Ryker’s full lips taper up into a breathtaking smile that feels like home. I want to wrap myself in his arms and ensure that he always feels as cherished as he makes me feel.
“Vinna Aylin,” Knox calls to me. I laugh when I turn to him, my favorite cheeky grin stretched across his beautiful face. His gray eyes are filled with love and mischief, and it’s one of my favorite sights to see. “You were mine from the first minute I saw you,” he declares, and I beam at him. “I claimed you right then and there in my mind, because I knew without a shadow of doubt that if I didn’t live the rest of my life basking in your strong and beautiful soul, that I wouldn’t be living at all.”
I wipe at a tear that tries to sneak down my cheek and watch as Knox’s stunning gray eyes well up with emotion.
“I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. I vow to trust you in all things, and I vow to always fight by your side. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will battle to make it so.”
“Vinna Aylin,” Sabin starts.
His smile grows even bigger as our eyes meet.
“I didn’t know what to think when you first walked into our life. You were fierce, honest, stunning, and I was at a loss.”
Sabin and I both chuckle.
“I’m not at a loss anymore. I know exactly what to do with the fierce, honest, stunning female before me. I simply love her. Vinna, I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will do everything possible to make it so.”
“Witch,” bellows out into the darkening night.
I laugh.
“You challenged me, called to my wolf, rejected me, and then saved me in every possible way. You came out of nowhere and hit me like a freight train.”
Torrez clutches his jaw playfully, and people around us crack up.
“Where you go, I go. I will follow you to the ends of the earth and back again, grateful for every second because I get to claim you as mine. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for our pack too. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will ensure that it always remains so.”
A howl starts up around us, and goosebumps rise up on my arms. Torrez throws his head back and adds his voice to the call of his former pack, and I’m taken aback by how beautiful he is in this moment: wild, free, mine. I throw my head back and join in too, and one by one the rest of my Chosen add their voices. Out of nowhere, everyone around us joins in. I’m beyond touched by the beautiful way they support my Wolf, and us.
Fairy-light-fireflies float above our heads as the moon comes out to bless us and the stars start to blink away. Howls fill the night air and slowly begin to quiet and taper off. I look back to Torrez and wonder how there was ever a time I didn’t see that he was mine and was always meant to be.
“Vinna Aylin,” Siah declares with a sweet smile. “I was lost and then you found me. You are the compass that will always guide me home. I love you. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. You, my mate, are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will do whatever is needed to make it so.”
Siah’s vow resonates around me, and I wipe at my eyes. Everyone grows quiet, and I look around to see what happens next.
“Bruiser,” Bastien whispers, and my eyes snap to his. “It’s your turn,” he tells me, and my smile falters slightly.
“Shit! Okay,” I state, and our friends and family laugh.
I want to punch Mave in the boob and ask her why she didn’t warn me that I’d need to do a whole speech thing. I take a deep breath and look around at my Chosen.
“I love you, each of you, and I will live every day making sure all of you know and feel that. I vow to honor and protect you,” I start, repeating the vow each of them made to me. “I vow to guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for all of you, no matter what. I vow to laugh with you, cry with you, fightforyou andbesideyou. I vow to choose you today and everyday forever. You are mine and I am yours, and nothing will change that, ever. When we die, I’m tracking you fuckers down. There’s no escape now,” I tease, and my voice cracks with emotion. “We are unbreakable. What we have together is unbreakable, and we will fuck anyone up who tries to mess with that.”
My Chosen laugh, and so does everyone around us.
“Do we get to make out now?” I whisper to Torrez, and he chortles and shakes his head.
“No, we get to party now,” he shouts out into the crowd gathered around us, and everyone starts to cheer.
Torrez sweeps me up in a hug, and I’m promptly stolen from him and wrapped up in Siah’s arms. I’m stolen and passed around until I’ve hugged and declared myI love yousto each of my guys.
“So was that it?” I ask Sabin as he sets me back down on my feet and plants a way too quick kiss on my lips.
“Well, normally there’s the magic stuff that goes down after that, and then we’d all be expected to go to our designated bonding house and finalize the bonds the magic started to put into place, but we’re already connected, so we’re going to skip that part and celebrate with everyone else,” he tells me, his smile contagious.
“So you’re telling me that we could be off fucking right now, but instead, we’re going to mingle and macarena instead?” I ask.
Sabin’s features become horrified. “Of course not...we wouldnevermacarena, Vinna. That’s not how Sentinels roll,” he deadpans, and I pinch his nipple.
