by Carol Davis
The answer was no. What he did have was a pair of simple shoes made of the softest leather, obviously hand-stitched, created with a great deal of skill and care. In their own way, they were stunningly beautiful, like nothing she had ever seen before.
Gently, Aaron took her right foot in his hand and slid it into one of the shoes, then repeated the process with the other foot.
“These are for today,” he explained. “For special occasions. We’ll find others for you to walk in, and do your work in. As your gift to me,” he added with a note of humor in his voice, “you can throw your old ones away.”
She slid her feet forward to take another look. Then she wiggled her toes a little.
“Do you like them?” he asked.
“I do,” she whispered. “I love them.”
A short while later they were standing outdoors, in a beautiful place among the trees. Mostly white birches, she noticed, which she’d always thought were the prettiest of trees. And there were wildflowers everywhere she looked: blue, yellow, white, pale pink.
The entire pack had gathered there, standing in family groups, in couples, and a few singles, with the littlest children running energetically around, playing hide-and-seek and squealing with delight.
She and Aaron each repeated the words supplied to them by a man she’d been told was the seer, promising to protect and support and cherish each other, to treasure the love and support of the pack, and to carry the line of the wolf forward into the future.
Through all of it, they barely took their eyes off each other, and they never let go of each other’s hands.
Finally, the seer took their clasped hands in his own and blessed their bond.
“Go forward as one,” he told them solemnly.
That seemed to be the signal for everyone else to begin a lot of loud celebration. Cheering, the others surrounded them, swept them out of the clearing, and paraded them through the village, winding around the houses and common buildings, alongside the animal pens and gardens, past a bluff with a spectacular view of the ocean, around and around, until Abby started to feel dizzy.
To her relief, the parade ended just a minute or two later, in a place she could swear had been empty the last time they’d passed it.
Now it was full of tables and benches, the tables all covered with platters of food and baskets of flowers. It looked as stunning as any reception venue she’d ever seen—no, more so, because this was outdoors in the sunlight, with a warm, light breeze blowing through, carrying with it the scent of flowers and pine and the salty tang of the ocean.
She’d had to figure out none of this. She hadn’t done any online searches, interviewed anyone, or struggled through choosing one thing over another.
The pack had done all this for her.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Aaron said with a note of laughter in his voice.
She hadn’t thought she was, but she ate ravenously, trying at least a bite or two of everything that was put in front of her: delicious breads, flavorful meats and stews, delicate cakes… and chocolate.
That, she guessed, was a gift from Katrin.
Around her, she heard gasps and grunts of pleasure, and saw people young and old enjoying the bountiful meal without any attempt at good manners—or the use of cutlery. That startled her at first, then she was tempted to join in and eat everything using her hands, but that would have risked staining her beautiful dress.
Aaron, who once again seemed to know what she was thinking, gave her a sly look and suggested, “Take it off.”
He was serious, she realized, and she wondered with a little bit of horror if that was something brides normally did. She could feel herself going pale, and then Aaron threw back his head and laughed.
“No, no,” he said. “You can run and put on your other clothes. No one expects you to wear the gown all day.”
“I want to.”
He leaned in close and brushed a kiss against her cheek. “You look beautiful in it, and out of it,” he said close to her ear. “You have always been beautiful to me—in your flimsy human dresses, and even in those ridiculous pink shoes. You would look beautiful if you wore my clothes. Or a sack. I’ve never seen you as anything but beautiful, Abby.”
Then he made the kiss a serious one, something that made everyone around them whoop with delight.
The meal went on for quite a while, then someone brought out a fiddle and some drums, and eating turned to dancing. The tables were carried away—off to where they’d originally come from, Abby supposed—and the clearing was filled with twirling, swooping, prancing and swaying.
Singing, too: some on-key voices and some terribly off-key, but it was all wonderful, and the children seemed thrilled with every bit of it.
She saw Aaron’s parents dancing together, with eyes only for each other. She thought she might see Luca dancing with Katrin, but Katrin was dancing with someone Abby didn’t recognize, and Luca was nowhere to be seen—nor were Micah and Daniel. Mason and Jameson were with women Abby assumed were their wives, and Caleb was sitting in a place of honor, overseeing everything.
Granny Sara was standing near the base of a big, towering pine, looking as wistful as Caleb did. When she saw Abby looking at her, she came over and embraced her.
The old woman’s fingers brushed the delicate lace of Abby’s gown in a way that said clearly, I wore this too.
“Thank you,” Abby said softly.
Sara nodded and patted Abby’s cheek. “Be happy. And come talk with me, will you? I’d like that.”
“I will.”
