I barely have time to catch my breath before I’m pulled into the whirlwind of preparation. Harper appears beside me with a clipboard, already issuing instructions to pack members who scatter in all directions.
“Tables at the grove, fairy lights in the trees; bonfire pit prepared,” Harper directs, her amber-gold eyes tracking everyone’s movements with practiced efficiency. “Wyatt, break out that craft IPA you’ve been hoarding. Mateo, help with decorations.”
Across the clearing, Ben claps Callum on the shoulder, pulling him toward the cabins. Callum’s burnt amber gaze finds mine across the space, a slow smile spreading across his face thatmakes my pulse race. Watching him being led away creates an ache despite knowing we’ll be together soon.
“Come on,” Nova says, slipping her arm through mine. “Let’s make you the most beautiful bonded fae this pack has ever seen.”
The territory looks different now—not the strange new place I first arrived at months ago, but home. We pass the training field where I first worked with Kari, the Lodge where we fought the contamination together; the communal fire pit where we gathered during crisis planning. Every landmark holds memories of finding my place here.
Nova leads me toward her cabin, her steps quick with excitement. “The pack contributed,” she says, opening the door to reveal a room filled with preparations. “Harper’s shawl, Serena’s flowers, my jewelry. You’re ours now, sister.”
Hours later, I stand in Nova and Dane’s cabin, surrounded by a flurry of female pack members—some from Ash Hollow, others who traveled from Shadow Peak for the ceremony. Their hands are gentle as they help prepare me for the bonding, the air humming with excitement and purpose.
Kari kneels beside me, fastening an intricately embroidered belt around my waist. Her fingers work with surprising delicacy for a warrior, adjusting the fabric until it sits perfectly.
“The wolf patterns represent protection,” she explains, pointing to the design. “And these symbols here? Traditional healing runes from the northern packs.”
I run my fingers over the stitching, feeling the subtle magic woven into each thread. My healing energy responds to the patterns, a gentle resonance that makes my fingertips tingle.
Harper shakes out a blue-gray silk shawl, the material catching light like water. “This was my grandmother’s,” she says, draping it carefully over my shoulders. “The color matches your magic signature perfectly.”
The silk settles against my skin with surprising warmth, as though recognizing me.
Serena works nearby, her fingers deftly weaving spring blooms into a delicate crown. “White anemones for sincerity, blue violets for faithfulness,” she murmurs, adding a sprig of pine. “And this represents your new home.”
Isla—Callum’s younger sister—stands behind me, fastening crystalline jewelry around my throat and wrists. The stones catch the fading sunlight streaming through the window, throwing prisms of color across the cabin walls. They feel different from fae court jewels—these hold pack energy rather than cold prestige.
“These belonged to our mother,” she says quietly, and I hear Callum’s fierce protectiveness echoed in her voice. “They’ve protected three generations. Now they’ll protect you.”
I watch them all in the mirror—these women who barely knew me months ago, now surrounding me with such care.
The dress itself is simple, ivory with subtle embroidery, comfortable enough to move in but elegant enough for a ceremony. Nothing like the elaborate gown the fae attendants forced me into, designed to display me like property. This is something else entirely. Practical beauty chosen by people who love me.
When I finally stand to see the complete reflection, my breath catches. The woman looking back at me isn’t the duty-bound fae healer who arrived at Ash Hollow, nor the political pawnsummoned for marriage. She looks like herself—but stronger, claimed, surrounded by chosen family.
Heat spreads through my chest—Callum’s presence at the edge of my awareness, steady and bright with anticipation.
Nova places her hands on my shoulders, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “You’re pack now. This proves it.”
The cabin fills with chatter—advice about the ceremony, teasing jokes about the marking ritual. Serena starts telling a story about her bonding night with Rhonan that makes me laugh until my ribs ache.
“I train with him every morning!” Kari protests, covering her ears. “I do not need that image in my head!”
Harper nearly chokes on her wine—her third glass, maybe fourth—and even Nova laughs out loud, the sound startling and bright. The fae wine has loosened everyone, turning the preparation into something that feels less like ceremony and more like celebration among sisters.
Their voices wrap around me like another layer of protection.
Evie glances at her watch and smiles. “Sun’s setting. Grove is ready.” She squeezes my hand, the emerald scales along her forearms catching the light. I’m struck by how naturally she’s settled into the pack—the dragon girl who arrived uncertain now moving among us like she’s always belonged. “Your mate is waiting.”
My heart pounds against my ribs as the reality washes over me. After courts and combat, after politics and pain—it’s finally, truly happening.
The women form a protective circle around me as we make our way through the territory. My feet know every twist in the path now, every stone and root. When I first arrived, this land felt foreign despite my fae senses. Now it sings through my blood like home—because it is.
The sunset transforms the mountains into living art—jagged peaks painted in gold and purple, the evening sky deepening to indigo above us. Pine scent rises from the warming earth, sweet and sharp in the spring evening air.
Nova walks beside me, her violet eyes scanning the forest with practiced vigilance. “Almost there,” she murmurs, squeezing my hand briefly, her fae magic wrapping calming tendrils around me.
Through the trees ahead, I glimpse the sacred grove—a natural clearing surrounded by ancient pines where generations of wolves have performed their ceremonies. Tonight, it’s transformed with simple, beautiful decorations that blend both my worlds. Wolf totems carved from pine stand at the entrance, while fae crystals hang from branches, catching the fading light and throwing rainbow prisms across the ground.
