Brenna
After Adan slipped his phone into his pocket, he took my hand and pulled me down the hallway, headed toward the elevator. Anger radiated off him as he pulled me inside and pushed the button for our floor.
“Adan, stop,” I breathed, needing a moment to process. No matter what was at stake, there was no way I wanted our first time to be in a rush and in anger.
His head snapped up. “What’s wrong?”
I bit my lower lip as I shook my head. “Everything.” I took a moment to collect my thoughts. “Here, we just lost Magenta, and I wish that my parents and my brother could have been here for our wedding—”
He pulled me to his chest and stroked my hair as he rested his head against mine. Then he pulled back and placed his finger under my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Brenna, as long as we’re together in our suite, that’s all that matters. I promise to take it slow—”
“But what about Magenta? Willow? Conner Snow?” I scoffed, unable to believe what I was hearing. “Adan, it’s a lot to process! I want our first time to be special—”
“And it will be.” He ran his fingers down my arm, raising goosebumps over my skin, then took my hand and led me out of the elevator. “Brenna, I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a big wedding. But after the Blood Moon is over—”
“Stop,” I cut him off. “I don’t give a d*mn about a big wedding. I knew it wasn’t possible, but I wished my family could be here. And Magenta gave her life—”
“So we could be united,” Adan finished as he pulled me close. “Oh, Brenna. Can’t you see? It was her time. But she wanted to unite us as her final act.” He let out a deep breath. “I’ve known her for years, and she was much older than you think. Much older than me. But she never told me she was nearing the end of her time. Apparently, the only one who knew was Willow.”
I nodded, remembering what Willow had said about sharing her magic with her. Hard telling how much time she had given Magenta. As Adan led me down the hallway toward his suite, which was now ours, I wondered. “Did you know about Willow?”
Adan nodded. “Yes, but they were very private about their love affair.”
“It was much more than that.” I bit my lower lip. “They were in love with each other, and now Willow blames us for Magenta’s death.”
“She was just angry and hurt.” Adan unlocked the door to our suite. “Brenna, I need to claim you as my Mate now, and you need to do the same, or else you’ll be subjected to the effects of the Blood Moon. Let’s put everything else aside—”
“Adan, it’s not that easy,” I cut him off. “I can’t switch gears that quickly. I need time to process.”
He nodded, placing a kiss on my forehead. “It’s okay. As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters. Look at it like this. We have the next three days together to do whatever we want. Once we’re in our suite, we can relax and take our time.”
I nodded. “If only it were that easy. What if there’s another attack?”
“And what if the sky falls, an asteroid hits the Earth, and we’re all gone tomorrow?” A delicate smile lit his lips as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “The mated Pack members are standing guard, and they will notify me immediately if something happens.”
“But what if it’s before we’re Mated?” I knew I sounded ridiculous, but too much had happened in a short time. I’d gone through too much and I needed to process. “Another she-wolf could claim you—”
“Brenna, darling.” Adan looked deeply into my eyes. “I will always be your Mate, and you will always be mine. Even if I had to leave you this instant, nothing could sway me from claiming you as my Mate.” He let out a deep breath. “When all of this settles down, I’ll take you somewhere special for a proper honeymoon away from all of this.” He waved his hand dismissively around us.
“I don’t care about that.” I bit my lower lip, wanting to word it correctly. “We’ll need to have a funeral for Magenta—”
“And we will,” Adan cut me off. “But we’ll have to meet with Willow to observe their rituals first. I owe her that much. It may not seem like it now, but Magenta was special to me. She’s been the Pack Witch here for as long as I can remember. She wasn’t just a Pack Witch; Magenta was family.” He caught a tear on my cheeks as he gazed into my eyes. “Now. Let’s not let her sacrifice be in vain. Let’s forget about everything else and concentrate on us.” He gave me a sympathetic smile as he tilted his head to the side. “Can you do that? Everything else we’ll deal with after the Blood Moon. But Brenna, I won’t lose you to another wolf, either. Yes, we’re married. But until we are a Mated Pair, you are still vulnerable.”
“And so are you.” I sighed, understanding. “Okay. So, what do we do?”
He tilted his head to the side. “I have to bite you while we are making love and claim you as my Mate, and you must do the same to me. Then and only then will we be a Mated Pair, and you will become my Queen.”
“The only thing I care about is being your wife and Mate.” A smile lit my lips. “And I don’t care about being Queen of this Pack either.”
“Well, tough,” Adan teased, then leaned in conspiratorially. “I’m afraid it’s part of the gig.”
I chuckled, already feeling much better. “Okay, then. Let’s get this over with—”
“Gee... thanks.” Adan laughed. “You really know how to make a man feel good.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can make you feel good.” I arched an eyebrow as a sly smile lit my lips. “Even though I’m new at this, I’m a quick learner.”