“That we do.” His big hands covered her ears as he angled her face to press a kiss to the tip of her nose, then her mouth.
Rocking quietly together, Fern ignored the stickiness leaking out between her thighs while she studied the studio with its shingled roof, and the yard with its wildflowers and waving grass. “What will our life look like, Elliott?”
“This, I assume. Maybe we’ll have a little otter or bear, or both, running around in a few years. We’ll do our jobs, we’ll find joy in them. We’ll make our meals together—or you can watch me cook. We’ll spend plenty of time naked in each other’s company. We’ll shift together, and run and swim and play. Mostly, we’ll have fun and stay exactly where we want to be—right in the middle.”
It took a moment for Fern to reply, her throat tightening around her words. She swallowed thickly to free them and lay her head on his shoulder. Breathing in his earthy resinous scent, she whispered, “Thank you. You and Beckett Falls have turned out to be the best thing that could’ve everhappened to me. You helped me find it in myself to claim who I am and wear it proudly, and you’ve made me more than I was before—literally. I love how certain you are about everything. How secure.”
Elliott snorted.
“What?”
He kissed her forehead. “You think I’m secure? Confident?”
“Yeah.”
“Fake it ’til you make it. I wasn’t very self-confident when I met you. I didn’t think I could be what you needed. But by spending time with you, I learned I was more than enough just how I am.”
She hummed, squeezing him around the middle.
“I’m enough for you, right?”
Laughter left her lips before she reassured him he was, in fact, more than enough, and she kissed him to drive the point home. They snuggled up for a peaceful minute until she remembered her promise to Olivia. “Take my picture for Liv!”
“All right, but only if I get my photoshoot first.”
“Elliott, I’m a filthy mess.” She wriggled, feeling the stickiness between her legs.
“Exactly.”
Laughing, she hopped up and let him go grab a phone while she climbed up on the railing to sit and wait with her legs open and swinging. The last dredges of afternoon sunlight glanced off her skin and Fern dropped her head back, smiling at the sky and wondering how she ever got so lucky.
25
Fern joins the pack.
Thefollowingafternoon,atthree-fifteen on the dot—the earliest everyone could meet—they all gathered for cocktails and cake on Liv and Ben’s back deck. Liv assured Fern that this wasnother mating celebration, that would happen on the weekend and run long into the evening. This was Fern’s pack induction.
Noa and Adam were there to congratulate Elliott and Fern on their bond and support Fern as she joined the pack. When Olivia came in the year before, it was part of her claiming with Ben, and their ceremony was the private sort. This time, Liv pulled outallthe stops. Really, she reused Ren’s abandoned wedding arch, told Fern to wear her orange bridesmaid’s dress, and made everyone swear never to speak of it.
“Are you ready?” Elliott asked, reaching out a hand to help Fern up from her chair.
“More than.” Accepting his assistance, she let herself be pulled into his strong embrace, and their lips met softly, then again with a quick flick of tongue, before they pulled away.
“Gross,” Adam grumbled, twisting the top off a beer.
“They’re cute, don’t be such a curmudgeon,” Noa scolded. “You want a mate, too.”
He grunted.
“Come on, let’s do this!” Liv called from her spot beneath the arch, her own flame-colored gown flapping in the breeze.
“What exactly does this blood exchange entail?” Fern asked cautiously, dragging Elliott along by the hand.
“Fitz’ll do the honors,” Ben said, joining them with a massive chef’s knife in his grip. Sunlight glinted off the blade.
“What the freaking fuck?” Fern squeaked, her otter chiming in.
Olivia balked. “You couldn’t have grabbed a paring knife?”
