Merry jiggled Jace’s arm. “Where is she? It’s after seven o’clock.”
“Calm down. She’ll be here.” He smiled down at his niece, although inside he was almost as jittery. Not because he was afraid Evie wouldn’t show, but because he was as excited as Merry. But then, a man had a right to be excited at his own mating ritual.
They were in his backyard. It was mid-July, more than a month since Tyrus’s death. The evening sun cast long shadows across the lawn, but the fae balls had blossomed into life, illuminating the crowd. People stood on the back porch and spilled down the driveway, members of the clan rubbing elbows with Jace’s neighbors. Some of the cougars and jaguars were perched on the roof.
There was even a family of river fada—Valeria and Rui do Mar, along with their two young children—invited at Evie’s request, because Merry wanted them there. Jace had always liked Rui’s dark-haired Portuguese mate, but it was a revelation to see the strong, silent shark with a toddler on one shoulder, tugging on his ear, and another pint-sized person wrapped like a vine around his leg.
Jace kissed the top of Merry’s head. “You look beautiful, by the way. Your mom would’ve been so proud of you.”
“Really?” She shot him a pleased look and smoothed her hands down the skirt of the flirty red dress she’d somehow talked Valeria into.
“Absolutely. I like that crown-thing you did with your hair.”
“My friend Rosana did it.” Merry touched the braids wrapped around her head. “Thanks for inviting me to be part of your mate ceremony.”
“It was both our ideas. Evie likes you.”
“I like her, too. And Kyler.”
Jace smothered a smile. Kyler had taken Merry under his wing. He was loving the chance to be a big brother—and Merry hung on his every word. It was good for Kyler. The kid was still beating himself up for letting Tyrus in. He’d asked Marjani to teach him how to handle a knife, and to everyone’s surprise, she’d agreed.
“You look good, too,” Merry told him. “I’ve never seen you in a suit before.”
He looked down at the slim gray suit and white button-up shirt he’d donned for the ceremony. “I wanted to look nice for Evie.”
Merry adjusted the white rose pinned to his lapel. “She’s going to love it.”
Suha appeared from his den and held up five fingers. “Five minutes,” she mouthed.
Jace nodded at Zuri, who began clearing a path from the shed to the flower-entwined arch under which he and Merry stood. Meanwhile, Adric started through the crowd to take his place for the ceremony.
Merry fingered her quartz. “I wish I could remember my first mom. I can remember Silver a little. He did magic tricks and bought me that clown.” Jace nodded. Merry’s clown was the only thing she had from her old life, since Tyrus’s men had torched her house as she escaped with Rui. “But I don’t even know what Takira looked like.”
Jace’s heart squeezed. “She looked a lot like you, sweetheart. You both take after my mom—your grandmother. You have Takira’s hair, her eyes. But inside, that’s where you’re most like her.” He tapped Merry’s narrow chest. “You have a jaguar’s heart. Forget that bullshit you hear about lions—they only rule in Africa. In the rainforest, jaguars are the biggest, baddest cats around.”
Adric arrived in time to hear that last part. He snorted. “As long as they don’t run into a cougar.”
Merry giggled at the two of them, but her shoulders straightened.
Then Jace forgot everything else as Evie stepped into the yard on Kyler’s arm. He’d always thought she glowed, but now she shone as bright as the sun. All the air left his lungs in a whoosh.
She wore a simple cream dress with broad straps that left her toned arms bare. Jace had drilled a hole in the rose quartz he’d given her, and it hung around her neck next to her dad’s charm. Her only other ornaments were the glittering silver star in her short blond hair and the matching stars on her strappy sandals. Her mouth was painted a bright red, and her eyes were dark and a little mysterious.
She strolled toward him, his beautiful, edgy, sexy-as-hell angel, and he wondered how the fuck he’d gotten so lucky as to get stabbed practically on her doorstep.
Then her fingers wrapped around his arm, and together, they turned toward Adric, waiting to bless their mating. Three fae lights wafted closer, casting a soft gold and pink light over the proceedings.
Adric was smirking as if he’d arranged the whole thing. “Welcome,” he said in a carrying voice to the assembled throng. “We are gathered today to celebrate the mating of Jace and Evie. Peace to you and yours.”
“Peace,” the crowd returned.
Adric spoke a few more words, and then nodded to Jace. The alpha might introduce and bless a mating, but the words were spoken by the couple themselves.
Jace took Evie’s hands. Her dimple flashed at him, and he stared back unsmiling, emotion clogging his throat. He cleared it and said, “I take you, Evie Morningstar, as my mate. My light. My heart. You bring out the best in me, and I will love you for all of my days.”
They’d chosen a bracelet to mark their mate-day. He slipped it on her. The jeweler had created a striking design of silver vines entwined around a translucent green chalcedony quartz.
Evie bit her lower lip. She firmed her chin and then met his eyes. “I take you, Jace Jones, as my mate. My lover. My panther. My soul. I wasn’t looking for you, but somehow you found me, and I will always be grateful. I love you.”
Jace removed his quartz pendant and undid the clasp, and she slipped a tiny rose quartz in the shape of a heart onto the cord. The heart had belonged to his mom, an anniversary gift from his dad. It settled next to Jace’s quartz with a click, and he could’ve sworn he felt a jolt of love.
Adric spoke the words of blessing and then formally welcomed Evie and Kyler into the clan. He finished by pulling Evie into a big hug. “Thanks for taking him on.” He gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth.
Evie grinned as Jace retrieved her and tucked her firmly up against his side. “He doesn’t scare me.” She nipped Jace’s neck, and then let out a chuckle that ended in a gasp as he bent her backward over his arm for a kiss.
He took his time, exploring her mouth, mate-claiming her in front of his entire clan. When he released her, her eyes were smoky, and he’d almost forgotten their audience. “Later,” he murmured with a slow wink as behind them, his pumped-up clan hooted and clapped.
The street had been blocked off for the evening. Sam and Horace, both almost completely recovered, were supervising two huge barbecue grills, and Zuri had cracked open a keg of beer and was handing out mugs as fast as he could fill them.
Jace wrapped an arm around Evie and turned to face the crowd. “Who wants to party?”