Titium took his feet but did so not taking his eyes off Callum.
“Your love for your daughter is honorable, your loyalty to her is as well and your wolves’ loyalty to you is the same,” Callum announced, ignoring Calder muttering, “Fucking hell,” at his side.
“That said,” Callum continued, “all of it was misguided, you acted on it and the result could have been disastrous.”
Titium’s eyes shifted to Sonia, remorse filled his features and he lowered his head.
A proud warrior stood in front of his king and queen, filled with remorse, swiftly taking responsibility for his actions, admitting his guilt, speaking for his wolves, bowing his head in defeat, awaiting judgment.
You are king.
Callum kept speaking and Titium looked back at him.
“However, my queen has grave concerns for you, your wolves and even your daughter, regardless of your actions and what pain they caused her.” He watched Titium’s lips part in shock as he felt Sonia turn rock-solid in his lap but he went on, “She has had my ear on this subject and she wishes for me to show mercy. I find this difficult; your claws drew my mate’s blood. But if she can forgive you for the damage you inflicted on her, then I can show mercy for your actions which were, indeed, treasonous but, I believe, if we had time for cooler heads to prevail, it would have had a different outcome.”
Titium blinked up at him as his wolves behind him swung their heads back and forth, glancing at each other and the murmur of the crowd swelled before it silenced when Callum kept speaking.
“Therefore, I strip you of your Governorship of Europe and your command of the European Armies. I sentence you to attend your sequestered daughter until she has been brought to her right mind. If that should occur, which is doubtful, you will stay at her side when she is released from sequester and while she quests for her mate. Only after her Mating will you be free to resume your life but you will not ever, while I rule, hold office or command men. Your wolves will not be eligible to hold office or assume a command for one hundred years. They will, prior to returning home, denounce fealty to you and announce it to me. You, Titium, will personally pay a fine of one million dollars to Canis which will be submitted to our war chest. Your wolves will each pay a fine of fifty thousand dollars for the same purpose.”
As a louder ripple went through the crowd and Callum watched the shoulders of the wolves in front of him slump with relief, one even bowed his head and covered his face with his hand as she-wolves sitting to the sides, mates and mothers of the men before him, burst into tears, Callum kept speaking.
“If any one of you again moves against Canis, there will be no trial. You will be executed immediately and burned on a pyre without family allowed to attend. Your ashes will be scattered without ceremony, a dishonor even traitors do not receive.”
Callum watched Titium swallow, his face reddening with emotion, his eyes darting back and forth between Callum and Sonia even as he heard Sonia’s breathing escalate, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her ass squirming minutely in his lap.
“Do you have something you wish to say?” Callum asked Titium.
“I…” Titium cleared his throat then asked in disbelief, “You show mercy?”
“Were you not listening?” Callum asked impatiently in return.
“But –” Titium started.
Callum felt his brows rise. “You prefer execution?” he enquired and a titter of humor went through the crowd as the men in front of him tensed.
“No!” Titium said loudly and swiftly, shaking his head. “No, no. I…” His eyes moved to Sonia. “My queen –”
Callum suddenly leaned forward, taking Sonia with him and he growled, “My wife has my ear, warrior, and she has spoken for you but you address me.”
Titium looked quickly back at Callum, squared his shoulders, sucked in a visible breath and announced, “I only wanted to thank her for her mercy and offer her my apologies for the pain I inflicted, your grace. You are correct. My behavior was loyal but misguided and I have, these past weeks, thought long and anguished on the hurt I caused our little queen who was doing nothing but trying to save me from myself and causing that hurt by acting rashly and in anger. I will never, not ever, your grace, forget her lying on the steps of Canis, brought low by my claws and my pride. A human female who tried to persuade me to see reason and who moved in defense of her mate.” He shook his head as if he still didn’t believe he’d witnessed this or caused it before he continued, “For myself, my mate and my wolves, I… there are not words to say how… how much our queen’s forgiveness and your mercy means. My mate would…” he swallowed then pressed on, “my daughter, my sons, the families of my wolves,” he looked to Sonia then hastily back to Callum, “you and she have saved them centuries, millennium of grief. She… you both have saved our loved ones that and…” he shook his head, swallowed yet again and finished, his voice rough, “I’m sorry, I don’t have words.”
