Page 295 of Labor of Love

“Mhm. I love you, alpha.”

All the years I spent waiting culminated in this moment. All we needed was the right time, and we found it. Now the rest of our lives could begin.

5

THEO

Icouldn’t stop my leg from bouncing as I sat at the table waiting for Tyler to be ready to go to the pack event. Dressed in a loose pair of track pants and a Willowdale Fire Department t-shirt, I had been ready to leave the house hours ago. Only Tyler insisted that we arrive fashionably late to this pack event. I protested, but it fell on deaf ears. Especially when he’d dropped to his knees and distracted me.

“Are you nervous, mate?” Tyler asked with a raised brow. He was at the kitchen counter, pouring a cup of tea. As if we had all the time in the world and this wasn’t the most important pack event ever.

“Of course I’m nervous. This is our first pack event with me as your mate, officially. People are going to have questions. They’re going to wonder what the hell you were thinking.”

He stepped toward me and held out the mug. The familiar scent of my mother’s calming tea washed over me. It was her special blend of lemon balm, chamomile, and licorice root.

“Is that for me?” I asked, already making grabby hands toward the warm mug.

“Yes.” He smiled, his eyes flashing with mischief. “Do you remember my first pack run after I was named Alpha?”

“It was ages ago, Tyler. How am I supposed to remember that?” I took a sip and let the warmth calm me.

Tyler sat next to me and then tugged my chair closer so that we weren’t so far away. “I remember. I was pacing in this very house, walking the length of the kitchen, trying to figure out what I was going to say, what I was going to do. I was sure that the entire pack was going to reject me. And then you showed up with a little to-go cup. You wrote my name on it with that cute little swirl you do whenever you write a ‘Y,’ and in that cup was this same tea. I learned later that it was your mother’s blend. You told me I was going to do great. You wouldn’t wish me good luck because you told me I didn’t need it. So drink your tea. You’re going to do great. We don’t need luck.”

“Ty…”

Tyler cupped my cheek. I wasn’t sure if it was his touch or the tea that calmed my racing heart. “You don’t need to win anyone over. You already have. Everybody in our pack knows how amazing you are. I need you to see that.”

“That’s not as easy as you think it is,” I said, taking a sip. The tea really was amazing. But so was his touch.

“Let’s go. Then you’ll see how excited everyone is for the two of us.”

We walked the distance to the park where we always had our gatherings. It wasn’t typical for Tyler and me to arrive late, but we had been holed up in the house for two days now, with very few visitors. Most pack responsibilities and duties were taken over by others. Luca and Raphael, along with Levi, had handled all the things.

As we turned the corner and made our way across the street to the park, applause broke out, along with cheering and whistles. Tyler put his arm around my shoulder, plastering me against him. His Betas, Raphael and Levi, stepped forward as we approached. Next to them was my mom and dad, wide, proud smiles on their faces.

I gulped the tea as fast as I could, needing the effects to take over.

“Finally,” Raphael said. “We wondered when you were going to make an honest man out of him, Alpha. If you had waited any longer, a smarter Alpha was going to come by and snatch him right up.”

Tyler chuckled. “They would have had to fight me for him.”

Tyler stood on the small platform that we had for these types of things so he could give speeches. This time was different, though, because he pulled me up next to him.

I did not like the view from up there. When did our pack grow so large? How did he deal with having this many people looking at him? He gave a brief speech at every pack event, was it always this stressful?

“Thank you all for coming here today. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, this is my amazing mate, Theo. Mine and Theo’s journey has been a long one, but I knew he was well worth the wait. I am proud to have him by my side. For years he has taken on responsibility as Alpha Mate without the formal title. He has helped your business grow, organized our pack gatherings, helped each and every one of you with your troubles and held your hands through tragedies. We are most lucky to have him, and I am proud to call him mine.”

There was more applause, more whistles, congratulations thrown our way. Not a single disappointed look in the whole place.

“Speech! Speech!” a few people called out.

“I—uh…” Clearly they wanted me to say something. But what? I wasn’t the eloquent speech-giver type.

“Um… I know I might not be the best Alpha Mate out there, but I can tell you I love this pack more than anything, and I will do my best. Tyler is… amazing. I will continue his legacy as a strong leader, a trusted advisor, and a friend. I…” My voice broke. So many excited faces looked up at me with their eyes full of pride. I had expected the pack to think I wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel ready. Yet, each one of them believed in me. Maybe I could believe in me too. “I love this pack. I love you all. Let us shift and take our fur!”

There was plenty of applause at that, then people dispersed into the woods, dropping their clothes in piles as they went.

Tyler wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face into his chest. He kissed the top of my head. “That was a very nice speech,” he said.

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