Free The Alpha's Curse (Wolf Shifter Pregnancy Romance) by Scarlett Grove Page B

an Alpha. Just like my father.”
    “What does that mean?” she asked, feeling nervous.
    “It means no one can hurt us. And I can build my own pack for my son. A pack where children are never forced to do what they don’t want to do.”
    "I know exactly what that feels like. My parents are the same way.”
    “They tried to force you into things you did not want?”
    “Yeah. Pretty much. I’d wanted to be a farmer as long as I could remember. Went to school. Did internships. The whole shebang. I never thought I’d get my own farm so young until my dad’s mom died and left me a good chunk of money. My family never supported my career choice. When I decided to use the money to buy this place and start a farm, they were outraged. They insisted I was wasting the money. My brother still won’t talk to me without being an ass. Things are a little better with my parents, though.”
    Once the baby had fallen asleep, Lucien helped Avery place him in a little cradle that nestled beside the bed. He climbed in beside Avery and they watched their baby sleeping. The radiant glow of love and connection sizzled and sparked between them. She was sore and tired but had never felt so alive and in love. They laid on their backs and held hands, staring at the ceiling.
    “I told my parents we’re getting married in the spring,” she said, reluctantly.
    “And so we will,” he whispered. “And so we will.”

12
    A very walked through the open barn doors and down the aisle between the chairs lined with guests. Lilies and daffodils were bunched and clustered at the head of each row. She’d chosen to walk herself down the aisle, and clutched her bouquet of flowers in her hands.
    All her friends and family were there. Valerie and the interns from the farm, her classmates at school. Her family had all turned out, smiling like they meant it as she passed in her lovely white spring dress with the tulle skirt and lacy bodice.
    When she came to the end of the aisle, she let herself look at Lucien. The golden light streaming around him through the barn window above had been too bright to see him clearly. Now, it cast a halo around his head and made his blue eyes glow.
    He took her hand and helped her step forward, his expression full of adoration and love. The lines around his eyes deepened with his full bodied smile.
    Margaret stood in her pastor’s robes, ready to marry them. She was the only one who knew about them. It only seemed right that she be the one to bind them in this human ceremony.
    Avery heard their child giggle, full and ripe with humor. She turned to him, their little Dylan, and waved to her baby. When she looked back to her husband, Margaret began the ceremony. The healer conducted the wedding in her own way, a little shaman, a little priest. In the end, Avery and Lucien exchanged rings and had their hands tied together by a silver cord.
    They kissed.
    The kiss was so deep and pure that the darkness and light stopped their eternal battle for one instant in that union of utter bliss. Mated. Fated. Together at last. Over the long centuries of waiting to fit somewhere. To be whole and perfect again. They found each other and met each other’s hearts completely. So ready and open to each other, they could each feel the energy of the room expanding.
    The crowd cheered for them as they turned to walk back down the aisle. Just then, a band of men and women piled through the open barn doors. The spring sunlight seemed to bend around them. Lucien growled. Avery gasped as he pushed her behind him. But Avery broke away and went to grab her baby from her mother’s lap.
    Lucien strode forward. People were beginning to act worried.
    “What is it?” her mother asked in a whisper.
    “His family,” Avery whispered back.
    “Father. You’re late,” Lucien said.
    His father lifted his hand, and everyone in the room went still. Utterly, completely still. Avery stood with her child, unaffected by the magic.
    “So that is my grandson,”