Promise

RORY

My heart leaps into my throat at Mama’s words.

“Everett’s gone?” I ask Mama. “Did he say where he was going?”

“No,” she says. “He just got in his car and drove off.”

~Oh Goddess…~

~I’m such an idiot.~

~I’ve ruined absolutely everything.~

~He’ll never forgive me.~

~I’ll never forgive myself.~

“Where were you, Rory?” Mama asks, cutting through the tension-filled silence.

“I was trying to do what you said,” I reply, my voice shaking. “I was trying to protect all the parts of myself. And instead, I ended up destroying the only thing that matters.”

I sit down on a log on the forest floor and drop my head into my hands.

My heart burns with regret. But I don’t want the feeling to go away. I deserve to feel the same kind of pain that I’ve caused Everett.

“All the guests are waiting in their seats for the ceremony to begin,” Mama says. “Perhaps you should say something to them.”

I look up at her. “I guess no one will be surprised that the ceremony is off,” I say somberly. “I’m sure that’s what they all wanted anyway.”

I stand up and brace myself to face them, totally unsure of what I will say when I do.

But then, I hear something that stops me in my tracks.

“The ceremony is off, huh?” a voice asks me.

I turn around and see Everett emerging, silhouetted by the sunshine.

I take a step closer to him and see that he is all dressed in his finest suit, looking as handsome as I’ve ever seen him.

And then there’s me. A sweaty, sticky, mortified mess.

Mama excuses herself and walks away, leaving me and Everett alone in the forest.

I stare into his face, trying to decipher his expression, but it’s impossible.

“I thought—” I say, unsure of where to begin. “I thought you were gone. I thought you weren’t going to come.”

“I could say the same thing about you,” he says grimly.

The sound of his voice, laced with disappointment, unlocks the apology floodgates.

“Everett. I’m so, so, so sorry,” I say to him. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I had a debate tournament today and I thought I could make it back in time.

“But I’m an idiot and now I’ve completely and totally ruined our day and I’ve upset you and—”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the tournament?” he asks, cutting me off. “Why, Aurora?”

“Because I know you think debate is stupid,” I say. “And I didn’t want you to think that I was prioritizing it over our mating ceremony.

“But I just… I couldn’t let my friends down any more than I already have. And we’ve been preparing for this tournament for so long…”

He sighs and sits down on the same log that I was on moments ago.

I drop to my knees next to him. I’ll beg for forgiveness if I have to.

“I should never have lied to you,” I say. “I’ll never do it again. I’m the biggest idiot in the world.”

“Get off the ground, Aurora,” he says to me.

My cheeks redden with embarrassment. I push myself up and take the seat next to him.

“I’m the one who should be asking for forgiveness,” he says, his gaze shifting to meet mine. “~I’m~ the idiot.”

“Huh?” I say, totally shocked by his change in tone. “No you’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” he says. “I’ve made you believe that I disapprove of everything you do in that school. I’ve made you feel like you need to hide things from me. I’m an idiot ~and~ an asshole.”

He grabs my hand and holds it in his massive one.

“I found a flyer for the debate tournament when Mama told me you were missing. I tried to race over to the school to catch the end of it,” he says. “I wanted to see you speak.”

“That’s where you were?” I ask him.

“Yes,” he says. “But it was already over by the time I got there. And guess what?”

“What?” I ask him.

“You won,” he says. “Your team won.”

My face breaks into a smile and then Everett’s does too. He pulls me in for a hug.

“Congratulations,” he says. Then, he reaches into his pocket, pulls something out, and hands it to me.

~My phone.~

“Oh, thank Goddess,” I say. I place it in my own pocket and then look back up at Everett. “I can’t believe you aren’t more angry with me.”

“I’m just glad that you’re here now,” he says.

He gets up off the log and I stand to meet him.

“So…are you ready to do this thing?” he asks.

“You mean the ceremony? Now?”

“We don’t want to keep them waiting any longer, do we?” he says.

“But...I’m not wearing my gown and my hair is a mess and—”

“Aurora. You look beautiful. This is the girl I want to exchange vows with,” he says. “I’m just so happy that you’re here.” He leans in and kisses me tenderly.

“Alright,” I say when he pulls away. “Let’s do it.”

“I’ll head out there first,” he says.

He kisses me one more time for good measure, and then walks past the tree line and into the clearing.

I hide behind the trunk of a tree and peek past it, watching as Everett makes his way down the aisle, shaking hands with pack members as he goes.

Mama appears beside me. With her fingers, she combs out my hair and lays it flat so it cascades down my back.

“Will you walk me down the aisle, Mama?” I ask her. “I don’t want to trip.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” she says.

When Everett reaches the end of the aisle, Mama and I take our first steps into the clearing.

All the eyes in the pack turn to face me, every member rising to their feet.

But my focus is only on Everett, who is waiting for me under a beautiful floral trellis, a bright smile on his face.

I clutch tightly onto mama’s arm as we walk, trying my best to ignore the murmurs from the crowd that are almost definitely ~all~ about my outfit.

When we reach the trellis, Everett catches me in his arms and helps me up onto the platform.

A priestess, who is standing behind us wearing a long white cloak, initiates the ceremony.

“On the holiest day of the season, the Blood Moon, we will bear witness to the official union of Alpha Everett Langdon and his beloved luna, Aurora Matthews,” she begins.

I look up at Everett. His eyes are shining.

“Today, we honor the late Alpha Zane and Luna Riley, Everett’s beloved parents, who were also mated on this sacred day.”

I think for a moment of my own birth mother and father, who also could not be here on this day. I can’t help but hope that they are watching over me somehow.

“With the pack and council as witness,” the priestess continues, “we thank the Moon Goddess for creating the sacred mate bond between Everett and Aurora.

“They have chosen to prepare their own vows for the occasion.”

The priestess nods toward me. It’s my turn to speak—the first time I’ve ever done it in front of the whole pack.

“Everett,” I say, my voice already beginning to shake. “My whole life, I’ve never felt like I’ve truly belonged anywhere. Then I met you. When you held me in your arms for the first time, I finally knew what people always meant when they talked about ~home~.”

Tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks.

“I know that I’m not the traditional choice for a luna, but you have faith in me. And that makes me have faith in myself. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life trying to live up to the person that you believe I can be. I love you so much.”

Everett rests a hand on my cheek and draws in a deep breath. Then he begins his vows.

“My sweet Aurora,” he says. “Everyone knows that you are cursed with clumsiness. But I’m starting to believe that your curse is contagious. I’m the clumsy one now.

“I fall for you over and over again. Every single day, I learn something new about you that makes me fall even harder.”

I laugh and the crowd does too. But suddenly, Everett’s face seems to harden as he turns his gaze toward the members of the pack.

“I know that other packs have given you a hard time. They have done horrible, cruel things that I wouldn’t dare to repeat on a happy day like today,” he says. “But no one will dare lay a hand on you ever again.”

His words sound more like a warning than a vow.

“If anyone thinks they can challenge your place within this pack,” he says, “they will have to go through me first.”

By the tone in his voice and the fiery look in his eye, it’s almost like his wolf is threatening to come out.

I place both of my hands on his chest, stroking him softly. After a moment, I feel his heartbeat starting to settle.

“I love you so much, Aurora,” he says. “And I am so grateful that I will have you by my side for the rest of my life.”

With that, he wraps his arms around my torso and places a kiss on my lips as he swings me around on the spot.

~Holy shit…~

~It’s official.~

~I am the luna of the Shadow Blood Pack.~