“Jory, Sean, Mom… Really, I have this.”

Piper was looking herself over in the full-length mirror. Anson’s dads had wanted to help her get ready. They had become fast friends with her mom after she and Anson had shown up at their house to tell them the news. They were thrilled that her stalker (or rather, stalkers) were behind bars, and then they were shocked when she told them she was married and mated to Anson.

The phone calls between the parents turned into daily updates with Anson’s dads wanting grandbabies and her mom wanting to throw a reception in their honor. That was still pending because Piper said she had to get the presentation ceremony over with first.

“We never had a daughter, let us fuss!” Jory said.

“Really, Piper, they just want to help,” her mom tsked.

“I know and I appreciate it. But I need a moment to gather my thoughts.”

The three of them looked perturbed when they realized she was serious. They gave up and kissed her on the cheek. Sean giving her hair a final pat.

When they all left, she leaned against the door and took a deep breath.

“You would look good in white.” Mary, the Clan Crone, was sitting with her feet propped up on a cushion in a chair in the corner of the room.

The Crone wasn’t going to leave. Piper was pretty sure she couldn’t dynamite her out of that chair.

“I’ve had my fill of white,” she said smoothing her emerald green gown over her hips. The train was short, just skimming the floor. The sweetheart neckline cupped her breasts and her mate mark shone above the fabric. Her hair was smoothed down, the headband she’d worn for her wedding curving over her head. She was about to become a member of Clan Fehu.

After all of the ways Anson had made sure she was tied to him, this one seemed the most important. At least, it was to her. Anson told her it was a formality, just a way to acknowledge her place in the Clan, but it felt bigger than that. Mary had barged her way in and Piper assumed she was going threaten her about what her responsibilities were to the Clan.

Instead, she’d settled in and started munching on a bag of Doritos while she shared the Clan gossip. Apparently there was a lot of it and Piper couldn’t imagine how any one person could keep track of so many people.

“Maybe white just isn’t for you. It’s too bland. I like this dress. It’s… daring. So, Anson, I knew he was meant for you. I mean I know things. I have an inside track,” she said pointing at her head then her heart.

“So you knew about me?”

“Of course, I know everything,” she said confidently.

“Did you see what happened to me?”

“Child, I am not the Great Mother, I don’t see things like moving pictures. I just know things.”

“Well, I’m glad you know things. But I wish that you could have saved me from the life that I’ve lived for the past few years. Could you see the pain I went through?”

The Crone gave her a long look. “Do you really think your troubles were just because of one crazy person? I’m not saying the Great Mother would purposely hurt you, that’s not how she works. But if you had gotten married, you’d never have been truly happy. Your life might have been okay, it would have had some nice moments. But it would never have been the life you were meant to lead. You were destined to be the mate of a Kindred. Destined to bring new cubs into the world that will continue our lineage. The Great Mother chose you out of all the people in the world for Anson because you are everything he needs. Your pain was a trial, no doubt about that. The reward for surviving is a lifetime of joy. Keep that in mind whenever you want to go through the past.”

Piper wasn’t sure how she felt about her life being a giant cosmic plan. She knew the Kindred believed that they all had destinies. As a human, the only thing that made her believe that could be true is the love she felt for Anson.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course!” Mary said leaning forward.

“I’m actually nervous he won’t be down there. I’ve been stood up, a couple of times. I know he’ll be there, of course, he’s my mate. But I’ve been in a room, wearing a dress like this one, expecting a man to be waiting for me at the end of an aisle. Let’s just say he, or they, weren’t there.”

Piper hadn’t realized how scary it was until she said it out loud. Her stomach twisted and she felt her breakfast trying to come back up.

“Well, then we fix things,” Mary said standing.

“Fix things, how?”

Mary didn’t answer, just left the room. Piper sat down on the chair she had abandoned and tried to calm her breathing. Her lungs were gasping for air. Her vision was getting blurry and she didn’t know if it was from tears or she was going to black out.

The door opened and before she could look up, her mate was on his knees in front of her.

“Babe…”

“You’re here,” she said.

“Of course, we came here together, remember?”

Piper gave a laugh. “I know, I did, it’s just…”

“Hey, I got you. No wait, no wondering. We can walk out together if you want.”

Piper looked at the man that had saved her life in every way possible. She loved him with every thought she had.

“I’m more than willing,” she said. Piper of Clan Fehu had her whole life ahead of her with Anson by her side.

* * *

“Do you see her?” Fannie was whispering or attempting to whisper on video chat with Mary.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing, sneaking around spying on people?”

“Yes,” Fannie said like it was obvious.

“You know I have clan members to present and attend to. This is a sacred ritual.”

“Why do you have to be such a butthead? You know I need to see Eden to make sure she’s the one I saw.”

Mary gave a long-suffering sigh. “Having a dream because you were watching soap operas doesn’t really mean you’ve had a sign.”

“It was Pacifica Hospital and it’s not a soap opera. It’s a dramatic daytime series.”

“Whatever, are you sure it’s not one of the guys?” Mary asked, knowing that Fannie often got it wrong.

“I saw a woman and KSI and there was a hospital because I saw doctors and nurses.”

“Maybe one of them gets shot? You do know what they do for a living, right?”

“No, there was no blood or wounds and it wasn’t one of my clan that was in the hospital. Ohhh, maybe she’s going to get a doctor. Wouldn’t that be something? I haven’t matched a female clan member in a while. She could keep her man safe. She’s a strapping woman, that one.”

Mary started circling the room with her eye trained for the KSI staff. Casually trying to turn her phone so Fannie could see everyone, she rolled her eyes upwards at the Great Mother for making her fellow crones so flighty sometimes.

She finally found King standing with Hudson and Eden and casually sidled up to them.

“That’s her!” Fannie yelped over the phone.

Catching King’s eye, she saw him look at the phone then realized what Mary was doing. He made a gesture to himself and Mary quickly shook her head. King glanced to the two people beside him then shook his head and hid a smile.

Mary tucked the phone behind her back and gave a wave at the trio before moving quickly away.

“You have no filter, do you?” she hissed into the phone.

“Maybe not, but I know Eden is about to have her life turned upside down.”

“Oh, goodie,” Mary sighed.