by Lauren Dane
After some small talk and wedding detail stuff that had him daydreaming about fishing and maybe some tent sex, he noted his grandfather had taken over and Jace paid better attention.
“Patty and me, well, we’re going to move out. This is the Patron house. Jace will be Patron soon enough. He and Katie Faith should move in after the wedding.”
Everyone nodded like it was normal to just up and give your house away. He’d grown up in this house. It had always felt like home. Once he allowed the idea to root, he couldn’t shake the vision of Katie Faith hollering at their kids not to slam the screen door when they went out back to play.
Katie Faith looked to him, waiting for his expression. Waiting, he knew, for him to show how he felt before she did the same.
Love swamped him then, shoving away all those broken edges that scraped him raw sometimes. He gave her a small tip of his chin and she smiled, reaching out to take his hand.
“This is a very fine gift. Thank you.” To refuse would have been the worst sort of insult. “But we don’t want to put you out of your home.”
“You know we have a cabin at the lake. I’ve been spending time out there over the last months, making it a place your grandmomma will be happy. I got my dock. I got my poles and my privacy. My life has been noisy a long time. I like the idea of some quiet.”
Jace heard the weariness in his grandfather’s tone. He’d been in charge for pretty much his entire adult life. Had lived through tragedy and brought his pack back from utter chaos. It took a toll and he wouldn’t begrudge his grandfather wanting to retire.
“We’ve been moving things over there since before your engagement. The kitchen and bathroom are finished. Hell, nicer than what you’ve got here.” His grandmother winked at him. Telling him it would be all right. “It’s how things work. I moved in here with JJ after he took over, just like you will.”
“There’s very good magic in this house,” Katie Faith said, making Jace love her even more. “The house was built with love. It’s lived here and given magic to these walls and this ground for a very long time. Babies and grandbabies only brought it more light. It’s a safe place.”
His grandmother blinked away tears. Major handed her a tissue and she laughed, holding him to her for a moment.
“The Patron lives here. This is where you and Katie Faith belong. I was thinking we could have the Patron ceremony either on your wedding day or close to it,” JJ said.
They were skipping the honeymoon. He knew she’d be too nervous to leave town with her father still recovering and this situation still raw between Nadine and Scarlett.
A honeymoon would keep until next year, he’d told her. But what she’d said was that she’d rather spend their money and effort on a house.
Ever practical. He liked that about her.
Now they had that house. One he’d have to update because, like his grandpa, he wanted his wife to be happy. Wanted her to feel as if it was hers and not someplace she was a tenant.
Still’d be less costly than building from the ground up or buying something if they were lucky enough to find what they needed on the market.
“I’m sure we can work the Patron ceremony into our wedding day. I mean, the whole pack will be there anyway,” Katie Faith said.
“Let’s you and me talk over some details and then we can work it out with my grandparents,” he told her. Jace got the feeling she might think it was something akin to wedding vows but there was a lot more to it than that. And it wasn’t something the whole town could be part of.
He leaned over to kiss her and murmur his thanks before catching the second pass of the mashed potatoes and loading up another helping.
* * *
Katie Faith watched a bunch of gorgeous shifters hefting tables, chairs, tent poles and all other manner of items they’d need for the reception in two days’ time. Out beyond the mercantile they’d erected a massive kitchen. They’d been preparing the wedding feast for the last two weeks as freezers, fridges and root cellars began to fill up with all the supplies.
She sat on the roof outside her apartment, Aimee at her side.
“I can’t believe how well this whole thing is coming together. In two weeks. You’re a beast.” Aimee clinked her root beer to hers.
“I haven’t done much. Not really. All those cute Dooleys are the ones who’ve handled the setup. You and Lara are the ones who found all these chairs. Miz Rose handled the flowers. My mom did the alterations on my dress. The wolves have been hunting and fishing for the last two weeks. They’ve even got smokers set up and will start cooking some of the meat tomorrow. All I’ve really had to do is stand around and thank folks who’ve done things for me. It’s pretty rad.”
Aimee laughed. “People love you.”
“I hope I don’t suck too terribly at being a wife and a werewolf Patron who’s really a witch.” Katie Faith said it so fast she was pretty certain that if it had been anyone other than Aimee they wouldn’t have been able to understand her.
“You’re going to be amazing at all that.”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Patty is one of them. She knows what it’s like to be a werewolf. She understands them in a way I can’t. Ever. And she’s so steady. I’m weird. Wolves don’t know what to make of weird.”
“You need to slow down there, sister. You’re heading off that ledge and there’s no reason,” Aimee said. “Patty is amazing. I totally agree. But it’s not like they expect you to be her. And she’ll still be in Diablo Lake if you need advice or help.”
Probably. Werewolves were all so damned nosy and in one anothers’ business she had no real doubt Patty would continue to be an active part of pack life.
“I’m going to be the first non-shifter Patron in Diablo Lake history. How’s that for pressure?”
