Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Auctioned Mate Chapter 16

Laurencia

My mind spun with the week's events as I bent over the sewing machine. A gaggle of women squawked behind me even though they were of varying shifter animals. Pages fluttered, doors squeaked open, and dishes clanked in the sink. The girls were hard at work helping me with my mating ritual.

And I was hard at work thinking.

I was the talk of the town with my string ring and my half-naked mate proposing to me in the middle of the supernatural flea market. About a dozen emails and several phone calls met us the next day right as I was explaining to my Grandpappy why I'd run off and where I'd gone.

He was forgiving, of course, but my guilt persisted, so I ended up spending a few nights with him in his cabin just to be sure of his health. Wendell had stayed with me too, repairing some of the odds and ends around the house as his way of relaying his guilt. Though he never outright stated that he was being my grandfather's personal handyman as an apology, I knew deep in my heart that was how he meant it.

Now that a week had passed, it felt like I was racing toward the finish line. Under my fingers was my homemade dress, a patchwork garment made of different squares of white fabric I had collected over the years. I had offered to make pants for Wendell, but he stated that he was perfectly fine wearing the beige shorts that lyanna had sewn up for him.

I called him daft. He shook his ass at me. We fell into a heap of kisses right afterword.

My gods, my life was totally different. Our time had been spoken for all dang week with the alphas insisting that they plan the wedding and the girls taking over quickly after that, and then the Bravecrest members showing up at the treehouse one afternoon to help finish up painting and furnishing the place. We were ready to move in.

But I wasn't sure I was ready to do it just yet.

Warmth met my shoulder, prompting me to stop sewing. I looked up to see Jada hovering near me with one hand on me and one hand on her tummy.

I implored her with my eyes to sit down. "Jada, please."

"You need a break too, you know."

"I'm just doing what I usually do."

She giggled while plopping into the chair near the sewing machine. "You mean you're doing that hyperfocus thing you love to do with your projects."

A glance at Skye and Francine produced equal nods.

I sighed. "Alright, I should take a break. But only for tea. Does anyone want tea?"

Nods all around.

I wandered into the kitchen, scooting around boxes, and trying to figure out which cabinet held my tea kettle since it wasn't on the stove. As soon as I got some water boiling and gathered chamomile tea for everyone, I leaned against the counter, trying to figure out what it would be like to have an actual bedroom. And a living room. And a kitchen.

Skye leaned toward me. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I need a dollar for this one."

She winked while reaching into her pocket. "How about a lollipop?"

"What, you just carry candy everywhere now?"

"I've got mints," Francine offered. Her round glasses glinted in the afternoon light spilling through the nook's window. "Do you like peppermint?"

I smiled. "I do. Thank you."

I accepted the mint and popped it into my mouth, a calm sensation washing over me as I allowed it to dissolve. Three pairs of eyes stared at me. Three pairs of ears expected to hear my thoughts. I knew I wasn't getting out of this one easily. "It's rude to stare," I claimed, though I knew I wasn't particularly convincing. "I'm just having some..."

Skye rubbed my arm. "Cold feet?"

I wiggled my toes. "Yeah, unfortunately."

"That's to be expected," Jada commented. "I was worried before my ritual too."

"And mine," Francine chimed in. "Honestly, I think it would be more concerning if you weren't concerned."

I played with the tea jar on the counter. "What if he gets annoyed with me again?"

"Then you send him off to play with Isaiah and Elias," Francine replied. "Archie always needs his uncles around. I'm happy to take him in for a bit."

I laughed. "You make him sound like a puppy or something."

"Aren't they all like puppies?" Jada joked. "I swear, Isaiah has been more affectionate than usual. Is it my hormones or something?"

"I think that's just how shifter men are," Skye reasoned. She rubbed her tummy. "Though I guess I got lucky with mine. He's so logical."

I groaned. "Sometimes, Wendell is too logical."

Skye chuckled. "You're telling me."

"I'm just worried that he's going to like regret the whole thing." The tea kettle whistled, inspiring me to take it off the heating element. "I'm just afraid I'll wake up one day and he'll be gone."

"If you're worried about him leaving, you could bite him," Francine suggested.

I stared at her. "I can do that?"

Everyone nodded.

"Gods, I had no idea," I said while rubbing the bite on my neck. "I just thought it was one way."

"No, it can be both," Jada replied. "Maybe you could do that later to alleviate your worry."

I rubbed my arm awkwardly. "Oh, I'm scared of hurting him."

"Sounds like you really love him."

There it was again, that word. Wendell and I had danced around the admissions. While we hadn't said it outright, the feeling was there, and the intention of saying it was there too. Would we say it tomorrow after taking our vows?

I poured the boiling water into a teapot with the chamomile. "I don't know about all that."

"It's okay if you're not entirely sure," Jada assured me. "Just go with your feelings, Laurencia. You've always been the most perceptive of us all."

My best friend knew just what to say. And it made me feel a lot better about being with them this afternoon even though I had run off just a week ago.

I frowned at the teapot. "You know, I never apologized for taking off. I've told Grandpappy about a thousand times by now that I'm sorry, but I haven't uttered a word of it to you three."

Skye waved at me. "Honey, we know you like to dart off. It's your thing. It's what makes you so mysterious."