“If you don’t have words, Titium, then I suggest you accept the mercy shown and my judgment so my queen and I can go home. We’ve important things to do tomorrow,” Callum suggested and another titter moved through the crowd.
“I accept your mercy and judgment, your grace, for myself and my wolves and I thank you on behalf of my family, my wolves, their families and myself,” Titium proclaimed loudly.
“Good, then we’re fucking done,” Callum muttered, ignored the relieved giggle Sonia barely suppressed, the chuckles Ryon and Caleb didn’t try to suppress and stood, taking Sonia with him and putting her on her feet. He turned to the she-wolf at her laptop. “This concludes today’s business.” He looked to Ryon. “See to the arrangement of the sentences and fines.” Ryon, grinning like an idiot, jerked up his chin. Callum looked to the crowd and called out, “Tomorrow, we’ll see you here under better circumstances.”
There was a moment of silence before a cheer rang out, loud and deafening, hitting Callum and his queen with a wave of sound and Callum had to hide his surprise for they weren’t simply cheering tomorrow’s joyous festivities. They were cheering his decision.
It wasn’t entirely shocking they would accept his verdict. He was king, they had no choice.
It was just a surprise that they did it so readily and, apparently, so soundly.
Then again, many of them had found their mates therefore many of them had their mates whispering in their ear. It was likely they were not fazed by the changes Callum had demonstrated that day knowing a human like Sonia whispered in his. Or, not so much whispered, but she found her way to get her point across and he, finally, learned how to listen.
He tucked Sonia’s hand against his side, drawing her close and he got them the fuck out of there.
They were in the SUV, going down the winding road surrounded by wood and Sonia was surprisingly silent.
Then she wasn’t.
“Callum?” she called.
He braced, wondering if what she’d say would piss him off or make him want to kiss her.
“What, baby doll?” he asked on a sigh, knowing, either way, it was better to get it over with.
“You know I love you, right?”
It made him want to kiss her.
“You know I love you?” he replied then he heard her shift before he felt her lips against his neck and her fingers curl around his thigh.
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice throaty. She shifted again, straining against her seatbelt to slide her nose the length of his neck before she buried her face there. Her voice was low and hoarse with feeling when she went on, “Yes, Cal, I know you love me. Today, I also know just how much.”
He did indeed love her.
A great fucking deal.
Absolutely.
“Good,” he murmured, his own voice thick.
“Yes.” She was still whispering. “It is good. Very good.” She gave a fluttering sigh that he not only heard but felt against his skin before she finished, “Perfect.”
She was right.
Very right.
In a number of ways.
* * * * *
He had his pretty little mate pressed up against him, her back to his front on the hide covered couch when the film ended and Sonia shifted to reach out to the remote. She hit off, threw it on the table and the minute it clattered, he pulled her under him and rolled over her.
She looked up at him, smiling a small smile, her eyes dropped to his mouth and they went hungry, something, as ever, he felt in his groin.
But he, unfortunately, had to ignore that in order to say, “Time for me to find my bed and you, ours.”
She blinked and her eyes moved to his. “What?”
“I believe, and correct me if I’m wrong, which, I’ll point out, I hope to fuck I am, it’s tradition amongst humans for the bride not to see the groom before the wedding,” he told her and her mouth dropped open.
She closed it to repeat a now breathy, “What?”
“Am I wrong?” he queried hopefully and she blinked again.
“Uh… no, you aren’t,” she whispered. “But –”
He interrupted her by dropping his head to touch his lips to hers before lifting it and concluding, “So I’ll find my bed and I’ll see you at the wedding.”
