Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (25 page)

Winter and Noah had made it their mission to
keep an eye on the news reports, hoping to hear of a body found
matching the description Malaki gave of the women. It was only a
matter of a few days before the news had a breaking story of two
women found about thirty miles from where the wolves had been holed
up. The reports stated they had been hit by a passing truck on a
rural highway, dying upon impact. Nova wasn’t sure how true that
story was, but she wasn’t going to pry for answers.

Nova disarmed the alarm and walked into the
bar, using her newly enhanced senses to make sure she was alone.
After placing her bag in the office, she set about preparing the
bar for the afternoon lunch rush.

Winter was back at the security office,
working on scheduling some new clients for the following week. He’d
promised to stop by the bar after work so they could have dinner
together. She enjoyed when he would come in on the nights she had
to close down the bar. It wasn’t always feasible for them to have
dinner at home, but they made things work.

Moe walked in a short time later, pausing to
kiss the top of her head like he’d done for years. He caught
himself before touching her, shaking his head. “Sorry, Nova. It’s
going to take some getting used to.”

“I know,” she chuckled, watching as her
father’s old friend headed to the kitchen he’d run for several
years.

The door opened and Dane and Savage
sauntered in on their lunch break. Both men were working on a new
home not far from the bar. They’d been in every day for the last
week, having lunch at the bar. Nova wasn’t stupid. Winter was
sending them in to keep an eye on her. She really didn’t mind
because she enjoyed their company.

“Any problems?” Dane asked, taking a seat at
the bar. Cole sat a beer in front of each man, waving off the money
Savage tried to hand over.

“No.” Nova shook her head. She glanced
toward the door. “Mary Grace is late today.”

“Has she called?” Savage spoke up, his brow
crinkling.

“No, not yet,” she replied. “She lives a
little further away than everyone else. She might have gotten
caught by a train.”

Savage nodded, but looked toward the door
himself. Nova smiled at his concern. She’d like to see the Guardian
with the sweet woman who’d worked for her for the past six months.
Mary Grace was shy, but when she was working, Nova noticed some of
her walls slipping. She wondered what Mary Grace’s story was, but
the beautiful woman never spoke about anything outside of work.

Nova had just made it to her office when she
heard a voice snarl out in the bar. She dropped her notepad on the
desk and rushed down the hallway, only to find Savage standing over
Mary Grace, his shoulders shaking from something that had happened.
Whatever it was…Savage’s predatory snarl sent Nova’s feet
moving.

This couldn’t be good.

Mary Grace had had enough. She’d finally
kicked her asshole of a boyfriend out of her place for good this
time, but not before he gave her a reminder of his
oh-so-joyful-assholiness. The shiner was covered as well as she
could with what makeup she had at home, but she was sure Nova or
Liberty would want to know what the hell was going on the moment
she walked into the bar.

But it wasn’t her bosses she
encountered.

“Who the fuck touched you?” Savage roared as
she entered the bar, his body almost doubling in size as he fisted
his hands at his sides.

The Guardian had been flirting with her
relentlessly and had even asked her out on a date. Of course, she
declined, because of Frank…the asshole. And because she wasn’t
beautiful enough to date a man as gorgeous as the shifter. No…she
wasn’t his type.

“I’m fine, Savage,” she sighed, grabbing an
apron from the peg by the bar. Her shift was beginning and she
didn’t want to be late. Maybe she’d get a breather tonight between
the waves of people coming in so she could touch up her makeup.

“You are
not
fine,” he growled.

Mary Grace looked over her shoulder, a soft
gasp falling from her lips as she noticed that his eyes had turned
completely amber and his canines had grown so thick, the points
were biting into his bottom lip.

“Just leave it alone,” she begged. “I
handled it.”

“It doesn’t look like you handled it very
well,” he snapped. Savage lived up to his name with every breath he
took. The man was ginormous and heavily muscled all over. He was
tattooed up and down his arms, and Mary Grace wondered just how
much more of his body was inked. That was just how Savage Corvera
worked. He was the epitome of a badass. “Where is he?”

“He’s gone,” she promised, reaching a hand
out to stop him, but he pulled away before she could make contact.
“I’m fine, Savage. Please, just leave it alone.”

“Never,” he vowed, pulling his keys from his
pocket and turning for the door.

“No!” she yelled. “Savage, you can’t!”

Mary Grace rushed toward the front door, but
he was faster. She called his name, but he was already in his
truck, tearing out of the lot.

“What’s going on?” Nova asked, standing
behind her in the doorway.

“I think that panther is going to beat the
hell out of my ex,” she said, defeated, turning around to let her
boss see her face head on.

“As well he should,” Nova growled, glaring
at the black eye that was almost completely swollen shut. “Come on
inside. Let’s get some ice on that.”

Chapter Twenty One

Winter Solstice

“White?” Nova chuckled, holding up the gauzy
fabric of the robe she would be wearing for the mating
ceremony.

“What about mine?” Liberty replied, holding
up her mating clothes.

“At least yours is red,” Nova smirked.

“Talon says mine is red because I am the
alpha’s mate,” Liberty defended, turning toward the mirror with a
huff. She turned sideways and admired her belly. She still hadn’t
started showing yet. Now that Nova was one of the panthers, she
understood the scent Liberty gave off. It was soothing and reminded
her of the scent of a newborn baby.

