Page 21

21

LEO

“ A re you sure you’re ready for this?” Ricky asked, grinning like a loon as he finished setting up the bonfire.

I would have been fine doing it myself, but my second-in-command had insisted on taking care of the setup so I could concentrate on what was important.

And what was important was officially having Vanessa join our pack.

In all the rush to defeat the brothers and our surprise run-in with their mother, I had assumed Ven was a part of our pack as a matter of course. That night, after we’d defeated Katarina, as we held each other and marveled at the fact that we were all alive, Ven had asked if she could swear fealty like Jason and Miranda had. My inner wolf had rumbled with satisfaction, and my heart had swelled with joy.

Of course, Vanessa was pack, shifter or no shifter. She was my mate , after all, but the fact that she had seen Jason and Miranda become pack and wanted to go through the same process meant the world to me. It meant the world to the rest of my pack as well. Andromeda and several others had built a new cat tunnel with a full on catio so the three felines could join in the celebration. Could that effort have gone into rebuilding the house? Potentially, but it was habitable after nearly every shifter in the tri-state area had come to help out. Apparently, when you wiped out a malevolent bloodline that was responsible for the death, imprisonment, and cursing of untold shifters and magical folks, word got around.

It felt strange to have so many strangers we didn’t know roll up and ask if we were the ones who had killed the Morgana line and whether they could help out. Strange but amazing. As hard as it was to keep on top of everything, I made sure either me or Ricky got their contact information. Maybe I was being overly ambitious in the wake of our success, but I wanted all shifters and magical folk in general to be less separated. Not only because so much loss of life in stupid territory and ego battles was a waste, but also because I never wanted another evil force to take advantage of us again.

Granted, I didn’t have any idea what my long-term steps were to accomplish that goal, but being able to get in contact with different people would make a huge difference. After all, it had only taken Ven teaming up with America to start a connection that had saved my hide multiple times over.

“Are you ready?”

I looked up from the paper, where I’d jotted down a little speech. Over the past week, it had become well-worn from my reading it so much. Although the words of the pack ritual were pretty set in stone, there was more I wanted to say. This wasn’t a wedding, per se, but it was a union in more ways than one, and I wanted to honor that. Even if I had no idea what I was doing.

“Hey, Chiga,” I said.

The man was dressed in a crisp blue suit with silver accents. It was a bit more dressed up than many of us were, but it suited the giant mercenary. I smirked at the color, and he gave me a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, the honey picked it out for me. He didn’t consider the faux paus of silver to a wolf shifter gathering.”

“Eh, that’s all right. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” I stood, tucking my speech away and clapping the large man on his shoulder. “When am I going to get to meet this special love of yours anyway?”

“Actually, he’s here now if you’d like to meet him.”

“Hell yeah, I’d like to meet him.”

I knew it was my own bias, but it was so hard to imagine the giant, muscled moose shifter as a doting boyfriend. But I’d seen a softer side of him when he and Ven had their heads together in the downtime.

“Ah, there he is,” Chiga said, pointing at a small group of people before striding across the clearing. “Benny! Benny, I’ve got someone here to meet you.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe another equally tall shifter to turn, or perhaps a petite, more-femme man, but instead it was a portly fellow of average height, and even whiter than I was. His cherubic face was basically alabaster, with a smattering of freckles to match his ginger hair. His eyes were a vivid blue, and I didn’t miss the way they crinkled at the corners the moment he saw Chiga.

“Oh? Who is this, honey?” Even his accent was Midwestern, with a longer drawl that indicated he was more south than west.

“Leo. I told you about him.” Chiga radiated a prideful energy. It was very sweet, and I hoped people could tell I felt the same way whenever I was around Ven.

“ The Leo?” Benny offered his hand, and when I took it, I wasn’t surprised that his grip was firm but not crushing. “I have indeed heard so much about you. I had to admit, I was dubious when my darling told me he needed to go off and fight in what sounded like yet another war, but thanks to you, we’ve already been able to relocate three lost children from our area back to their tribes already. You have no idea how much this means to us.”

For some reason, the passion in the man’s voice surprised me, and I almost felt a little bashful. Everything we had done would have great significance in the shifter and magical community and was likely to spread out for quite a while, but it had only been a week since our victory with Katarina, so some of the practicalities of that were still seeping in.

