“Your mate can be quite convincing, and Jay-sus. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She paced around the room. “No.” She ran her hands down her dress. “No. I came here because I love you, and I’ll be damned if any of them keep me from coming to your ceremony.” She gave a nod, and I wasn’t sure who she was telling—me or herself.
I couldn’t believe she was here. That she’d actually flown to Ireland for me. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve seen Maureen…”
She stopped her pacing and faced me. “You’ve seen my mother?”
I nodded.
Ciara sat down on the bed. “How… Is she well?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “I think so. She’s aging, but she seemed okay.” I was still annoyed that she’d believed Vivian over her own daughter, but it wasn’t my place. “She was part of the problem here so Donovan had to kick her out of the pack, but I think you two should talk. If you want. I’ll help you find her.”
Ciara nodded. “Maybe. We’ll see.” She blew out a breath and visibly shook herself free from her thoughts. “What am I doing sitting here thinking about the past when we’ve a ceremony to prepare for? We don’t have time to be chatting. It’s only one hour’til your ceremony and you’re not even close to being ready.”
I spun to Tessa. “Shit. We were just talking and—” Oh my God. “My ceremony is in an hour!” I raced into the bathroom. “I’m showering. Be out in a sec. Tessa, meet Ciara. Ciara, Tessa.” I slammed the door, my heart racing.
I couldn’t believe we’d been talking for so long.
Rushing, it took all three of us to get me ready in time. Ciara calmed me down and did my hair in intricate braids that wound around my head. She’d woven them so that the blue was visible, almost like she’d braided in a ribbon. She stuck in little buds of baby’s breath, so it looked like I had snowflakes on my braids. Between the blue and the flowers, my mom would’ve cringed. She’d probably call it Ren Faire trash, but I loved it.
Tessa did my eye makeup. She mixed copper, gold, and brown shadows with black liner to give me a gorgeous smoky eye. And then she took it up a notch by adding some loose gold glitter to the liner. She was a genius.
Before I could breathe, I was putting on a red robe.
It was totally crazy. I never thought I’d get to this point. Not after being cursed. I’d taken the time to mourn my life and everything that I’d wanted for it. But now I was here. It was time.
I took one last look in the mirror. This was exactly how I wanted it. I looked amazing. With my hair and makeup done to make me feel beautiful and confident, I was ready to stand in front of the Irish pack and become Donovan’s mate. My red robe was the most gorgeous material. I wasn’t sure where it came from—it’d been hanging in the closet when I got here—but I wondered if Qusay had anything to do with it. I practically lived in my other one while we were away.
This was it. I didn’t need anything else except Donovan.
I nodded at Tessa and Ciara. “I’m ready.”
Every pack had a spot they went to for the full moon. For the Irish pack, it was a bit of a hike. Their stone circle was the biggest one I’d ever seen. The stones weren’t as tall as the ones at Stonehenge, but the ring was bigger and sat in a clearing on top of a hill. Moonlight shone down on us, providing more than enough light to see by. My wolf rose as we stepped into the circle. The power of the pack, the full moon, and my nerves made it hard to fight the change, but I held on even as my skin itched to shift.
The Irish pack waited inside the ring of stones. They cleared a path to the center, revealing Donovan. There were tears in his eyes as he took my hand in his. He was the only other one wearing the special red robe. Everyone else was in the traditional black.
You look beautiful, a ghrá.
I gave him a wink. You don’t look so bad yourself.
My family stood in the center ring of people. My dad, brothers, and—to my surprise—even my mother. She took one look at my hair and shook her head, but that was to be expected. I wasn’t letting her disapproval bring me down. Not even a little bit.
Dastien, Chris, and Adrian were also at the front. I was a lame friend for ignoring them when they’d come all the way here for me, but I figured they weren’t going anywhere. Girl time with Tessa was essential.
Tessa moved to stand with Dastien, and Ciara went to my brothers. I hoped she’d be okay, but trusted that my brothers would protect her from anyone here.
“Now that we’re all here, we’ll deal with the pack first,” Donovan said. “What have you decided?”
Surprisingly, it was Feidhelm who spoke up. “We’d like for you to stay on as our Alpha.”
Donovan sighed, and I could feel a twinge through the bond.
Is that what you wanted? I asked him.
I don’t know. It’s going to be work if I accept.
If it’s what you want, then we’ll figure it out. I’m not afraid of a little hard work.
“And is everyone agreed on this?” he said aloud.