****
Rowan
I don’t know why I’m nervous, but my hands are clammy, and my heart is about to beat right out of my chest. Kira is already my mate. This is just a formality to show the pack the new hierarchy. They need to accept Kira and try to start making amends for the past.
We were wrong, all of us, including me and my father. No child should ever have to carry the burden of something their parents did. And no child will ever be put through that in this pack again. I have seen the damage first-hand, and I won’t allow it.
“Are you ready?” Silas asks.
“Yeah. Let’s get going,” I reply. “I don’t want Kira to be out there waiting for me.”
Silas and I walk through the forest toward the clearing where all the alphas have been mated before me. This may be a special occasion, but for an outsider looking in, they wouldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The clearing is just an open piece of field with some patches of wildflowers scattered throughout.
The moonlight shines down on all the gathered pack members as we wait for Kira to arrive. Talia bounds through the grass in a pink sundress to stand on the other side of Mavis, who will be making our mating official. She frowns at Silas before smiling brightly at me.
“Stop looking so worried.” Talia laughs softly. “She’s right behind me.”
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Looking back toward the tree line, I see Kira emerge in a similar sundress but red. I’m dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt. The rest of the pack is all semi-formal. It is a mating ritual after all, not a wedding, but we do want to look good.
A hush falls over the crowd as I wait for her to reach me. Kira keeps her shoulders back, head held high, as she walks toward me at an even pace. She’s going to stand beside me and lead these people, and she’s going to do it with dignity. Kira has promised to put the past behind her and to judge the pack on their current actions and not the past.
I’m not sure I would be able to do the same if I stood in her shoes, but I am damn grateful for the woman she is. Even if the pack has hurt her in the past, she is now firm, impartial, and passionate. I couldn’t ask for more in a mate.
When she reaches me, I pull her to my side and hold on tight. I haven’t seen her in two hours, and it’s the longest we’ve been separated since the cabin.
Mavis smiles at us brightly before starting the ceremony. “As shifters, we’re all granted a fated mate. If you are lucky enough, you find that mate early in life as Rowan and Kira have found each other,” she says loudly so all the members in attendance can hear her. “An alpha is even more dependent on his mate than the rest of us. We really aren’t that easy to keep in line, and Rowan needs all the help he can get.”
Pack members laugh and jest at the joke before quieting down.
“We all know this is simply a formality, a pack tradition, but Rowan and Kira have chosen to be formally mated before the Zwart Pack to show their commitment to each other,” Mavis continues.
“A mating that happened under false pretenses.” Odette’s voice rings through the clearing.
Chapter Thirteen
Kira
Not this again. I thought we had moved past this, but Odette just can’t let well enough alone. Rowan is mated to me, and still, she tries to interfere.
“What are you doing, Odette?” Silas frowns at her. “I thought you and Mom went to visit some friends.”
“Shut it, Silas!” Odette glowers at her brother. “You are supposed to have my back and you let this happen. You let him pick her!”
“Odette,” Rowan grumbles beside me, clearly already pissed off at the situation.
“Let her speak, Rowan,” I say loudly, making sure everyone can hear me. “If she feels I tricked you into the mating, she has a right to dispute it. Correct, Mavis?”
“Yes,” Mavis says from where she is now standing beside me. “She has every right to challenge the mating, but she needs evidence.” She turns her attention to Odette. “Know this, Odette, if you challenge the mating of your alpha and fail, you will be excommunicated. Pack law stands.”
“Why don’t you just shut it too, old woman?” Odette yells. “I have all the proof I need.”
“Then continue,” I say calmly. “If she has a legitimate dispute, I would love to hear it.”
“This bitch,” Odette says, pointing a finger at me while turning in a circle to make sure she has everyone’s full attention.
Rowan tenses up beside me, but I gently squeeze his hand before smiling at him brightly.
Odette is quickly cut off by a low growl. “Keep it respectful,” Talia snarls. “I don’t care if I’m not part of this pack. If you speak to Kira that way again, I’ll rip your head off and shit down your throat.”