Chapter 267: Getting Married Twice

Evelyn stayed completely quiet, the wind rustling the leaves around us. Her eyes filled with fresh, hot tears, her bottom lip trembling as she looked at the silver-haired boy standing before her, pouring his heart out over a dead man’s grave.

"You’re a really good kid, Kain," she sobbed softly, wiping her cheeks with a shaking hand. "But... you already have a mother, don’t you?"

A watery, breathless laugh spilled past my lips as tears rolled down my cheeks. "The more the merrier."

Evelyn let out a ragged, weeping sound, her shoulders shaking violently under the crushing weight of her grief and the unexplainable comfort radiating from me.

"Can I... can I hug you?" I asked softly, my voice barely a whisper. "They say a hug takes a lot of weight off your shoulders."

She didn’t answer with words. She stepped forward and threw her arms around my neck, pulling me tight against her chest.

I wrapped my arms around my mother’s trembling frame, burying my face into her shoulder, breathing in her familiar, warm perfume for the very first time in my new life.

"Take care of Reid, my son," Evelyn sobbed into my shoulder, her fingers clutching tightly at the back of my coat as if holding onto a miracle. "Please... take care of Reid and Sarah..."

I closed my eyes, letting my tears soak into her coat, holding my mother as tightly as I could.

"I will," I promised in a trembling whisper, the sacred vow settling deep into my soul. "I promise you, Mom... I will."

I was very thankful I met her there that day. If not, I had no idea how I would ever be able to take off this burden from my chest and approach her without having to expose my secret.

On our actual wedding day, Mom Samson wept like any mother would, dabbing her tear-stained cheeks with a lace handkerchief.

Before letting Reid lead me away, she gripped his hand tight, her eyes flashing with a fierce, protective maternal warning: "If you ever mess with my son or make him shed a single tear, Reid McCoy, you will surely regret it."

The message and threat were well received.

By nightfall, the estate settled into a deep, peaceful quiet. Sarah was sleeping soundly over at her grandparents’ side for the night, leaving the two of us completely alone in our room for the very first time.

The doors clicked shut, sealing out the rest of the world.

"I can’t believe we got married twice," I murmured with a soft laugh, leaning back against the cool wood of the door frame as Reid stepped close, crowding my space.

Reid’s hands slid around my waist, his thumbs tracing the hem of my shirt before his lips found the sensitive skin of my collarbone, brushing slow, reverent kisses down the column of my neck.

"Well, I can’t believe I haven’t touched you properly once since we reunited," Reid rasped, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly vibration that sent a shudder straight down my spine.

He lifted his head, his eyes burning with an intense, consuming fire as he looked straight into mine. "I long for you, honey."

"Same here," I breathed, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs as I looked up at him. I leaned in, pressing my lips right against the shell of his ear, whispering softly, "But... be gentle. You know... I’m still a virgin in this body."

Reid’s dark eyes flashed, a slow, intoxicating smirk curving his lips. "Then let me take your virginity all over again."

"Wow, I’m so scared," I chuckled softly, a light, watery laugh bubbling up from my throat before I bit the bottom of my lip.

I looked back into his eyes, my gaze softening into complete, unreserved surrender. I turned slightly in his arms, tilting my head to expose the delicate, bare skin of my nape to him.

"Reid," I whispered, my voice trembling with profound love, "mark my nape. Let’s make a permanent bond."

Reid paused, his entire frame going rigidly still. The fierce hunger in his dark grey eyes gave way to a sudden, profound reverence as his hands framed my face, his broad thumbs brushing over my cheekbones.

"Are you serious, Kain?" he rasped, his voice trembling slightly with the weight of what I was asking. "A permanent bond... once I bite down, it’s forever. No matter whether you regret it in the future, you won’t be able to change it."

"Yes, I’m sure." I said without a single second of hesitation, leaning up to press a soft, firm kiss against his lips. "I’ll never regret it, Reid. I fought my way through death just to belong to you again. Mark me. Make me yours for good."

Reid let out a low, ragged breath, his last shred of hesitation vaporizing into the air.

His grip on my waist tightened, pulling me so flush against his broad chest that I could feel the thunderous, chaotic rhythm of his heart beating right through my shirt.

He guided me back toward the large king bed, lowering me down onto the soft sheets before pressing his body over mine, crowding my senses with the thick, warm wave of his frozen pine scent completely engulfing the sweet night-blooming jasmine blooming from my skin.

He leaned down, burying his face in the crook of my shoulder, his lips trailing hot, burning kisses along my jaw, down the column of my throat, until he reached the sensitive, pulse-throbbing curve at the base of my neck.

I arched my back into his touch, my fingers tangling tightly into his soft blonde hair, pulling him closer as a quiet gasp escaped my lips.

"I love you, Kain," Reid whispered against my bare skin, his breath searing hot against my nape. "In this life, in the next, and in every universe after."

"I love you too, Reid," I breathed, squeezing my eyes shut and completely surrendering my body and soul to him. "Do it."

With a sudden, deep Alpha growl, Reid leaned in and sank his teeth firmly into the sensitive skin of my nape.