SWNOVELS Chapter 104 by Cara Anderson
Ch. 104 Vows
Colton’s POV
Fucking finally! My mother stole my mate away in the early hours of the morning and hadn’t allowed us to see her all day. My wolf was on edge being denied access to our mate and pups. I needed to get this party started and thankfully, it was time.
To say I was excited to make Mallory my Luna would be an understatement. I couldn’t care less about the pomp and circumstance of it all, though it was required in order to make it official. All I wanted was to hold her in my arms and know she was mine forever.
Yes, she wore my mark and our souls were already tethered for eternity. But there was something about her officially becoming my Luna that set my mind at ease. Maybe it was the memory of what Darcy tried to do in order to take that role for herself that caused my apprehension. I needed to know that no one else could try to separate us in the name of a title.
“Ladies and gentleman, our visiting Alphas and Lunas, and all members of the Black moon pack.” My dad addressed the crowd. “Welcome and thank you for sharing this momentous occasion with Erika and I.
“Today, I pass the mantle of Alpha to our three wonderful sons. And my beautiful wife will transfer the title and power of Luna to their lovely mate, a young woman we love as if she were our own. Let us begin”
The crowd applauded and the orchestra struck up the music. Then all eyes turned to the back of the room. Kai purred in my head as he felt his mate approaching.
Mallory stepped into view and my heart stuttered in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Her beauty literally took my breath away. How was it possible that she could be mine?
“Fucking hell!” Clay murmured next to me. “She looks like a damn goddess.”
“And she’s all fucking ours.” Cary added smugly.
Mallory wanted both of our mothers to walk her down the aisle. They all looked beautiful but I only had eyes for her, my little Omega. Fuck! I loved everything about her. She was gorgeous from head to toe but I was drawn to her eyes.
Those luminous hazel eyes sparkled with so much love as they looked back at me. The gold starburst around her pupils swirled like molten fire, full of joy and excitement. And it was all for my brothers and me.
“Hi.” She smiled a huge, radiant smile, looking up at us from beneath thick, dark lashes.
“Hi yourself, my beautiful Luna.” I leaned in to capture her lips but my father cleared his throat, recalling our attention.
“None of that just yet, son.” He scolded and the crowd chuckled.
Mallory took her place on the stage and turned to face the audience. Clay, Cary and I circled around behind her, scooting in as close as possible. Cary and I both rested a hand on her belly and Clay placed his hand on her hip, none of us able to resist touching her.
“Let’s begin with the Alpha ceremony.” My father announced, pulling the crowd back to order.
A hush fell over the room as my dad talked about how proud he was of his sons and how he felt assured the pack would prosper under our leadership. Each of us pledged our allegiance to Black Moon and its people then held out our palms for our father to slice with the ceremonial blade.
When he finally cut his own palm and pressed it to each of ours in turn, the transfer of power was immediate. It was like a tiny ember burning in my chest had suddenly burst into flame. The air whooshed from my lungs with an oomph, a sound my brothers made at the same time.
Mallory was watching us with unadulterated pride in her eyes. My chest swelled at the way she looked at me, like I was her hero. A look I didn’t deserve but would die trying to earn.
Then, before I knew it, it was time to make Mallory our Luna. We had asked for time in the ceremony to say vows to Mallory and I was going first. I was nervous as hell and all of a sudden being the oldest by even a few minutes didn’t feel like such a gift. Please Goddess, don’t let me embarrass myself.
“Mallory, my mate, my life, my little Omega.” I leaned in to whisper the last part, making her giggle. “I’m ashamed to say I fought my feelings for you for so long. I made some bad choices in the name of resisting my feelings for you.
“If I had it to do over again, I would do so many things differently. I would make sure you never had a reason to resist our bond or doubt my feelings for you. Because your love is everything to me and I can’t live without it.
“But since I can’t get a do-over, I choose to focus on the positives. Facing the possibility that you might never be mine was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But it taught me what a precious gift it is to have you in my life. I love our bond and all the things that go with it, the sparks, the connection to your beautiful soul. But more than any of that, I love you.
“I loved you before our mate bond. I was just too stubborn to admit it. But I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I always have and always will love you. Will you be my Luna?”