“Are you serious?” she asked softly.
“Unfortunately, yes, and after tomorrow, I’ll ask you to explain why humans do something that’s that bloody stupid,” he replied and her mouth twitched.
“It’s supposed to be bad luck,” she explained.
“Stupid,” Callum returned then amended, “Bloody stupid.”
Her lips curved into a grin and her arms curved around him. “You’re going to let me sleep alone to give into a human tradition?”
“Yes,” he replied but he didn’t even attempt to squeeze the reluctance out of his word.
“You’re going to let me sleep alone for the first time, notwithstanding the nights you were away at war, of course, since I met you so you can give me one of my people’s traditions.”
It was a statement and a repetitive one but Callum treated it like a question and repeated, “Yes.”
Her hand slid up his back, around his neck and framed the side of his head as her thumb came out to sweep his cheekbone but her eyes never left his and he thought that if she didn’t stop holding him and touching him, he was taking his offer back.
Before he got the chance to warn her of this eventuality, she spoke.
“If you find your own bed, Callum, I’m moving to that one. I was your mate before I was born. I’ve been your wife for months. It means the world to me you’d do something like that for me and I love you for being willing to do it. Just as I love you for doing what you did today not only for Titium, his wolves, their families but also proving you listen to me and care about what I say. Just as I love you for taking Calder’s bad mood and sharp words and Caleb and Ryon’s ribbing for doing exactly that. Just as I love you for a million and one other things we don’t have time for me to enumerate because I’m tired, I want you to make love to me and sleep beside me in order that I can wake up tomorrow, refreshed so I don’t look a mess when I stand beside you in front of thousands of wolves during our Mating. But we were destined to lie by each other’s sides since before we were cells in a womb. Therefore, I’m not going to sleep without my wolf. In other words, if you find another bed, you’re also going to find me in it.”
Callum stared down at his wife for half a second before he growled then he growled down her throat because he was kissing her.
Then he pulled away, got to his feet, lifted his wife in his arms and carried her to their bed thinking, fuck it.
If it was true, this human nonsense of bad luck, so be it.
They already had bad luck. The worst there was.
And he wasn’t going to lose a moment of Sonia that he didn’t have to lose.
She wanted him.
She had him.
As always.
As it would always be.
Until that dreaded day she no longer was.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Mating
“Um… don’t you think it’s a bit much, Mara?” Sonia asked hesitantly as Maraleena moved around the back of her, aiming a mirror at Sonia’s hair while Sonia held a mirror in front of her face, taking in the complicated, but artful and lovely, twists and curls that Mara had pinned in a thick, wide bunch at the nape of her neck.
“No, Sonny! Absolutely not! Today’s a big day and there will be pictures of you and Cal in every wolf newspaper in the world. It has to be perfect!”
The butterflies in Sonia’s stomach, already out-of-control, went into overdrive.
She’d found a pretty, but simple, ivory dress on-line and had it delivered. It was definitely more than what Mara and Callie had described a she-wolf would wear at her Mating but far less than any self-respecting human bride (unless she was a hippie or just not that into dressing up) would wear. Sonia thought it was a happy medium although she had to admit, if only to herself, that she would have preferred the pomp and circumstance. A dress encrusted with lace and pearls, her hair just as it was, fabulous shoes and all the trimmings of a wedding.
Actually, a Royal Wedding.
She was queen, it had been a bumpy ride, it would have been nice if she’d had something amazing to remind her how glorious it was and would always be.
Until she was no longer.
She pulled in breath through her nose, hiding the fact she was doing it and deciding it was good she wouldn’t have pomp and circumstance.
It would always be a happy memory for her.
For Callum, once she was gone, it would be a tortuous one.
So this was good. Simple. Fast. Then a big party.
“You look lovely,” Regan whispered from close and Sonia’s eyes slid to the side to see her mother-in-law standing there, tears shimmering in her eyes which made wet hit Sonia’s. “Or, more lovely than you usually do,” she corrected.
