Chapter Nineteen
One month later
It had been a long, festive day of partying. They’d travelled up to the Crescent Moon Pack property so that Cliff and his mate and their cubs could attend. Savannah had finally met Cliff’s mate, Taylor, and their cubs, and Grant’s mate, Celeste, who was so pregnant she was ready to pop.
The whole family had welcomed her warmly. Taylor and Celeste were dying for her to have kits or cubs so their children could play together. They promised many visits to the Crescent Moon pack so they could have family vacations together. And the Crescent Moon pack practically worshipped Grant like a god, they were so grateful to finally have a sane, decent Alpha leading them.
They feasted and drank and celebrated, and Austin, Cliff and Grant only got into one tussle, which ended in a draw when Roy got annoyed and forced all three of them to change back into human form.
Roy was officially courting Laurel, and he carried around a swear jar, which was usually completely full by the end of the week. At night, he slept in a small cabin on the family property. During the day, he was helping to rebuild To Dine For. He was going to be co-owner; he’d funded fifty percent of it with money he still had from his former pack’s construction business. The rest was funded by the sale of their Somnorus herb to the Bronson family’s pharmaceutical company.
Savannah had caught her mother sneaking out to Roy’s cabin once, and she hadn’t been the least bit merciful about it. She’d turned on the sprinkler system as her mother crept across the lawn at 4 a.m., making her shriek and waking up the entire family.
Everyone had rushed out onto the lawn to see what was happening – only to find a wet, dripping, furious Laurel trying to rush back into the house before anybody caught her.
Her mother had had to contribute nine bills to the swear jar fund that day. And she’d refused to cook Savannah her favorite dessert for a week.
Sooo worth it.
Savannah expected that another mating ceremony would be happening soon enough, maybe within a few months. Her mother was way too traditional to accept anything else, and Roy could not get enough of Laurel. Laurel bossed him around and gave him a hard time all day long, and he ate it up.
But it was time to finally celebrate the best part of her own mating ceremony – the claiming.
Finally, after a long day of festivities, Savannah and Austin had ditched the crowd, and they were back at Austin’s small trailer.
Austin carried Savannah across the threshold and set her down gently.
She tugged at the white dress she was wearing. That her mother had insisted she wear.
White, hah!
The dress was pretty enough. It was lace sleeved, flattered her bustline with a scoop neck, and flared out at the waist in a bell shape. She just felt weird in it. She’d never felt at home in a dress, and she’d been fidgeting with it from the moment she’d put it on, but Austin had kept telling her, all day long, how beautiful she was.
“Alone at last,” Austin growled at Savannah. He slammed the door behind him and locked it.
Savannah took a deep breath and looked around at the living room of what was now officially her new home. Austin’s décor had been sparse – black leather couch, big screen TV, bookshelves on either side of the picture window.
Bit by bit, Savannah added her own touches, making it feel more like a home than a bachelor crash pad. There were mason jars with fresh flowers on the windowsills, pictures of her and Austin and her family on the mantelpiece. She’d gotten Austin’s family to send her a few family portraits, and put those up on the walls. At some point, they’d build their own house, with the help of Roy’s new construction company, but for now the cozy little trailer was just perfect for them. It was set deep in the woods, with no neighbors close by.
Just the two of them.
“Aren’t you afraid I’m going to take advantage of you?” She grinned at him as he turned to face her.
He winked. “I’m very afraid, but I’m trying to be brave.”
A sudden fit of shyness swept over her, and she strolled into the middle of the room. This was it. This was real. This would be their first night together as official mates. Part of her kept expecting to wake up back in her bedroom, alone, to find that this had all been a feverish dream. She sneaked a quick, hard pinch to her wrist. Ouch. It hurt. That meant this wasn’t a dream, right?
Austin grabbed her from behind, wrapped his arms around her waist, and hugged her tightly. She sank back against him, reveling in the feeling of his muscular body.
“Are you ready for a surprise?” he murmured in her ear.
She giggled nervously. “I don’t know. Is this a good surprise, or a ‘By the way, I’m actually secretly already mated, multiple times, and you’re going to be mate number five’ kind of surprise?”
Austin snorted. “Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a real surprise, would it?”
He steered her towards the bedroom, still holding on to her, walking her to the door.
When he flung the door open, he let go of her and made a big, dramatic gesture. “Ta-da!”
