Found and Forged

by Ivy Asher

  I never got to the so what do we wear part of the Bond Ceremony conversations. Is there a wedding dress, some kind of gown or robe that casters specifically wear? I have no fucking clue. I sit silently as they titter all around me, exuberant energy coating everything in the room. Mave parts my hair down the middle, and soft curls fall around my face and shoulders. She takes some of them and pins it back into a half-back, half-down style, while leaving pieces down to frame my face.

  The sisters apply a little makeup, and the next thing I know, we’re all staring at the dress bag, and I’m being asked if I’m ready. I shrug because I don’t fucking know. Mave laughs at my response as Adelaide reaches up and slowly unzips the long bag hanging from the curtain rod.

  My heart speeds up to a gallop as I stare at what is most definitely a wedding dress. It’s a strapless dress covered in different patterns of intricate lace. The snow white lace lies over a nude underlay that just takes the dress to a whole other level of beautiful. It’s exquisite, and I feel like I could sit here all night and just stare at the patterns. The room is oddly quiet as I take a step toward it and lift a hand to run my fingers over a familiar symbol.

  “We had your Chosen runes hidden in the design of the lace,” Birdie tells me, her voice reverent and loving.

  “In caster tradition, the females in your family all sew blessings into the patterns of the lace,” Lila explains, running a finger over small words that are hidden amidst a floral pattern.

  I spot the word love and then laughter wrapped around the lace petals of a flower. Home and family peek out from some delicate leaves. There are sentences about always finding my way and trusting my bonds sewn into a line of lace that looks like beads. The more I look at the dress, the more I see messages of love and acceptance. I’m touching the hopes and dreams they have for me and my Chosen, and it’s all woven into the very fabric of not only me but now this dress too. I blink back my emotions as I take it all in.

  “I don’t even know what to say,” I tell them in a hushed tone filled with awe and appreciation.

  I run my fingers over the word treasured. It’s hidden in a pattern of lace that dips in a V down from my bust to my waist. It breaks up the floral patterns on the dress and is accentuated by the beaded patterns that V and crisscross in different places.

  “It’s so far beyond perfect,” I tell them, and I know I’ll feel more than treasured tonight and for the rest of my life.

  I pull the sisters and Mave into a massive hug. “Thank you,” I tell them, hoping those two words convey just how grateful I am for each of them. They all took me in and accepted me with no hesitation or reservations, and it changed everything for me.

  “Let’s get it on,” Mave commands, her words more of a squeal as she pats her cheeks dry. I laugh and strip down, eager to see if this gorgeous dress will fit as perfectly as it looks like it will. I step into it, and Birdie zips me up. It hugs my body like a second skin until mid-thigh, where it slightly flares out. I feel dainty and feminine, and covered in the blessings and adoration of the women I love.

  “You look stunning, Vinna,” Lila tells me as she wipes at her eyes.

  “Don’t you start, Lila! You’re going to set us all off, and then we’ll really be in trouble,” Mave scolds. We all chuckle and try to get a hold of ourselves.

  Adelaide darts to the window and peeks out. She looks up at the sky and smiles. “Right on time,” she announces.

  She claps her hands together and orders her sisters and Mave to get dressed really quickly, and they all dart off. I run my hands down the tight bodice of the dress and feel...beautiful. Someone knocks on the door, and I debate for a second if I’m supposed to answer it. No one else comes out to do it, and I figure that pretty much solves that question. I pull the door open to find my dad. His face lights up when he sees me, and then he steps back so he can take me in.

  “Kid...” he trails off, and then he takes a moment to breathe through the emotion I see take over.

  “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispers, wiping at his eyes.

  I blink back my own tears, and he pulls me in for a tight hug.

  “Love you,” he croaks as we pull apart.

  “Love you,” I counter and wipe at my cheeks.

  Shit, I hope I didn’t mess up anything the sisters did too badly.

  “Ladies, I’m taking her down,” my dad shouts into the small cabin.

  “We’ll meet you there,” Mave hollers back, and he chortles and shuts the door behind us.

  He puts his elbow out for me to take. I smile and wrap my arm around it. We start to walk toward the tree line, and I can tell sunset is quickly approaching.

  “So were you in on all this too?” I ask as a welcome breeze winds around us to help chase some of the heat away.

  “Guilty,” he admits with a smile.

  I shake my head and give his arm an affectionate squeeze. He squeezes me back and lets out a deep content sigh.

  “Who would have thought this time last year that you and I would be here now...like this?” he states, gesturing to my hand in his.

  “I know. I was training with Talon and fighting. I didn’t really see anything beyond that,” I confess.

  “I’m glad he looked out for you,” my dad states. “He was rough around the edges but a good guy nonetheless. I owe him a lot.”

  My grin grows wider. It’s a perfect description of who Talon was.

