Authors: Lucy Kelly
“I think if we wait I’ll be even more nervous than I already am. I only wish my family could be here,” she said.
“We can have another ceremony for them later,” he said with a smile.
For the first time Laura felt strong enough to initiate a kiss. She leaned forward and, lifting up a second hand, pulled him to her. She nibbled on his lips, tasting the form and texture before using her tongue to ask permission to enter. When he opened, she thrust her tongue in and turned her head to take the kiss deeper. She wanted to prove to him that she accepted him and was willing to mate with him. Moments later she pulled back, releasing him. “Are you convinced?” she asked.
He turned to look at the others. “How soon can we plan the ceremony?” he said and they all laughed.
“I tell you what, Laura, let’s go see JoAnne. You need a session and she needs to work up a new plan for you. By the time we get back, Frieda and Lola will have everything worked out,” said Mara.
“I like your plan, Mara, but I’m going to take Laura to see her therapist. You can stay here and help coordinate the ceremony,” said Alex.
Mara wasn’t going to gainsay the national alpha, so she quickly agreed. Laura wanted to have lunch and Alex offered to take her out to a restaurant. She quickly agreed, going out to eat was a real treat and one she didn’t get to do often. That was another thing that would change.
So leaving the arrangements in good hands, she and Alex left. Another aspect of the white light was she could totally feel everything. She felt the chair against the backs of her thighs. She felt her jeans as they brushed against her shins. She constantly wiggled her toes back and forth because a tiny part of her believed the feeling would go away.
They all filed out of the chamber and back to the main hallway. Because there wasn’t any danger now she left the door to the main hallway open. She would have someone remove the locking mechanism from the door.
They all went upstairs and weren’t too surprised when they found out Lola knew everything that had happened. Maggie had kept her informed and she had total faith in Frieda.
Chapter Nineteen
By the time Laura and Alex got back to the house, it was late in the afternoon. Mara whisked her off to prepare for her bonding ceremony while Alex was shown into the office so he could make a few phone calls.
Once mated with Laura he knew he wasn't going to want to be separated from her. He needed to start making arrangements to move. It was obvious Laura didn't need any additional furniture in her house but she had all that empty space down in the caverns. So he planned on what to move and what to leave behind. He had trusted lieutenants to pack up his things. Since Laura grew up in a human household she probably wouldn’t mind George either.
Earlier Marshall had told him of the thirteen suitcases Laura had brought with magical things, some of them holding great evil according to Mara. He wanted to discuss those with Frieda. He also needed to start pulling in a team to start analyzing all the data Laura had compiled on their enemies.
Leaning back in the chair, he thought about all the things he’d witnessed that day. Other than finding his mate, which was a wonderful surprise, he thought about everything Frieda had done. Laura was going to be able to do that too. She was going to be an incredibly strong shifter. Then she would have magical abilities on top of her shifter talents.
If their enemies found out about her, she would be in danger all the time and he would need to protect her and keep her safe. He had a new idea for the barracks he’d toured down in the caverns. He immediately started planning the small army he would put in place to surround her in protection.
When Alex finished his current phone call he was interrupted. “Excuse me, Alex Marasov.”
He looked around and didn’t see anyone, then he recognized the voice of the house, which was weird but he could understand why Laura had planned it. “Yes, Maggie?” he said.
“The bonding ceremony will be taking place in less than one hour. Marshall has sent your things over from his house. Would you care to bathe and change clothing prior to the ceremony?” she asked.
“Actually, yes I would. Where are my things?” he asked.
“They have been put in the bedroom set aside for Laura’s father. If you’ll step out of the office I’ll guide you,” she said.
“Hold on a sec, I need to save this file and shut down the computer,” he said.
“I can do that for you,” said Maggie and Alex saw the computer flickering and the screens changing in front of his eyes. He got up and as Maggie directed him, he wondered exactly how connected into the household she was. The answers amazed him. Maggie was constantly monitoring all systems of the house from the utilities to security. He still liked having live staff monitoring the systems too. Even though Maggie never slept or grew tired, he had an innate dislike of relying on only one thing. What would happen if she got a computer virus? He made a mental note to discuss it with Laura.
