“Can you believe Lucilla and Matheus?” Becca shook her head, still in disbelief. “They’re out walking in the moonlight like two teenagers. I’m speechless.”

“Still waters run deep, young lady, especially when it comes to love,” Wyatt replied with a chuckle. “The man threw himself into his work, and believe me, there were plenty of females sniffing around. He was never really interested. Not seriously, anyway. Now we know why.”

Jaylon stood by the window, drink in hand, staring into the dark.

“Things went well this afternoon, considering. Don’t you think?” Wyatt topped off his scotch and nodded, almost as if agreeing with himself. “And tomorrow we take your lovely mate to meet the rest of our pack and plan the main event.”

Jaylon nodded but didn’t say a word, and Becca got up from the table and walked over to where he stood.

“You’re so quiet. What’s the matter? Buyer’s remorse?” When Jay blinked at her confused, she laughed. “Remember? You asked me that same question in the cab ride over to the Boathouse.”

Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her into a side hug. “Never. You are the most important thing in the world to me. It’s why I’m concerned about him.” He gestured through the window toward the makeshift guard house across the commons.

“Alastair is under lock and key. I know my Leap doesn’t have much in terms of manpower, but we do know how to hang and field dress a deer. Alastair is no more than captured prey. There isn’t a family in this camp that didn’t lose someone they loved to Alastair’s raid. No one is going to take pity on him. No one’s afraid of him. Not with you and your pack backing us.”

Jay shook his head. “He’s desperate, Bec, and desperate people do desperate things. Not to mention he’s slightly deranged with his delusions regarding you and this Leap.” He drained his glass and put it on the end table.

“The faster we get you back to Deep Water, the better. I’ve already sent for men to come and help set up a perimeter to keep the rest of your Leap safe.”

Becca met his eyes and the worry in them. “Do you think that’s necessary?”

He nodded. “Yes. Jasper filled me in on the raid. Alastair used mercs. I don’t know what he used to pay them, but something tells me it was the promise of land and women.”

Becca sat on the arm of the couch, stunned. “Mercs. You mean rogue shifters?”

He nodded again. “My guess is he still has a few in his employ. I’d bet they are somewhere in the Pinelands waiting for word. I’ll have my men fan out and try and round them up. If humiliation and jail time doesn’t bring them round, then maybe a look down a hot metal barrel will.”

“This is my fault. I will never forgive myself for my own stupidity.” She pushed herself from the couch with an angry shove.

“You were played, Bec. Nick Reece took advantage of your naivety for his own ends and Alastair is trying to work that same thread. He needs to be taken out,” Jaylon reassured her. “You’ve got to cut the head from a snake in order to stop it from striking.”

“I don’t know—”

“It’s nice your Leap is willing to come so far east for the ceremony,” Wyatt said, deftly deflecting the conversation.

Becca nodded before moving to her chair at the table again, aware that he changed the subject. “It makes more sense to do the ceremony out by you. Our territory may be substantial, but we don’t have the lodgings to accommodate the number that would attend from Deep Water, not to mention we’re probably a little rustic for their taste.”

Jay snorted, holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Just a tad.”

“How many from the Leap do you think will attend?” Wyatt asked, taking his glasses and a small pad and pen from his jacket pocket. “With your friend Lyssa’s determination, we should be able to whip up a grand party in a matter of a few weeks.”

Becca shrugged. “I’m not sure, probably twenty people or so. We’re a really small clan, Wyatt. What you saw in the council gallery this afternoon was basically everyone attached to me. I have no immediate family. Lucilla is as close to a mother as I’ve known and then there’s Lyssa and her family.”

“Then why not invite everyone, then? Make it a beachside vacation for the entire Leap? Deep Water has deep pockets. We can certainly afford to accommodate your entire clan if it’s that small.”

Jaylon and Becca exchanged glances. “I don’t know, Dad. I don’t want to leave Becca’s property completely unattended. Not with tensions as high as they’re going to be with Alastair’s Pride. I know they’re from deep in the Rockies somewhere, and lord knows how long it will take for them to reply, but Becca needs to be secure in knowing her clan will come home to things status quo. No surprise attacks like before.”

