A part of her whispered that she should give her attention to the one performing the ritual, but she couldn’t look away from Noah. The full moon enhanced every feature she loved about him, the shape of his lips, the look of fierce adoration he gave her when he saw her. Had he always looked so handsome? Or had all their trials given her a chance to see him again for the first time?
Cameron’s deep voice continued. “Since the first paws touched the soil, wolves have mated for life. When the moon gave her blessing to wolves, so that they could walk in the shapes of men, she carried over the love of lifetime mates as a sign of her own love for her children. It was an affirmation of the strength conferred by two lives brought together as one.”
A little smile tugged up the corner of Noah’s lips. Kayla thought her heart might burst. She remembered a hundred moments where he wore that tiny smile. He wore it when he watched her choose the best avocados from the pile. When he lay next to her in bed and traced her arm with his fingertips. After more than a year of studying that smile, she had realized it was her smile. The look he gave only to her, when his next words would be I love you.
“Two pack mates have come before us tonight, beneath the face of the full moon, to declare their love and strength together. From the moment of their vow to the final breath they draw, they will be one soul in the moonlight. They will lift each other higher. They will love each other, human and beast. Noah Craig, alpha of the Tacoma pack, make your vows to your mate.”
Noah’s little smile stretched across his face to become a full-on grin. The moonlight seemed brighter in his eyes as he spoke, and his voice resonated with emotion. “Kayla, I promise to stand beside you, no matter what comes. I will love you in the brightness of the full moon, and in the darkness of the new moon. I vow to embrace the wolf within you as much as I embrace the humanity that lives alongside it. No one will tear us apart. Not the heavens above, not the hells below, because we are one spirit from this night on.”
Even as her heart swelled, and her eyes filled, she wondered if she should step away to save him from his own vows. No one knew what would come, or if she would become dangerous to those she loved the best. Darkness hid the future, all but the glow of her own violet eyes that warned everyone that she was no ordinary wolf. She was the darkness, the monster in the night, and how could she allow Noah to bind himself to her future when her fate could warp into a nightmare?
Noah’s hands squeezed hers. As they did, another hand touched her shoulder. Peter. She glanced behind her to see his face, melancholy but smiling, the moonlight brightening the silver in his salt-and-pepper hair. Here but for the grace of Hell went he. A man who’d lost two lovers to his dedication to peace, one whose mistakes had almost cost Kayla this moment. Yet his drive to redeem himself also reminded Kayla why she couldn’t pull away.
“Love, and be loved, no matter what you feel has darkened you. Trust the ones who love you to see what you can’t.”
Cameron cleared his throat. “Kayla Schinn, sister of the Tacoma pack, make your vows to your mate.”
Noah had already held true to his vows to her. He had brought her out of the darkness and to the edge of the shadow. For him, she could do no less than take the final step into the light.
She faced him again, saw the worry in his eyes. So she smiled, and drew in a breath to speak the hardest, but most fulfilling words she would ever say. “Noah, I promise to stand beside you. No matter what comes. I will love you in the brightness of the full moon, and in the darkness of the new moon. I vow to embrace the wolf within you as much as I embrace the humanity that lives alongside it. No one will tear us apart. Not the heavens above. Not the hells below. Because we are one spirit from this night on.”
Noah’s expression transformed, from concern to unbridled joy. She knew he must mourn Todd’s absence here, the loss of Noah’s dearest friend, but she could see no trace of that in the wake of her vows. All else had fallen away but her promise to stay with him until the very end.
Cameron raised his voice. “As you have spoken your vows to each other, so have the moon and our mountain witnessed them. I call upon our Silver Mother and the mountain who holds us high to bless the union created by the promises of two mates, lovers, and friends. May no force undo that which you have consecrated.”
Most ceremonies called only on the moon. Kayla knew Cameron had a particular fondness for the mountain, so his call to it didn’t surprise her. Yet as he gave his benediction, a bright, fiery warmth burned through her. It lit her nerves like captive branches of lightning, and in its radiance, she felt light again. Whole, untainted, as buoyant as she had before Regina had betrayed Kayla on the night of her wedding.
