Grace smoothed her hair one last time as she looked in the mirror. Was she really going to bind herself with Mason, even if it was only for one year? If she’d been told that this moment would come, even as recently as a year ago, she would have scoffed at the impossibility of it. Yet here she was, preparing to give herself to a man whom she’d hurt years ago and still appeared unwilling to forgive her.

It had been a week since Logan had dropped the bombshell about Titus Parr and his refusal to accept Logan as alpha. The tightening in her chest came as the thought of him crossed her mind. It was like a knee jerk response and she hated it. With a slow breath easing away the panicky feeling, she shoved away thoughts of him from her mind. Titus no longer had power over her and she wasn’t going to give him any by thinking about him.

She was going through with this binding and she was putting the past behind her. It was the only way that she would be able to get through the next year. She had no choice, not unless she wanted to let everyone in her pack down.

She turned away from the mirror. She was as ready for this as she was ever going to be. She grabbed her purse and car keys from the small table by the front door and made her way out of the house. Once in the car she sat staring out the window, not seeing anything, until she became aware that time was marching on and she turned on the ignition.

As her mother’s house faded in the rearview mirror, she felt a certain amount of relief at seeing it shrink away in the distance behind her. One good thing to come out of this was that at least she no longer had to live here. There were too many ghosts living in that house already that there hardly seemed to be enough room for her. Now she was going to live with Mason, where the ghost of their past relationship was the only one she had to contend with. Surely she and Mason would find their way together, wouldn’t they? They wouldn’t spend the next year fighting, would they?

The prospect made her stomach twist for a second and she took a hand off the steering wheel to rub slow circles over it to soothe it. There was no telling what the next year would hold and she needed to go into this with hope that she and Mason wouldn’t tear each other apart before it was all over. This was a chance for them to start off with a clean slate, and for her part she was willing to go forward, forging a new relationship between them.

There were worse things than binding herself to a man she’d once loved to the depths of her soul. And once they got through this, there would be a prize at the end of it. If they were lucky enough to create a baby, she would finally have what she’d been yearning for.

She was jolted from her thoughts as she came up to the road she was supposed to turn down. Even after fifteen years this part of the country was all too familiar to her.

The binding ceremony was taking place in the clearing next to the lake sitting smack in the middle of the border between East Brook and Cold Bay. She hadn't been back here since returning home. The place held too many memories, both good and bad. It was where she’d first met Mason, where they’d shared their first kiss. It was here that they met to sneak off to be together. It seemed rather appropriate that they would bind themselves together here.

She pulled her car into the makeshift parking lot, which was really just a wide open space on the grass, where everyone always parked their cars. She saw Mason’s truck, and her blood pumped a little faster through her veins when she thought about what might happen when she followed him home after the ceremony. Would they make love tonight? She supposed the real question was if she was ready to give herself to Mason completely tonight? It wasn't like she was a virgin and they hadn’t had sex before, but fifteen years was a long time and there was a lot of resentment built up between them. What would sex between them be like and was she prepared for an emotionless coupling that was only about creating a child?

She had no time to consider the answer as she got out of her car. The best way to deal with tonight, with the coming year in fact was to take each moment as they came and to not try to anticipate what would happen next. Maybe Mason would surprise her and be willing to put the past aside so that they might live together for the next year in relative harmony.

As she walked into the clearing, she saw all eyes turn toward her. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she ducked her head down for a second. She could see Mason off to the side, talking to Rafe and a couple other wolves from Cold Bay. Should she go over there? The point of this whole thing was to breach the gap that was still in evidence between the two packs. She noticed that the East Brook pack members were gathered together in their own group and the Cold Bay pack was gathered together in another. Would the distance ever be closed, or was this experiment of binding the two packs doomed to failure before it had even begun?

Logan caught her eye and gestured for her to come over. He was standing there with Faith, and the sight of his arm casually around her waist sent a small spark of longing through her. Would there ever be a time when she and Mason could stand together like that? With casual, easy touches and love evident between them for everyone to see? Or had the time for that passed them by?

She didn’t know the answer and didn’t want to think about it as she walked over to where Logan and Faith stood. The smile on Faith’s face was warm as she extended her hands and Grace took them.

“You look beautiful.” Faith gave her hands a squeeze. Once it had been evident to her that Grace had no designs on Logan, that the only reason she was going to mate with him was because it was required to save her pack, Faith had warmed up to her considerably. It was too early to tell, but she hoped that she and Faith could be friends.

Stepping back into her old life hadn’t been as easy as she thought, and after being away for fifteen years the relationships she’d had before she left hadn’t withstood the test of time. She felt like as much of an outsider as she was sure Faith had felt when she’d first arrived in Cold Bay.

“Thank you, so do you.” And she did look beautiful. Faith had confided in her that she and Logan were expecting their second child, and it showed in how happy they looked together.

“Sweetheart, would you excuse Grace and I? I’d like to talk to her before the ceremony begins.” Logan drew Faith close to him and kissed the top of her forehead. Faith let go of Graces hands as she nodded and stepped away.

