I looked around at them all. “Is this what this is?” I asked them, drawing myself to my full height. “You think I’m behind it?”
“No.”
I looked at Wolfe, who stood, his big body uncurling from the seat. “Why?” I challenged him.
“Because I know it’s not,” he told me simply. “But it doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing this for you, although I think it’s unlikely.” He saw my grimace and gave me a soft smile. “I need you to trust us and not let on that you know. We will do the ceremony tonight, remind this pack that we are united and stand together, and then in the morning, we’ll talk strategy.”
“What will a ceremony do?” I asked him,onlyhim. “We’ve already married, we’ve shown them I’m with you.”
“We married for political gain last time. This time, they will see their alpha and his mate willingly joining because theywantto, not for anything else.”
And tonight, after theceremony, you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours.
You mean sex?I asked him.
Not just sex.Greatsex, he told me with a smirk.Sex so good you’ll be screaming for more.
I didn’t realize I was having sex with Diesel.
Wolfe growled low in his throat, and I didn’t hide my smug smile at his reaction.
Be careful, Rowen. It’s not wise to tease me.
Then don’t presume to tell me what kind of sex I’ll be having later.I’lldecide if the sex isgreat.
We shared a look across the room, oblivious to everyone else, and I saw the look of satisfaction in his eyes as he watched me.
Welcome home, mate, he said softly.
And I knew he meant it.
The fires burnedhigh in the ritual pit, casting long shadows over the stone circle. The druid must have been preparing all day, ever since Wolfe told them there was to be a ceremony tonight.
Wolves lined the perimeter—Blueridge on the left, Stonefang on the right. Not by command, but it looked to be by instinct, and no matter that I saw some of the younger shifters slip in between the lines, it was clear that the divide still ran deep, even now.
Wolfe stood beside me, head high, face carved from stone. My hair was braided, the braid coiled over one shoulder, streaked with mountain ash. A token of my status, Thalia had said.
A symbol of our union, Wolfe had corrected her.
Wolfe hadn’t spoken since we stepped into the circle. Neither had I. Because if I opened my mouth, I might say something I couldn’t take back. My heart was hammering in my ribs, the air felt different, and this felt like far more than a simple unity ceremony.
The druid stood at the center, and I wasn’t sure if I should have been surprised to see Brand and Killian flank them. The druid was either unconcerned or unaware of their presence, as they looked between us, then turned to the crowd.
“The Hollow has bled,” they said with no preamble. “But it has not broken. Stonefang and Blueridge stand here today under one sky, one moon, one law.”
A low growl rippled through the crowd. Not loud. But not hidden. It surprised me that they were being so open in their animosity. Was unity even a possibility? It didn’t feel real. Not yet. Not truly.
It was the first time I had felt this way since I married the man beside me. These shifters weren’t happy, and I doubted that tonight would fix it.
“Tonight, your alpha stands before you with his true mate,” the druid continued. “Bound in leadership. Bound in cause. Not yet in spirit.”
That part was for us. A quiet reminder.
The druid turned to us and extended a bowl carved from ancient bone. Inside, ash, pine, and blood—symbolic offerings from both territories. As I peered inside, I wondered if they had brought it with them.
“Mark each other,” the druid said. “Let the pack see you wear the weight of unity.”
I dipped my fingers. The mixture was warm and sticky. I moved toward Wolfe, reached up, and pressed my fingers into the space between his collarbone and shoulder—where our marriage mark should have been instead of his shoulder blade.