In that blessed warmth, she felt Noah. His presence, his being, connected to her on a level far deeper than the words they had just spoken. Through that transcendental bond, his love for her shone brighter than the moon. No shadows dared stand in that spiritual light. Surrounded in that endless adoration, Kayla knew the truth of Noah’s vows. She could no more ask him to leave her than she could ask him to cut off his own hand. In his eyes, no darkness claimed her, no corrupted magics lingered in her blood. She was Kayla, who loved him, whom he loved, and no other detail mattered.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as the realization flooded her. Peter had told her hatred was all-consuming. He had neglected to mention how love could fill you completely, and leave no room for hate at all. If Noah looked at her this way, if he loved her with such shameless abandon, how could she have room to hate herself?
Even as the intense connection faded to a faint awareness of her mate, and the shadow wolf’s darkness settled over her like the crepuscular shadows of sunset, she could not forget what she had felt. The tainted magics no longer weighed so heavily on her soul. They couldn’t. Not when she knew someone still saw her as pure light.
Noah stared at her with wide, surprised eyes, and she knew he must have had his own vision. Moonlight glimmered on the tear tracks that streaked down his face. His hands tightened on hers. She wanted, with all of her, to rush into his embrace and bask in the glow of what they had shared. Yet no one else around them seemed to have noticed. No one would have understood if they’d clung together in the middle of the ceremony. That beautiful moment of connection and blessing was theirs, and theirs alone.
Cameron continued to talk, unaware of the effect of his blessing. “...pack should now recognize Noah and Kayla as mates beneath the moon. As Noah is our alpha, and Kayla is his appointed mate, you will recognize her place of authority in the pack structure and treat her with the respect she is due. Wolves of Tacoma, do you agree to this?”
Murmurs all around. Some pack members smiled without reservation. Others looked more hesitant, but they gave their word all the same. Cameron scanned the crowd for any dissent.
Satisfied, he nodded. “Then it is so. Now, our alpha will lead us on the traditional full-moon run. After that? Everyone should leave him and his mate the hell alone, because it’s their wedding night. Lingering is super awkward, folks. No staring.”
Laughter bubbled up from those gathered as Kayla turned red. Blushing himself, Noah stepped up to address his pack. “Thank you all for being here to witness the happiest night of my life. More than that, though, I want to thank you all for the support you’ve given me in the last month, and the acceptance you’ve shown Kayla. I know it’s too easy to be afraid of what we don’t understand. You haven’t given in to that fear.”
He slid his hand into hers. “We’ll need that bravery as we bring Paul Kiplinger to justice, and make our city safe again. Peace should always be our goal, but peace doesn’t just happen. It takes work, and sometimes struggle, to maintain. In the meantime, we should celebrate the love and friendship we have found. Life is too short not to embrace the good things that warm our hearts.”
“Speaking of,” Peter said, from where he had faded back into the pack. “I think you two forgot something important in that ceremony.”
Kayla raised an eyebrow
. “We said the words, we made Cameron step outside his comfort zone to marry us...”
Cameron grumbled.
Peter smirked. “You did. But Noah forgot to kiss the bride. Before her lips get too hairy for kissing.”
Noah laughed. “Moon’s almost high. I’ve got just enough time for this...”
She squealed as he swept her up into a fierce, lingering kiss. And all around them, werewolves shifted their shapes to raise their muzzles to the sky in loud, exultant wolf song.
Acknowledgments
Writing in a vacuum would suck. (Pun intended.) Slinging words onto a page only happens with a lot of help from the people who support me and harangue me to keep filling up blank pages. There are too many to name here, but I did want to mention…
…the two ladies known as Kit Rocha for top-notch feedback and advice as I wrote the first edition of this book. Seriously, go read their stuff. It’s terrific.
…Morgan Blake, for faithfully ensuring I don’t put my foot in my mouth. All fumbles are mine. All improvements are theirs.
About the Author
Cassandra Moore is a desert rat who thinks closed shoes are instruments of pure evil. She lives in the shadow of the Front Range with a bald husband, a hairy dog, and a teenaged son. All dwell in the house at the sufferance of the cat, who rightly believes herself the sovereign leader of the home.
When Cassandra isn’t slinging words, she’s knitting, playing video games, and reading. (Sometimes at the same time.) All are best done while enjoying a sunny day on the back porch.
Keep up with new releases, contests, and more at http://www.cassandra-moore.com. For news delivered to your email, subscribe to the update list at http://cassandra-moore.com/index.php/newsletter/.
Also by Cassandra Moore
Dare the Wolf — A Bully Boys Novel
Every night, werewolf Jake Ballard saves his town from the mutated shapeshifters that threaten it, but can he save his mate from her abusive marriage?
Taint of Shadow Page 17