before stepping away. The little sister has seemed to mature overnight. She’s still the bubbly girl that buzzes around the house like a bee, but she’s taking her lessons more seriously and she’s really found her place in the pack.

Michaela and I turn to face the pack. Tech steps forward with his knife. I swear having him and Marley living with us has felt like we were raising teenagers. I love to see the joy and happiness Michaela gets when she’s around her younger siblings.

She told me that Tech’s mother was killed by her father when he found she’d hidden her pregnancy from him. Fortunately, Tech survived the attack. She basically raised him alongside his adoptive parents. He’s supposed to go back to school in a few weeks, but the way he’s basking in the glow of having both his sisters with him, I don’t think he will.

Tech cuts a small slit into his sister’s upper arm. Immediately, blood runs down, soaking the silk. Chayton steps up and does the same to me. My blood drips to the silk. We all watch as our blood soaks the fabric, changing the white silk to maroon and then slowly, the stains meet in the middle.

Cheers go up all around us. I turn to my mate, pulling her into me. I kiss her lips.

“I love you, vamp,” I say into her head.

“We love you, wolf.” She pulls me into her mind where I get to feel my pup. For the first time, I understood how her ability works. I can sense the power of my offspring. Or should I say, offsprings? We’re having two babies.

I pull out of her head and lift her up, spinning her around.

This woman is my world.

Later that night, while my pack is busy celebrating, I watch my mate dance with Phaedra and Luna.

The month after we took down, Markis was insane. We first had to stand in front of the vampire council to not only clear Michaela’s name, but to declare Markis dead. They were so happy she killed her ex, they begged her to stand in as the head of her clan. She kindly refused, but told them she would always act as a liaison and if they needed anything to call on her. She, however, was given her title as princess back and she took her father’s wealth. Not that she needed it.

After we were done with the vampire council, Chayton and I had to go before the wolf council. They were less impressed with our battle against the ferals, and the human-turned. However, they let us go with a warning. They were more upset that I had mated a vampire than the issue we were having.

Things were quiet now. We needed quiet after all the shit we’ve been through.

Chayton walks up beside me, leaning against the tree.

“So, two pups,” he says with a grin. “You just keep trying to outdo me.”

I laugh. “What can I say? I’m an overachiever.”

“I guess my news will be even better for you.”

I turn to him with a raised brow.

“I’m promoting you to scout general. You’re no longer helping me with the lumber company. You and your mate will head my scouts.”

I don’t speak. This is huge. The wolf federation pays generals well. Like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company well.

“Why? I thought you didn’t want to turn your pack into an army?”

One reason Chayton has never appointed a scout general is because he wanted his pack to remain a place of peace. He had no plans for war with anyone. I guess this thing with Vilkas really woke him up.

He shrugs. “Just because I don’t want problems doesn’t mean I won’t have them. All I ask is that you hire Alarick on as your first commander.”

I shake my head. “That was already going to happen. He deserves it.”

I hold out my hand, and he takes it. We pull each other in for a brief one arm hug and pat on the back.

“I’m happy for you,” he says as we separate. “You deserve it.”

“Hey, we all deserve it. And maybe now, things can settle down a little.”

“That would be great. We don’t need any more problems. The council is looking for us to mess up again. I don’t want their attention on my pack anymore.”

The pack murmurs. Chayton and I look over at them to see what has everyone stirred up. The witch is in the middle of the floor, her hands glowing. She looks terrified. Alarick is moving through the crowd to get to her. Suddenly, she collapses to the ground. A wave of energy blows out around her, nearly knocking us down.

“What the hell was that?” I ask out loud.

“Trouble,” my mate says. “A lot of trouble.”