Chapter 37
“El, this is the alpha of the Raleigh pack, Bryson. Bryson, this is my mate, Elizabeth.”
Abraham was introducing me to a bear of a man. He was wide and tall and brawny and intimidating. But the sweet smile on his face negated all that.
He took a giant step forward and pulled me into his arms, lifting me off the ground. I laughed loudly and did my best to wrap my arms around his broad shoulders.
He finally set me down and pulled Abraham into his next bear hug.
“I hear you live out my way,” Bryson said once he’d pulled away from Abraham.
“Yeah, I live and work in Raleigh.”
Bryson’s eyes twitched between Abraham and I. “That must not be much fun,” he said with blunt honesty.
We looked at each other and shrugged. “We make it work,” Abraham said.
Bryson’s smile returned. “How long have you two been mated and why didn’t I receive an invitation?”
I looked at Abraham curiously.
“We haven’t had a ceremony yet, we’re fated,” he said.
Bryson’s eyes widened slightly. “I hadn’t heard that part. Well, congratulations on finding your mate, Abraham. May we all be as lucky!” he yelled as he held up a glass of werewolf moonshine and took a swig.
Bryson took off shortly after that and we had a brief moment of reprieve from the steady stream of guests.
“Why does everyone keep asking about us being mated?”
Abraham glanced at me quickly. “Usually mates have a ceremony to make their union official.”
“But we don’t have to because we’re fated?”
This werewolf business was so confusing sometimes.
Abraham shrugged. “It’s not something I wanted to bring up yet.”
I frowned. “Why is that?”
He sighed and turned to face me. “Because it was hard enough just getting you to admit you liked me. I didn’t want to toss around a phrase like ‘marriage’ too soon.”
I jerked back in surprise. “Marriage? Who said anything about marriage?”
Abraham sighed again and pulled me off to the side where we could speak in relative privacy. “That’s what being mated means. It’s like being husband and wife.”
“So, we’re married?!” I practically shrieked.
Abraham ran a frustrated hand though his dark hair. “No, we’re not. We’re just mates.”
“But you said that was like husband and wife.”
“It is.”
I huffed out an exasperated breath. “Then that means we’re like husband and wife!” I paced away from him and back again. “Abraham, I never agreed to anything like that. We never spoke about marriage. We’ve only known each other a month!”
Abraham sighed again and grasped both my arms before I could pace away from him again. “El, this is why I didn’t bring it up sooner. I knew you’d get like this.”
I shrugged off his hands. “Like what? Like I want a choice in who I marry?”
Abraham’s expression turned dark. “You want options?”
I rolled my eyes and paced away from him again. “No, I don’t want options. I want you, you annoying alpha pain in my ass! I just wanted the chance to say no. I want to feel like it’s my decision.”
Abraham shook his head and looked away from me. “Don’t you get it? We’re fated. We don’t have a choice.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Are you unhappy about that?”
I had the right to be upset about this arrangement, but Abraham knew exactly what he was getting into. He claimed he knew we were fated from the moment he met me, broken and bleeding in the woods. If he didn’t want me as his mate, he shouldn’t have saved me!
Abraham ran another hand through his hair and grabbed the back of his neck. “That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you implied!”
My voice was getting louder and soon we’d be attracting the attention of our guests. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the party, but this conversation needed to be had.
Abraham reached out and pulled me into his arms. Immediately, some of my ire dispersed, and I relaxed into his hold. I don’t know why, but every time I was this close to him, it felt like nothing really bad could happen. Like we’d figure it out somehow as long as we were together.
“El, being mated can mean two different things in our culture. One meaning is marriage, and the other is used to describe those who are fated. We aren’t married yet, but we are fated to be together. In our world, those two things are synonymous.”
I looked up into his blue eyes and regretted the fact that they were wary as he looked at me. “But in my world, we’re just dating,” I said.
He pulled me closer until there was no space between us at all. “We’re more than dating, baby.”
My chest fluttered, and I nodded.
He was right.
This was way more than simply dating.
But it wasn’t marriage. We weren’t married, right? I wasn’t even a little bit ready for a commitment like that. I couldn’t even commit to saying, I love you, let alone I do!
