Page 34

Chapter Twenty-Three

L ina

Since Betty, my mom, and I had moved into Blackthorn Villa, it had been transformed.

I didn’t just mean in its oppressive, dark décor, although tearing out the secret room my mom had been imprisoned in had been one of the first things we had done.

I knew I’d always remember her in safety goggles and with a demolition hammer, knocking down that partitioning wall with such vehemence as if she were striking Magnus with every swing.

Blackthorn Villa, three months on, simply had transformed with the chatter, laughter, and joy that was housed within it once again. Now, three months after moving in and at the height of summer, the celebratory atmosphere today made it feel full to bursting.

Betty proceeded down the grand staircase ahead of me in a lilac dress similar to my own.

Our bouquets of lilac filled the warm summer air.

My mom waited at the bottom of the stairs, her tearful gaze skipping between Betty and me.

My mom had on a peachy-hued gown to the knee and was positively glowing with health.

Matt came out of the study that my mom had enjoyed doing demolition on so thoroughly. “Get your ass out here, Em,” he called. “Or we’re gonna miss the bride walking down the aisle.”

Matt’s blue eyes were bright as they swept over me. “You look beautiful, Lina.”

“Thanks, Matt,” I beamed, reveling the third and final time of being a bride. But today, the fizzing in my chest wasn’t because of nervous anxiety, but excitement. The bubbly, effervescent feeling was because I was about to commit to the man I loved.

Matt looped his arm through Emily’s, dragging her out the door as he murmured, “I swear even if it was us walking down the aisle, I’d have to drag you from the office.”

“Maybe we’d just have it in the office, then I wouldn’t even have to take the day off,” Em quipped, full of her usual sardonic wit.

But I didn’t miss the pleased look on Matt’s face as she didn’t completely oppose the idea of a ceremony.

Emily had spent a few weeks in hospital after Magnus’s men had injured her.

But with her shifter healing, she was back to her usual bossy self.

She and Matt had happily relocated back here to New York, and although they had an apartment in the city, just like in Philly, they had rooms here in Blackthorn Villa, as well as Magnus’s renovated office that they spent most days working in.

They were still my most invaluable employees for Luna Remedies.

I took my mom’s arm as Betty skipped ahead of us, leading us through Blackthorn Hall. We continued out the wide-open doors and into the garden, and I took in a breath of relief.

I hadn’t wanted mine and Stephen’s mate ceremony to take place in the hall, which seemed tainted with the memories of the other two times I’d unwillingly felt forced to play the part of a bride. So, we’d decided to have a summer ceremony out here in the garden.

Thank God it isn’t raining today.

We’d just celebrated my birthday last week at Midsummer’s, and now, a week later, Stephen and I were celebrating our mate ceremony.

The fourth of July was in a week’s time, and now, to add to this time of year that my mom and I had always loved, it would now mean even more to me.

Every year, it would be the anniversary of my special day with my mate.

Betty led the way, scattering rose petals as she skipped toward Stephen.

The little girl went at a much swifter tempo than Mom and I walked, but Betty was dancing, of course.

People cooed and cheered her as she danced lightly toward her father, where Stephen spun her until she bowed and then stood beside him, beaming at me.

“Good job, my little ballerina,” Stephen murmured, stooping down to her, and something in my chest squeezed even tighter.

Stephen looked breathtaking. I felt my legs go weak as I took in his perfectly tailored suit, bright white shirt and navy tie, and artfully tussled black hair.

Ben stood beside Stephen as his best man, one of his rogue wolf brothers.

Stephen had told me how much Ben had been there after his mother died, swearing to help him in his quest to take his father down and prove him guilty of Charlotte’s murder.

It was a quest that was now complete, with Magnus found guilty of murder by the Shifter High Council and sentenced to life imprisonment.

I knew Ben—and Victor—who was in one of the front rows, smiling too—were Stephen’s Matt and Em.

Gratitude beat through me that we were all standing here together, united.

All our allies who had helped us over the years to triumph against Magnus and bring him to justice were gathered today.

As my mom and I reached Stephen, she kissed my cheek, leaving me to link arms with Stephen.

