by Laura Fang
Kelly nodded solemnly. “Welcome to the pack, Tess.”
“Thanks.” Tess smiled.
“My brother-in-law had to change over from his pack too,” said Jena. “Sometimes you have to do what’s best for yourself.”
“Amen to that,” said Tess, taking a swig of her beer. “It seems like I’ll be in good company.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” said Kelly. We laughed.
It was a pleasant evening. We ended up staying out until the bar closed because there was so much to catch up on. By the time we drove pack to my parents’ house, we were exhausted. We immediately crawled into bed and snuggled up together.
“Your friends are really nice,” she said, her cheek pressed against mine.
“They’re wonderful people,” I agreed. “I’m lucky.”
“I feel lucky, too. They seemed perfectly willing to have me as part of the group.”
“Well, Allen and Jena are together, and Jena was the original member of the group. When she got married to Allen, we immediately welcomed him in. We’re all such similar people that we end up picking similar partners. As a result, everyone gets along great.”
“They’re betas, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, “along with my sisters. Towson is an alpha, though. He has his eye on an omega we went to high school with. We’ve all been pushing him to make a move for a while now.”
Tess snorted. “If they’re fated mates, they’ll get together eventually. You can’t rush these things.”
“No, of course not.”
As I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come for me, I reflected on my life. I had been so worried that Tess would feel like an outsider, like she wouldn’t get along with the rest of the group. Adding the wrong person could throw off the balance of a group that already got along very well with each other. But it seemed like I had made the right decision.
Of course—that’s why I had been apprehensive. I was surprised that I hadn’t already realized it. When I had brought Fiona around to meet my sisters and friends, like I had brought Tess today, she hadn’t quite gotten along with them. They had all been nice to each other, but they didn’t click. Of course, I could have attributed that to shyness. But Tess was a little shy and she still seemed to fit in in a way that Fiona never had.
My friends, bless them, hadn’t said anything. They were willing to welcome Tess with open arms despite the total mess I had made with Fiona and the abuse they had suffered in the aftermath of our break up. The rational thing to do would be to avoid holding a previous person’s mistakes against the new person. But not all people were rational. My friends and my family tried hard to be good people.
That’s what Tess never had, I thought, as I finally drifted off to sleep. Good people. She had never had people she could count on in her life. But now—like the alpha I was—I had been able to care for her by fixing that.
* * *
I spent much of the weekend showing Tess around town. We drove past my high school and visited the tiny arts and crafts museum which was run out of Mrs. Patricia’s house. On Saturday night, I even gathered the gang together for a hunt, which was awesome. We managed to take down a huge buck and everyone took home a hefty portion of meat. Tess had performed well; I was glad. My mate had showed herself to be a good hunter. And my friends, perceptive as they were, allowed me to make the final bite so I’d look good in front of her. She had been suitably impressed.
When it finally came time to drive back to the city on Sunday, I was tired but refreshed. I felt ready to go back to the city and tackle whatever problems had landed on my desk. My mother gave Tess a huge hug and told her to take care.
I felt good on the drive back, and Tess did too. She seemed at peace in a way she never had before. I wanted to think that it was because she had found a place where she could belong—among my family and my pack. I felt even more like a protective mate having shown her this place.
For the first couple of hours, nothing much happened. We played the license plate game and looked out for cows and horses and goats in farms. We stopped for lunch in a small town, leaving a huge tip for the adorable old lady waitress. But halfway into the drive, Tess got a phone call.
“Fuck,” she said. “Fuck fuck fuck.”
“What is it?”
“It’s my mother.”
“Are you going to pick it up?” I asked, concerned. I had to keep my eyes on the road but I glanced over at her to see how she was feeling. Her eyes were wide and she was looking at her phone like it had suddenly turned into a venomous snake in her hand.
“I guess so. I’ll put it on speakerphone, though. I can’t handle this alone, not right now.” She clicked the button.
“Hello, darling,” said her mother, all sweetness. It was repulsive, considering what I knew about her. It was even more repulsive because I knew that if I had just met her, not knowing who she was, I would have thought she was a perfectly kind lady, based on the saccharine quality of that voice.
“I told you not to call me again, Mom,” said Tess, irritation apparent in her voice.
“I’m calling to ask if you’ve made up your mind,” she said, completely ignoring what Tess had said. “I was talking to your father, and we thought it might be best if you returned home so we could find you a nice boy from our pack. You’ve had a year being independent. It’s time to move on to the next stage of your life.”
Tess was gripping the phone so tightly that she was shaking. “No. I’ve already put in the paperwork to become a part of my partner’s pack,” she said. Her voice was calm, betraying nothing. I wondered how she had developed that skill—probably from having to deal with this woman.
There was a pregnant silence while Tess’ mother processed what she had heard. “Well. You’re an ungrateful pup, aren’t you? After all I’ve done for you.”
“Goodbye, Mom,” said Tess. “I never want to talk to you again.”
“I’ll come to your wedding,” she said quickly. “I’ll show up and I’ll cause trouble. No one can take you away from me.”
