The Alpha's Choice (34 page)

In one fell swoop, Kat had a mate and a
family. It wasn't the house in the suburbs with the white picket
fence and they certainly weren't the two children she'd envisioned,
but she was happier with her makeshift brood and her soon-to-be
mate than she'd ever have been with Brandon.

River still worried her. His change from boy
to man hadn't wavered and the solemn Ryker had taken the young
wolver under his wing.

"They're two of a kind," Jo declared with
some pride.

Kat thought so, too, and she was confident
the older wolver would be a good role model for River. Ryker was
strong and solid and no-nonsense, but underneath the hard surface
there was a compassion in the man that he tried to keep hidden.
River would be fine if he followed in Ryker's footsteps.

He still, however, escaped each night and Kat
wondered how long she should keep his secret. River and Charles
were on firm if not companionable footing with each other and she
hesitated to bring up anything that might upset that delicate
balance. There was so much else going on that needed Charles'
attention.

"A penny for your thoughts," the man who was
constantly in them said from behind her as he slipped his hands
about her waist.

"I was thinking of you," she told him,
leaning back into the firmness of his chest, "And the children and
Tilda and Buddy and Hell Hall." Kat tilted her head back to look up
at him with her eyes filled with tears. "I'm happy."

"I'll take your word for it," Charles
chuckled and kissed her nose, "Though it beats me how women can be
happy and cry at the same time."

She ran her knuckle under her eyes. "I've
wondered that, myself. Are you happy, Charles? With all this? With
me?"

Charles paused for a moment before he spoke.
"If you'd asked me a year ago if I wanted a Mate and a family and a
falling down estate, I would have laughed in your face. I wanted
fast cars and a sleek, modern apartment in a high-rise. Now, I
wonder how I could have been such a fool."

He released her and led her over to the
schoolroom sofa that was already spotted with unknown splotches
made by children's sticky fingers and made her sit. He got down on
one knee and took her hand in his.

"All this makes me happy. Even the cubs make
me happy, but none of it would matter without you. You're the heart
of my house, kitten, the center of my soul. Your love and trust are
honors I don't deserve. I want to be the man you see in me. I want
to make you proud. You make me whole. You make me complete. You
make me laugh. So, Miss Katarina Bennett, I'm formally asking for
your hand on bended knee. Will you please be my Mate and love me as
I love you."

With his free hand, he held out a small black
velvet box, opened to show her the gold and diamond band
within.

"We wolvers don't do engagement rings or
wedding bands. Jewelry tends to get lost in the change, but I
thought you might like this."

Kat was crying openly now, snuffling like a
baby. "Well it took you long enough." She tried to laugh, but she
couldn't. She held out her hand for him to slip the ring on her
finger. "I accept your proposal, Charles Goodman, and I will love
you with all my heart for as long as we both shall live and then
some." She leaned forward for a kiss.

"How touching! And to think I'm the only
witness to this momentous occasion."

Stephanie stood in the doorway, smiling
benevolently. "Let me be the first to congratulate the happy
couple."

Charles rose, still holding Kat's hand. "I
thought you were out of town."

"Ah yes, and shame on me, Alpha. I shouldn't
have left you with so much going on. You needed me here, but I
needed time to readjust my thinking and my plans. That's done now,
so here I am, rested and ready. I wouldn't have missed this for the
world. Our Alpha has found himself a Mate." She walked toward them
and held out her hand to Kat. "You'll be just what we need."

* * *

"I smiled and said thank you, oh so politely,
but it wasn't easy," Kat said later to Jo as they stood out on the
patio watching Stephanie make the rounds among the men. "I feel
sorry for her in a way. I know what it's like to have all your
plans ruined."

"That's why you'll make a good Mate. You try
to love everyone. There's no snarkiness in you. That'll be my job."
Jo offered her a glass of wine. "So are you ready for this? They'll
start showing up tomorrow morning. It's an all day affair."

"When do I get dressed for the mating?"

"You may as well do it first thing, by
afternoon at the latest. You only get to wear it once. It won't be
worth much by the next morning."

