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“Bryn, are you sure that she’s the best choice? Your beta is supposed to be your right hand. You need to be able to trust them more than you trust yourself.”
“I’ve thought about this a lot, Night. I’ve considered every other option—I’ve even considered having a King as my beta just as a show of goodwill. But I chose Tavi because of what you’ve said. I trust her implicitly, and I’m positive that she’s the only person for the job.”
I took in her words and tried to understand them. It still worried me, but I trusted my mate's judgment. If she said she’d thought this through, then I believed her.
I was still concerned about Tavi. She tended to bottle up her worries, especially when she was going through a tough time. I wanted to speak with her myself, just to make sure that she truly understood the gravity of becoming a beta.
“I hear you,” I said with a sigh. “And I trust you. I know Tavi is doing her best.”
Bryn finished up her makeup and turned to give me a hug. “She’s doing even better than that. Trust me.”
We walked hand in hand to the ceremony. Everyone was gathering in the eastern corner of the territory, where a large bonfire was already raging. Behind us, the sun had started to set. I could see the Kings’ infirmary nearby, and I spotted a few faces peering through the windows. I wondered how many of those injured were hurt in an altercation with my pack and how many of them had been hurt by Troy or Gregor.
As we walked through the crowd, we heard some whispers, some not too quiet, about Bryn not being good enough. Some talked about her using witch magic to shift, though she had already told them how the shift happened. I glanced at my mate and was pleased to find that she held her head high. Looking at her, I would have believed that she couldn’t hear them at all.
I walked Bryn to a wooden platform and kissed her quickly before I went to find my people. The Wargs were comparatively a much smaller group. Not as many wolves had showed up as I would have liked, but the dozens who had were better than my most optimistic estimates. They stood together, glancing from side to side, concerned that the Kings were staging an attack, but once I joined them, they relaxed. They knew that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them under my watch.
Dom joined me, and Tavi stood on my other side. She stared up at the platform to watch Bryn cross the stage. I watched, too. My mate was so graceful as she moved, with the fire glowing across her skin. An angel.
“Bryn Hunter,” the Elders began, “your vows will be ironclad to the pack for the duration of your service. Speak them now.”
She took a deep breath and began to speak. “To the pack, I vow to put my best first, to protect the pack, and to lead them justly. To the spirits of the pack mothers, I vow to be a caring leader, one who will love my pack as family, and to bring honor to the shifter community. To myself, I vow to stay healthy and strong, so I can fight to protect my people.” As she finished her vows, her eyes glowed that ethereal blue hue.
An Elder removed a ceremonial blade from his robes, one I’d had my people check thoroughly for poison, and sliced the palm of Bryn’s hand. She held the blood there for a moment so it could pool, and then fed it to the bonfire. It sizzled the moment it hit the flames.
My wolf and I both could have died happily knowing that this was the person we were tied to for the rest of our lives. There was silence from both packs. The Wargs were filled with reverence, I could feel the pulse of it almost as surely as I felt the pulse of my own. The Kings, however, were harder to gauge. Most seemed determined to give away nothing with their expressions. But there were just a few, the mothers and the young women in particular, who bit their lips or clutched their hands to their chests. They almost looked…hopeful.
“And who will be your beta? Your trusted right hand who will advise you through the happiest times and the hardest times of your service?”
She looked over at the crowd as she replied, “Octavia Black.”
There was a mixture of applause and dismayed gasps from the crowd. It made sense; it was unheard of for a new Alpha to choose a beta from another pack, but there was nothing ordinary about this ceremony. That said, I imagine it didn’t help that both their Alpha and their beta would be women. Beside me, Dom gave a sharp gasp. I glanced at him, and found him practically vibrating with excitement.
Tavi walked carefully up the steps to stand next to Bryn.
“Octavia Black, do you swear eternal fealty to Bryn, your Alpha?”
She nodded, staring into the fire below. “I do.”
“Do you swear to protect your Alpha and your pack with your life for the duration of your service?”
“I do.”
“Do you swear to counsel your Alpha through the duration of their leadership, guiding her to the best of your ability and in the best interest of the pack?”
She nodded and looked at Bryn. “Yes, I do.”
“Then it is done. The decision is made.”
The Wargs’ section of the crowd began to clap as the ceremony came to a close. I saw that some of the Kings women looked like they wanted to clap, too, but stayed quiet with the rest of their pack. That was alright; it was a start. I looked again at Dom to find him grinning wide. I understood already that he had feelings for Tavi; I would have had to be blind not to see the cat and mouse game that the two of them had spent the last few months playing. But I hadn’t voiced my knowledge to either of them.
Now, with the changes that had come over Tavi as a result of Troy’s kidnapping, I wasn’t sure where they stood. But I accepted that it wasn’t really my business. If Dom was going to make a move, then he needed to be brave enough to admit his feelings to Tavi first. Until he did that, I’d keep my opinions to myself.
Afterward, the celebration could begin in earnest. Most of the Kings went home rather than celebrate, but there were more than enough Wargs to make it a party, so we were determined to eat and drink enough for those who had left.
“Congrats, Tav,” I said. “I’m so proud of you.”
She paused and turned a smile on me that was a little something like it used to be. “Thanks, Night.”
