Page 137 of A Broody Mate for the Human
The wolves in front of him bare their necks to him, and to my surprise, Esme, Hayden, and even Raffy follow their example. I decide to inquire later what this is about.
Liam turns to us, his gaze softening. “I will call you out in pairs.” His lips tug slightly as he turns to the pack. “As it so conveniently happened, they all are off the market already. So don’t get your hopes up too high.”
The pack members laugh, the tension finally subsiding.
Annie leaves Liam’s side, making her way to us. She takes Esme’s hand and nods towards Hayden before leading them towards Liam. Dante is holding a little chalice and a silver knife,
“Esme Hayes—” Liam starts.
“Simmons,” Esme says in a squeaky voice. It’s clear she hates interrupting Liam. “I apologize for interrupting, Alpha.”
“No, it’s good that you correct us. We want to do it right,” Liam says shortly. “You and Hayden Simmons married?”
She nods.
“What?” Raffy says in shock.
I elbow him. Normally he is so silent and awkward, and now in front of the whole pack he suddenly has to show a wordy reaction.
“I-I kind of forgot that we did,” Esme stutters.
The pack members laugh, and Liam’s lips tug again.
“Not because it wasn’t important,” she hurries to explain. “It was just we couldn’t tell anyone.”
Hayden puts an arm around her, squeezing her a bit, and she stops rambling.
“Esme Simmons and Hayden Simmons, you pledge loyalty to the pack, protect and defend it if necessary, and always have its best interest in mind?”
“Yes,” they both say in unison, repeating his words.
“Do you pledge loyalty to me, Liam Alcott, as your alpha?”
Again, they agree and repeat his words.
“Do you further pledge loyalty to your luna, Annalise Alcott, and vow to protect her if necessary?”
“Yes,” Esme and Hayden say. “We vow to protect Luna Annalise and pledge our loyalty to her.”
I watch in awe how Liam cuts Esme’s and Hayden’s palms first, then his, and lastly Annie’s. They mix droplets of their blood in the chalice before each taking a sip. I assume there has to be something else in it too; it’s not like they bled half a liter into that bowl so that four people could drink from it.
Why did he cut Luna Annalise’s palm last?Raffy links me.
Isn’t that the normal procedure?I ask in return.
No, usually the alpha goes last because he heals the fastest.
I shrug it off, assuming Liam might have his reasons. Instead, I watch the scene curiously, noticing how Esme’s and Hayden’s eyes gloss over, and so do some of the pack members’. Esme has tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Alpha, Luna,” she whispers. “And thank you to the pack.”
Annie pulls her into a hug. “Welcome to Red Claw.”
Hayden jumps down from the platform before helping Esme down, and they join the rest of the pack. I can see some pack members clasping Hayden’s shoulders and shaking Esme’s hand. Liam lets them welcome the new members for a moment before turning towards us again.
Again, Annie is the one to come and lead Stella and Lady Portia forward.
“Stella Bragan,” he says, looking at her with amusement in her eyes. “No secret marriage?”
The pack members laugh, and Stella shakes her head.