Logan drew Grace away from the crowd and she wondered what he could possibly want to talk to her about. Surely everything that needed to be said had been said when she’d told him that she would go through with this.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you and maybe now it’s leaving it a little late, but are you absolutely positive that you want to go through with this?” Logan’s eyes were intense as he looked down at her.

She knew that if she told him that she couldn’t go through with it that he would move heaven and earth to find another way. But not only did she have a duty to her pack, she owed Logan. He’d gone out on a limb for her and had made it possible for her to escape East Brook fifteen years ago. He didn’t have to help her, especially when it meant keeping a secret from his best friend, but he had. He’d never asked anything of her in return, but she felt indebted to him nonetheless.

“I’m sure, Logan. It’s too late to back out now. I was ready to go through with this with you, and going through it with Mason would be no different.”

“There is a big difference between you and I and you and Mason. Has he gotten any better?” There was a look of understanding on Logan’s face, and she smiled faintly up at him.

“We haven’t spoken to each other for the past week, which is just as well since we usually find something to fight about.” Logan’s brows drew together, and she put her hand on his arm. “What happens now is between Mason and I. We have to find our own way of dealing with each other. I know you want to smooth the way, to make things easier for us, but unfortunately you can’t do anything to put the past to rest between us. Only we can do that.”

“You know how you can do that. You can tell him the truth, about why you left fifteen years ago.” Logan reached up to where her hand rested on his arm and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

He made it sound so easy, just tell Mason what really happened. But she couldn't do that, because Logan didn’t know all of it. Only she did, and it was her burden to carry and no one elses.

“It’s too late for that, Logan. I made the decision I did fifteen years ago and you made me a promise. I’m going to hold you to it.”

Logan dropped her hand and his mouth tightened. She knew that keeping secrets from Mason didn’t sit well with him, but it was not his secret to share.

“The truth has a way of coming out and I think it would be better if Mason learned it from you. But if you are determined to keep secrets from him, there isn’t much I can do about it.” Logan pulled her to him for a quick hug before drawing back. “You may not have a choice.”

“Why do you say that?” There was a look on Logan’s face, one that told her he didn’t want to tell her something. “Logan, what aren’t you telling me?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you tonight, but you’re going to find out anyway. In a way I’m glad that you’ve decided to go through with this, since it means that you will be out of East Brook and under Mason’s protection.” The muscle in Logan’s jaw tightened and Grace’s stomach clenched. “Titus Parr is out of jail.”

Titus is out of jail? Grace swayed for a second as the news sent a wave of shock through her. The urge to run hit her upon hearing his name, but instead of telling Logan that she’d changed her mind about this, she stiffened her resolve. She’d already told herself once this evening that Titus no longer had power over her and she’d meant it.

“Tonight is about putting the past behind me. I intend to do that.”

“Then I think it’s time we get this show on the road, don’t you?”

Grace nodded as she forced herself to relax. Titus being out of jail was nothing to her, and the truth of what happened fifteen years ago would not come out. Not if she could help it.

* * *

Mason watched from the sidelines, wondering what the hell Logan and Grace could possibly want to talk about. Surely everything was settled and this ceremony was going to go ahead. It was a little late to pull everything to a halt. And if that was why they were talking about, why the hell wasn’t he included in their little chat? He had as much of a voice in the decision to bind his life with Grace’s for the next year as much as she did.

Was there something else to their little talk? Something that had nothing to do with the ceremony. They were standing closer than he liked, and when she put her hand on Logan’s arm, the green eyed monster he’d been battling for months chose that moment to bite him. He curled his fingers at his side. Logan was his alpha, and his best friend, he trusted him with his life. There wasn’t anything going on between him and Grace. Logan was completely in love with Faith. But that wasn’t what caused his jealousy. It was the easy way she was with the other man that sent those feelings through him. Why couldn’t she put her hands on him in that same manner? Why couldn’t he and Grace talk to each other without erupting into an argument?

Logan pulled Grace to him for a hug and there was nothing in it except friendship and even then Mason didn’t like it. After the ceremony tonight, Grace was going to be his, even if it was only temporary. He didn’t like seeing any man put his hands on her, not even his alpha.

They drew apart, and Mason closed his eyes for a second as he counted to ten. What the hell was wrong with him? Normally he didn’t have such a short fuse, but ever since Grace had come home he’d been carrying around a ball of anger inside him. No matter how many runs he took, no matter how hard he battled the heavy bag at the gym, nothing seemed to get rid of it.

People were starting to move toward the center of the clearing, and a natural aisle formed between them. Logan moved to the head of the aisle, and he looked at Mason and inclined his head to where Grace waited for him at the edge of the crowd. It looked like this was happening and a calm settled over Mason. She wasn’t going to change her mind and for the next year she was going to be his.

He walked toward her and a breeze stirred her long blond hair where it fell in waves down her back. She watched him come toward her, her eyes were big and blue, and pride stirred in his chest at seeing how beautiful she looked. He tried to push it away, tried to tell himself that she wasn’t really his. This was only going to be for a year and it would be better if he kept a part of himself apart from her. He’d do his duty to his pack and that would be it. He was all too familiar with the pain that came from having her walk away.