I placed my hand over his steady-beating heart and took a deep breath. “I think we’re having a culture clash here.”
He chuckled softly. “Seems like it.”
“So, we’re not married?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
I arched a brow in his direction. “Slow your horses, McCoy. There’s not even a ring on my finger.”
He raised a brow of his own. “And would you accept a ring from me?”
Oh my God, was this a pre-proposal?
Was that even a thing?
What was going on?
I wasn’t ready for this conversation yet!
But, he was looking at me with such hopefully hesitant eyes, I knew I needed to answer him. And I knew I couldn’t do it with the panic lacing my voice.
So, I cleared my throat and looked down at my hand still on his chest. “Not today.”
I snuck a peek at his face and let out a relieved breath when I saw he was smiling. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “So, maybe tomorrow?”
I bit my lip but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.
He was impossible.
“Maybe,” I said.
He pulled me closer and captured my lips with his. We kissed for an indecently long time, but I couldn’t have cared less. When he finally broke the kiss–because I was absolutely incapable of doing it myself–he speared me with a smile so beautiful, my heart skipped a beat.
“Then maybe I’ll ask you to marry me tomorrow.”
My eyes widened. “You better not.”
His smile got wider. “But you said maybe tomorrow.”
I slapped his chest. “Don’t test me, McCoy.”
He laughed hard and pulled me back to where there were new werewolves waiting for us to greet them. We accepted hugs and kisses on the cheeks as another dozen or more men and women streamed past us.
When one tall and muscular red-head stepped up to us, I instantly knew he wasn’t just your average werewolf.
Abraham pressed a hand to the small of my back. “El, this is Grady, he’s the alpha of the Boone pack. Grady, this is my mate, Elizabeth.”
Grady reached in and hugged me gently, which was good because he looked like he could crush me like a soda can between his beefy arms. Next, he wrapped one arm around Abraham’s shoulders and used the other to slap him on the back.
“How have you been, man?” Grady asked.
Abraham smiled down at me for a second before looking back at the other alpha werewolf. “I’ve been great, man. Really great.”
Grady’s smile was sincere, but a little sad. “I’m so glad to hear that. You deserve it, Abraham.”
“Did you bring your pack?”
Grady tossed a look over his shoulder. “They’re around here somewhere.”
Abraham clapped him on the back again. “I’m happy to meet them.”
Grady smiled again, but it still didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m gonna head over to the food table before Bryson gets there. That man can eat.”
We laughed as Grady waved and stalked off with his hands tucked deep into the pockets of his blue jeans.
Abraham leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Grady lost his mate a couple years ago. He still hasn’t fully recovered from it.”
I turned wide eyes to Abraham and dropped my voice too. “Were they fated?”
Abraham shook his head quickly. “No, otherwise he’d be dead too.”
I nodded as I tried to absorb what I learned about the werewolf I just met. It was clear he was a sad man and now I knew why.
“They were together since they were kids,” Abraham added. “You have to understand, it’s actually really rare for a wolf to find their fated mate.”
“How many wolves find their mates on average?”
Being a lawyer for so long, I loved a good statistic.
“I’ve only known a handful of couples that were fated and one of them was my parents.”
I jerked back in surprise. “I didn’t realize it was that rare.”
Abraham’s eyes turned soft, and he reached up to cup my face in his big hand. “That’s why I wouldn’t ever let you go. It’s a miracle I found you in the first place.”
My stomach fluttered with butterflies as thoughts whipped through my head. Half of me wanted to melt at his sweet words and the other half couldn’t ignore how unlikely our situation was.
I lowered my voice further. “Abraham are you sure we’re fated?” He shot me an exasperated look. “We just don’t make any sense!” I whisper-yelled.
He slid the hand cupping my face down my throat to wrap around the back of my neck. “El, I know you can feel me because I can feel you. How can you deny that? How can you question us when you can feel me like this?”
His eyes were pleading with me to believe him, and I wanted to. So desperately. But it just didn’t make any sense. We never should have met. I never should have been a werewolf. How could we be fated?
But my body couldn’t lie like my head could.
Abraham was absolutely right. I did feel him. I could feel his absence and his nearness. I could feel him coming down a hall. His presence never truly left me.
