“Your scars?”
I nod.
“Why?”
“Because they’ll always be there, but that’s a chapter of my life I’m ready to close and move onto the next.”
“Cover them with what?”
“Tattoos,” I say as I cup his jaw, my palm grazing his light stubble.
Caleb’s eyebrow quirks. “I like the sound of that.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, tattoos are fucking hot.”
I laugh and flick my gaze over the tattoos creeping out of his quarter-zip and littering his neck. “Trust me, I know. I’ve been looking it up online, and it’s safe as long as they’re healed. I’m not ashamed of them or anything, but I’d like to see something else when I look at my wrists, you know?”
“Whatever makes you happy, pups.”
“A fresh start. They’ll always be there, but it’s something new.”
Caleb nods as he kisses my cheek. “I’m all for it.”
“Oh, goddess, I’m nervous,”I say as I shake out my hands.
Caleb reaches forward to cup them. “You have nothing to be nervous about. They already love you, probably more than me.”
I tilt my head at him. “That’s not true.”
“It definitely is.”
My heart thunders in my chest.
“Ready?”
I swallow the thickness in my throat and manage a nod. “As I’ll ever be.”
Caleb slides his hand between mine, and we step out into the grand hall where his pack is waiting. There’s a light buzz of conversation, but as soon as one person glances over at us, everyone starts to quieten down.
I flick my eyes over the entire room, filled to the brim.
After a few moments, people start to clap, and I’m stunned because we haven’t said anything. Caleb leans over and presses a kiss to my temple. “Enjoy it,” he whispers. “These people would do anything for you.”
My eyes ache from the tears already starting to build.
“Thank you all for being here.” Caleb’s voice booms across the large room. “Thank you for having my back and giving me time to earn your trust, but now, I want to introduce Evan into our pack officially.”
I stare up at the beautiful man as he speaks, his eyes soft, and lips at a natural curl.
“I know many of you have become close with Evan after all of his efforts to help out with the merge of the two packs,” he continues. “And I owe him a lot. Everything actually.”
My fingers squeeze his as he turns to look down at me with adoration in his expression. I lose my breath completely.
“I’ve dreamt of doing this more times than I can remember,” he says before glancing out at his pack. “I’ve always been proud of him, but nothing makes me prouder than having him by my side, and to tell you guys that Evan is my mate.”
A tear rolls down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away.