“Yes!” She nodded through her sniffles. “Yes, of course I will. I love you. Colton.”
I smiled so broadly my cheeks ached. There was no stopping me from taking her lips in a searing kiss, audience be damned. I could have stood there kissing her sweet lips forever. Unfortunately, Clay was anxious for his turn.
Clay’s POV
“My turn, brother.” I pulled Mallory out of Colton’s arms and into mine. « My turn to tell my little wolf how much she means to me.”
Mallory was glowing. I mean, the woman was always stunning, even more so now that she was carrying our pups. But when she stepped into view this evening, I nearly choked on my own spit. She took my fucking breath away.
“You look so beautiful tonight.” I whispered in her ear then pulled back to stare deep into her gorgeous hazel eyes. “I’m not great with words. Not the way Colton is, anyway. And we all know Cary could charm the devil himself. All I can do is speak from the heart and hope you feel the truth in my words.
“The day our bond snapped into place, I thought it was the happiest moment of my life. Then you made resisting us look so easy and I couldn’t understand it because there was no way on earth I could possibly resist you. But like Colton, I’d made one bad decision after another when I should have been admitting the truth of my feelings for you instead.
“I’ll never be able to express in words how thankful I am for the chance you gave me to prove I could change. I grew up knowing I’d be Alpha one day and I thought that made me special. Now I know you are the only thing that makes me special. Being Alpha is nothing without you by my side as my Luna.
“My life truly started the day you accepted our bond. And despite a few bumps in the road, it’s only gotten better ever since. You, our pups, our family, it’s all that matters to me in the world and I’ll spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you’ve made me. Will you be my Luna?”
“I think you are pretty wonderful with words.” Mallory’s voice cracked. “And yes, I’ll be your Luna.”
I cupped her face and attacked her lips, pouring all the love and passion I felt into our kiss. A few people whooped in the crowd while others laughed. But I ignored them all, kissing my mate until my little brother demanded his turn.
Cary’s POV
“Hello, darling.” I looked down at my little mate adoringly.
“Hello, my love.” She was gazing up at me with stars in her eyes and damn if I didn’t feel like the luckiest man alive.
The minute Mallory walked in tonight, the rest of the world faded away.
Nothing else existed for me. No Alpha ceremony, no crowd, no family and friends. Only her.
She had always been the most beautiful woman I’d ever met. But Mallory pregnant, her belly round with my pups, and that dress hugging all her generous curves. Fuck! She was a vision! And maybe it wasn’t the time but I sure as hell couldn’t wait to get that dress off her later.
“Last but not least, right.” I chuckled, enjoying her tinkling laugh. “My brothers have already admitted to their mistakes in our past and I’m definitely no exception. And like them, I wish I’d been mature enough to make better decisions. But I won’t waste any more of our precious time together dwelling on the past. Not when we have such a beautiful future ahead of us.
“I know I’d never be the triplet who would strike anyone as good father material, but for you and these pups, I vow to prove them all wrong. No one will ever love our babies more than me. And I promise to spend every day showing them how much I love and cherish their mother.
“You are my sun, moon and all the stars. Without you, my world just doesn’t exist. You are everything I’ve ever wanted and never knew I needed. You hold my heart in the palm of your hand and absolutely have the power to destroy me. That would be pretty damn scary if I didn’t know in the depths of my soul that you never would.
“So will you, my sweet darling, spare my fragile heart and be my Luna?”
“Your heart will always be safe with me. Of course, I’ll be your Luna.”
Mallory’s eyes glistened with unshed tears but it was the strength of her love pulsing through the bond that really hit me in the chest,
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her passionately, dipping her romantically while the crowd oohed and aahed. I kissed her breathless, until we were both panting, then set her back on her feet. Then my mom came forward with the ceremonial blade, wiping happy tears from her eyes.
“My boys, I’ve never been so proud of you. Make no mistake, this young lady is definitely the best thing to ever happen to you and they key to all your future success as Alphas and as men. But I think you know that already. Let’s make it official.”
With that, she cut Mallory’s palm and her own, pressing them together and saying the words that transferred her power to our mate. My father introduced us as the new official Alphas and Luna of blood Moon and the crowd cheered. But the three of us couldn’t tear our eyes away from our mate, our Luna, our whole damn world.