“I’m happy your communities were able to recover their little ones. There’s a lot of healing in store for all of us.”

“You’ve got that right.” There was a spark in the man’s eyes as he drew closer and, goodness, the fondness on Chiga’s face seemed almost too personal. Like I was intruding. “Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I’m a certified child psychologist with a specialty in trauma, and I’ve been working with a couple of therapists who are either magic folk or familiar with our world. We want to help these victims recover from this trauma, and I’d love to interview your pack sometime. Once things are more settled, I’d love to get some of you, or hell, even all of you, into our program.”

I blinked at the man. I wasn’t against therapy, but I’d never really thought of it as an option for shifters. Naturally, the pause was a bit awkward, and Benny cleared his throat.

“Not that any of you have to. It’ll take at least a year before we get anything off the ground. I didn’t mean to offend?—”

Chiga tensed, and I could tell he was ready to defend his partner if needed, but I wasn’t alarmed.

“No, no. No offense taken. I just need to reframe my mind. I’m sure you can understand that most of us are orphans so, uh, that kind of thing wasn’t exactly on the table for most of our lives.”

Benny let out a nervous chuckle, and Chiga draped an arm around his shoulder. Oh, Ven was going to love him.

“Right! Of course. Chiga has told me y’all come from pretty dire circumstances. I gotta admit, I come from a huge family with seven brothers and three sisters, so I can’t even imagine. It really is miraculous what you’ve all managed to accomplish.”

Seven brothers and three sisters? Now, that sounded like a pack and a half.

“We’re just happy to be alive and able to celebrate together,” I said, inclining my head. “Lovely meeting you.”

“And you as well.”

I left them with the cluster of people. I had about two minutes to myself before Ricky and Andromeda found me, one with a bottle of water, the other with a small packet.

“Drink up,” Andromeda said, flicking off the cap for me. “Don’t want your mouth to get dry.”

Although she hadn’t gotten a ton of time to bond with Ven like Ricky had, Andromeda had made it plenty clear she was fond of the dryad. Part of it was their mutual love of cats, and part of it was that Ven had orchestrated my rescue. They were on genuinely friendly terms, which made me beyond happy because Andromeda was like a sister to me.

“And this is for luck,” Ricky said, handing me the packet.

I frowned down at it. Why was he giving me lettuce seeds? “What’s this?”

“That’s Ven’s favorite lettuce.” He grinned. “Figured if she can sense such things, it might be a nice bit of comfort for her, given how she’s not the biggest fan of the spotlight.”

Yet again, I was truly touched. Without another word, I pulled the two of them into a hug. The warlocks had tried to destroy us, yet despite everything, we were closer than ever before. And maybe, if things kept going how they were, we would end the cycle of trauma that permeated shifter culture. With people like Benny and Ven, and who knew who else, it felt like we could accomplish things our parents never even dreamed of.

When I parted from my two pack mates, I drew in a deep breath. “Gather everyone up,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “As soon as Ven is ready, I want to get started.”

“Eager to get it over?” Andromeda teased, gently nudging me in my ribs.

“Eager to start the rest of my life with all of us unified as one pack.”

They nodded at me, then hurried off. They were good at what they did, because within fifteen minutes, I was standing in the center of the clearing, surrounded by friendly faces and supportive spirits.

I didn’t recognize everyone, but everyone was an ally. They’d fought with us, and those who hadn’t had come to help afterward. I wanted all of them to see us welcome a non-shifter into our pack.

It was quiet, almost eerily so, until Chiga began a low sound somewhere between a hum and a chant. It didn’t take long before several others joined in.

Cluster by cluster, different tones sounded, until a beautiful but somewhat intimidating sound rose up into the cerulean sky above us. It spoke of ancient power and bonds that could never be broken. It echoed the earth itself, ever present, and called back to ancestors beyond those we even knew.

I let it move through me, awestruck at the beauty we could create when we were united as one, and that feeling only increased exponentially when part of the crowd stepped aside, allowing my beloved to step through.