  “We both do,” I agree.

  We make our way slowly through the trees, and I take in the birds chirping and the smell of pine and soil.

  “Thank you, Vinna,” my dad tells me quietly, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “For what?” I ask, searching his face for an answer.

  “For finding me...fighting for me...giving me this,” he tells me, patting my hand. “After how Lach was...well, you didn’t have to believe in me the way that you did,” he finishes quietly.

  My dad has done nothing but apologize for Lachlan and what went down between us. No matter how much I try to make him understand that it’s not his fault, I don’t think he’ll ever see it the way I do.

  I can just make out some lights through the trees, but I stop and pull him to a stop too.

  “Thank you for wanting to be a part of this,” I tell him, resting my palm on my chest. “With everything you went through, you could have seen me as a trigger, as something that reminded you of everything you lost…”

  “No, kid, I could have never seen you that way. You were the light, Vinna. You always have been, and you always will be the light that came from the darkness.”

  I wipe at a tear that moves slowly down my cheek.

  “Love you, dad.”

  “Love you, Vinna.”

  He pulls me in for another tight hug, and we stand there for a moment in the middle of dusk kissed trees, our love and gratitude radiating off both of us.

  “Now…” he tells me as he pulls back, “let’s go dance until we’re sweaty and laugh until our cheeks hurt!”

  37

  We walk out of the trees to find people all gathered around in a massive circle. I’m not sure if one of my guys mastered fairy light or if there’s a supe here that wrangles lightning bugs for fun, but tiny lights are everywhere, illuminating the ever growing night. Beautiful pinks, reds and oranges streak across the sky as the sun dips lower and lower. The entire scene is breathtaking.

  My dad leads me toward the gathered people, and slowly they part to let us through. I spot members of the Silas Pack and the elders. Knox’s family waves at me excitedly, and I return it as we move deeper and deeper through the gathered people. I spot Cyndol and Sabin’s family, and I give her a teasing look that says I know you were in on this. She beams back at me, and I find myself once again wondering how long we’re going to be able to keep our training together secret from her family.

  Cyndol gets more and more shredded every month, and I know it’s only a matter of time before someone asks why and how. I jus
t hope by then they can all see her as more than some fragile caster female that needs to be coddled and caged. Cyndol is a warrior through and through.

  My eyes land on Sorik. His blond hair is pulled back, and his face is lit up with happiness. I reach out the hand not holding my dad’s and pull Sorik out of the gathered people. I wrap my arm around his just like I did with my dad’s and let them both escort me to wherever it is we’re going. Sorik may not be my biological father, but his love and protection is one of the reasons I’m even here. He’s the most selfless being I’ve ever met and the best second father a girl could ever hope for.

  He bumps his shoulder with mine, and his smile is beaming, and I mouth love you to him as we continue to make our way through the crowd.

  “No fucking way!” I declare when my gaze lands on Tok and Marn.

  I stop mid step and stare at them, worried if I blink, somehow they’ll disappear. I step away from my dads and pull Tok and Marn into a tight hug.

  “How are you here?” I ask, confused and elated.

  “Suryn sends her best,” she tells me simply, and I shake my head, stunned. My Tok and Marn are standing right in front of me—in Solace of all places. The reality that Sentinels are getting closer every day to re-entering the world hits me, and I’m simultaneously ecstatic and fucking nervous. I step back from them, and Tok immediately wraps Vaughn up in a hug, and Marn tackles Sorik.

  Just when I think my smile can’t get any wider, it does. I don’t even have words for how it makes me feel to see Tok and Marn treat my dads like the sons they never had but always wanted. Over the past six months, the four of them have developed such a beautiful relationship that it just makes me grin like a fucking loon whenever I’m in its presence. The hug fest and subsequent tears wrap up, and I’m once again on my dads’ arms, making my way to the center of the circle.

  Mave and the sisters are somehow down here, and I look at them and then behind me, like somehow that’s going to reveal how the hell they got down here so fast. I shrug and let it go. I’m sure it’s the sisters’ sneaky magic at work. Aydin’s giant self is behind them, beaming at me like I’m all that’s precious and good in the world. Evrin seems to be vacillating between elation for me and amusement for Aydin’s over-the-top grin and leaking eyes. I chuckle and smile brightly at them both. Aydin wipes his eyes and then steps to the side.

  Suddenly, there they are. My breath hitches as I take them in. They’re in white also. Fitted, textured leather pants and a tunic-style linen shirt that comes down to their thighs. The hem of the shirt is asymmetrically longer on one side. A patterned leather vest tops it all off, buttons running from the top of their left shoulders to the bottom of the vest. There’s an interesting kurta feel to the look and yet also a hint of Renaissance.

  They look incredible, standing shoulder to shoulder in a circle, emotion swimming in their eyes as I make my way closer. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for these males and everything we’ve been through together. I love them so much and can’t even imagine a life or future without each of them in it.

