50
BRANDON
In every way that matters, Alicia and I are already mated.
I know that. I know there’s no need for a formal ceremony. I’ve claimed her, and she’s accepted me, and we’ve done all the rituals that are necessary in a case like ours. But even so, I want something more.
If she had accepted me twenty years ago, there would have been a ceremony in front of the entire Greystone Pack sealing us to one another. I want that for us now. I want to acknowledge her in front of my whole pack. I want to hear her say she accepts me, and I want everyone to see what’s between us, so they all know it’s real and that it can’t be called into question.
I don’t want anyone thinking this is just about me wanting the alpha position. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Alicia,” I say, raising my voice so it will carry around the clearing. “I claim you as my chosen mate.”
She nods. “I accept you as my chosen mate.” Her eyes are shining. It couldn’t be any more different from the ceremony all those years agowhen she rejected me. That day, she looked as if she couldn’t stand to be where she
was, as if just the act of looking at me was painful for her. But today, I can see in her expression that she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.
I take her hands in mine. “I’ll dedicate my life to you, and to our family,” I tell her. This isn’t part of the formal ceremony, but I want to make sure she knows. I want her to hear this from me. “I’ll protect you and our daughter against anything that threatens you.”
“I’ll always respect you,” she says. Then she grins. “I might not bend to your will, but I’ll always listen.”
I laugh. Of course she’s not going to bend to my will. That’s never been the kind of person Alicia is. It’s not something I expect from her. It’s not something I even want. I like that she challenges me. Just as long as she accepts me as her mate, I can handle everything else.
“Should we run?” I ask her.
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” she says.
A gap opens up among the assembled pack members: a path for the two of us. As we walk through, I see Vern smiling at me, giving me his approval. And even though he’s no longer alpha-I’m alpha, I remember with a little shiver of pride-he’s still a role model, and it’s good to know that he approves of me for his daughter.
Once we’re in the trees, I shrug off my robe and shift, letting my wolf out. Alicia smiles and rests her hand on my shoulder for a moment. With her human and me wolf, the dynamic between us changes slightly. She’s vulnerable like this, and I’m her protector.
I’ll always protect her, no matter what.
“Kayla has Emmy,” she says. “She’ll watch her for us.”
I love that us. As if Emmy is someone who belongs to me too, and caring for her is something I also need. And I do. I wouldn’t be able to spend this
day in the woods with Alicia if I didn’t know someone was protecting my daughter.
I nudge her with my nose, encouraging her to shift too. I want to run. She smiles. “So impatient. Don’t worry, I’m right here with you.”
I watch as she takes off her clothes and leaves them in a pile on top of my robe. Seeing her naked, the wolf has a hard time remaining in control of this body. It’s the only thing that ever threatens to overpower him against his will and bring the man back to the surface. I want to be human with her.
But the time for that will come. Our run will come first.
She breathes in and closes her eyes, and a moment later her wolf has taken over.
I paw the ground, anxious to get going.
She knocks her shoulder against mine and sets off at a slow lope into the trees. I follow, matching her pace.
We run like that for a while. I let Alicia take the lead, even though I want to open things up a bit and move more quickly. I want to feel the ground fall away beneath me. Today has been full of triumphs, and those triumphs make me want to flex every muscle in my body, to perform at the pinnacle of my human abilities. But more than that, I want to stay with her.
Eventually, when we’re about a mile from the clearing where the alpha ceremony was held, she starts to pick up speed, and we run together into the woods. She pulls ahead of me a little, and then I pull even. We go back and forth like that for a while, trading the lead in this playful race, each of us always letting the other catch up before too long because we don’t want to be separated.
I watch her body language as we run: the way her ears perk up at the sounds around us, as if she’s excited by everything she perceives. The way
her tail whips back and forth, communicating her joy at being out in the woods with me.
I want to commit every detail of her body-human and wolf-to memory.
I want to be able to see her in perfect detail every time I close my eyes.
But she’s my mate now. It’s official. I have the rest of my life to learn these things.
The thought makes my heart beat faster and sets my blood racing.
We’ve come about ten miles, and suddenly running is far from the thing I want most. I can’t wait anymore.
I have to have her. Now.