War of Hearts(125)
Wait?
What?
“You mean … am I …?”
Callie raised an eyebrow. “One of my bridesmaids? Of course.”
Stunned, Thea lapsed into silence as her soon-to-be sister-in-law waffled on about venues and invitations and other things Thea was clueless about.
“You should pay more attention,” Callie mused. “You’ll be doing this with Conall soon.”
Thea didn’t think so. “Conall doesn’t seem like the wedding kind of guy.”
“Oh, but he’ll marry you. Even if you’re true mates, he’ll legally want to make sure that everything that belongs to him belongs to you. I know my brother.”
The thought of Conall putting a ring on Thea’s finger was more appealing than she’d imagined. She had never really pictured herself getting married, but she’d even put up with a huge meringue dress if it meant getting to shackle herself to him forever.
Okay, maybe not a meringue dress.
But wedding plans. She’d put up with wedding plans for Conall. It was only fair since she was putting up with it for Callie. Not that she was “putting up” with anything. Especially not for Callie who wanted her to be a bridesmaid.
Gratitude swept through the nervousness the Blackwoods arrival had caused. With this pack, this gracious and loyal pack at her side, she had nothing to worry about it. Moreover, she wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her new family.
Thea may not be a fae anymore, but she was the biggest, baddest female alpha around and if she had to, she would set her wolf loose to see just exactly what that meant.
*
“You ready?” Conall asked, squeezing Thea’s hand as they walked toward the backyard of the Coach House. It was an impressive building. The entrance door sat within a tall tower with a conical roof. Wings expanded on either side of the tower, built from brick and topped with a gray slate tiled roof. It had a gothic vibe to it, like it might have been built in the Victorian era.
Thea could feel the collective energy of the pack. They made the air thick and caused all the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.
“It won’t hurt?”
“No. The last few times you’ve changed, you’ve been in absolute control. When the moon hits its crest, it will command control of your body. It’s unsettling at first but you get used to it. More than that, you’ll revel in it. There’s something …” he flashed her a wicked grin, “pagan about it.”
She knew what that wicked grin meant. “Hey, no funny business in front of the pack.”
“I make no promises.”
Shaking her head at his playfulness, Thea let Conall lead her around the back of the house. He released her hand but stayed close to her side as she witnessed the awe-inspiring sight of over a hundred werewolves gathered in the yard.
Thea did as she had at the Challenge and projected her alpha aura. It was like a humming, sparking, golden spirit she could taste on her tongue as she imagined it propelling toward the pack.
Conall said it fed the pack, it bonded them together, and they reveled in the power they felt from their alphas. Their response to it at the Challenge confirmed it.
Despite Thea not knowing most of the pack members that well, they gave her respectful nods of their heads, murmuring her name in greeting as she passed along their lines with Conall. Callie and James stood off to the side, separated from the pack to highlight their rank. Beside them were three strangers.
Feeling out the air around them, Thea detected a little bite of energy from their collective magic. A warlock stood between two witches. He had a shock of white-blond hair and pale skin, in complete contrast to the dark-haired, golden-skinned witches at his side. The women, according to Conall, were sisters, and the man, a high-ranking warlock within the coven.
Her mate stopped in the center of the gathering and Thea stood by his side, her expression carefully neutral. The strangers studied her in surprise, like they hadn’t expected her to really be a werewolf. But they could sense the alpha in her. She could tell by their expressions.
They were not amused.
“Are you satisfied?” Conall asked without preamble.
The man lifted his chin. His arrogance was palpable. “We’ll witness the shift before we are satisfied.”
Conall emitted a little snarl but turned away from them to face the pack. Thea followed suit. Her eyes danced over the gathering. Grace and Angus eyed the strangers with distrust, as did some other members. But most were watching her, some wearing smiles, others vibrating with the call of the moon.
And Thea could feel it. She could feel the pull toward the celestial being in the sky. Her eyes rose to it as the sun dipped out of sight and moonbeams cut through the dark landscape. It glistened across the loch in the distance.
A burning, tingling sensation rippled down Thea’s spine and her gums began to throb.
Conall was right.
It was unsettling to feel the beginnings of the shift when she had not initiated it.
Her mate undressed and the pack immediately followed his lead.
Shit, she’d forgotten about this part.
Public nudity.
Thea cut Conall a look for not warning her and he threw her that boyish grin. “It isnae anything they havenae seen before, Thea love.”
She heard chuckles from some pack members and gave her mate a dirty look before hauling her shirt over her head. His eyes darkened as he watched her shimmy out of her pants, and he didn’t look so cocky about his pack members seeing her naked.