Chapter 8
Sugar waited for Maddox to bring her a cup of coffee. Morning had come too fast, but she’d loved waking up with his arms around her. She’d never felt so warm and content.
He walked into the bedroom carrying two mugs and wearing only a smile. Her cat purred, and the sound vibrated in her chest, making her blush. He was the sexiest male she’d ever laid eyes on. From his broad shoulders to the perfect taper of his waist, the stacks of muscles and the piercing brown eyes that made her melt from the inside out.
“You look like you’ve got wicked things on your mind, sweetheart,” he said as he handed her a steaming mug.
“It’s hard not to think of wicked things when you’re parading your goodies for me to see.”
“Check out the view,” he said as he pulled the curtains covering the sliding doors open.
It had snowed while they slept; the white flakes sparkled on every surface. The view was, as she’d predicted, breathtaking. Beyond a small patio was a yard that ended at the large lake. Tree branches hung heavy with icicles that sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight.
“It’s a great view.”
He smiled as he looked at her. “It sure is.”
She blushed again, and he chuckled as he slid under the covers next to her, taking a sip of his coffee.
“I seem to recall you saying that you’d tell me everything I needed to know about being an alpha before we found better things to do with our mouths.”
“While I won’t apologize for being distracted by you, I’m happy to share my vast knowledge of all things alpha with you.”
She grinned at his sense of humor. “Are there really law books? Like…is the alpha law actually written down somewhere?”
“There is one very old pride book that contains the laws as well as details about the pride.”
“Where is the book?”
“In my top drawer,” he said, glancing toward a tall dresser.
“Can I read it?”
“Of course. Everything that I have is yours now.”
“How many pride laws are there?”
“Not many, actually. The most important ones are that the pride must have an established territory, the alpha has to meet with pride members on a regular basis, and new members are to be vetted thoroughly to ensure that the pride remains safe.”
“And the alpha law is no longer part of the pride laws?”
“Right,” he said. “I’ll be taking the book to the elders, and they’ll strike it from the laws. Then they’ll make an annotation about why the law was removed and the names of the pride members who voted for it.”
She sipped the coffee Maddox had fixed just the way she liked with cream and sugar. “Are all prides the same? Do they all have the same laws?”
“No. Every pride is different because every alpha is different.”
“What was the pride that you came from like?”
“My Uncle Clay is pretty strict. He won’t allow mates to join the pride if they aren’t lions.”
“So True would have had to leave that pride?”
“If he wanted to be in a pride where Rai was welcome, yes. If he’d stayed, she would never have been allowed to join in any pride functions. Their children would have been welcomed, but only if they were able to shift into lions.”
“It would suck to be the only one in the family on the outside of things.”
“It didn’t bother my parents because it didn’t affect us growing up. If one of us had chosen a non-lion mate when we were younger, I believe they would have encouraged us to find another pride to join and would have followed us. They’re very big on our family staying together.”
“I like that about them.”
He chuckled and kissed her temple. “Me too.”
“Did you know you always wanted to be an alpha?”
“No. When I joined this pride, it just kind of clicked with me, and I decided that I’d take over one day after I was finished with college. The former alpha said he knew when I joined that I would take his place eventually.”
“Was he mad?”
“If he was, he never showed it. I think he was ready to retire. Being alpha is hard work. Everyone in the pride depends on me to make sure they’re safe and cared for. Eighteen months ago, one of the homes caught on fire in the middle of the night. They’d left a candle burning. The fire spread fast, and by the time the fire department got it under control, the family had pretty much lost everything. The first thing I did was bring a trailer here so they had a place to live while their house was being demolished and rebuilt. I organized the pride to help replace all that they’d lost and helped with the building.”
“The pride’s lucky to have you.”
“They’re even luckier to have you, and so am I.”
She smiled. “There you go, being all sweet and sexy.”
“Just for you.”
After they finished their coffee, they showered together, spending so much time filling the room with their sounds of pleasure that the hot water ran out and they were both freezing by the time they were finished. She’d never been so cold, or so well loved, in her life.
She dressed in the outfit she’d brought for Rai and True’s after-wedding breakfast, a cream-colored sweater dress with chocolate-colored leggings and her favorite boots.