"No saving it for my daughter?"

"Not unless she's into muddy and torn," her
friend laughed.

"It's a planting moon," Tilda said beside
them, "A good fertile moon to begin a family under." She winked at
Jo. "You and that wolver of yours should be looking at that,
too."

"Now tell me I'm not getting any younger,
Mom." Jo rolled her eyes.

"Well, you ain't and neither is your man."
Tilda was not to be deterred. She had her Alpha and her Mate and
she was set on creating a flourishing pack single handedly. She'd
been dropping hints all day about the single wolver women who were
bound to be attending the mating.

"Okay, okay!" Jo threw up her hands. "Next
month during the Honey Moon. The big guy's got a thing for honey,"
she confided.

"I'm not going there. I don't want to know,"
Kat laughed. "But I'm happy to hear it."

"You and my real Mom," Jo said, glancing at
Tilda. "She cried. I'm now under orders to give her a
granddaughter. Shit! We haven't even talked about kids."

Tilda was lost in thought. "I thought I was
missing a jar. I reckoned it was them boys. Not missing any bread
or biscuits, though."

The younger women burst into laughter. Tilda
looked from one to the other and turned an odd shade of red. "He
didn't need any bread, did he? That rascal had his own honey
bun!"

Jo's laughter stopped abruptly and she stared
past Kat's shoulder. "What's up with him? I haven't seen that look
in days."

Kat turned and saw River at the corner of the
house, staring out onto the patio. His lip was curled and he looked
like he didn't know whether to curse or spit. She followed his
eyes, but there were too many clustered around Charles to pick out
the victim of his animosity.

Charles stood by Alex and a fawning
Stephanie, who'd been so affable and apologetic since she arrived
that Kat felt something akin to a hairball in her throat. Next to
them, Tanner and Rawley passed their time with two other men who'd
returned with Alex. One of them had received the physical talking
to from Charles in the TV room.

Right behind them, Becky was chatting with
Rhonda while keeping one eye on Rawley and Kat wondered if Rawley
had a favorite moon like Ryker. If not, Becky was more than ready
to supply him with hers.

There were more men and a few women, but none
of them looked particularly guilty or suspicious. Ryker, with a
sixth sense for trouble, looked over the heads of the others,
caught River's scowl and moved toward the teenage, but when he got
close enough to speak, River turned his back and walked away.

It pained Kat to see him this way. She
thought he would be happy and excited. Tomorrow would be a big day
for him, too. Tomorrow, Charles would take him over the moon for
the first time and he would be welcomed into the pack as a
full-fledged member.

She'd thought River might want his own day,
separate from hers and Charles, but Charles explained that it was
not an event, more an acceptance after repeating a few words of
loyalty. The important part for the young wolver was running with
the pack. Still, Kat expected to see River more excited than
angry.

There was nothing to be done about it now.
After the mating, when the company was gone and things had settled,
Kat would make the time to talk with River.

Chapter 33

As promised, the day dawned bright and
cloudless and also as promised, guests began to arrive soon after
breakfast. Tilda had been cooking for three days, but there was no
way the vast amount she'd prepared would feed this crowd all day
and into the night. She didn't seem concerned and Kat soon found
out why. The two large festival tents Charles supplied were only
the beginning.

Men brought out chairs and tables from trucks
and cars and women brought out baskets filled with baked goods and
platters of fried chicken and ham and pork roasts and beef.
Gigantic coolers of lemonade and kegs of beer appeared along with
huge tubs of ice packed with bottles and cans.

Canopies went up to offer shelter and shade
when day became warm and fully enclosed tents appeared across the
field on the edge of the trees answering the question of where all
these people would sleep.

Older children ran everywhere, hugged or
scolded depending on the need, by anyone who was near. And babies!
Kat had never seen so many babies!

Marshall, Charles' brother and the Alpha of
the Rabbit Creek pack, arrived early with his Mate, Elizabeth, and
two small, but chubby babies in tow.