Nova shook her head and slipped out of her
jeans. They were to wear the robes, and nothing else, during the
ceremony. After they were officially mated, the couples would shift
and run in their panther forms. Liberty did the same, and in just a
few minutes, both were standing in the upstairs bedroom of the
alpha’s home staring at each other, tears welling in their
eyes.

“Mom and dad would be happy for us,” Liberty
said, wiping a tear from Nova’s cheek.

“Daddy would’ve shot Talon in the ass
because he knocked you up before he married you,” Nova snickered
through her tears.

“You’re probably right about that.” Liberty
smiled, reaching up to wipe away her own tears.

Nova hugged her sister tight. There had been
a few years there where Liberty was Nova’s only family, but since
falling in love with Winter, she realized the two of them wouldn’t
be alone forever. They had the pride and they had each other.

“Why are you crying?” Talon’s booming voice
asked from the doorway.

“Whoever made them cry is a dead son of a
bitch,” Winter snarled.

Nova turned, seeing their mates filling the
doorway. The men were wearing only loose pants that matched their
mate’s robes. Their large, muscular and tanned chests were bare.
Both of their eyes were glowing amber, and before she could say
anything, the men were scooping them up into their arms.

“We’re fine, Talon,” Liberty sniffled. “We
were just having a moment.”

“Is my cub okay?” Talon worried.

“Everything is fine,” she sighed. “Are you
here to make honest women of us?”

“We’ve come to take you out to the circle,”
Winter announced.

The circle was the official meeting area
behind the alpha’s home. Each Equinox and Solstice, the pride would
gather in that one spot for Talon to officiate matings, present a
new cub to the pride, or in this case, marry his own bride.

Winter presented his crooked elbow to Nova
and she threaded her arm through his, walking behind her sister and
their alpha. A hush fell over the pride as they approached the
inner circle. All of the Guardians were there, waiting in a ring of
protection at the center of the circle. As soon as they approached,
Dane and Savage separated, allowing all four of them to pass
through.

Someone had placed a raised platform in the
circle. It was made of sturdy wood and had been painted white to
match her robe. Liberty and Talon stood to her and Winter’s left
once they climbed the two short steps onto the platform. Winter
squeezed her hand and she felt her panther purr with happiness. It
seemed like any time he touched her, the beast inside her would
calm.

“Tonight, we celebrate two matings,” Talon
began. “My Guardian and his mate, Nova Raines, have asked that we
also marry them by the human laws. I have asked my mate to do the
same.”

The crowd cheered, a few Guardians roared as
a sign of their approval. Harold, the pride’s healer, came forward,
wearing a black robe of his own. It had been revealed that the
healer was more of a jack of all trades. He was ordained as a
minister many years prior to legally marry the members of the
pride.

Nova had been given a crash course on the
traditions of mating by several of the women in the pride. She was
nervous, but was ready when Harold gave them a nod. Liberty and
Nova pulled their hair over to one shoulder so their mating marks
could be seen by the pride.

“On this night of the Winter Solstice,”
Harold began. “Our leader, Talon Shaw, has found the mate of his
life. Liberty Raines has accepted the mark of our leader. She will
become an equal to our alpha, and the pride will accept her order
as if it came from Talon himself. If there is anyone in attendance
who believes this mating should not happen, please step
forward.”

No one in the crowd so much as took a breath
while the healer paused. The Guardians shoulders seemed to swell in
protection. Nova had a feeling that if someone had protested, the
men would’ve fought to the death for this mating.

“Our Guardian, Winter Blue, has found the
mate of his life,” Harold stated, looking over his shoulder at
Nova. His eyes softened only a second before he turned back to the
crowd. “Nova Raines has accepted the mark of a Guardian. She will
be held as high in the ranks of this pride as her protector and
mate. If there is anyone in attendance who believes this mating
should not happen, please step forward.”

The healer motioned for Talon and Liberty,
asking them to step forward. He then asked the same of Nova and
Winter. “Face each other,” Harold instructed.

The Guardians in the crowd began to chant,
their voices low enough so the healer could be heard. The men
didn’t speak in a language Nova knew, but what they did say
couldn’t be construed as anything other than a chant of their
heritage.

“Do you, Talon and Winter, take your mates
as to the human laws of marriage, loving them, protecting them as
your wife for long as you shall live?”

“I do,” both men growled, their eyes glowing
amber.

“Do you, Liberty and Nova, take your mates
as your husbands in the human’s world? To honor and protect them as
they would do the same unto you?”

“I do,” Nova and Liberty replied at the same
time.

Again, a silence fell over the pride. Nova
wasn’t sure how long she held her breath, but when Harold looked at
her, a big smile plastered on his weathered face, he said the words
she’d been wanting to hear.

“I pronounce you mated and married by the
human laws,” he announced. “Males…kiss your mates and then you may
run.”

Winter scooped Nova up into his arms, his
lips pressing to hers as he stepped off the platform. The pride
cheered as Winter carried her toward the woods. He didn’t stop
kissing her until they reached the edge of the yard.