Maddox helped her on with her coat, and said, “When do you want to go pack up your apartment?”
“Maybe tomorrow? I’m really missing my pillow.”
“I thought my bicep was your pillow?” he asked, teasingly.
“It’s wonderful, but I also like my pillow.”
“Tomorrow it is,” he said. “I’ll get some pride members to help, too.”
“Many hands make light work, huh?”
“Sure. And the sooner we get you packed up, the sooner we get to come back here and finish christening the house.”
“And how do we do that?” she asked, arching a brow.
“By making love in the other rooms. So far, only the bedroom and bathroom have been christened.”
“I think we’re going to be pretty busy, then.”
“You can count on it.”
Maddox opened the door for her, and she stepped out, inhaling deeply and letting out a happy sigh. She loved how the world smelled after it snowed, so fresh and new. He took her hand, and they stepped off the porch together. The homes were spread out so that each family had a big yard and privacy, and every home overlooked the lake. On one side of Maddox’s home was True’s cabin, and on the other was his parents’. She liked how close his family was, and she was doubly thankful that they had accepted her so willingly and that Rai was going to be her neighbor when she and True returned from their honeymoon.
Instead of walking to his parents’ home, they walked down to the lake, which was frozen over and dusted with snow. The sunshine made the scene picture-perfect.
Maddox turned to her and took both her hands and squeezed them. “I can’t tell you how different my life is with you in it. I never imagined finding the one person in the world for me, but since we met, I can’t picture my life without you in it. I’m thankful for everything that ever happened in my life that brought us to the same place so we could find each other.”
She looked up into his eyes, her own stinging with tears at his heartfelt words.
“I know that being mates is a permanent situation, but I want to be bonded to you in every way, including marriage.” He cleared his throat before dropping down on one knee. “I don’t have a ring for you, but I’ll take you to pick one out tomorrow. I just don’t want to wait another second to ask you to be mine in every way. Sugar, will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
He purred loudly and stood, slipping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground as their lips met.
“Best Christmas ever,” he said against her lips.
She linked her fingers behind his neck with a smile and said, “It sure is. If I’d known that I could have you for Christmas, I would have asked Santa for you years ago.”
“I know we should go to lunch with my family, but I’d really like to go back and celebrate our engagement,” he said.
“Waiting will make it better.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Well, it’s worth a shot. Plus, we don’t want your family to come knocking on the door when we’re in the middle of our celebration.”
“Good point. Let’s eat fast.”
She giggled at his enthusiasm as he swung her up into his arms and carried her toward his parents’ home. The front door opened as he stepped up onto the porch and his dad, said, “Merry Christmas, you two.”
They both said Merry Christmas as Maddox carried her through the door. He froze just inside the doorway, and she gasped as she saw that the living room had been transformed into a makeshift wedding chapel. The minister from True and Rai’s wedding was standing in front of the fireplace, where a roaring fire crackled brightly. The pride was seated in chairs that had been set up in rows on either side of a white aisle runner.
“What’s going on?” Maddox asked.
“It’s a surprise wedding,” Rai said as she and True joined them in the foyer after Drylan shut the door.
“I’m…what?” Sugar asked.
Maddox set her down slowly, and she could tell by the bewildered look on his face that he was as shocked as she was.
Phoebe smiled as she came into the family room carrying a bouquet of stargazer lilies, which were Sugar’s favorite. “I overheard you and Maddox talking last night about getting married. I mentioned it to your parents, and the four of us got together after the pride meeting last night and put this together for you.”
Sugar’s parents joined them in the foyer, and she thought her heart would burst at how happy she was. Not only had she found her mate, but now they were going to get married on Christmas Day.
Maddox murmured in her ear, “I’m really glad I asked you to marry me before we came in here.”
A laugh bubbled up in her chest, and tears slipped down her cheeks as she turned to hug him. “I am too.”
“Come with us for a moment, Sugar,” Rai said.
She and Maddox parted ways, and she followed Rai, her mom, and Phoebe into the kitchen.
“How did you do this so quickly?” Sugar asked as her mom helped her off with her coat.