"It's my fault," Elizabeth explained about
the babies after introductions were made. "The pack was without a
Mate for a long time before I came along. They're making up for
lost time!" and then she frowned, "They explained the part about
the babies, right?"

One of the babies started to cry, joined by
her brother. "I knew this would happen," Elizabeth laughed, handing
the squalling infant to Kat. "Do you have a place where I can feed
them in peace?"

An hour later, the schoolroom was transformed
into a nursery as the nursing Elizabeth took charge of organizing
the place where mothers could relax away from the chaos outdoors.
Older women kept watch over the sleeping babes so younger ones
could join in the gossip and fun.

"It's one of the things I love most about the
pack," Elizabeth said later when the babies were fed and asleep.
"The teamwork. They help one another.
We
help one another.
That's not true of every pack, but with a good Alpha to lead them,
that's the way it will be and Charles will be a good Alpha. Now
that he's pulled his head from his ass," she laughed.

Kat bristled at that. "Charles is a good
Alpha and he'll make a success of this pack. You be careful what
you say about my mate."

Elizabeth wasn't offended. She laughed again.
"You love him, don't you? Not just the Mate hoo-doo." She waved her
fingers like a magician. "You really love him. Not every Mate does,
you know. Sometimes it's just the hoo-doo. I had a hard time with
that."

Kat realized she'd just passed a test. "I
didn't," she said honestly. "I'm a believer in fairytales and this
one is mine. I'm looking forward to my happily ever after and I'm
terrified someone will wake me up and it will disappear."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that,
because once the deed is done, there's no turning back. You're
stuck with each other 'till death do you part." She smiled and took
Kat's hand. "Charles has changed since you came along. It's in his
face and in his voice. There's more confidence than bravado. That's
a good thing. And now," Elizabeth said, looking up at the women
standing in the doorway, "I think your entourage is waiting."

* * *

It was almost time. Kat stood in front of the
mirror for one last look before her mating. The dress, so lovingly
created by Tilda, who'd become so much more than a housekeeper,
flowed over her body like a waterfall of silk and clung to all the
right places. It was a lovely dress and its simplicity suited her
as no expensive boutique gown ever could.

Jo had done her makeup, scolding her when she
protested that it was too much. As usual, Jo was right. The face
staring back at her was someone from a magazine with smoky dark
eyes, flawless skin and full, rosy lips. For once in her life, she
was one of those women she envied. She was beautiful.

The afternoon had flown by with eating and
drinking, games and music. Kat was introduced to hundreds of people
whose names she couldn't possibly remember. It was like having the
reception before the wedding only Kat was too on edge to eat and
too afraid the alcohol would go to her head to drink. She hadn't
seen Charles long enough to have a conversation and she was pretty
sure there was a conspiracy among the guests to keep them apart.
The sun was setting and people were beginning to gather under the
largest tent. It was time.

Walking to the door, she glanced through the
window and happened to see Forest standing apart from the crowd,
head hanging and her hands twisting together at her waist. Kat
thought she knew what might be wrong and decided there was still
enough time to before the ceremony to gather the younger members of
her brood and use Mrs. Martin's sitting room to have a little
talk.

"Have you ever been to a mating party
before?" she asked when she finally got them all rounded up.

"No, but I like it. There's lots of food and
kids and nobody's made us wash our faces all day," Dakota
declared.

Ranger nodded his enthusiastic agreement.
"Lots of kids, too."

"What about you, Forest?"

The girl nodded slightly while keeping her
eyes on the floor.

It was what Kat was afraid of. She took a
deep breath and began, "I've never been to one either, but I wanted
to tell you what I think will happen because I don't want you to be
scared. The Alpha will say a few words and then I'll take off
running into the woods. You might hear some laughter and you might
hear some squeals and you might hear some screams. They'll be the
same kind of screams Meadow makes when Buddy pretends he's a bear.
It's all in fun. Then the Alpha and I will spend some alone time
together and we'll be home smiling and happy in the morning. "She
looked from one to the other. "Any questions?"