“But not the first mixed marriage by a long shot. Right this moment I can name at least ten couples who live here now. You count their friends and family, their children and grandchildren and you’re not alone. And even if you were, you’re going to handle this because you’re capable that way. You just are. Organized and energetic. Except for mornings but we won’t speak of that though I take it he’s tolerant of your flaw in that way.”
Katie Faith groaned. “He’s so fucking cheerful in the morning. And he likes morning sex. I have to be up anyway so I may as well go on ahead and get on board with that.”
“Well, sure. You show him your tits! Of course he’s tolerant of what a shrew you are until you have coffee and or some sort of baked good.”
“He does seem to enjoy them. And he lets me brush my teeth and pee first. I can’t get on board with all that sex until then.”
“With the door open? No way! He must be a wizard in bed.”
They dissolved into laughter as Katie Faith blushed furiously.
“Well, I’m just sayin’, he vanquished the balrog and he’s like a level 15 sex paladin. Or whatever, I don’t actually know what a paladin does. So that’s not going to work as a wise crack.”
Aimee patted her shoulder. “Such a pretty face.”
Which started off a fresh gale of laughter.
“He’s awesome in the ways of sexing. Enough said. However, no one is awesome enough to make me down with the door open during peeing. Or god forbid, just walking in to get something when I’m peeing. Werewolves have boundary issues, I’m telling you.” She winced as she realized how much emotion she’d put in that last sentence.
“We’re on the bullet train to tangent-land, aren’t we?”
So much had changed in such a short period of time, Katie Faith had a bit of whiplash. His family though, they just sort of barreled into every room as well as her life. They were total busybodies and now that Jace had been taking over, at least five of them seemed to constantly be underfoot.
“You mock, but you
know you want to hear it. Am I right?” Katie Faith taunted.
Aimee made a get on with it motion.
“They just like to hug and lay on you so no complaints there. And he sleeps nice and warm. But they come to him now. His pack members I mean. Every night they wait for him to talk to him and I have less time with him to just hang out than I did before. And I know that’s part of the deal. So I’m trying to learn from him. Trying to learn from Patty and JJ. His brothers have been great with history lessons and the like.
“They’re all good to me. The Dooley wolves have welcomed me. The Pembrys didn’t welcome me. Not like that. I mean, they didn’t shun me or make me feel bad or anything. But I never felt like each individual wolf was part of my family.” She swallowed hard. “Hell, they just built a dance floor that they’ll then use to make the deck on the back of the Patron house.”
Which was the capper on all this panic.
“JJ and Patty will like that. The view over the backyard and the forest just beyond sure is a pretty one. They could have a barbecue out there too.”
“Monday night we went to dinner over at JJ and Patty’s. Right after I got my second roll buttered, they up and announce they’re moving out of the Patron house and giving it to us. They’ve had a place out on the southern end of the lake for years now. JJ needs the quiet and she needs him to be healthy so they’re headed there. They started a while ago, apparently, and just told no one. But for real they’ve begun loading up furniture and moving it. Like today.”
“Wow! That’s unexpected and sort of fast. I mean, great. It’s a beautiful house and all. How do you feel about this?”
Katie Faith said, “I guess it just made it a whole lot of realness at once. Getting married. Taking on a new family including six hundred or so folks who are as good as family. Moving out of my apartment to move in with Jace after moving out of my apartment in Chattanooga to come back here. I’ve lived on my own for my entire adult life and now we’re not only going to be married, but living in the same house, a house that he grew up in. Jesus on a pony.”
She blew out a breath.
“He’s so sweet about the whole thing. I can’t hide it from him that I’m a little freaked. But I’m trying to keep it to a minimum.”
“Do you have second thoughts?”
Katie Faith shook her head immediately. “No. I’m utterly certain I love him and I want to marry him. We already live together pretty much so that probably won’t be such a big deal though he’s a mess. I hope that bathroom has double sinks because he leaves so much water everywhere when he shaves.”
“Okay we’re headed toward tangent-ception at this point. Stick to one side topic at a time or I get too confused.” Aimee was so great at keeping her reined in.
Katie Faith grinned a moment. “Anyway. So I think I’ve dealt with anxiety over the living together part. And the marriage part too. But wow, this Patron thing. It’s like his whole life. The heart of who he is. And he’s so good at it. I’m seriously impressed with how much they trust him. They come to him and wait in the hall outside our apartments. And they do that to ask his advice on stuff. Should they try this new business, or should they ask their sweetheart to get married. They come to him when there’s been some sort of dispute because they trust him to solve it in a fair and just manner. The grumpier he is, the more they love it. I don’t even get it but it makes me love them all even more in return. The aunties, oh God, they swarm all over him, asking for his help, wanting his reassurance. It’s adorable.”
Aimee said, “You got yourself some kind of life. I’m not jealous, because that’s a negative thing. I’d like to have that some day. To have someone look at me the way he looks at you. And you have such a blazing, bright path into your future. I love that for you because only someone as perfect for you as Jace is good enough.”