“They can,” said Tess, and then she hung up.
When she was sure she was disconnected, she let out a long, low whine, letting the mask slip and allowing herself to feel her emotions.
“I’m sorry, Tess,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
She turned to look at me, distraught. “She can’t actually ruin our wedding, can she? It’s like she has to steal all the happiness she can from me.”
“We’ll figure out a way to keep her away,” I said. “There must be a solution. She will not be allowed to threaten our happiness.”
Tess didn’t look entirely pleased with this, and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t have a great track record with getting troublesome people to leave me alone. But I had an idea; I just didn’t want to tell her until I was sure about it. I was pretty sure I knew how to keep Tess’ mother away.
“Let’s focus on planning our future together,” I said gently. “We’re both going to make sure that toxic people aren’t a part of it. We’re going to start off fresh and build something together.”
“Yeah?” Her voice cracked.
“I’m positive. We can do this, Tess. You and me.”
11
Tess
My heart was so full of joy that I was going to burst. It was the day of the wedding and all the preparations had been made. Shifter weddings were far less complicated than human weddings, so we didn’t have that much to worry about. We had all the RSVPs from our guests, who had flown in this week, and the catering had come through brilliantly.
Our wedding was going to be a little backward, by human standards. We were going to have the reception first, to accommodate our non-shifter friends. We had hired a caterer to provide delicious food—roast beef, chicken stew, and other hearty shifter meals—for the occasion. It was to be held in a park near Cecelia’s house.
Then, we were going to have the wedding itself, at midnight. Today was a full moon day
, which was the only suitable kind of day for shifters to get married. The shifter guests would stay for this event. We would carpool to a mountaintop on the edge of Cecelia’s pack’s territory closest to the city, and spend the night running and hunting and celebrating in the shifter way—as wolves. But not before we did the sacred howls that would wed us in the eyes of the other shifters.
I was looking forward to it. I felt like I was lighter than air, walking on clouds, I was so happy. I was so lucky that I was going to be bound to Cecelia for the rest of my life. I couldn’t have asked for a better mate.
The proposal had been perfect. In late fall, we had gone on a ski trip. I hadn’t suspected anything. I had just thought we were taking a vacation together. I hadn’t had the opportunity to ever go skiing, so I was enjoying my first time on the slopes. Cecelia was a patient and careful teacher, but she also knew when to give me a kick in the ass. If she hadn’t, I might have spent the whole week on the bunny slopes.
Later, she told me that she had had the ring in a safe pocket the whole time, waiting for the perfect moment. To think that I had been clueless up until that moment! After a particularly successful day, when I hadn’t slipped or tripped once, we took a walk around the cabin, enjoying the mountain vistas surrounding us. There was a gorgeous sunset over one of them, and we leaned on the railing, watching everything get painted in gold. It was a magnificent moment.
And then she did it. She had her arm around me, but I looked at her when she broke away. I watched her curiously as she slipped a hand into her jacket and brought out her fist. Then she got down on one knee and opened her hand, revealing a shining silver band with diamonds. “Will you marry me?” she asked, her eyes shining.
I had stared at her for a second or two, in disbelief. Even though I had been well aware that the proposal was coming, considering that we had gone through all the trouble of the paperwork, it was still a surprise. I gaped at her and then remembered to speak as she continued to grin at me. “Of course, Cecelia.” She slipped the ring on my finger, then stood up to kiss me. As night fell over the resort, we continued kissing each other, not even caring who could see us.
We’d had some incredible sex that night, too.
And now we were finally here, at the wedding. After so much anticipation, the day had arrived. Cecelia’s entire family had showed up, and other pack members planned to meet us at the mountaintop. I had invited some of my friends and coworkers to the reception. No one from my old life was present. That was exactly how I wanted it.
The DJ we had hired for the reception was doing a great job. People looked like they were grooving. It was cold, but we had hired an event company that had one of those pavilions that could be set up and torn down again. There were plenty of space heaters, and everyone was comfortable. While an indoor wedding may have been less of a hassle, it wasn’t the shifter way.
Cecelia and I were making the rounds, socializing with all our guests. As the alcohol kept flowing, the dancing became wilder and the laughter became louder. We took lots of photos and made sure our photographer got some candid ones. I didn’t have a care in the world—all I was paying attention to was my amazing mate.
I checked my phone again; in about an hour, we would wrap up so that the shifters could make their way to the mountaintop, where the official wedding would take place. But before I put my phone back in my pocket, I saw that I had received a text message from an unfamiliar number. My heart skipped a beat; I had started learning that unfamiliar numbers weren’t a good sign.
It turned out that it was Shawna. Heard about your wedding from our mutual friend Tony! Hope you and your lady have a wonderful life together. xoxo
I let out a sigh of relief. I was happy to hear from Shawna. I typed up a reply to her and sent her a photo of Cecelia and me.
