Page 36 of Next Door Midlife Alpha
Paul turned back to the other Brighams. “If anyone has any objections to this union and to the new member of our clan, you must speak them now.”
Dylan had told her about this part, too. He’d explained that it was merely a formality, and that the only time anyone ever had actually protested was when Will tried to undermine his brother’s new position as Alpha. He’d told her not to worry about it, but she did. Stacey wanted nothing more than to be a part of this.
Before she had more than a few seconds to fret, Paul turned back to her. “Stacey, we welcome you.”He stepped aside, and the circle opened up to welcome them.
Barbara stood on the other side of the opening. She smiled lovingly at Stacey, her eyes shining with tears of joy. “We welcome you,” she said before she morphed into her bear.
Next came Will, who looked just as happy as his mother. “We welcome you.”
One by one, the assembled shifters gave the standard salutation before they changed, speaking as well as showing their acceptance. There was nothing Dylan could’ve told her that could’ve quite prepared her for such a sight. The fire flickered excitedly as one by one, the people around them became a gathering of bears. Stacey watched in awe, knowing she was truly a part of something that very few humans ever got the chance to even know about, much less experience.
“And now,” Paul said, when he and Stacey remained the only ones still on two feet, “we have a small change to our typical rites. We have given her all the rights and benefits of being a Brigham, and I understand that she has a gift for us in return.”
At Paul’s nod, Stacey spoke. “You may well know that my children and I will be moving in with Dylan tonight, and that my mother Carol will remain in myhome. I know these are trivial things compared to what’s happening here, but I hope that what I have to say next will feel more significant to you, that it might show you my dedication to this clan. I would like to bestow my home to the Brigham clan, so that you’ll never again need to worry about who’s living next door.”
A deep rumble of approval moved through the circle, and several of the members stamped their feet as well. Paul closed the ceremony in a similar manner to the opening, throwing his hands in the air once again. “Brigham, welcome!”
As the Brighams shifted back into their human forms, Dylan and Stacey received all sorts of kind words and congratulations from everyone else. Paul shook his son’s hand, but he pulled Stacey into a hug. “I know my boy will be good to you. That’s how I raised him.”
“I think I had a little bit of something to do with that,” Barbara added as she stepped in for her own hugs. “The two of you are just wonderful together.”
Carol was next. She pulled Stacey in tightly, rocking her slightly in her embrace. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I love you, and I’m so glad that you’ve found the love that you deserve.”
“Don’t make me cry, Mom. Your job is usually tomake me laugh.” Stacey dabbed a tear from the corner of her eye.
“I’m a talented individual. I can do a lot of things,” she replied with a wink. “You make sure you stop by every now and then to see the old hag who lives next door now, okay?”
“I think I can remember.”
“Mom!” Vivian tugged at her hand. “Lila said she’s making ice cream cones. Can we have one?”
Stacey couldn’t help but laugh. It hadn’t been an easy task to enlighten her children about shifters, and she hadn’t been sure what they would think after attending the ceremony and seeing so many bears in one spot. Lila had been like an ambassador for them, and once they understood that their new stepsister was a part of this community, they seemed to be just fine. “Yes, you can. Just make sure you get some actual food, too.” She looked for Lila to thank her, but she was busy hugging her dad.
When the kids had run off, Will stepped up. He looked humbly at both of them, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’m here to say congratulations, but I still feel like I should start off with an apology.”
“You’ve already done that,” Dylan reminded him.
“I know,” his brother replied. “I’ve given out lots of apologies, and there will be plenty more. Specifically,though, I want to apologize to the two of you for complicating what you had between you. I might not’ve come here with good intentions, but I never meant to screw around with something like that. I just wanted to make sure you knew that before I headed back out to sea.”
“It’s all right.” Dylan clapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t think it hurt us all that much in the long run if we had a few little rough patches to test ourselves with.”
Will nodded, but he looked to Stacey for confirmation.
“Absolutely,” she agreed. Will wasn’t all that much like his twin brother, but now that things were being repaired between the two of them, she knew they could truly be friends whenever he was back in Truro.
“And thanks again for offering to give Barney a new home,” Will added. “He’s getting older, and I know he’s so much happier here on land.”
Stacey laughed. “No problem at all. Maybe we’ll need to have a ceremony to welcome him to the clan, too.”
After they’d had a chance to visit with everyone, accepting congratulations and plenty of unsolicited advice, they found a moment of privacy in theshadows just outside of the bonfire. Dylan took her hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it before holding it to his heart. “Stacey, I know that we’ve already made promises in front of everyone and made this all official, but I want to know if you’re truly happy.”
She hadn’t taken many chances in life to even ask herself that before, and she wasn’t sure if many other people had, either. Stacey looked around them. She saw the big, happy family partying around the bonfire. Carol and Barbara were sitting together, chatting as though they’d always been old friends. Lila was playing with Vivian and Elijah, leaving very little of ‘step’ in ‘stepsiblings.’ The air was fresh and cool, and Stacey truly didn’t have a care in the world. She wasn’t concerned about work the next day or whether or not her children understood just how much she loved them. “I came out here because I wanted family and connection more than anything. I found that, and so much more. I am happy, Dylan, and I think we will be for a long time.”
“Me, too. I love you.” He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers.
Stacey fell into that kiss. It was the kind that could drown out the world, but theirs was now a world that didn’t need to be forgotten or set aside.The two of them were part of a whole, and she was going to enjoy every single moment of it.
THE END