“You look absolutely stunning,” he murmured to me.

I let out a slow exhale, grinning. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

His bright green eyes brushed me with tenderness and loyalty, and for a moment, I found myself breathless, hardly daring to believe that we were finally standing here together. My fated mate was finally going to officially be mine.

The two corrupt Blackthorn elders who had colluded with Magnus in murdering Charlotte had been imprisoned along with Magnus by New York’s High Council of shifters.

Instead, it was one of the Silvermoon elders, Rosemary, who officiated our ceremony.

The ceremony began with a reminder of the sanctity of the mate bond and how it was something hoped for and wished for above all others. “For fate to sanctify a bond is something unusual and special, but one that you—Lina Silvermoon, and you—Stephen Blackthorn, have been lucky enough to be given.

“But given the fraught history between our packs—your fated bond might have been seen as a crux to bear instead.”

We had spoken with Rosemary about what we were setting right between us, here before our packmates and ourselves, and the kind-faced elder said, “I believe you each have your own vows prepared?”

We nodded, and Stephen began, his gaze finding mine and making me feel like I was the only one here.

“Lina, for too long, I have had to hide my bond with you, which given that this,” he laid his hand over his chest, “is like trying not to breathe, pretending you don’t need to drink, I never want to do again.

I promise to honor and celebrate the bond between us, to strengthen it, and to listen to it so that it is the guiding light in my life that I now know it’s meant to be. ”

Tears pricked my eyes as I blinked at the look of love on Stephen’s strong, handsome face, and I had to take a moment to find my breath again.

“Stephen,” I choked. “I’ve always felt like I had to be enough myself, strong enough, fast enough, happy enough.

But with you, I never feel like I need to be anything but myself.

I promise to give my all to our bond because I know that together, you, me, our family, and our pack make me feel not just enough but whole and happy. ”

The look of adoration and passion crossing Stephen’s face made me practically giddy, and it was a relief as Rosemary announced, “I now pronounce you fated mates. Stephen, you may kiss your mate.”

The raucous applause that resounded as we kissed told me that our packmates valued our unity and strength as much as we did. This time, the Blackthorn and Silvermoon Packs had come together organically because Stephen and I were meant to lead together, and each one of our packmates was valued.

We soon began mingling with our guests, sharing drinks and chatter.

As we stood beside each other, we reveled in every brush of our gaze, every casual touch, and, most especially, every kiss because even now, after months of being with each other, the memory of being unable to be so carefree with one another lingered still.

Once the champagne had been served, waiters began to bring out canapes .

“Oh my god!” Emily exclaimed as she spotted the trays of pizza pies; I’d deliberately kept it a secret from her, knowing she’d otherwise have found a way to raid the caterer’s stash early. “Is that Giuseppe’s and Nonna’s?”

When Stephen and I had been planning our wedding breakfast, and he’d asked what I’d like, I’d jokingly said, “Nonna’s.”

But instead of laughing it off, his gaze had softened, and he’d confessed, “That night was the first time I felt there might really be a chance for us. The way you told me about Emily and opened up was the first time I dared to truly hope.”

So now, as the guests started to crowd the trays, my gaze met Stephen’s, and his tender look undid me all over again.

“Nonna’s!” Betty shouted with joy, already well-acquainted with the establishment.

“Traitor!” Stephen said, rolling his eyes as Betty’s only cackled. “Daddy just has worse taste than me and Mommy,” she teased, repeating the taunt I liked to throw at Stephen whenever we ordered in.

“That’s right,” Miriam said, “You’re definitely a Granny’s girl!”

“I am so unfairly outnumbered in this family,” Stephen griped, but his bright green eyes sparkled with happiness.

Because other than their pizza preferences, Stephen and Betty were as thick as thieves. He’d been giving her swimming lessons since we’d moved into the villa, and Betty could be found in the pool with her father as often as she danced across Blackthorn Hall with her granny.

The rest of the afternoon whizzed by in a blur of celebrations—drinking, eating, and dancing.

But later, in the falling light, Stephen and I finally got to sneak away from the festivities.

He drew me down to our private beach, and I relished the stillness, with only the lapping waves rolling in.