The Wolf's Mate Book 2: Linus & The Angel (23 page)

Back at Kamren and Sophia’s house, Kamren
stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “You can change out of your
ceremonial clothes. You’ll want to keep those for your future
son-in-law the way that I did for you. For the party tonight, you
can wear whatever you like. It would be a good idea to get some
rest, even though we all know how hard it is to be separated from
your mate. Welcome to the family, son. You’ve made my little girl
very happy.”

Linus trudged up the stairs feeling like his
feet were now blocks of ice from being shoeless. Exhaustion plucked
at him, but he wanted nothing more than to run out and find Karly
and drag her into his arms and finish that kiss.

Too keyed up to sleep, he opted to take a
nice, hot shower until his body unfroze. Drying off, he looked at
the clothes he’d folded carefully on the counter. He was surprised
to know that Kamren had worn them. Once more, he was overwhelmed by
tradition. He wanted very badly to be able to pass on all the
knowledge he was surrounded by at this moment. Taking a deep breath
of the orange blossom and thinking of his mate, he walked out into
the bedroom and realized immediately he wasn’t alone.

Karly, still wearing her white dress but
minus the cloak, was sitting in the middle of the bed. He paused
and then climbed hurriedly onto the bed, the towel around his waist
disappearing with his haste.

She laughed quietly as he covered her face
with kisses and held her close. “You have to leave, don’t you?
Don’t go, baby, please.” He whispered, “I can’t bear another second
away from you.”

“I snuck out.” She wiggled her brows at him.
“We shouldn’t make love, but we can sleep together. I miss you,
too.”

“I’ll be good, I swear.” He nodded
vigorously. At that point, he would have agreed to being bound hand
and foot to the bed just to have her there.

“Then put something on, please, so I’m not so
tempted.” She made an exaggerated motion of covering her eyes and
he glanced down to see his cock hadn’t really wanted her to go
anywhere, either.

“Right.” He darted off the bed and rummaged
in the suitcase.

“Toss me a shirt and some panties, would
you?” She asked and he heard the sound of a zipper and just barely
stopped himself from turning around and ravaging her. With a flick,
he tossed a pajama top and panties behind him and pulled on briefs.
When he heard the covers being moved, he felt it was safe to turn
around.

She had adjusted the blinds and drapes so
that the room was bathed with only a bare glow of early morning
sunlight. Patting the pillow next to her, she smiled at him
invitingly and he didn’t have to be asked twice.

“So will we get in trouble?” He teased her as
he pulled her sweet, heavenly body against his.

“Nah. My mom snuck out to be with my dad,
too. And besides, the point of the separation was so that the
Angel’s family could prepare her to leave if she needed to, pack
her things, and also prepare her for the wedding night. I imagine
that a few generations ago, Angels weren't making love to their
mates ahead of the joining ceremony and would have wanted the
counsel of their elders.”

“I’m so happy you’re mine, Karly. I couldn’t
live without you.”

She tipped her face to his, her eyes happy
but sleepy. “I love you, Linus. My sweet wolf.”

With a long, soft kiss, they said goodnight
and he cuddled her against his chest and both he and his wolf
sighed in contentment and drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, they gathered with the
Soualit Pack for the equivalent of a wedding reception,
rustic-wolf-style. Rough hewn picnic tables were laden with
platters of food. Spits of wedges of different game caught from
their hunt were roasting over an enormous bonfire.

Alpha Krayne and Mary were standing in front
of the fire when Kamren, Rico, Graise, Bren, Linus and Pops walked
into the clearing and joined them.

The pack joined them in a loose circle.
Through an opening, Sophia led Karly, his mother and grandmother
into the clearing. His mate looked so beautiful he could hardly
keep his feet rooted to the ground.

She wore a white long sleeved sweater and a
long skirt. Her hair was fixed up at the sides with the orange
blossom tucked behind her ear. His sweetest angel.

Alpha Krayne took Karly’s hand and kissed her
cheek. “When two amongst our kind find their true mates, it is
cause for great celebration. Let us join in celebration tonight for
Linus and Karly.”

