Some better details of the wedding ceremony from Taryn in this chapter! The full details of Wes and Haven's wedding from their points of view will be written as a separate, bonus short story once Blind Date is over. This chapter was over the word count limit so I had to break it into two! Part B coming up!
TARYN POV Dinner was a delicious meal of prime rib, salad, brussels sprouts with bacon, and whole roasted baby pumpkins with Jarlsberg cheese and chicken — a dish I never would have tried on my own, but now love. I sit between Dominic and Blake at our table in the dinner tent as the meal winds down and the toasts end, sipping on my water and waiting for a moment to free myself from the confines of the seating chart. My foot bounces under the table, and I spin my water goblet from side to side as Wesley finishes his thank you speech to the guests. “Thank you again to all of you for attending our wedding today. We will cut the cake in just a moment and then we’ll have our first dance right after that, and then the party will really begin!” Everyone cheers and claps, and Wesley smiles, lifting his hand. “Also, you’ll notice a letter on your table, framed among the centerpieces. Each table has a different letter, written by either Haven or myself. And yes — all of them are out there, so
REID POV With Taryn’s hand clasped in mine, we make our way into the second reception tent. The press of her palm against mine sends sparks from the mate bond shooting up my arm, straight into my heart. We enter the tent just as Haven and Wesley begin their first dance to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect,” and we pause at the edge of the crowd around the dance floor to watch them. I pull her in front of me, hooking my chin over her shoulder and wrapping an arm around her waist to tuck her against my body. It may be selfish of me to hold her and keep her this way, knowing what I’m going to say to her later tonight, knowing that it may all blow up in my face once she knows the truth, but I need her. I need her like I’ve never needed anything before in my life. “What about Dominic?” Taryn whispers, turning her face to my ear. “He can go fuck himself.” She sighs and gives me a look, one brow raised, no amusement in her eyes. “Reid.” “What?” I ask, shrugging. “I am still part of his pack. He’s
TARYN POV The night seems to both zoom by and drag on. Several guests have left already, but there are still plenty out on the dance floor, including Haven, her niece, Stella, and several pups from Crescent Lake all dancing together to the chicken dance. Wesley watches them from the edge of the dance floor, smiling as he does, surrounded by the visiting alphas — Benjamin, Alton, and Dominic — and Sebastian. I clutch Reid’s tux jacket draped over my shoulders tighter around my body, and meander over to the dessert table to grab another cupcake. The vanilla and sugary sweetness of the cupcakes, cake slices, and cream filled profiteroles waft towards me, blending with and enhancing Reid’s Christmasy scent surrounding me from his jacket. My wolf lifts her nose and purrs and I close my eyes and inhale, breathing in as much of him as possible. “Where’s your beta?” Blake asks near my elbow. “He had to go do something for Wesley at his and Haven’s new house before Wes whisks her away for t
REID POV I lay on the ground, with Taryn draped over me, my wolf creating a barrier between the snow and her body, keeping her warm. It’s only been around ten minutes that we’ve been waiting, but it feels like longer. Taryn’s fingers comb through my fur, and her eyes flutter, an exterior sign of the exhausted and semi-conscious state she is in. The injuries she sustained to her head, leg, and feet combined with the adrenaline rush and stress to her body from her escape through the woods threatens to pull her under. But my girl pushes through it all, forcing herself to stay awake. The enormous goose egg on her forehead has already gotten smaller, and the blood flow from her leg has stemmed, the cuts stitching themselves together slowly, both from our enhanced werewolf healing and from the presence of her mate. But even though she’s healing, she’s still lost a lot of blood, and it’s freezing out here, and getting colder by the second. I need to get her to my car and back to Crescent L
TARYN POV My wolf stirs in my mind as I shift my position on the bed, snuggling deeper into the pillows. I’m surrounded by warmth, by the scent of fresh baked snickerdoodles and a forest of pine. It wraps itself around me and embeds itself into my soul, leaving me aching for another whiff of it. I want to bathe myself in the scent, want it to follow me everywhere. It’s life, and comfort, and home. I smile to myself, and squeeze the hand holding mine, the hand that spreads warm sparkles of gold through my skin, up my arm, and into my heart. It’s more intoxicating than anything I’ve felt before, more addictive than the strongest drug ever created. I want the sparkling tingles of gold to travel further, to cover my entire body and awaken my senses with its intensity, its pure pleasure and love. I roll onto my side and pull the hand closer to me, opening it and pressing it against my cheek, luxuriating in the tickles that awaken under my skin from the touch. My wolf purrs and rolls on h
REID POV I hate hospitals. They are too clean, too white, too stifling. And underneath the surface, the hint — the threat — of death lingers. Nothing good ever comes from a visit to the pack hospital. One visit to the pack hospital eighteen years ago changed the entire trajectory of my childhood — of my life. I walked into the hospital thinking my mom was just hurt, just needing extra medical attention after an intense rogue attack. And I walked out of it motherless. The wall against my back is cold — almost as cold as the snow covering the ground outside — even through my T-shirt. It’s uncomfortable, but it keeps me here, keeps me anchored in the present. For the most part. It’s difficult, though, now that I’m not with Taryn. Her presence and touch kept the demons at bay, but the reality of what happened hits me full force. The similarities between this night and that fateful night — it’s overwhelming. Taryn is lucky. We are lucky. Rogues are ruthless, relentless, especially w
TARYN POV “These are prenatal vitamins. You need to take one with food every day. If they’re too much to deal with — you know, because of morning sickness — we can look at trying a gummy vitamin or a powder option that you blend into a smoothie, but Dr. Russo recommends at least trying the pill form first.” I nod and take the bottle of vitamins from the nurse, adding them to the bag she brought me. It’s filled with brochures and pamphlets about prenatal care and tests, and a special werewolf prenatal care packet that is filled with information specific to werewolf pregnancies. “Dr. Russo wants to see you again in a few days to review the results of the blood work — the sex of the baby and its alpha blood status, plus anything else we find. And then you’ll come in every four weeks until you’re twenty-eight weeks pregnant, then every other week until you’re thirty-six weeks pregnant, and then every week until you deliver.” I nod again. I have said little since she came back to discha
TARYN POV The snowfall continues, growing heavier by the minute, layering atop the already snow covered grounds and trees of Crescent Lake, painting everything pure white. It’s so thick, I can’t even see through it to the lake. Not that I’m paying much attention right now. I’m too busy drowning in my swirling thoughts that mirror the storm outside. Wesley said the Silver Ridge packhouse suffered pretty severe damage from the fire, but they won’t know the full extent until they can examine everything once the storm passes. I thump my head against the back of the less than comfortable brown couch in the guest suite they’ve offered me for the time being. There is a bag of clothing Haven gathered for me from pack members, but I don’t have the energy to look through it yet. I’m still in the T-shirt and sweatpants the hospital gave me to change into. And I have yet to take stock of the supplies and food she said the pack’s hospitality team placed in the small kitchen of the suite. Instea