Vanessa was always beautiful, but in this moment, with the sun shining down on her hair, her cheeks pink from excitement and nerves, she looked truly stunning. Someone had given her a green dress that befitted her nature. It hung off her shoulders and hugged her curves. She truly looked like a dryad of myth, too spectacular and important to touch, and yet all I needed to do was reach out, and she would be right there beneath my fingers.

The song swelled as she walked toward me, ancient melody and rhythms carried through our souls as much as our DNA. It surrounded us, echoing the profundity of the moment, only stopping when Ven was right in front of me.

My friend.

My mate.

My savior.

My beloved.

Those gorgeous, deep, heather eyes of hers focused on me and everything else faded away, leaving only the two of us. When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of everything we had been through, the incredible and sometimes impossible journey we’d been on.

“Leo Reihl, I pledge my loyalty to you. You will be my alpha, and I will be your follower. Through war, through famine, we are stronger together than apart.”

Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, and my inner wolf howled in triumph. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t shifter. What mattered was that Ven was Ven. Perfect in every way just by being her.

“Then, you, Vanessa Goode, are now our blood.” As would our children be. And our children’s children. We wouldn’t be like her aunt, who always treated Ven as an outcast. She would be protected. Treasured. “I am your alpha and you are my pack. I swear to protect you, I swear to guide you, and I will keep you safe.”

“So mote it be,” she said. Her voice cracked, and tears shimmered in her eyes. God, I loved this woman. Loved how deeply and truly she felt things.

“So mote it be.” I waited a beat, but before people could think things were over and celebrate, I continued. It wasn’t exactly orthodox, but who cared?

“And it is here, with our pack, and our allies, that I claim you as my mate for all to know. Whether wolf or not, whether dryad or not, we are bound by fate.”

I knelt on one knee. It wasn’t quite a proposal, but it was closer than either of us had ever expected. “I only ask now that you claim me.”

“Yes!” The next thing I knew, Ven threw her arms around my shoulders and hauled me up so she could kiss me silly. As our lips locked and cheers erupted all around us, I knew I had truly unlocked the key to happiness. “Forever and always,” she whispered, my enhanced hearing only barely catching it above the happy furor of the crowd.

“Forever and always,” I agreed before kissing her again.

What happened after that was a bit fuzzy, obscured with happy tears and hugs from many people around us, along with congratulations. The abundance of joy continued as our group organically drifted back toward Ven’s house, where multiple tables were set out with quite the feast—and no ancient witch on a quest for revenge would interrupt it this time.

This was what life was supposed to be about. Community. Support. Celebration. The connections we all made together rather than what drove us apart.

And it was all because of Ven.

“Hey, not to intrude, but I wanted to give you something before I forget.”

Ven and I paused our conversation to see Esperanza standing beside our table, looking excited but a bit bashful.

“Hey, you’re back from your studies?” Ven asked, all smiles.

“Well, I’ve got a few more tests to pass, but it’s a special occasion, ya know?” She handed a business card to Ven. It had no words, but it did have a QR code in the middle.

“What’s this?” Ven asked.

“Uh, after I found out about your whole, uh, situation, with being a dryad and all, I did as much digging as I could in online forums. Most people have never actually met any in their lives, but I followed some leads, and that’s supposed to lead to a group of them. It’s by invitation only, but I figured it’s a place to start.”

Once more, I was moved by how thoughtful and connected our allies were. “You found this online?”

“Weeeellllll, I may have had to call in some favors with a couple of mindwalkers I tutored, but, yeah. I can’t say if it works or not, but I figured it might be nice to, ya know, learn about your people.”

“Thank you,” Ven said, jumping to her feet and embracing the young woman. “Thank you so much!”

“It’s nothing, really. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna get more of those ribs.”

Esperanza excused herself, no doubt a bit embarrassed at the overflowing affection, leaving Ven and me to stare down at the card.

“I don’t have to follow this,” she whispered, looking up at me with wide eyes. “I’m happy being your people, I don’t need to be anything else.”

I closed her fingers over the card. “Ven, you are dryad, human, and our pack. Pursuing more knowledge about a part of yourself won’t make you any less part of the pack. It won’t make you any less anything. I meant what I said, I’m by your side, forever and always.”

“Forever and always,” she repeated, finally letting the tears spill over.

I kissed her again and held her, assuring her we would always be together, no matter what the future brought.

And I meant every single word.