Wyatt got up from his chair and crossed to the window. “Then double the contingent from Deep Water and leave the place surrounded. It’s important for everyone in Becca’s clan to feel included. From what Jasper said, an interspecies mating is not something that happens often in this neck of the woods.”

Jay glanced out the window and caught a glimpse of two shadows under the commons gazebo. Lucilla and Matheus. “Odds are it just might become more common than you think.”

Becca grinned, moving to his side. “Things are getting a little cozy under the stars tonight.” Tucking herself under Jay’s arm, she pulled him closer. “Second chance love.” She sighed. “I’m happy for them.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Me, too.”

Wyatt coughed and the two turned. “Are we going to plan this wedding shindig or not?”

Becca glanced at the old lovers again. “Maybe we should make it a twofer.”

Jay laughed, pulling her into a tight hug. “Not a chance. Let the geriatric crew elope to Vegas. This ceremony is all about us.”

* * *

“What is taking Terez so long?” Lyssa paced in front of the French doors.

“I don’t know why you’re so worried, Lys. To be honest, I don’t care if Jaylon and I have our wedding with me in my faded jeans. The dress is not that important.” Becca plopped a wedding bon-bon into her mouth and chewed.

Lyssa stood with her hands on her hips. “Not that important?” Not caring Becca was dressed in nothing but a spa wrap, she pulled her from the sofa and marched her out onto the deck overlooking the pool and gardens. “Look!”

She shrugged. “So?”

“Becca! Look at those people. They’re your guests, most of them wolf shifters. The people you will be associating with on a daily basis! Each dressed for success. The last thing any of us want is for you to walk down the aisle looking like a country bumpkin.”

Becca grinned. “Well, Jay calls me Country Mouse, so—” she shrugged again.

Arrgh! “Becca!”

Becca turned, swinging her towel clad butt in defiance. “Hell, Lys. Half of them already think we’re a bunch of inbred hicks. Maybe I’ll show up in this and let the terrycloth fall where it may.” Becca clicked the inside of her cheek.

“You will do no such thing!”

A muffled knock sounded and Lyssa met her friend’s answering chuckle with a dirty look as she walked to open the hotel room door.

“Finally!” She pulled Terez inside, just missing the gown’s flounce in the door jamb.

“I’m sorry, Miss Becca,” Terez said, lifting the white organza. “The last bit of the custom alterations took longer than I expected.”

Lyssa raised an eyebrow. “Custom alterations?”

Becca ignored her. “May I see, Terez?”

The tiny seamstress nodded with a smile and glided the dress across the king-size bed.

“Oh my! It’s better than I expected! You are a genius!” Becca clapped, smiling from ear-to-ear.

The seamstress beamed, running a protective hand over the silver embroidery on the strapless sweetheart neckline.

“Think everyone will understand the meaning?” Becca’s question was more for herself than anyone else.

“Does it matter, miss? It’s your day.”

Becca touched the woman’s hand and then ran a finger over the intricate stitches. “So much for your faded jeans and not caring a hoot,” Lys snorted. “This is amazing.”

“I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case the design was an epic fail.” Becca smiled. “Jaylon doesn’t know I spent extra money embroidering his family’s crest.”

She stepped back as Terez took the dress from its hanger and fluffed out the front, letting the bodice fall open for Becca to step into.

“He’ll be both surprised and thrilled,” Lyssa said, helping her friend step into the full white skirt.

“Why the hell did I pick a ball gown?” she grumbled, wiggling the bodice over her hips. “I’m going to look like a Christmas ornament.”

“Stop that. The final effect will be worth the aggravation.” Lyssa turned her around, clasping Becca’s fingers to one of the posts on the bed. “Hang on, Cinderella.”

It took both Terez and Lyssa to lace the corset back and then fasten the tiny satin buttons along the drop waist. Finally, Becca stepped back and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Smallish waist and big, beautiful boobs. Not bad.” She laughed turning to see the back of the dress as best as she could. “You do know how to bustle this monstrosity, right?” she asked Lys over her shoulder.

Her friend laughed. “Yes, boss. Now stop already.”