Page 119 of Never Tamed
“Then the first pour goes out to my girl Flora for being an absolute badass and birthing those babies.” Aspen pulls off the cap.
Clear liquid flows into Flora’s empty glass.
Carrigan only shakes her head like those two are acting foolish. And if this bottle goes down as quickly as the last bottle, then we’re all about to get a little silly.
Hell, we can do with some silliness. It’s been a long time coming and to have everyone here, under a cloudless lavender and violet sky, is a miracle.
How long did I worry about my last sunset? Even before meeting a goddess, my days were numbered. Then with Andras, the Blood Moon pack…
Sitting here is a miracle. Being surrounded by my friends, my family, my mates, is the home I’ve searched for my entire life.
I snuggle closer to Carrigan, her familiar blonde curls tickling my nose and prompting a sneeze but I don’t give a shit. She’s back. We’re home. We’re all a part of this together and there is nowhere else I’d rather be.
Damn. I never thought I’d enjoy parties this much. There is something amazing about being here with everybody I care about, and seeing them happy, safe. Laughing. The two pieces of my life have come together, the before and the after my twenty-fifth birthday. Werewolves are real.
I’ve tamed four of them.
And I somehow managed to bring my two best friends from my human life with me.
It’s a damn miracle, and I shoot a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess again, the same way I do most days.
“I’d like to make a toast to my friends. To this fucking awesome lake.” Aspen is already drunk. She’s such a lightweight these days. When did things change?
The first round of fireworks blasts off behind us and paints sparklers over the still surface of thefucking awesome lake.
“To fireworks!” Aspen shouts.
Torin rolls his eyes. “The fireworks are overkill.”
His hand falls flat on my opposite shoulder, and he squeezes, the touch accompanied by a wisp of desire in my head.
Come on,I tell him.You know you love them.
Are you talking about the lightshow or your friends?I’m iffy on both.
He’s lying, of course. He loves having everyone together like this, even though it’s taken us a bit of getting used to. Six months or so have passed in the blink of an eye. And true to tradition in the mortal world, we’ve had the grill blasting all day for a proper BBQ.
My family.
It might not be the one I started with, or even the one I might have chosen for myself, but they’re mine. I’ve managed to make something pretty great.
Flora takes a swig from the bottle before diving her hand into a bowl of chips. “Here’s to the Moonstone pack!”
Her cheer carries through her kids, Owen, and the rest of our combined people spreading out along the lakeshore. That’s who we are now. It felt fitting when Noble proposed the name change, although Dax called him a big baby for it. A pussy, were his exact words.
But the name kinda stuck.
Then we all started using it.
Carrigan pushes her hair over her shoulder, and the soft curls fall in a riot down her back. She’s got a nice flush on her cheeks from too much booze, and I have no doubt I look exactly the same.
“Girl,” she starts. “This is fifty shades of weird. I’d say someone should write a book about it but I’m not sure anyone would read it. That’s how weird.”
“And yet I notice you left your bat at home,” I add.
She blows a raspberry. “Like I have a shot in hell of going up against a couple of wolves. And you’ve got four of them. They’ll crush me if I blink at them wrong.”
“You’re not still pissed at Torin for shipping you off? I would be, but it was to keep you safe.”