An hour later he had showered, shaved, and dressed. He left his temporary quarters and walked down the hallway to the living areas of the house. He could hear voices, it sounded like a few of the local alphas had already arrived.
When he entered the room his eyes first searched until he found Laura. Once he had determined she was okay, he started making his way over to her. A few people interrupted his progress to give him their congratulations. After he barely gave them any notice the others left him alone and instead parted so he could walk unhindered across the room.
Laura was dressed in a creamy lace dress that bared her strong shoulders. Her pale skin was gently sun-kissed. They would have to take care she didn’t overdo the sun exposure. He didn’t want her to even feel the pain of mild sunburn. Her pale blonde hair was piled up in some complicated style. It made his fingers itch to spear through it and spread it over his chest.
Stopping in front of her, he hoped the lust burning in his eyes didn’t scare her.
Laura sat surrounded by her new friends and visitors that had arrived to witness her bonding with Alex. She knew everyone was happy for her. Mara stayed close but she was amazed at how quickly she preferred having Alex nearby over anyone else. Poor Frieda was being surrounded, she was an instant celebrity. And several of the alphas had made overtures of friendship to her. A part of her wondered if they really liked her or if they were just sucking up to the future mate of the national alpha. Time would tell.
When Alex entered the room every atom of her body went on high alert. She stopped hearing the conversations around her as he made his way across the room to her side. A couple of people tried to interrupt him but he brushed them aside. In moments he was in front of her. He was so handsome with his wavy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. When he smiled, he had a dimple in his left cheek she knew would become a deep crease as he aged.
They weren’t speaking just staring into each other’s eyes when Frieda clapped her hands together. “It’s time to go to the changeling chamber and start the ceremony,” she said.
Mara and Marshall led the group through to the larger freight elevator while Frieda, Alex, and Laura took the smaller house elevator. She and Mara had explained the ceremony to Laura so she was prepared. She was still planning to hold Alex to his promise to have another traditional human wedding ceremony for her family. Even if she had contacted them, they never would have accepted it.
They would likely have tried to kidnap either her or Alex. Most likely they would have tried to drag her home and killed Alex, then buried the body. Hopefully in six months she would be able to convince them to let him live.
When they arrived at the chamber they had discovered only that afternoon all of the others were seated around the chamber. They had left their clothing in the outer room and were all in their shifted forms. Sometime that afternoon, Frieda must have arranged to have hooks and cubbies installed in the outer room for people to put their clothing items. Laura hoped it didn’t mean she would have to take off her dress. Frieda hadn’t taught her how to shift yet anyway.
Frieda led them to the center of the room and then asked Alex to pick up Laura and hold her in his arms because she was still unable to stand. With Mara’s help, she consecrated a circle around the two of them. First they used sacks of dirt and carefully marked out a thin circle of earth. Next they each picked up a pitcher of water and poured a thin stream of water over the earth.
The two women began to dance and sway, chanting as they moved clockwise around the circle on opposite sides. The air stirred and swirled around the circle, mixing with the earth and water mixture to form a ropelike line. The tenor of their chanting changed and the air grew hot. Instead of dancing lightly, their steps became heavy and more rhythmic. The rope of molded earth sparked and burst into flame, burning completely until there was nothing left but ash and then even that was gone. A freshening breeze blew through the room cooling them.
Frieda stepped up and spoke some words in a language Laura didn’t understand. All of the animals bowed and displayed various forms of obeisance. Alex pulled Laura close and kissed her. After sharing a kiss they turned back to Frieda.
“We have consecrated this place with the elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Alex Marasov of the bear clan, do you willingly bond your soul to Laura Donahue? Take her as your life mate? Share yourself with her in all things, in all ways, for all time?” Frieda asked him.
