Page 74 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

I gaped at her. “Kylie, I’ve known you since you were like fifteen. When the hell did you ever get engaged?”

“I was eighteen. I was sostupid, goddess.” She huffed while cutting her eyes up to the ceiling. “Liam wanted me to go to school, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember that.”

She nodded while tracing the ring. “I met this guy in math class. He was super sweet. He had a bike.” She chuckled as Faye giggled. “I guess I thought he was going to solve all my problems. I didn’t think I could rely on Liam forever. The guy—Drew—proposed right after graduation.”

“But you never talked about a guy when you came to hang out with your brother.”

“No, I never talked about Drew. Because I knew Liam would lose his mind over it.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“I liked that guy a lot. I got all dressed up and went to this little chapel in Greenville. And then—”

Greenville.

Oh.

“He left me there,” she recalled in a defeated voice. “I guess since then I’ve just kind of, uh…” She slid the ring over her finger with a small smile. “I don’t have faith in these kinds of things.”

I bowed toward her while cupping her face, not caring if Faye was still watching us or not. I didn’t care about anything else right now. All I cared about was Kylie.

“I would never in a million years leave you on such an important day,” I promised, “and I swear if you take this ring, I’ll prove it to you.”

Her lower lip quivered. “You swear?”

“Have I left you yet, Kylie?”

Tears poured from her gorgeous eyes as she shook her head. She rested her hands over mine and took a shaky breath. Then another. And then another.

She looked up at me, smiling bashfully. The silence stretched on. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Yes,” she croaked. She cleared her throat and stood on her toes as she held my hands in place on either side of her face. “Please, prove it to me.”

“I will.”

Our lips collided like two magnets that had been drawn together from opposite sides of the world. I distantly recognized that Faye was clapping, and I felt encouraged by the fact that Kylie’s best friend, someone who had been here for her for a whole year, was happy about us getting engaged.

It didn’t feel odd to think of this pack as my own anymore. It felt more natural than ever, more comforting than I could have ever dreamed.

Because now I had a reason to stick around.

Chapter 24 - Kylie

My white satin gown lightly dusted the ground as I walked barefoot along the beach. Waiting near the water was Liam with Fred right next to him. Both of them were wearing suits, all black, fitted. As was customary for their grim dog traditions.

Around me stood most of the pack for this morning’s ritual, a surprising turnout that I hadn’t anticipated. But since Faye had taken command of my party-planning job, she had made sure everything was perfect, right down to the white roses and white awning that we had plugged into the sand near the waves.

Salty air whipped my hair about my face as I clutched a bouquet of lilies to my chest. A spell kept the flower petals in my hair. They wouldn’t fall out until Fred plucked them out later. Nothing else existed for me at this moment. Nothing could have torn my gaze away from the grouchy man who had somehow stolen my heart while protecting me from a dangerous man.

Fred held out his hand. I took it eagerly, feeling the weight of the world drifting from my shoulders as I looked up into his eyes. Blessings came from Liam in the form of oil that he used to trace the symbols for earth and air on our chests. Mine smelled like minty pine while Fred’s smelled floral with hints of sugar.

Both of us had agreed that we didn’t want to spend too much time on a ceremony. I was eager to get to the reception part of things where we could ease our way into the pack—properly this time. Like real members.

Fred clutched my hands while whispering, “I vow to always protect you, Kylie.”

I smiled while clinging to him. “I vow to protect you.”

---