Was that the mate magic?
Abraham sighed and pulled me close, smashing my face against his hard chest.
“If you ruin Evey’s makeup she’s gonna kill you,” I murmured against him.
He chuckled and released me. “Hey, let’s not worry about all this stuff right now. It’s a party, and I think everyone’s here now. Let’s get some food and find a place to sit out of the sun.”
I smiled gratefully. I really was getting hungry, and I was much more agreeable when I’d been fed.
We wandered up to the patio where the tables were full of trays of food. I noticed the people replenishing and cleaning up after everyone were wolves I wasn’t too familiar with.
“Where’s Ms. Elsie?” I asked Abraham out of the corner of my mouth.
“She’s was on the first shift and these girls are doing the second. That way everyone gets to enjoy the party, just some sooner and some later.”
I looked up at Abraham. “That’s an impressive and extremely fair system. You must be a great alpha,” I said with a cheeky smile.
He wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me into him. “I try,” he said drily.
We filled our plates to the brim and found seats under the tent near Doreen and Kyle Monroe. I hadn’t seen her since my meditation session, and him since the last pack dinner.
“Hey, guys, are you having a good time?” Abraham asked as we sat down at the picnic table with them.
They both smiled. “Great time,” Doc Monroe said. He held up his paper plate and plastic fork next. “Great food, too.”
Abraham scooped a giant spoonful of potato salad into his mouth and nodded. “Ms. Elsie to the rescue again.”
“Elizabeth, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. How are you doing with your meditating? Is it helping you control your wolf?” Doreen asked.
My face warmed slightly as I poked my fork into random things on my plate. “Yeah, it helps a bit. Not always though,” I mumbled.
Doreen reached out and clasped my hand with hers. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. We were all young and reckless at some point. The only thing is, we had our adolescence to blame it on, and you feel like you should know better.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” I whispered, knowing she’d hear me, anyway.
“Don’t. It’s completely normal to have trouble controlling your wolf. Just give yourself a little time.”
I smiled gratefully at the sweet Doctor’s wife. “Thanks Doreen, I really appreciate it.”
She withdrew her hand and picked her fork back up. “Come see me anytime you want some new techniques. I’m always here to help.”
My insides warmed at her words.
I really liked Doreen. And I really liked her husband. In fact, I really liked most of my pack and the new werewolves I’d met today.
I looked around at the people talking and laughing and eating barbecue food off paper plates and it felt like home. The stuffy parties my parents used to throw at five-star restaurants and ballrooms were nothing like this. There I’d always felt out of place and in the way. Here I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be.
“Bonfire!”
The call went up somewhere on the other side of the yard and was met with loud cheers and whistles.
My stomach instantly fell.
Abraham, ever watchful, must have seen the change in my demeanor. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “It’ll be fine, I promise. It’s actually a lot of fun, you’ll see.”
Yeah, or I’d seen the inside of the emergency department.
Abraham must have noticed my expression. “Will it make you feel better if you watch Evey go first? She’s a lot smaller than you.”
My stomach tightened again. “I don’t want Evey jumping over that stupid fire either, Abraham! Someone’s gonna get hurt!” I whispered back fiercely.
A clearing throat from across the table broke us out of our conversation. Doctor Kyle was watching us with kind eyes.
“Elizabeth, you really have nothing to worry about. These wolves have done much worse than this and come out the other side just fine. I’ll admit, jumping over open flames doesn’t sound like the greatest idea, but I guarantee that you’ll be able to clear the fire with no issue.”
I swallowed. “And you’ll be around to patch me up if this skirt goes up in flames?” I asked, picking up one of the dozen layers of tulle on my lap.
Kyle laughed softly and even Doreen was smiling indulgently.
“I promise to patch you up if you get hurt, but I know you’ll be fine.”
For some reason, I saw doctor Kyle Monroe as the most level-headed of the pack. He just gave off this aura of calm assurance. Probably from years of doctoring ornery werewolves. Whatever the reason was, hearing I’d be fine from Kyle settled my nerves more than anyone else had.
I nodded and turned to Abraham. “Okay, let’s go jump over a bonfire.”