Linus took Karly’s hand and pulled her into
his arms once more as his wolf rumbled his approval with the first,
but not the last, kiss of the night. The pack clapped and cheered
until the kiss broke. Within minutes, they were seated and enjoying
the fruits of the hunt.

Over the years, he had eaten his share of
game, but the Tressel Pack didn’t bring the kills back and
slaughter and then cook them. It was very traditional and ensured
that nothing was wasted. And it also meant that Karly was taking a
bite of the buck he’d killed. There was something very thrilling
about that. In the most primal of ways, he was providing for his
mate. He made a mental note to talk to Jason about it once they
were back in Allen.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Karly whispered in
his ear.

He put his fork down and put his arms around
her and kissed her ear and nuzzled the warm spot just behind it.
“I’m going to give you about five minutes to finish eating.”

“Oh?” She laughed softly. “You can wait that
long?”

It was his turn to laugh. “I was just being
polite.”

She peeked up at him and grinned. “We can
always be polite over breakfast.”

Excellent point. Although his wolf would have
liked to haul her over his shoulder like a caveman and race off to
plunder her sweet body, his human side knew the better, less
offensive thing to do was to say goodnight to everyone.

When the pleasantries were done, they walked
hand in hand away from the celebration towards her parents’ house.
His mind raced as they drew closer to the house. This seemed like
the sort of night that should burn in your memory forever.

As her hand reached for the door, he swung
her up into his arms and pushed it open, carrying her across the
threshold and kicking it shut. She fisted her hands in his hair and
attacked his neck and he barely made it into the guest bedroom
without plowing them into the wall for her expert distraction.

Leaning heavily on the closed door, he looked
around the room taking quick stock. Their bags were on the dresser.
The bed had been turned down. Candles waited to be lit. A platter
of cut fruit sat on a small table with a bottle of wine in an ice
bucket and two glasses. Putting Karly down on the floor, he kissed
her and then went to light the candles.

“Was this your room, baby?” He asked, tipping
a tall, fat candle sideways to catch the wick.

“No. My dad turned my room into a den. This
was Rico’s room.”

He lit the candles and opened the wine,
pouring half glasses for both of them before flicking off the
overhead light. “I am the luckiest man on the planet, and I’ve been
that way since I found you. My sweet little snow angel.” He tipped
his glass to hers in a quiet toast and they both took a drink. He
really didn’t want anything to get in the way of remembering all
that they were going to do tonight, so he took the glass from her
hand and put both of them back.

“Later,” he said, reaching for her hands and
clasping them in his.

Her smile was the one he loved so much. The
kitten and the wildcat mixed up together. “Do me a favor,
baby?”

“Anything.”

“Strip for me.”

He left her standing and sat down in a plush
armchair near the window. She started immediately, kicking off her
shoes. As she unzipped the long skirt, he grinned at his good
fortune. His sweetheart really was perfect for him. She had almost
zero inhibitions, she was as sweet as she was stunning, and she
loved him. What more could a man ask for?

Their night passed in a blur of tangled
limbs, panting cries of pleasure, and one broken lamp thanks to a
stray foot. After breakfast, they headed back home to Allen. Once
more he was very aware that he felt like he was part of a larger
family now. Not just a wolf family, but a human family. Karly's
parents and brothers and sisters-in-law had stepped right up and
accepted him without reservation. Having Karly was the best thing,
but having her family's support in addition to his own was icing on
a perfect cake. He'd never been happier in his life.

Chapter 17

“It’s my great pleasure, as Alpha of the
Tressel Pack, to welcome the mate of one of our wolves to our pack
as a treasured member and to announce for the first time anywhere,
Mr. and Mrs. Linus Mayfield!” Jason said loudly, as Linus and Karly
turned from where he had officiated the pack joining ceremony just
minutes after the Angel ceremony and their legal marriage ceremony
performed by a justice of the peace in the full moon meeting place
back in Allen. June 30
^th
would forever be the very best
day of her life, when all the pieces of the puzzle of her life came
together just perfectly.

