“Sienna.”
A shiver rippled over her skin at the sound of that deep growly voice. “We can’t be late to our own ceremony.”
Tugging back her head, he nipped at her lower lip, his eyes wolf blue. “I’ll put it on your tab.”
“Or maybe I’ll put it on yours,” she said, giving him a little bite with her “claws.”
“I promise to pay up.” His free hand, proprietary and warm, on the curve of her hip. “With interest.”
Slotting in the final button, she resisted the urge to undo her work and stepped back to watch him tuck the shirt into his pants and do up his belt. There was something intensely erotic about seeing her man getting dressed, and Sienna had the feeling that would never change. Not with Hawke.
“So?” he said afterward.
She straightened the collar. “Take it off, you’re too handsome.”
“No, it’s already my favorite shirt.” Hawke remembered seeing Lucas in a T-shirt that exactly matched his eyes not long ago, and feeling the hard stab of envy at knowing the leopard alpha’s mate had purchased it for him. He’d thought the wild beauty of such a bond forever out of his reach.
Now, he was being petted by a woman who had somehow managed to find a shirt that matched the unusual shade of his own eyes, the ice blue threads so fine, it felt like wearing a kiss against his skin. Sienna’s kiss. “What are you buying me for my birthday?” Both parts of him admired his reflection, his hair almost glittering against the foil of the blue.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” was the arch response.
Delighted with her, he stole another kiss before tangling his fingers with her own. “Ready?”
“Yes.” The slightest hitch to her breath. “I know these events follow their own rhythm, but do you have any idea of what we should expect?”
“Good chance the lieutenants are going to kick it off with a speech.” Hawke glanced down, glimpsed the black leather-synth of her boot through the slit, and remembered that hushed night when he’d first allowed himself to hold her, though it had been torture to do only that and nothing more. “Then we’ll dance and celebrate.” Normally, Hawke would be the one who spoke first at any mating or bonding ceremony, letting the new couple know their pairing was accepted and welcome. The impact of that moment was luminous, an inexplicable but powerful something passing between an alpha and his people.
“Dance all night with me?” Sienna asked as they left the den for the walk to the Pack Circle.
He enjoyed the feel of the wind flicking her dress against his legs, the supple warmth of her a familiar caress under the hand he’d placed on her lower back. “I know Tomás is planning to steal a dance, and Drew’s claimed one already.”
“You’re rescinding the no-touching rule for tonight?” It was a laughing tease.
“Since there are no baby cats around, yes.” His wolf snarled at the reminder of her friendship with Kit. “But, on that note—” Not giving her any warning, he bit her on the bared skin of her right shoulder.
“Hawke!” She thrust a hand into his hair, found that instead of pushing him away, she was holding him to her while he licked over the mark with a molten sensuality that made her toes curl.
“There,” he murmured, slits of ice blue visible between lowered lids. “Now everyone knows you’re mine.” Another proprietary lick.
Pulse thudding against her skin, she laughed. “As if people were in any doubt.”
Satisfied—and very alpha—smile on his face, he placed his hand on her lower back again and they continued down the path. “I’ll allow the pack to monopolize you until midnight”—a low murmur that was a rough stroke over her skin—“then I’ll dance with you until the stars fade and the sun rises.”
Heart shattering at the beauty of her mate’s promise, she entered the Pack Circle with him.
The cheer that split the air was deafening. Grinning, Hawke led her to where his lieutenants waited in front of a crowd that included every member of the den’s population, except for the few on security rotation.
Matthias raised his arms to get the pack to quiet down, but gave up the floor to Riley once he had the crowd’s attention. Hawke’s most senior lieutenant stepped forward and, cupping Sienna’s face in his hands, said a single simple word, “Welcome.”
The howl that went up in the clearing was multiharmonic and piercingly joyful, a song that was a gift. Linked as he was to Sienna, Hawke felt her stunned wonder and knew she didn’t realize the significance of the act.
“They’re welcoming you,” he whispered, his chest vibrating with the need to add his voice to the song, “not as my mate, but as their alpha’s mate.” The distinction was important, and when untrammeled sunshine lit up her face, he knew she understood.
A rustle of giggling and whispering sounded on the last echo of the harmony, and suddenly, they were faced with the pups. Tarah stood unobtrusively to the side, where the youngest ones could see her. A graceful wave of her hand and the children began to sing, their voices high and sweet and full of innocence fragile as glass.
He saw from the surprise on Riley’s face that the kids had managed to keep this a secret. His wolf’s heart burst in pride. Tucking Sienna’s hand to his side, he glanced down to see an iridescent shimmer over the night-sky of her gaze. Her cousin, Marlee, was among the singers, as was her brother, Toby—still young enough to not mind joining the children, but old and lanky enough that he’d had to find a space right at the back. He held a chubby two-year-old in his arms, her singing enthusiastic if not altogether coherent.
It was on the final chorus that his mate surprised him, adding her voice with a playful grace that delighted the children. Afterward, hands linked, the pups took multiple giggling bows while thunderous applause filled the clearing. When a little girl escaped on sturdy legs to make a beeline for Hawke, he scooped her up and received a bright-eyed and somewhat sloppy kiss for his trouble.
Grinning, he passed her to her laughing father, her baby pink dress frothing over the man’s sun-browned arm. “This one’s going to give you trouble.”
“She’s the nursery flirt,” the other man said, tapping at the pup’s nose in loving reproof.
It was a far more elegant female who came forward next, her petite body sheathed in an ankle-length cheongsam of deep yellow silk, her glossy black hair in a neat twist. Nell represented not simply the maternals, but everyone in SnowDancer who didn’t identify as a dominant. In her arms she held a beautiful handmade quilt, the craftsmanship exquisite. “Each family in the den contributed a piece to this, thus each block is unique.” She handed the precious gift to Sienna.
Reaching behind her to another one of the maternal females, Nell accepted what appeared to be an old-fashioned tapestry. “We created this from threads sent in by families across the territory.” This, she put into Hawke’s arms, pressing her lips to his cheek before turning to do the same to Sienna, the evocative brown of her uptilted eyes shimmering with affection. “You are loved, and you are ours.”
Handling the gifts with the care they deserved, Hawke and Sienna gave them into the gentle keeping of two of the elders who stood with them. A moment later, quiet, often reserved Alexei stepped forward and leaned in to kiss Sienna’s cheek, one strong hand cupping her left shoulder. “Welcome.” The young lieutenant’s hair glinted gold in the colored lights strung across the Pack Circle as he turned to Hawke and began swearing his fealty.
It was an unexpected development, but Hawke responded automatically, slicing his palm with the knife Tomás threw him, so that a single drop of his blood splashed onto Alexei’s open hand.
Sienna watched, calm as a mountain lake, but he could feel her tension along the mating bond. He’d forgotten to explain to her—because it had slipped his own mind—that when an alpha mated, or bonded to a permanent partner, his lieutenants had to reaffirm their allegiance. It was a directive meant to protect the pack if an alpha chose a woman the pack couldn’t trust or respect—because even the most powerful wolf couldn’t rule without the loyalty of his strongest packmates. In such a situation, the pack inevitably split, the old alpha leaving with his supporters.