Roman came out to greet them. He held his son in his arms, who was now doing his best to wiggle away from his father. Finally, Roman put him up on his shoulders, and the pup was content once he was riding up high. “Kyra. I'm so glad you're back. I didn't think I was ever going to get this guy back.” He clapped Derek on the shoulder. “I can't wait to hand over half my work to him.” Roman laughed as though he'd said something extremely funny.
Then he held out his hands to Kyra. “All joking aside, we are happy to have you. We’ll have a formal joining ceremony in one month.” He winked at Derek.
Everleigh came out next, with Eliza, who was still bouncing up and down. “Is it time?” she shouted.
Time for what?
Jameson and Tristan were next, and both of them hugged Kyra to her shock.
They all pushed the gate closed and locked it behind them.
Then Derek cleared his throat. “Kyra, you are my mate. And you know that I love you. Our road has not been a straight path, but I think the twists and turns have made us stronger.” He dropped to one knee. “I know you’ve lived in the human world, so I’m mixing the traditions.” He pulled out a gorgeous silver ring on a chain. “Will you marry me? And more importantly, will you agree to formally become my mate?”
Kyra felt faint.
She had not seen that coming. She should have, she realized. Eliza was flinging rose petals at them, Jameson was filming, and Everleigh and Roman were looking on eagerly.
She looked down at the love of her life, the amazing male who had saved her not only from the vampires, but from herself as well.
He hadn’t been hasty, but instead he’d given them both the time to recover from her betrayal and move forward.
She looked around. If she said yes, she would not only be gaining a wonderful mate, but an entire pack as well.
She would finally have a home. And a family.
But that wasn’t why she was going to say yes. She was going to say yes because she loved Derek, and she could not imagine living her life without him.
She dropped to her knees in front of him. “Yes! Yes, I will marry you, and be your mate.”
He scooped her up into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers.
Behind them more of the pack members had gathered, and all of them were cheering and yelling encouragement. Eliza was humming a wedding march song, in between talking about what she might wear to their wedding. Even the baby was clapping his hands together.
“When do you want to have the ceremony?” Derek asked her.
“As soon as possible,” she said. “I can’t wait to be your mate.”
He pulled her close. “I think that sounds like the perfect plan.” He kissed her nose. “My wolf wants to celebrate too. How do you feel about going for a run?”
She grinned. Her wolf had learned not to be too demanding, so getting to speak of her needs freely was incredible. “Yes. Let’s do it.” She was home. She was with her mate.