Page 52 of Consume Me

By the time the meal is halfway gone, they’re talking like they’ve known each other for decades instead of an hour.

Tori reaches across the table, nudging me with her fork. “So,” she says casually, “when’s the mating ceremony?”

I blink at her. “The what now?”

“You know—ceremony, feast, all your family and friends there to witness the bond. It’s a thing, Kendall. You should do it.”

I open my mouth to tell her I haven’t thought about it, but Noctan beats me to it. “We’d love to,” he says, as if the decision was already made.

I turn to him, eyebrows raised. “We would?”

“Of course,” he says without hesitation. “I want to share this with your family and friends. With everyone who matters to you.”

There’s a warmth in my chest I can’t quite name, and I squeeze his thigh under the table.

“What about your friends?” Tori asks, and I tense.

Noctan’s gaze flicks to his plate. “I don’t have many of those left. And no family either.”

I slip my hand into his and squeeze.

Legion reaches over and claps him on the back so hard the plates rattle. “Then you’re stuck with us as family now.”

Tori beams at that. “He’s right. Besides, anyone who can pull Kendall out of her shell and get her to family dinner is worth keeping around.”

She winks at that, but I know she’s serious. If I say Noctan’s my family, then that’s that. And I love her for it. Especially after how distant I’ve been the last year and a half.

Warmth spreads through me in a slow, steady wave. I glance across the table at Noctan and find he’s already looking at me. The heat in his eyes saysthis—this moment, this strange and perfect dinner—is exactly where he wants to be.

“What about the primal hunt?” Legion asks suddenly, grinning like he just tossed a lit match into the middle of the table.

My face goes hot. I know exactly what that is, and the idea of Noctan making me come in front of everyone I know—and a lot of folks I don’t—is so forbidden that I almost choke on my wine.

Noctan’s gaze stays locked on mine, and the corner of his mouth curves into something dark and wicked. “Is this the public mating hunt you told me about?”

“Noctan, we are?—”

“Absolutely doing that,” he says, drawing a hearty laugh from Legion and a giggle from my sister. But I can only stare at the fae-wolf warrior beside me and try not to imagine us fucking in front of our friends and family. Except that some small part of me thinks it’s deliciously hot, stripping naked where anyone can see. Letting Noctan be the one to take me like that. So everyone knows I belong to him.

“What?” I squeak, breathless and a little turned on.

He winks at me. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any family traditions.”