Her mom and Linus’ mom, already thick as
thieves, cried together and Linus’ grandmother beamed at the two of
them. Even her dad and Pops looked like they were struggling to
contain their happiness and it was very easy to see that Linus was
trying to hold his own emotions in check. Men could be so silly
sometimes.

They walked through the makeshift aisle
between the wolves and the ones lining the edge showered them with
rose petals as they walked from the full moon meeting place back to
Jason and Cadence’s home where the reception was being held. Her
father had offered to throw them a big wedding, but in all honesty,
neither Linus nor she really wanted anything like that. They just
wanted to share their day with the people that meant the most to
them, and that included her brothers and their families, Alpha
Krayne and Mary, Linus’ family, and the Tressel Pack.

Long tables and chairs had been set up
outside in the clearing behind Jason and Cadence’s home, several
mounded with food that her mother and sisters-in-law had been up
all night preparing. It had been the last night without Linus that
she hoped would ever happen. It seemed silly to keep that
tradition, since they’d been living together for several months,
but everyone kept talking about jinxing happiness and breaking long
standing traditions, so they gave up arguing. She stayed at Linus’
mother’s house and he stayed at their house with Jason, Michael and
Bo and had the wolf version of a bachelor’s party: shifting and
hunting.

The hides that her parents’ pack had given
them for their joining ceremony had been given to a tailor who made
two matching suede jackets for Linus and her, a long swing skirt
for her, and two decorative pillows. And they had enough deer meat
in their freezer to last until they were old and gray. Not to
mention all that they’d divvied up between the two packs.

Her dress was a simple strapless a-line, with
lace and beading on the bodice. Her hair was pulled up and twisted
around diamond clips that belonged to her father’s mother. Linus
sent a gift to her in the morning of a beautiful diamond pendant.
They’d decided that instead of getting a separate engagement ring
and using his family ring as the wedding band, that he could buy
her a wedding band instead, because she loved the band that he had
given her when he proposed and she didn’t want anything else to be
substituted. The ring he picked out for her was a gorgeous eternity
band that sparkled on her finger like it was covered with tiny
little stars. His own band was plain platinum that she had
inscribed with their names.

After Jason toasted them as best man and then
joined them at the head table, they ate their fill at dinner and
then danced on a makeshift dance floor while the DJ from the bar
played their song.

It was just absolutely a perfect day. As the
sun began to set and the suggestion was made to move the party to
the bar – without them – so they could continue to have fun, her
parents came to see them.

They’d been waiting to know what they were
going to give them. They’d promised to send Karly and Linus
somewhere on their honeymoon, and had only told them to pack for
the beach, but otherwise they had no clue.

She opened the dark red envelope and pulled
out two first class tickets to Newport, RI along with their
itinerary and a black credit card with both their names on it. She
gaped at her father.

“I know how much you loved visiting the ocean
as a child so we’re giving you a week in Newport, all expenses
paid. Your hotel and towncar are paid for, and everything else
should be put on the card. Take lots of pictures, darling. And have
a wonderful honeymoon.” Her father kissed her cheek and hugged her
tightly before passing her to her mother who gave her a hug and
sniffled.

“I’m so happy you found your mate, Karly. I
wish you a lifetime of happiness and love.”

“Thanks, mom.” She sniffed.

“Now, you two have to catch the red-eye, so
you should probably get going.” Her father said with a smile.
“We’ll drop you off at the airport on our way home.”

They gave them the impression that they would
wait a little while so they could get dressed, and she and Linus
pawed at each other in the bathroom in Jason and Cadence’s home and
had a really, really fast quickie before they got dressed and said
goodbye to everyone.

Once they were at the airport and seated at
the terminal waiting to board the plane, Linus kissed the top of
her hand. “I’m glad we were able to make love on our wedding night,
but I hope you realize that as soon as we get to our hotel that I’m
going to take a very…very long time getting reacquainted with my
wife in the right way.”