But the scare over her number reminded me of my mom’s threat. Of course, it was an empty threat. She wouldn’t be able to enter Cecelia’s pack territory. There was no reason to worry about it. Pack territories were generally very carefully patrolled, and Cecelia’s pack seemed organized enough that they’d do a good job protecting the forest, especially since there was a wedding tonight. That was the solution Cecelia had come up with. She had even arranged extra patrols, just in case.
When we had chosen the mountain, Cecelia had also explained that she wouldn’t even know where to go. She had rarely, if ever, left my former pack’s tiny town, and she wouldn’t know where we would be in the wide swath of land that comprised my new territory. There was a minor mountain range that passed through it, and dozens of mountains to choose from.
Thinking about that reminded me of the mountain selection process. Cecelia and I had trekked out there in wolf form and had a romantic couple of days hiking through the animal trails, scoping out which peak would be most majestic and most accessible for everyone. I was really looking forward to tonight.
Eventually, the party started dispersing and the caterers and event company started packing up their stuff. We double-checked with them that they were good to go, then led the caravan of cars to the mountain.
It only took an hour to arrive at the designated lot. Because most of the forest was on national park land, Cecelia’s pack maintained some lodges around it so that we would have easy access. We started filing into the forest. Even though it was late at night, we made sure to go in far enough before stripping and transforming.
An officiant from Cecelia’s father’s office—Mr. Tarrul—was there to help lead the ceremony. We had already rehearsed it with him beforehand; it wasn’t complicated, but we didn’t want to make a single mistake. He led the entire pack, with us right behind him, and we made the initial trek up the mountain, paws silently stepping through the undergrowth.
I could hear the nipping and laughter of the other wolves behind us. Being a wolf was awesome. Even though we were a different species from dogs (and actual wolves, for that matter), we had the same playfulness that came out when we didn’t have to be serious. Because we were actually shifters, we didn’t have to worry about hunting or survival or anything like that (though we would go hunting tonight, after the ceremony). We were free to let our cheerful, exuberant sides out on this festive occasion.
After some time the forest thinned out and we could run. Even after the reception, I had a lot of pent up energy; it was like transforming had completely re-energized me. Cecelia’s mother ran alongside us, giving us affectionate yips, then starting a race. We ran circles around her and she growled competitively.
Eventually, we approached the top of the mountain. Between the full moon and our own natural night vision, we were able to see quite clearly. This mountain wasn’t as tall as some of the others, but because of its placement, we got an excellent view of the entire range. A few of the tallest mountains even had snowcaps. It was incredibly picturesque, and we spent a while looking, enjoying the sense of the sublime that the vista gave us.
Now, are you ready for the ceremony, everyone? asked Mr. Tarrul.
The wolves yipped and barked, their playful demeanors shifting into more solemn ones. They gathered in a half circle around me and Cecelia and Mr. Tarrul.
We have come to Moseley’s Peak to witness the union of two very special wolves, Cecelia Martell and Tess Posten. These young women are ready to devote their lives to each other and their pack. Cecelia, Tess, it is time for the howls.
We got in position in front of our audience, facing each other under the full moon. Cecelia, being the alpha, went first, raising her voice in a haunting, thick note that carried loudly through the forest.
As she tapered off, I joined her, my voice keening into the sky and combining with hers to form a harmony. After these initial notes, we sang together in an alternating pattern, our undulating voices creating a beautiful chorus.
I had only ever been to one shifter wedding before and it hadn’t been quite like this. Our audience was quiet and respectful, for one, and Cecelia was the perfect partner to howl with. I felt like the way our voices
harmonized perfectly was a symbol of how we were good for each other.
We were supposed to sing as long as we felt it was right, but Mr. Tarrul had advised that we shouldn’t go on too long, to avoid tiring the guests. But I felt our duet approaching a natural conclusion and when we finished, we stepped forward to nuzzle each other. I pressed my snout into the thick fur of her neck, breathing in her scent.
Now, it is time for the pack to howl together, said Mr. Tarrul. We lifted our voices again, and this time, all of the gathered wolves joined in. We were a magnificent chorus. I was sure that our song was carrying all the way to the city, we were so loud. As the chorus progressed, it became more energetic, more festive. I could feel a shiver run through my body as the spirit of the pack moved me.
The howls naturally tapered off. The union is complete, said Mr. Tarrul, as the last of the wolves finished their howls. You may now rejoice.
At this, the wolves went wild. They barked and laughed and pranced around like they were pups again. I knew that a few guests were planning to hunt, so they went off into the forest. We dispersed and ran all over the area. Cecelia and I went around and talked to the guests like we had at the reception. Then we located her father and Mr. Tarrul and joined their hunting crew, which eventually took down a stag. After a while, Cecelia and I went off on our own to enjoy each other’s company. We snuggled against the cold and looked over the mountain vista again. It was perfect.
So, mate, do you think today was a success? she asked.
Absolutely, I said. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
* * *
We stayed up all night and regrouped in the early hours of the morning. Everyone was accounted for. The caravan reluctantly got started and went back to the city, though Cecelia’s family went back to their town. Even though we hadn’t slept at all, I felt energized. Today was my first day as Cecelia’s official mate.
