REID POV “Taryn, please wait!” I yell the words through gritted teeth, my hand gripping the edge of the tailgate on Wesley’s truck. My wolf is right there, right at the front of my mind, pushing to shift and chase after her. But I’m in the middle of the street, in the middle of the city, and I can’t let him out. And as much as I want to let him chase after her, to explain what happened, I can’t shift in front of humans. I lean against the tail end, still gripping the tailgate, and tilt my head up to the sky, forcing my canines to recede. My eyes itch and water as her emotions roll into and through me like a tidal wave, so bitter I can taste them. Regret, embarrassment, pain, anger, disappointment… each one palpable, each one just as strong as the rest, each one meshing with my own until it is impossible to tell whose emotions are whose. And all of it is my fault, because I couldn’t control my instincts and keep my wolf at bay. Because I lost myself in the feel of her beneath my han

REID POV Somehow, I made it through the rest of the night and all of today without unraveling like a scarf caught on a rusty nail. I don’t think I slept at all though, and it took everything in me to hold back a growl of annoyance and keep myself from snapping when Wesley stumbled back into his house at six in the morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed after spending all night with his mate. He should remember not all of us are so lucky. The ceremony will begin in about thirty minutes, and Wesley paces the shore of the lake, biting his nails and sighing and growling every few minutes. He stops right on the spot they will say their vows — the spot she stood in the first time she came to the lake, the first time he ever saw her in person after almost twelve years of no contact — and fidgets with his bow tie, his eyes glazing over as a mindlink comes through to him. He frowns and rolls his eyes, but crosses his arms and plants his feet on the ground, muttering I don’t even want to know

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

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

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