Chapter 22

Melody had spent a good bit of the day away from Jasper. He had things to do to get ready for their mating ceremony that were just for the male, like digging a pit in the paddock for the bonfire and setting up a tent for them to camp out for the night. They’d met for lunch, but he’d had more to do, so she’d spent the afternoon and evening with the pack females, getting manis and pedis in the market from Adrianna and Celeste, and then a lingerie party at the alphas’ home where she’d been given a ton of sexy things to wear.

It was tradition for the mates to spend one hour apart before the ceremony, but Jasper had been so busy they’d ended up being apart for several extra hours. And now it was just minutes from when she needed to head up to the paddock for the mating ceremony and party to follow.

Her phone buzzed as she was sitting on the bed in Joss and Jeanie’s spare room while Sarah twisted the sides of her freshly curled hair up to pin them so that her mating marks showed on her neck.

Lifting the phone to see the screen, she smiled and swiped her thumb to open the video call app. “Hi, Mom!”

“Hi, honey, how’s getting ready going?”

“Great. It’s been an awesome day, although I miss Jasper.”

“I missed your dad when he was busy getting things ready for us too, but don’t forget that after tonight you two will belong to each other officially and there’s really nothing sweeter than that.”

“I wish you and Dad could be here.”

“I do too, but don’t worry, we’ll have a party to celebrate your mating next time you and Jasper come to town.”

“That would be awesome.”

“Your hair looks lovely, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Sarah leaned over and smiled into the camera. “Thanks, Mom.”

Viola chuckled. “I just wanted to tell you I love you and wish you the best of luck tonight. Being mated and part of a pack is so sweet and wonderful, and I’m glad you and Jasper are finally together.”

“Me too. I love you too, Mom.”

She ended the call and smiled at the blank screen before setting it next to her on the bed.

“Okay, so you’ve got two choices,” Jeanie said as she walked into the room. Behind her, Lark and Anke carried hangers and shoes.

Lark held up a black strapless dress and strappy sandals, and Anke held up a black tank top and short skirt with black flats.

“What did you guys wear?” Melody asked.

“I wore something like the strapless dress,” Lark said.

“Me too,” Sarah said.

“Me three,” Jeanie said, laughing.

Anke wiggled the hangers she held and said, “I wore a two-piece like this.”

“The strapless dress is really cool,” Melody said. “I think I’ll go with that one, but I’ll take the flats.”

“We have a surprise for you too,” Anke said.

Lark brought the dress and the flats Anke held over to the bed and laid them down, and then Anke brought over a small rectangular box.

“What’s this?” Melody asked.

“It’s from all of us,” Sarah said.

Melody opened the box and found a silver chain with a wolf charm. She lifted the delicate necklace from the box and smiled. “I love it! Thank you so much.”

“We’ve all got one,” Jeanie said, pointing to her necklace. “We’re going to give them to anyone who gets mated going forward so we all have something to wear for the ceremonies.”

“That’s such a cool idea.”

Anke put the necklace on for her, and then Melody took the dress and shoes and hurried into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

She took off the robe she’d put on after her shower. She was now only wearing a pair of lacy black panties, which she knew Jasper would love. The dress fit perfectly over her curves, and when she looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, she smiled.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so sexy.

Slipping into the flats, she opened the door and the females all cheered and whistled. Melody’s cheeks heated in blush and she smiled. “Thanks for helping me get ready.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Jeanie said.

“And the pack family,” Anke said.

Sarah wrapped up the curling iron and set it on the dresser and said, “Are you ready for the next chapter of the rest of your life? Your mate is waiting.”

“I’m so ready.”

Jasper stood at the front of the bonfire next to Joss. He wore only black pants and shoes. He stared into the darkness across the paddock where he could see the darker shadow of the maintenance shed. Soon, Melody would open the door and walk across the paddock, escorted to him by the pack females who’d befriended her.

He hated that he’d had to be apart from her so much that day, but going to shop for the ring, digging the firepit, and setting up the tent had taken up a lot of time. It would be worth it, though, when they were finally mated officially. And maybe married too.

Before them, the pack sat in rows of folding chairs. A buffet was set up nearby for after the ceremony, but he and Melody wouldn’t be eating. He had plans to make up for all the time they’d been apart that day with a few extra orgasms.

And then they’d eat and he would shift for her so they could hang out in the paddock with the pack.

The door to the maintenance shed creaked loudly as it opened, and he held his breath. The light was off inside, but he could see movement as the small group made their way to them.

The pack stood and watched the darkness as well, everyone reverently silent.

Jasper’s heart was beating so fast he was surprised it stayed in his chest.

When Melody drew close enough that he could see her more clearly in the light of the big bonfire, he wanted to fall down at her feet and worship her.

She was gorgeous.

But hell, he always thought she was.

Tonight, however, she positively glowed in the dark dress she wore. She took his hand and smiled up at him. Around her neck was a necklace with a wolf charm, which he’d been told the females were going to give her as a gift.

He took her hands and they linked their fingers.

Joss called for the pack to be seated as Jeanie joined him at the bonfire.