“Thank you, Regan,” Sonia whispered back.
“Lassiter and Cherise,” she pulled in breath, Sonia did the same and Regan continued, her voice husky, “they would be very proud.”
“Thank you,” Sonia said softly, lowering the mirror to her lap.
Regan reached out and pulled it from her hand then she set it aside, pushed her hand into the pocket of her smart trousers and pulled out something that glinted but Sonia couldn’t see it. Regan’s hand curled around Sonia’s and she pulled it to her, pressing out Sonia’s pinkie finger, she slid a thin, gold, antique-looking band with a small, yellow diamond in it on her pinkie.
Sonia stared at the ring and her startled eyes went to Regan when she stated, “Your mother’s mother gave that to her when she was a girl. Your mother gave it to me for safekeeping to give to you today.”
Sonia drew in a shocked, painful, joyous breath as her fingers curled tight around Regan’s and tears flooded her eyes.
“Oh Sonny!” Mara cried. “Your makeup!”
“Let her cry,” Sonia heard Callie say quietly. “We’ll fix it.”
“I –” Sonia began.
“Say nothing,” Regan cut her off then finished on a whisper. “I know. What you need to know is that Cherise knew, Lassiter knew, they knew you loved them just as much as they loved you.”
Her lips quivering, she could hold them back no more and Sonia whimpered as Regan pulled her into her arms and held her close.
“I’ll get the makeup again,” Mara muttered from behind them as Sonia held on tight.
And she kept doing it for a long time.
Regan returned the favor.
* * * * *
Sonia stared at herself in the full-length mirror that had been brought up to her and Callum’s room.
Her hair was not right and her makeup, again fixed after crying in Regan’s arms, was also too much for her dress.
Way too much.
Way, way, way too much.
Her eyes flew to the clock on Callum’s nightstand. They had thirty minutes until sh
e had to be in the SUV with Gregor and Regan who were taking her to meet Callum at The Lodge.
“Um… maybe we should –” she began but stopped because she heard and smelled him.
She also heard something else and smelled it too, the scent familiar and her heart started beating hard as she turned and trained her eyes on the door.
Seconds later, Callum, so handsome he hurt her eyes wearing a well-cut, beautifully tailored tux, strolled through carrying an enormous white garment bag over his forearm.
Sonia stopped breathing even as her mouth dropped open.
Callum looked at her from head-to-toe then caught her eyes, grinned his sexy grin and declared, “Baby doll, that’s pretty but it just won’t do.”
He then turned to the bed, threw the garment bag on it and strolled out of the room, Kerry and Mabel streaming by him on their way in as he made his way out.
Sonia started breathing but only to hyperventilate.
“Oh my God! Can you believe this place?” Kerry shrieked, racing to Sonia and throwing her arms around her.
As usual, not to be outdone, Mabel screeched, “Scotland is awesome and Callum McDonagh is even awesomer!” and Sonia felt Mabel’s body hit her and Kerry’s embrace and they moved to fit another in their clinch.
“I can’t cry, I can’t cry. We already did my makeup twice,” Sonia told them, holding on tight.
Kerry pulled back, held on with one arm and lifted her other hand to fan Sonia’s face and, as Mabel followed suit, Kerry ordered, “Don’t cry. We don’t have time. We have to get you dressed and then we have to get dressed too.”
“Yes, sweetheart, we have to get you dressed,” Regan proclaimed from beyond them, Sonia looked to her and she lost her breath again for Regan was holding up a beautiful wedding gown encrusted with lace and pearls and, standing beside her was Callie, holding up a fabulous pair of elegant, sophisticated, stylish, stiletto-heeled, ivory slingback pumps with pearl-encrusted, pointed toes.
Cinderella shoes. Absolutely.
“Oh good goodness,” Sonia whispered.
“Callum thought you might want something special so he sent me shopping,” Regan informed her.