“I willingly bond my soul,” he answered. Laura felt him shudder and for a second it seemed as if he might drop her. He held on tight.
“Laura Solange Donahue of the changelings, do you willingly bond your soul to Alex Marasov? Take him as your life mate? Share yourself with him in all things, in all ways, for all time?” she was asked next.
“I willingly bond my soul,” she answered in a serious voice. As she finished the sentence Alex held on tight, and she was glad he did. She felt a rush of power flow through her and settle in. She also felt a connection to every shifter in the room and hundreds if not thousands of others.
She wasn’t just a changeling she was also the mate to the national alpha. The lives of every shifter within North America, was now their joined responsibility.
“We welcome bound mates, Alex and Laura,” Frieda announced and the room erupted in howls, growls, and roars.
Giving her another kiss Alex then put her back in her chair and they left the chamber and went into the large conference room. Laura decided Lola was a miracle worker. She’d decorated the room with flowers and draperies of fabric and candles. Laid out on the table was an elaborate wedding feast for the new mates and their alpha guests. The sideboard held a three-tier wedding cake and bottles of champagne and wine.
The windows overlooking the training facility were lit. Laura wheeled over and, looking out, she saw the huge training room had been transformed into a dance hall with even more food and tables and another even larger wedding cake. There was even a DJ setting up at one end.
Over the next few hours she discovered how much shifters liked to party. And they had a very high tolerance for alcohol. The dancing and carrying on was still going strong when they left, it appeared the guests and many others that had arrived later would be at it all night. She wouldn’t be there to see it.
Alex had decided he’d waited long enough. He wanted Laura to be awake so they could make love and complete the physical side of their bond. If they stayed at the party much longer, she’d be worn out. Even though Frieda said she was growing stronger, he didn’t want to push her past her body’s current limitations. And besides, he needed to be inside her! His bear was clawing and roaring at him. They needed to take her, his bear was unhappy when any other males approached her. More than once he’d nearly attacked well-wishers.
Finally his control snapped, he whisked her out of the room on a pretext. He didn’t plan on returning. As they left the room, Marshall saw and then he pulled out his wallet. He handed a twenty to Mara. “You win, he stuck it out for three hours. I was sure he was going to cave at two.”
“I’m just happy he left when he did. Another fifteen minutes and Tom would have won the pool. Excuse me while I go and collect the rest of my winnings,” she said, laughing as she strolled away. She wouldn’t mention the little fact that Laura had told her earlier she wouldn’t want to stay longer than three hours. Women had to stick together, especially around this group of males.
Chapter Twenty
Laura let Alex push her chair as they went upstairs. She rested her hands in her lap and tried not to think about what was going to happen next. Now that the time had come her belly wasn’t full of butterflies, it was more like leaping frogs. She’d shared a few kisses with the sexy man and now they were going to have sex.
They were married now, so according to her mom, it would be okay. Compared to many girls her age, she could actually be considered a late bloomer! Laura kept a running commentary going in her head. She was so busy talking to herself in her head she didn’t realize they’d arrived until Alex touched her shoulder.
“We don’t have to do this tonight if you’re not ready,” he said. His balls would swell and be bluer than her eyes, but for her, he’d hold it in.
She looked up at his face and could tell he meant what he said. He’d wait. She then realized she didn’t want to wait. All of her inner dialogue was just nerves. When she looked at him, focused on him, then everything was fine. “I need to take care of a few things in the bathroom before I can get in the bed. I’m sorry if I’m not being very romantic.” She now had partial feeling in her legs, but she also still couldn’t walk or do other things very easily. She’d be in the bathroom for a while.
“Why don’t we take a bath together? Do you trust me to not let you drown?” he said with a smile.
A whole new set of nerves crashed over her. She thought they’d be in the bed, with the lights off, under the covers. Taking a bath meant he’d see all of her, the bright light flashing off all the porcelain tiles to highlight every imperfection in her body.