“He’s so good at being Patron. And his grandparents were too, even during a time of crisis, you know? And I’m not a werewolf, as we’ve already established. I’m such a newbie I squeak when I walk. Moving in to that house, which he’s of course remodeling any way I want, just makes it all so immediate. It’s just...a lot to take in and I know I’m going to screw stuff up.”
Aimee hugged her, laughing.
Katie Faith knew Aimee would say all the right things, which is why she finally confided all her anxieties and obsessions from over the last two weeks.
The Dooley wolves did seem to like her. They trusted her. Sought her out in town. Made a point to come by and say hello if she was working at the Counter. They’d opened their arms up to admit her to their community.
She really liked that.
“My best advice is to be yourself because that’s who we all love. Weird or not. You said yourself you’re certain you love him and you want to marry him. So, those are the two biggest deals. Then you said you already pretty much live together and that wouldn’t be such a big deal to adjust to. You’re nearly all the way to okay by this point. The rest is you learning how to lead with Jace and I don’t imagine you’ll be anything but great at it, because you’re too competitive not to be.” Aimee’s cockeyed grin eased the last of her anxiety. For the moment anyway.
“I’m so glad to have you back in my life every day. I do feel better. Thanks for the pep talk.”
“I admire you so much, Katie Faith. Which means I have every possible confidence you will be great at all this. You’ll mess up, yes. Everyone does. But you have Jace at your side. You got this.”
Katie Faith hugged her oldest, dearest friend before catching sight of Damon.
“I need to talk to Damon about something. I’ll be back.” Katie Faith darted off.
He smiled when he caught sight of her as he put tools back into the shed. “Hey, sweetheart. Do our preparations meet with your approval?”
She hugged him. “It looks fantastic. You’re making this day so much more special. Thank you.”
They’d gotten permission to close off the street surrounding the mercantile. The tables and tents would be scattered on the huge lawn that fronted it and the Patron’s house next door, spilling out into the road where a dance floor would go. A live band would play.
Though not the small wedding she’d originally wanted, it’d be a damned fun party so she’d just up and invited the whole town. She’d told Jace they might as well make it an event to unite instead of divide. If Pembrys wanted to come—as she counted many among her friends and family, she hoped they did—they would be welcomed. If they didn’t, she couldn’t help that. The other event, the one that had booked the church was for a christening and a party after. So Katie Faith had told them to stop on by after that if they wanted cake.
Things were going to be all right.
She and Jace could do this.
She blew out a shaky breath, holding on to that. “Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something.”
His expression sobered. “Always.”
“I know that once I marry Jace I’ll be subject to pack law. Specifically when it comes to discussing anyone who’s cast out.”
The answering expression on his face told her he knew exactly what she was going to talk about.
“Until then, I’m in a gray area and I hate the idea of things being used as a way to hurt him. Or you. So I can tell you I know some of the details about what happened with your father, but nothing really specific. I’ve been going back and forth as to whether I should tell Jace what I do know. You and Major understand him better than anyone. What do you think?”
He sighed. “It’s hard to see past my own bias. Maybe you might tell him what you told me and let him decide if he wants to know more. I do hope once you take over, you’ll re-think some of our laws. Silence hurts a lot of people.”
She nodded. “It’s on my radar, for whatever that’s worth. I love you all.”
Damon hugged her. “T
hank you.”
“You planning to try to steal my woman, Damon?”
She turned to catch sight of Jace approaching, along with several others who’d been setting things up. Damn, he looked good enough to lick.
“Cute as your brother is, I seem to only like one flavor of werewolf these days.”
He hugged her and she sniffed him. Clean sweat always smelled so good on his skin. She managed a lick at the end of a kiss she pressed to the side of his neck.
“We’re headed out for a run. Is everything all right?” He tipped her chin up to look into her eyes.
“Yes. Go. Have fun. I’ll see you later. Come by if it’s not too late. Even if it is.”
He flashed her a grin and within moments, they’d all swept off, heading toward the edge of the forest behind the Patron house.
Jace caught up with Damon just before they took the shift. “Everything okay with her?”
Damon nodded. “Yes. She wants to talk to you about something. But it’s not dire. There’s nothing for you to worry about or I’d have told you up front.”
“Then why’d you over explain just now?” He gave his brother a careful look.
“Because you’d have asked me all those questions so I just went on and answered them first.” Damon quirked a brow.
“Okay. Yeah. Okay.” He breathed out carefully as they reached the little outbuilding they left their clothes and other belongings in before they took on the wolf.
She was fine. Not in danger. Very happy. When he’d just had her in his arms she’d been in love with him.
He stood on the dirt, pine needles, leaves, loam gone a little wet from condensation. The moon hung overhead, three quarters full. The magic of the earth seemed to suck him under and he let go of his human self.
Wolf took over.
Paws hit the earth this time, gaining purchase and tearing into the deeper forest ahead.
The entire world around him might have been black and white, but it was the scent and taste that rendered everything in full color to his senses.