They turned and walked down the aisle toward Logan without touching. This was part of the ceremony, so both packs could see that they were two separate beings. Mason stared straight ahead as he matched his pace to hers as they walked toward his cousin. The weight of what he was about to do hit him in that moment. This act was crucial to his pack’s survival and he needed to go into it with the intention of making it work.

They came to a halt in front of Logan, and a hush fell over the clearing as everyone watching waited for him to speak. This ceremony would not be legally binding in the eyes of anyone outside this little community, which was why it could be easily dissolved at the end of one year. But within the werewolf community, according to their ancient laws, it was as binding as a marriage ceremony. In the eyes of their packs and the werewolf council, Grace would be his mate.

“Grace and Mason, you stand before the East Brook and Cold Bay wolf packs as two separate individuals, just as East Brook and Cold Bay are two separate packs. Is it your intention to bind yourselves together before the packs gathered here?”

“It is.” Mason’s voice rang out in unison with Grace’s. For the first time since she’d come back home it seemed that they were in harmony. Mason suppressed the idle thought that it couldn’t last and focused on the moment at hand.

“Could you turn to face each other, join your hands and look into each other’s eyes.”

They did as he instructed, and Mason’s pulse picked up speed when Grace’s smaller hands intertwined with his. When she looked up at him, for a moment Mason thought he could see the woman she’d been before things had gone so horribly wrong between them. Her eyes, so deep and blue that they were almost violet, were so hauntingly familiar to him that it made his heart ache.

Logan brought forward a cord of braided fabric. It was gold and blue and represented the East Brook and Cold Bay packs. Two packs that would be joined just as he and Grace would be joined once the ceremony was complete. His alpha laid the braided cord across his and Grace’s joined hands.

“Grace, will you enter into this binding with your whole heart? Will you share in Mason’s joy, soothe him in his pain and seek to alleviate his burdens so that your souls may grow together in this union? Will you honor Mason as an equal in this union? Will you share your body and your thoughts with him for as long as this union lasts?”

Mason held his breath Grace’s lower lip trembled for a moment, and she blinked her eyes rapidly. After a second she seemed to get control of herself and her voice rang out clearly for all to hear.

“I will.”

“And so you are bound.” Logan looped the cord around their hands once so that it made a complete circle around them. “Mason, will you enter into this binding with your whole heart? Will you share in Grace’s joy, soothe her in her pain and seek to alleviate her burdens so that your souls may grow together in this union? Will you honor Grace as an equal in this union? Will you share your body and your thoughts with her for as long as this union lasts?”

“I will.” There was no hesitation, and his voice rang out strong and clear.

“And so you are bound.” Logan looped the cord around them a second time, bringing the ends together and tying them. “As this knot is formed, so is the union of the two of you. May your bond with each other be as strong as this cord. According to the laws of the wolf, you are now one soul. Any children produced by this union will be blessed with the blood of two alphas and will strengthen the bond between you and between your two packs. The cord around your hands is not what binds you together. It is the words you’ve spoken here this night, in front of your packs, that will hold you together in the days to come. May you grow together in love.”

Mason swallowed hard. When he’d agreed to do this, he hadn’t expected it to feel real. It was just supposed to be a formality he needed to go through to do his duty to his alpha and his pack. But in the moment, with the cord binding his hand to Grace’s, it felt real. It felt like she was his woman, like he was her man.

“You may now kiss each other to seal your pledge.”

Telling himself that this was all a part of the show, that it didn’t mean anything, Mason pulled Grace close to him so that the weight of her body rested against his. His intention was to give her a brief kiss, enough to satisfy the sealing of their promise to each other. As soon as his lips touched hers, his intentions went out the window. He had not kissed her for fifteen long years, and in the moment that his mouth connected with hers it felt like he was coming home.

His mouth moved softly on hers, and she sighed as she sank into him. The people watching were forgotten as the focus of his world narrowed to just her. He put his free hand around her back, and pulled her tighter against him. Her scent in his nostrils was so achingly familiar, the weight of her body one he’d felt so many times before, it was if the past fifteen years without her had not happened. This woman had haunted his dreams for fifteen long years, and finally she was in his arms again, and she was kissing him back. He savored every movement of her lips against his, and it was only when a chorus of howls went up that he realized where he was and what he was doing.

He pulled away from her, and he could see that she had been just as caught up in the moment as he was. A blush burned her cheeks, and he smiled down at her when he saw it. At least he knew that the desire he was feeling was not one sided. But then, desire for each other had never been their problem.

Logan reached out and took their two hands that were still bound together by the two cords. He held them aloft for everyone to see.

“Mason and Grace are now bound together. East Brook and Cold Bay are now bound together.” Logan’s voice was clear and strong as it rang out in the clearing. A cheer went up from those watching. The aisle between them dissolved away and for the first time since the packs had been joined under Logan the two packs moved freely amongst one another.