She stifles a faint moan and hisses, “Caden.”
“Yes, my heart?”
She purses her lips at the mischief lacing my voice. Narrowing her gaze slyly, she sips her drink. It’s my turn to cover for myself, grabbing blindly at the back of her chair to fight the tantalizing sensation of her nails skating down my chest and stroking my abs lower, lower, fuck.
“Sit down,” she says.
I collapse into my seat at her side, brushing my knee with hers under the table. “When I get you alone…”
She hums, cheeks flushing. I snag her wrist and bring her hand up to kiss.
Callie sighs from her spot diagonally across the table. “I should be grossed out because you’re my brother, but it’s sweet to see you two together. I hope I find my True Mate someday.”
Avery’s blush deepens. “I’m certain you will.”
I frown, not wanting to think of the males she could be fated to. “But not for a long time.”
Callie clicks her tongue. “I’m only a few years younger than you. At some point you have to stop treating me like a baby.”
“Not happening.”
The banquet begins with a toast to our continued harmonious unity. Once dinner is underway, Alistair leans across the table to talk to me.
“I hear you’re making your first bid this year.”
“I am. It’s a proposal to update trading with Silver Falls Pack.” His brows rise in interest. “As it stands, we share resources in spring and summer.”
“We hope to foster a strong, fruitful relationship between our packs year-round,” Avery says.
The corners of his eyes crinkle. I fight not to tense under his scrutiny of us. Shit. Have I misstepped? I watched and waited to make my proposal until after I felt out how the other packs would respond so I wouldn’t come on too strong.
“What’s that smile for?”
“It shows great initiative. And dedication to your pack. I’m proud to see it since I feel like I had a hand in preparing you to become an alpha,” he answers.
Avery puts a hand on my back. I relax.
“It’s good to be a young alpha.” At the chorus of bawdy laughter from the others near us, Alistair inclines his head. “Not for that reason. He’s not stuck in most of the old ways like the rest of us.”
“A young mind has young ideas,” Alpha Bell muses a few seats away.
“Which isn’t a bad thing,” Alpha Shepherd from Twin Rivers Pack says further down the table.
“I certainly have my full strength,” I offer with a smirk.
Alistair’s laughter booms. “That you do. But don’t think I couldn’t match it just because I’m old enough to be your father.”
“It’s been a while, but if you’re looking to be my sparring partner again, I’ll take you on,” I joke.
He raises a glass in toast. I clink my goblet against his.
Partway through dinner, Taryn makes her way down the table to refresh drinks. She stops to talk to Callie and Kyra Bell, the three of them giggling. Atlas slips from his seat by his father and joins them, standing close to Taryn. She’s amused by whatever he says. He gives her a lopsided tilt of his mouth, not being too subtle about his interest in her.
She empties the pitcher into Kyra’s cup and rolls her eyes at Callie, trudging back towards the kitchens. He follows her after a beat, stopping her by the door. She sets the pitcher down on a pedestal and he leans into her space, hand propped against the wall by her head. They’re too far to hear what he’s murmuring.
Liam watches the entire exchange with a set jaw. The moment Atlas cages her, he moves from his guard position with the other betas to intervene. Atlas looks between them with confusion, backing off with his hands raised.
Taryn huffs, spinning on her heel to enter the kitchens. Liam shakes his head, staring after her for a beat before he returns.
“What was that all about?” I ask when he passes me.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Liam mutters.
I smirk, arm draping over the back of Avery’s chair. Dinner begins to wind down as we finish our meals. I’m only paying half my attention to the conversation with the alphas, more focused on using the bond to trace Avery’s mating mark. She squirms while she chats with Regina, touching it, finding I’m not actually touching her.
I keep doing it when groups break away from the table, guiding her around the room with her hand tucked in the crook of my arm. A male we talk to from Moonlight Lake Pack eyes her mark with a glimpse of envy.
I draw her closer into my side, kneading her shoulder so my fingertips brush over the bite mark. Her breath hitches. I keep my hand resting on her shoulder, thumb caressing her nape. The bond lights up with her enjoyment. The male tears his attention from her mark at my rumble, clearing his throat in apology.
A satisfied grin twists my mouth. The best way to keep any of them from coveting Avery is to rub it in their faces that she’s mine.
The banquet takes on a new purpose for me now that I’ve found a way to enjoy the festivities. I go out of my way to talk to as many in attendance as I can, relishing introducing my mate and her coy reaction each time.
35AVERY
The feast is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve only been to parties on packlands, never something as extravagant and enchanting as the Pack Summit. It’s wonderful to see the leaders and their delegations from each pack come together in support of each other.
I have a good feeling about tomorrow’s accords. Everyone seems interested in the youngest alpha in the room and what he brings to the table.
Caden whisks me around all evening. A permanent blush heats my cheeks because he’s showing me off, proudly introducing me to anyone we meet as his mate.
The way he says it makes my stomach dip and sends a shiver down my spine where his hand rests at my lower back. My mate. It’s warm and smoky like a sip of whiskey.
In the brief times we’re parted throughout the celebration, his gaze is on me. His phantom touch, too. It caresses me when I least expect it, teasing my exposed back and dipping between the high slit in my gown to trace up my inner thigh.
When I nearly moan in the middle of talking to Alpha Ryan’s mate about my interests in foraging and cultivating my herb garden, I slip outside for air. We’ve been teasing each other with the bond all night.
Caden tracks me down moments after I leave the festivities, catching up to me in a courtyard that opens to gardens lit with hundreds of lights. Music from the feast filters through the overgrown ivy creeping up the stone archways and the ruins of an old tower.
“There you are. I think this counts as you conceding victory to me,” he says.
I respond by plucking our magic connection like a spank. He jolts, balancing on the wall with a bitten off groan. My brows lift in smug satisfaction.
“Are you sure about that? I’m not giving up,” I taunt.
He closes the distance between us, grasping my waist to yank me into him, playfully growling, “I’ll make you.”
I bite my lip around a smile. He chuckles, dipping his head to scent me. I’m pliant for him, giving him my throat. His smile brushes my skin as he rubs his jaw against me. He takes my hands, lifting one to rest on his shoulder, guiding me to the soft music.
“What are you doing?” I giggle when he twirls me, then draws me in again, tucking me close.
“Dancing with you.”
“You like to dance?”