“When wolves are lucky enough to be born into the same pack as their soulmate, to know each other from a young age, there isn’t much better than the mating ceremony to cement the relationship according to our traditions. No matter the hurdles that came to pass in your relationship, remember that you were made for each other, and that regardless of the obstacles that come your way, you have each other and that’s the only thing that matters at the end of the day. As alphas of our pack, Jeanie and I approve of this mating and give our blessing. Jasper and Melody, mark each other with our sacred oil.”

Jeanie handed Jasper a glass container, and he took it from her and opened it. He tilted the glass over his and Melody’s fingers, then handed the glass back to Jeanie.

He drew a short, straight line over her heart. “I claim this as my own.”

Melody mimicked his actions and words, leaving a heated path on his skin from where she touched him.

He drew two marks across her biceps, promising to lend her his strength, and then two marks across her temple, giving her his wolf. When she’d followed suit, Jasper held out a hand toward Joss, who dumped a handful of ash from a pouch into his palm.

Jasper drew marks across his and Melody’s biceps and wrists with the ash, and then tossed the remainder into the fire.

“You’re marked with ash from the bonfire that you built today,” Joss said. “Do you swear to protect your soulmate with every fiber of your being? To be her everything?”

“I swear.”

Joss looked at Melody. “Do you swear to love Jasper with every fiber of your being and to be his everything?”

“I swear,” she said breathlessly.

“Mark your mate,” Joss said with authority.

Jasper turned Melody to face the pack and tilted her head to the side to expose the mating mark he’d already given her. “I love you, Melody. I give you all of myself for all of my days.”

He bit her neck just below the mating mark, hard enough to leave a bruise but not hard enough to break the skin. Lifting from her throat, he let out a deep and joyous howl at belonging to his soulmate.

“If there are any who know why these two shouldn’t be welcomed into the pack, speak now or remain silent for eternity,” Joss shouted.

The pack was silent and Joss grinned. “Congratulations to Jasper and Melody. Jasper?”

He turned Melody around to face him. He reached into his pocket to pull out the ring and realized she was holding something in between her thumb and forefinger.

As he brought the ring he’d picked out for her from his pocket, he saw that what she held was a ring.

“Oh my gosh,” Jeanie whispered with a chuckle.

Melody’s gaze dropped to his fingers. “Jasper?”

“Melody?”

She smiled and her eyes danced in the firelight. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. It seems like we both had the same idea.”

“You first,” she said.

He dropped down to one knee and held up the ring. “Sweetheart, Mellie-mine, you’re the most important person in the world to me, and I can’t think of anything better than calling you my wife. Will you marry me?”

She sniffled and lowered the ring she had in her fingers toward him. “I can’t think of anything better either. Coming here to find you, despite the crazy circumstances, was the best choice I ever made, and while I regret the lost years between us, I have zero regrets about being your mate. I’m so glad you’re mine, Jasper. Will you be my husband too?”

They stared at each other for a long, quiet moment and then they both smiled and said “Yes!” at the same time. He slipped the ring on her finger and she slipped the ring on his.

He stood and caught her in his arms, bending her back slightly and kissing her sweetly and deeply, his wolf growling in happiness that she was theirs.

Finally, truly theirs.

The pack cheered, and he couldn’t have been happier than he was at this moment, sharing something so special and epic with his people. As he righted her, she brushed at tears on her cheeks and said, “I can’t believe we had the same idea!”

“When did you shop for a ring for me?”

“I ordered it through Anke at the market shop.”

“Sneaky sweetheart.” He grinned, so much in love with his soulmate. Joss cleared his throat, and Jasper said, “Hey, we can get married right now. Joss can perform the ceremony.”

“What? Really?”

“I can,” Joss said.

Jeanie stepped forward with a bouquet of white and red roses in her hand and said, “If you want to, we can.”

“Oh, this is why my mom said they would throw us a party, not host the wedding. They knew about it.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to be my wife without making sure your parents were on board with it.”

“Then yes! Let’s get married right now. Holy crap, this is amazing.”

He pulled the ring he bought for himself out of his pocket and said, “What’s even more amazing is that I also bought a ring for you to put on my finger too in case you wanted to get married right away.”

“You thought of everything, Jasper.”

“Well, I didn’t think you’d ask me to marry you,” he said with a chuckle. “But I love how much in sync we are with each other.”

Jasper called Alfie up to be his best man and Melody called Sarah, and then before he knew it, Joss was asking if he wanted to take Melody as his lawfully wedded wife, and he was saying yes, and then she was saying yes, and then there were vows and a kiss, and the pack was cheering for them once more.

When Joss pronounced them man and wife, and Jasper kissed her again, Joss shouted, “Let’s eat and shift!”

When every member of the pack had congratulated them on their mating and marriage, Jasper shook Joss’s hand and Melody hugged Jeanie, and then they parted ways to head to the tent for a little privacy.

And more.

He wanted to shower his mate with affection and he didn’t want any witnesses.

“Sweetheart,” Jasper said as he took her hand and led her away from the pack toward the maintenance shed and the large tent beyond it. “You’ve made me the happiest male on the planet.”

“I bet I can make you happier.”

“Yeah? I think we’ll be spending a lot of time trying to make each other very happy during our week off for our honeymoon. But right now? I need you out of that dress so I can show you how much I love you.”

She tugged his hand. “Then let’s hurry because I want that too. Right now.”

He laughed and picked her up in his arms, jogging toward the tent, excited for the night ahead.

Lots of love and orgasms.