  The circle widens to let us through, and my dads place me in the very center of it all. I hug Sorik and then Vaughn and watch them leave to join the others all gathered around me. Bastien, Valen, Ryker, Knox, Sabin, Torrez, and Siah tighten their circle around me until their gorgeous and loving faces are all I see. I move in a slow spin as I look at each of my mates. Love and admiration war with so many other emotions that reinforce our connection and deep rooted bond, and I count my lucky fucking stars that they are mine.

  “Vinna Aylin,” Bastien starts, and I spin until my eyes are locked on his hazel gaze. The extra green around his pupils sparkles with happiness, and I grin like a love sick fool at him.

  “You are my life. I love you, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you and with my compeers. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for each other too,” he tells me, gesturing to my other mates. “You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will work to make it so.”

  My eyes well up at his declaration, and I move so that I can kiss him. Valen’s voice ringing through the night stops me in my tracks though.

  “Vinna Aylin, you are everything to me. I love you with everything that I am, and I know that love will still continue to grow as we tackle life together. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. You, my love, are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will do everything in my power to make it so.”

  Valen’s gaze is filled with fire, and it sears his vows into my soul. I stare back at him with the same intensity, making it clear that I feel exactly the same way.

  “Vinna Aylin,” Ryker calls out. I turn to him, my heart already filled to bursting with love. “You are my Squeaks,” he announces, and a rumble of laughter moves through the crowd around us. I chuckle and shake my head.

  Fuck, never going to get rid of that nickname now.

  “You are strength and honor and all things right. I love you for all that you are and all that I am now because of you. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for our family too. I vow to stand aside and let you claim who you were meant to be. And I vow to heal the hurts and make sure that we are always stronger because of them. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will always make it so.”

  Ryker’s full lips taper up into a breathtaking smile that feels like home. I want to wrap myself in his arms and ensure that he always feels as cherished as he makes me feel.

  “Vinna Aylin,” Knox calls to me. I laugh when I turn to him, my favorite cheeky grin stretched across his beautiful face. His gray eyes are filled with love and mischief, and it’s one of my favorite sights to see. “You were mine from the first minute I saw you,” he declares, and I beam at him. “I claimed you right then and there in my mind, because I knew without a shadow of doubt that if I didn’t live the rest of my life basking in your strong and beautiful soul, that I wouldn’t be living at all.”

  I wipe at a tear that tries to sneak down my cheek and watch as Knox’s stunning gray eyes well up with emotion.

  “I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. I vow to trust you in all things, and I vow to always fight by your side. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will battle to make it so.”

  “Vinna Aylin,” Sabin starts.

  His smile grows even bigger as our eyes meet.

  “I didn’t know what to think when you first walked into our life. You were fierce, honest, stunning, and I was at a loss.”

  Sabin and I both chuckle.

  “I’m not at a loss anymore. I know exactly what to do with the fierce, honest, stunning female before me. I simply love her. Vinna, I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will do everything possible to make it so.”

  “Witch,” bellows out into the darkening night.

  I laugh.

  “You challenged me, called to my wolf, rejected me, and then saved me in every possible way. You came out of nowhere and hit me like a freight train.”

  Torrez clutches his jaw playfully, and people around us crack up.
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  “Where you go, I go. I will follow you to the ends of the earth and back again, grateful for every second because I get to claim you as mine. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for our pack too. You are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will ensure that it always remains so.”

  A howl starts up around us, and goosebumps rise up on my arms. Torrez throws his head back and adds his voice to the call of his former pack, and I’m taken aback by how beautiful he is in this moment: wild, free, mine. I throw my head back and join in too, and one by one the rest of my Chosen add their voices. Out of nowhere, everyone around us joins in. I’m beyond touched by the beautiful way they support my Wolf, and us.

  Fairy-light-fireflies float above our heads as the moon comes out to bless us and the stars start to blink away. Howls fill the night air and slowly begin to quiet and taper off. I look back to Torrez and wonder how there was ever a time I didn’t see that he was mine and was always meant to be.

  “Vinna Aylin,” Siah declares with a sweet smile. “I was lost and then you found me. You are the compass that will always guide me home. I love you. I vow to honor and protect you. To guide you and to be guided by you. I vow to keep our bond strong and to be there for not only you, but for my compeers too. You, my mate, are ours and we are yours. Nothing will change that until the day we both breathe our last breaths. I declare this bond unbreakable, and I will do whatever is needed to make it so.”

  Siah’s vow resonates around me, and I wipe at my eyes. Everyone grows quiet, and I look around to see what happens next.

  “Bruiser,” Bastien whispers, and my eyes snap to his. “It’s your turn,” he tells me, and my smile falters slightly.

  “Shit! Okay,” I state, and our friends and family laugh.