“It helps that the city clerk is a pride member and very happy to help us out with your marriage license,” Phoebe said.
“Your Dad and I were getting ready for bed when Phoebe called and asked if we’d help you two get married today. I put a call into the florist who did Rai’s flowers, and she delivered them this morning,” her mom said.
“This is not how I pictured my wedding day,” Sugar said, looking around at her family. Penny and Fell had always treated Sugar like their born daughter, and Rai had never once made Sugar feel as if she wasn’t a part of the family. Now, she had Phoebe, Drylan, and True as her in-laws, and Maddox as her mate and soon-to-be husband.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sugar smiled and said, “This is an even better wedding day than I ever imagined. I get Maddox forever, and you all get to be here with us. That it’s Christmas Day makes it even more special.”
“Did you ask Santa for a mate for Christmas?” Rai asked.
“I wish I could say that I had, but I didn’t. I hoped you’d have a great Christmas with your new mate.”
Rai sniffled with a smile. “That’s just like you to give up your holiday wish for someone else. Well, I wished that you’d find someone to share your life with.”
“I need to start making Christmas wishes,” Phoebe said with a chuckle.
“Me too,” Penny said.
Phoebe handed Sugar a plain white gold wedding band. “This is for you to give to Maddox. It belonged to my grandfather.”
“Thank you,” Sugar said.
“This is your something blue,” Rai said. In between her finger and thumb she held a hair pin that had a flower made of sapphires on the end. The oval gems twinkled in the lights. She twisted a section of Sugar’s hair and pinned it at the side of her head with the pin.
Penny said, “I want you to wear my bracelet as your old and borrowed item. I wore it on my wedding day.”
Penny undid the clasp on the gold bracelet and fixed it on Sugar’s arm. The bracelet was a simple, braided rope with a diamond heart charm hanging from the center.
“You just need something new,” Phoebe said.
“The dress is new,” Sugar said. “I bought it for the breakfast we were supposed to attend this morning.”
“Then you’re all set,” Penny said. “Are you happy, my sweet girl?”
“I really am. I never thought that going to my sister’s wedding would change my life so completely, but I’m about to get everything I ever wanted.”
“It’s long overdue,” Penny said.
“It’s time to make Maddox the luckiest male in existence,” Rai said. “Next to True, of course.”
“Of course,” Sugar said, hugging her sister. “I’m lucky, too.”
* * *
When Maddox asked Sugar to marry him at the lake, he never anticipated the wedding happening so soon after, but as he repeated the vows to her, he knew that the timing was perfect. Not only were they mates and alphas of the pride, but she was going to have his last name. Already, she was the center of his world. He was crazy about her, and they’d only been together for a day. He felt, though, as if he’d lived a lifetime in that day.
“You may kiss the bride,” the minister said.
Maddox wasted no time in pulling his beautiful sweetheart close and kissing her as the pride erupted into cheers.
“Mine,” Sugar said against his lips.
“Forever, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. “You’re mine, too.”
The minister announced them, and they turned to greet the pride as they filed by on the way to the dining room where a buffet had been set up for their meal. When the last pride member had congratulated them, Maddox turned to his mate and cupped her face. She was glowing with happiness, her eyes bright and her cheeks pink.
“I didn’t get you anything for Christmas,” he said.
“There is something I’d like.”
“Anything,” he promised.
“I want to go hunting tonight,” she said. “I know that it’s your pride tradition to go hunting on Christmas Eve, but we missed out on that because of everything that happened.”
“You got it. I can’t wait to hunt with you.”
“Is there something I can give you for Christmas?”
“You’re already the best gift I could have been given.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“It’s true. This is the first day of our life together. We’re mates, husband and wife, and alphas. I don’t need or want anything else,” he said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Except I’d love to have a cub with you.”
“You would?”
“Of course. A little girl as beautiful as you.”
“Or a little boy as handsome as you.”
“One of each, then?”
“At least,” she said with a laugh.
“Now I’m the happiest lion in existence.”
“Merry Christmas, Maddox.”
“Merry Christmas, Sugar. My sweet, perfect mate.”
The End