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  A knock on my door brought me out of my musings. “Come in.”

  Nikki came in followed by her look-alike. I had never seen the girl before, but the only difference between the two women was the other girl had more golden brown hair and deep blue eyes then Nikki’s chocolate brown hair and eyes.

  “Hey, Nikki. I was just finishing up and then got lost in my own little world again.” I tried to smile, but knew I fell short when I saw the sympathy on her face. “I’m ready to go now though.”

  “Okay!” She replied, turning to the other girl, not mentioning my mood. She brought the other girl forward to stand beside her. “This is my cousin, Faith Barnes from the Silver Creek Pack. She’ll be doing the acceptance ceremony tonight to join this pack.”

  “Well, that explains a lot.” I said grabbing my purse and going to her to shake her hand. “I had thought you two looked alike when you came in. Your mothers are twins, right?”

  “Yep, and to make things even better, our dads are twins, too. My mom and Aunt Sarah were the mates of twin brothers. My dad was best friends with Alpha Parker, so he moved here to make room for Uncle Bruce to be Alpha there being the first born.” Nikki looked at me while she babbled, and the look said that she had a story to tell, but it would have to wait. “Anyway, is it alright if she joins us? She’s the best at hairstyling.”

  “Do you want to do that, Faith?” I asked the seemingly shy girl.

  “I would love to, thank you.”

  My mom just about killed me with all the shops she took me to, but I finally found the perfect dress. It was a pale green ballet top with a bell skirt layered to look like a flower. It was beautiful and Mom said it really highlighted the brightness of my green eyes. Becca, Nikki, and Faith all agreed.

  Becca was doing so much better than she had been. She had finally stopped blaming herself for what happened and was actually four months pregnant. She was glowing and so happy to be having another baby. Billy was doing well too, as head of all enforcers. Jazzy was her normal happy beautiful self, but now she was crawling, and actually walking as long as she was holding on to something. She got into everything, bringing me into the time where it was a delight to be able to spoil her and then give her back. Billy had gotten to where grumbled every time I took her, knowing what I would do. I let my angel have everything she wanted. He had her today, though, so Mom and the girls could help me get ready for the ceremonies tonight.

  We were back at Mom’s house to dress and do my hair and make-up. I had moved in with Trent, but stayed the night there to be separated from him until the mating as was custom. I was sitting in the chair, depressed and near tears, and I couldn’t figure out why.

  Mom and Faith were downstairs getting snacks and drinks for everyone, so it was just me, Becca, and Nikki. Nikki had become a third to Becca and I and she seemed really happy about it. She had said at one point that the only real friend she had ever had had been Trent, so it was nice to finally have female friends she could be close to.

  “What’s going on with you, Crystie?” Nikki asked. “You seem to be all out of sorts today. I could tell you had your dreams again last night, but this is different.”

  “I really don’t know. I woke up all out of sorts this morning. I think it’s just my nerves for tonight. You both know I have never been good with big groups, and tonight they’ll be focusing on me.”

  “Crystie, are you sure that’s all it is?” Becca said with a smile on her face.

  I just looked at her wondering what she was talking about.

  “Think about all of the symptoms you’ve been having.” She rubbed her tummy, and I could feel the blood drain from my face.

  I had watched Jeffery pass the leadership of our pack to Trent and I couldn’t have been more proud of my mate. Of course he was born for this, but as soon as the ceremony was done, and the tattoo passed to him, an air of power and confidence radiated from him and I basked in the feeling.

  Jeffery turned to the pack. “Our new Alpha already has a mate as you all know. We will now dedicate their union to the Goddess and anoint our precious Omega as the new Alpha female of the MoonBeam Pack. I am so proud that I will now be able to call this woman daughter.” He turned to me and my parents who were on each side of me. “Who will give this woman to her mate?”

  Mom was so busy crying, it was my dad alone who answered. “Her mother and I are honored to do so.” Daddy turned, kissed my cheek and led me to Trent’s side.

  Trent had a grin on face so wide I feared for his cheeks, but loved the dimples showing. I smiled back at him, not being able to look anywhere else but into his blue eyes.

