“We’re here tonight for Ford and Darcy.Not just to celebrate their mating, but to welcome her officially to the herd.”
Ford and Darcy faced each other and held hands.
Crew said, “Ford, do you vow to honor Darcy as your mate, to protect her, and love her for the rest of your life and into the great beyond?”
“I do,” Ford said, his eyes shining with adoration.“Darcy, I promise to love and protect you forever.”
Crew nodded.“Darcy, do you vow to honor Ford as your mate, to love him and stand with him for the rest of your life and into the great beyond?”
“I do,” she said.“Ford, I promise to love you and stand by your side forever.”
Crew put his hands over top of theirs.“By your spoken vows and the witness of the herd, I declare Ford and Darcy mates from this day forward forever.”
The herd cheered and clapped.Crew stepped back, and Ford pulled Darcy gently forward and kissed her.
Crew raised his hand with a grin.“Little River Herd, do you accept Darcy as a member?”
They all shouted together, “We do!”
Darcy was overwhelmed by the support from the herd, but she had expected no less.They’d becomeherherd really quickly.
“As it’s spoken, so it shall be,” Crew said.“I present, Darcy and Ford.”
The herd cheered once more and Ford drew her close.She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, he squeezed her waist and then pushed her to arm’s length before dropping to one knee.
The herd went silent save for a few gasps.
He pulled something from his pocket.A ring!
“Darcy,” he said, voice rough, “you’re everything.My heart, my home, my future.I want you to be my wife.Will you marry me?”
She was stunned silent as she stared at the ring glittering in the twinkle lights, her mate on one knee, and the whole barn seeming to go reverently silent.
“Yes!Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He slipped the ring onto her finger, and this time when he stood and drew her close, hedidkiss her.As the cheering erupted once more, Darcy closed her eyes as the kiss went on and on, one bliss-filled moment in the midst of so much joy.
She and Ford were mates and she was part of the herd now.
She’d never been happier.
* * *
As music played through speakers on one of the tables, Ford and Darcy danced along with the other couples where the benches had been near the trellis.
“I did ask Cruz for his blessing,” Ford said.
“You did?He said yes, right?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Were you nervous?”
He let out a light laugh and dipped her back before gently lifting her back up.“One hundred percent.”
It was her turn to laugh.She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.He held her close, turning them around the small space to the music.Thinking of her mate sitting down with her brother for a heart-to-heart about the future made her feel like her heart was going to burst with happiness.
Things had gotten decidedly better between her and Cruz since the reconciliation, and she was grateful that Ford was willing to include him in their future.She secretly wished her brother might find a shifter for a soulmate, but she wasn’t sure how the heck that would even happen.But someday, whether his soulmate was an actual shifter or not, she hoped he found his own happily ever after.