I laughed. "Well, I promise not to do it again without saying anything to one of you. Okay?"

The four of us chuckled. Skye helped me carry the tea tray to the table while Francine collected the cookies from the counter. The four of us sat around the coffee table with our tea and cookies, talking about what the ritual would entail and what we had planned for the future. I wanted to keep doing flea market visits. But I had to make sure Wendell was okay with it first.

Which was a first for me, if I was being honest with myself.

I had to suppose that a lot of this journey would be full of firsts. Though I felt comforted with my friends at my side. As long as I had them, I could face anything.

Even a scary ritual with a grumpy wolf.

***

My last night in the studio apartment was going as well as anybody would expect. Though it was interesting scooting around the room with a big-headed wolf man whistling showtunes. I didn't even know he liked showtunes.

I turned to him while he was carefully wrapping jars from the bookshelf in bubble wrap and setting them into a box.

"Hey, Wendy?"

He glanced at me. "Yes, darling?"

"Do you think it would be weird if I...?" I looked at the ground. "If I bit you?"

"You want me to mark me?"

I set aside my books and chose a spot to sit. I was feeling too exposed, too out in the open. I needed to be wrapped in something, so I plucked a silky blanket from the ground and tugged it around my shoulders.

He sat across from me. "Rencie, that's nothing to hide from. I'm just surprised."

"Yeah, well, I just...wanted to return the favor."

"Right. Because it has nothing to do with you being afraid of me leaving."

My head snapped up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Honey, that fear doesn't go away just because we're getting married tomorrow."

"Well, it should. I don't want it."

He smiled in a way that reassured me. "After tomorrow's ritual, bite my neck."

"In front of everyone?"

"You can do it later. I want you to do it." He took my hand. "If it makes you feel safer, then I want you to do it."

Relief washed through me as I held his hands. Just looking into his eyes showed me how much he meant what he said. This truly was a leap of faith.

And I was willing to take it a step farther. "Have you come clean with Troy about what happened five years ago?"

Panic flashed over his face.

I squeezed his hands. "Hey, I haven't said anything. I just think-"

"I've considered it." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I'm just scared of how it's going to feel."

"It can't possibly be worse than keeping it a secret all these years."

His huff of agreement told me he'd made up his mind. When he stood up, I stood with him, smiling with all the reassurance I could muster that everything would be okay. Because it would be okay.

It would always be okay while we had each other.

Wendell tugged me to the door, slid on his boots, and then crouched low so I could hop onto his back. He carried me the whole way up the dirt road to the halfway point, the cabin that sat on the line between our pack lands. We were on the porch for maybe ten minutes before Troy and Blake showed up.

I blinked with surprise at Blake. I hadn't anticipated he would be part of this, but that was probably because he was working in tandem with Troy. Both alphas would be present for this. I couldn't imagine the pressure that Wendell was under as we wandered inside and sat at the table.

As the men stared at each other, I prepared tea.

Troy was the first to break the silence, folding his hands in front of him while focusing on Wendell. "What's this about, my friend?"

"I have a confession to make. And it's not something I thought I would say. It's just that-" He choked.

Troy cast me a concerned glance while Blake reached for Wendell's hand. The three of them sat quietly, and I was amazed by the sight of both alphas granting Wendell so much patience. Nothing but comfort drifted through the room, even as Wendell's anxiety grew. My hands moved without any prompting, preparing the teapot, and grabbing four mugs. I set everything on the table, sat next to Wendell, and took his remaining free hand. Some of his anxiety faded away.

"Troy, I'm sorry I lied to you all these years," Wendell said in a shaky voice. "I took off one night five years ago. I don't know if you remember. But I lied. I said I was going into town to scout a vampire nest."

Troy brimmed with concern. His hand soon joined Blake's, both hands resting on Wendell's that shook on the table.

"I was just..." Wendell looked at me. "I thought I was going to meet Laurencia."

Blake looked startled. "You saw each other before?"

"Yes," I replied. "Five years ago, we met at a place called Garfield's. We just, uh..." A desert was quickly sprouting up in my mouth. Gods, why was it so hard to speak to my alphas? I wasn't in trouble or anything. I just felt a great boat of shame sailing over the sands crowding my mouth. "We fell for each other."

"It makes sense," Troy said. "You two have been fated to mate for so long. Of course, that's why you fell into place so fast!"

Wendell bowed his head. "That's what I kept from you, Troy. It's the vampire nest thing. I was lured from the bar and caught in an alley. A group of vampires jumped me. I lost time that night."

Troy inhaled sharply. "And you never told me because...?"

"I was so ashamed, Alpha. I was so...riddled with guilt." He met his alpha's eyes with remorse. "I knew I had failed you by not being a great protector that night. I couldn't even protect myself." "How many?"

Wendell blinked. "Sorry?"

"How many were in the group?"

"Four, maybe five."

Troy nodded. "And you weren't able to shift because it was a human bar, correct?"

Wendell shook his head.

"You didn't know. You thought you were meeting your mate," Troy continued. "Why in the world would I ever fault you for that, Wendell?"

Ecstatic relief broke out in the room. The tea was forgotten, and everyone fell into a fit of chuckles as Wendell both cried and laughed. This was real joy, wasn't it? This was family. For years, I had wondered what it would feel like, and now I knew. Now I knew it felt like home.