  “It is a blessing when one finds his or her mate. The life the bonding allows us to live is an amazing gift from the Goddess.” Jeffery started. “Sometimes the road that leads to our mate is long and bumpy, sometimes the way is paved so smooth we see it miles before we get there. Whichever road we have to travel, the destination is always the same. Whether we have ten minutes with our mate or sixty years, each second of that is the best thing anyone can ask for.” He turned to Trent. “Trenton Marcus Parker. Will you honor the gift of the mate bond the Goddess has blessed you with?”

  Looking into my eyes and holding both of my hands he answered with that same grin on his face. “I will.”

  “Will you put your mate before yourself in all things? Protect her and cherish her as she deserves as daughter of the Goddess?”

  “I will.”

  Jeffery turned to me and smiled. “Crystina Michelle Lake, will you honor the mate bond the Goddess has blessed you with?”

  “I will.” Tears started leaking out of my eyes.

  “Will you follow your mate in all things, support him in his decisions, help him with the running and protection of the pack, be his Alpha female, and allow him the honor of being your protector for life?”

  “I will.” My tears were flowing freely now and I could barely get the words out of my mouth, but smiled to let him know I was happy, not upset.

  “Trent, you can now share your leadership tattoo with your mate.” Jeffery backed up for us to be able to finish the ceremony. The passing of a tattoo was magical, and no one really knew how it was accomplished, but it was a simple gesture.

  Trent picked up the ceremonial knife that had been blessed by a priestess of the Goddess. All he had to do was lay the celestial silver blade flat over my heart and what should have burned me didn’t. I felt a tingling sensation and then, when he lifted it was the Moon Beam Pack Crest. It was a black wolf howling at the moon whose rays were shining brightly back down on him. It was beautiful.

  Trent took my left hand into his right and turned us to face the pack.

  “I introduce our new Alpha pair. Trent and Crystie Parker.” Jeffery announced.

  The whole field we were standing in erupted with cheers and applause. Trent held up his left hand to quiet the pack down, which took a couple of minutes.

  “We have one more ceremony that my mate and I have to perform before I can sneak her away.” I started trying to get his attention because I wouldn’t be able to do the ceremony the traditional way, but he was so distracted he didn’t notice. “We will be accepting some wolves officially into our pack. Two in particular I want to announce. Bolton West and Zeke Mtchell. They have both gone out of their way to ensure the safety of our Omega, of our new Alpha female. They had a very rough beginning, but have since proven themselves worthy to be in her personal guard and they will be treated with the upmost respect from here forth.”

  I tugged on his arm now, kind of harder then I meant to. I was happy of the honor he was bestowing on both Bolton and Zeke, but I couldn’t do what he had planned. In an acceptance ceremony, the Alpha couple would turn into wolves and mark the new wolf as pack by a bite to the back of the neck in their human form.

  Trent finally looked down at me to see what was wrong. I got on my tip toes, and he bent down a little to help, and whispered, “I can’t.”

  His eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Why not?” He asked just as softly so no one but his dad, standing directly behind us, could hear.

  A pregnant wolf cannot change during the pregnancy or they risk losing it.

  “I’m pregnant.” I smiled up to him.

  I saw the big smile cross Jeffery’s face as he heard the news, while his son went white as a sheet.

  “Breath baby.” I told him softly, starting to worry for him.

  “I’m gonna be a dad?” He asked.

  When I nodded he collapsed, right there on the raised platform we were standing, soliciting a giggle from me. Man, being a mate to this man was going to be fun.

  About the Author

  I am a stay at home mother of three that has always loved coming up with stories. Since high school, I have loved to both read and write all genres of stories. I have a couple of earlier works that I loved, but learned a lot from, so hopefully my writing reflects that. As my children have gotten older and now all have their own things to do, they have encouraged me in my dream of becoming an author. I have really great feedback from my readers before I even publish the finalized manuscripts, so I really hope that the readers who buy my books enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

  You can keep up with what Jayton’s up to by visiting her facebook page

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