Moments after Sara had disappeared into the crowd, some of the children began to approach shyly, to touch Abby’s dress and peer up into her face. A few ran up more boldly, poked or pulled at the dress, then ran off, looking over their shoulders as if they wanted Abby to chase them.
One little boy actually sniffed her, frowned up at her curiously, then sniffed some more until Aaron swatted him away.
A minute later, the child was back. “You come from the other world,” he announced.
“The mainland,” Aaron corrected him. “The same world. A different place.”
“The human place.”
And he was gone again, moving so swiftly Abby couldn’t see where he went. She’d have to look out for that one, she told herself; he’d probably pop up when she least expected it, to have another sniff.
Another child, a girl, asked, “Are you a dolphin?”
“Um… no,” Abby said.
“They said you come from Dolphin Cove. I thought you were a dolphin. I love dolphins. I wish you were one.”
Things would get worse, Abby figured. She’d already been grilled by the elders; now she was going to be grilled by the children, and those kinds of questions could be a hundred times more unnerving than anything the adults could come up with. She’d have to find a way to satisfy their curiosity without making them suspicious or afraid of humans—but not too interested in them.
Heaven knew what the elders would say if these kids all went running to the mainland in search of human mates.
She’d bent down to talk to the little girl; now she straightened up to find herself almost face to face with a man who looked to be several years younger than Aaron.
He looked past her at Aaron, who had moved a few steps away to talk to his brother, then returned his attention to Abby. “Are there many there?” he asked so quietly that she almost couldn’t hear him over the noise.
Abby shook her head, not sure what he was asking.
“This… Dolphin Cove,” he said. “Are there many?”
“Many… what?”
“Women.”
“I—I don’t know.” She stopped to think. She’d been too lost in her own feelings during that weekend at the resort to notice much of what was going on around her, but… yes. Other guests, the front desk staff, the maids, the waitresses in the dining room. There’d been a number of women. “I guess it depends on what you think of as a lot. But sure. There’s quite a f
ew people there, I think. In the summer, at least.”
He seemed to have more questions, but he glanced at Aaron again and shook his head. “Thank you,” he said.
“Sure. You’re welcome.”
He slipped away, and she lost sight of him. When she turned toward Aaron, he was looking into the crowd.
“What did Ethan want?” he asked.
“Ethan?”
Aaron nodded in the direction the other man had taken.
“Oh, nothing. He asked about Dolphin Cove.”
That seemed to deepen Aaron’s frown. Then he shook his head, the frown disappeared, and he wrapped an arm around her. “I’ve been told I dance like a crippled goat,” he confessed. “But will you—”
“Let you step on my toes?”
The noise around her sounded like a New Year’s Eve celebration: loud, confusing, out of tune… but wonderful. Everyone seemed to be happy; even the elders looked less annoyed than Abby had seen them up to this point.
She didn’t doubt there’d be problems in the future, that questions would arise, that she’d have some difficulty fitting in. But in every way she could think of, life in this place seemed like something she truly wanted to be a part of—with her gorgeous, devoted mate at her side.
Her eyes were misting up again as she wrapped her arms around Aaron and held him as tightly as she could, and she felt a surge of joy when he rested his cheek against the top of her head and embraced her in return.
He could step on her toes all he liked, she decided.
For the rest of her life.
* * * *
Shifter Island
Aaron and Abby have finally found their happy ending—but the story of Shifter Island continues!
Coming in June 2016…
Book Four: Quest
Years ago, during a visit to the mainland, Aaron’s brother Luca met a beautiful redhead named Allison and felt the pull of the mating bond. But Allison was a human, and even though she was in love with Luca, she refused to leave her home and family to join him on the island. Although his heart was broken, Luca had no choice but to accept her decision. Now, he’s seen his brother and Abby find love together… and he’s determined to find Allison, no matter where she is, and make her his mate.
Coming in July 2016…
Book Five: Healer
Being the healer of the pack is a very fulfilling life, one that keeps Deborah busy from sunup until late at night. Even though she lost her mate during a terrible winter almost ten years ago, she feels content and loved. Then the gruff and troublesome Jed begins to take special notice of her, and she begins to ask herself if there truly is something missing from her life—if it’s possible to find another mate she’ll love as deeply as the one she lost.
Coming in August 2016…
Book Six: Dolphin Cove
Choose your mate from among the pack, Ethan has been told all his life. But he can’t help thinking that he’s missing something—that there might be someone like the beautiful Abby in the place she came from, the island called Dolphin Cove. So, against the wishes of his family, he slips away one night and makes his way to that other island. It’s a dangerous place to be for a young wolf who’s not familiar with the ways of humans—and it’s also the home of a girl named Tricia, who lures him into a situation he may not be able to escape from.
If you don’t want to miss a single book in the Shifter Island series…
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