“I wanted to find out if we could bury the hatchet, so to speak.” As if the whole thing had been a minor argument.

“Why would you want to?” asked Marcus, because there was always a reason when it came to Jonas Fuller.

“Your mother . . . she misses you. We both regret that we didn’t leave with you when Trey was banished from our old pack. We’ve often wondered if things could have been much better if we hadn’t parted ways. You’re our son—we love you, we’re proud of you, and we want to be part of your life. Especially now that you’ve mated. It can only be good for both of you to have additional people around you, supporting you.”

“You want to switch to the Phoenix Pack,” guessed Roni. She’d seen this with Eliza and Janice—the emotional manipulation, the flattery, and the implication that they could be useful.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at Jonas. “Roni’s right, isn’t she?”

“If it would help reunite the family, your mother and I would consider it.” Like he’d be doing Marcus a favor.

“Outstayed her welcome, has she?” Marcus smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Did someone find out what she’s been doing to herself?”

“No, she misses you. We both do. You’re our son.”

Marcus was quiet for a moment as he stared at the hard man in front of him. “I don’t wish you unhappiness. I don’t hate you. You see, I don’t care at all—and you did that. I watched the shit that goes on between you and Mom when I was growing up because I had no choice. Now I do. And I won’t expose Roni to it. I won’t expose myself to it.” He kissed Roni’s hair. “Come on, sweetheart.”

Allowing Marcus to lead her back to the Toyota, she glanced over her shoulder at Kerrie. “You—if you come near us again, I’ll make you choke on your own ovaries. And I’ll enjoy it. What’s more, I’ll make you enjoy it. Just sayin’.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Roni could describe the mating ceremony with three words: Awkward. As. Shit.

She wasn’t the romantic type, never had been. Lovey-dovey stuff had always made her uncomfortable. In fact, it confused her. For instance, she didn’t see the logic behind buying a girl flowers. Why buy a person something so that they could watch it wither and die? That was like giving someone a sick puppy. How could it possibly amount to a romantic gesture?

Nope, Roni didn’t get it. Nor did she get why she had to wear a dress. Nor did she get why Shaya, Taryn, and Jaime had insisted on applying makeup to her face, or why she couldn’t wear sneakers. Shouldn’t she at least be allowed to feel a tiny bit comfortable? Apparently not. So, yeah, that had pissed her off. But Roni had agreed to everything. Why? Because she cared about Marcus enough to make the effort.

So, primped and barefoot, she had advanced from her lodge through the forest on Nick’s arm, following Shaya’s fairy lights. He’d escorted her to the center of a huge circle of people—all the Mercury and Phoenix wolves bundled together, in addition to Marcus’s sisters, their mates, and children. The massive amount of attention made her heart race in the worst way, had made her want to turn back, but she hadn’t. Why? Because she cared about Marcus enough to brave it.

As Trey had performed the ceremony, she’d kept her eyes on Marcus the entire time. Just as he always did, her mate managed to put her at ease . . . despite looking at her with that piercing gaze that told her she was getting fucked within an inch of her life as soon as they were alone. And when Trey had asked them to make their vows, she’d done it, even though she saw absolutely no sense in it. After all, the ceremonial words had no power. It was all simply a way to celebrate a mating: “an excuse for a party,” her mother had called it. Still, Roni had dutifully repeated the words. Why? Because she cared about Marcus enough to do so.

What’s more, she’d smiled, she’d danced, and she’d resisted pulling out her lollipops. She’d pushed past all of the awkwardness for Marcus, particularly as he’d promised not to leave her on her own—knowing how she didn’t like parties, attention, and mingling. That was why she found herself seriously pissed a few hours later.

Marching up to Dante, Jaime, and Derren, she asked, “Where’s Marcus?”

A frowning Dante glanced around. “I thought he was with you.”

“He went missing about twenty minutes ago. He said he was going to the tent to get a beer, and I haven’t seen him since.”

Derren smiled. “He probably got distracted by all the food.”

That had been her first thought. “I already checked. He’s not there. He’s not with his sisters either.” Marcus’s sisters had tried interrogating Roni again, so she’d offered them a few random facts and, basically, ran away.

Smiling, Jaime touched her arm. “Off the subject, did you see Greta crying at the ceremony? They were tears of joy. She’s been singing your praises throughout the entire party, which is weirdly annoying your mother.” She gestured to where the two women stood having a heated discussion while Grace, Rhett, Lydia, and Cam looked on in amusement. Roni couldn’t hear the words over Lilah’s baby babbling. “Where’s your aunt?”

“She left yesterday—to our utter delight.” Blowing out a frustrated breath, Roni scanned the surroundings for any sign of her mate.

“It’s okay, sweetie, he’s probably just talking to the other enforcers.”

Figuring Jaime might be right, Roni made her way to where the Phoenix and the Mercury enforcers were grouped together. “Anyone seen Marcus?”

“I saw him about half an hour ago,” said Trick.

Tao nodded, smiling at Roni. “He was with you at the time. You were fighting over a chicken wing.” She’d done it purely to irritate him.

“You don’t need to worry.” Bracken gave her a manly pat on the back. “He’ll be here somewhere.” Ryan grunted.

She arched a brow and pointed at her face. “Do I look worried?”

It was Zander who answered. “No. You look . . . pissed.”

“Maybe he’s with his Alphas,” suggested Jesse.

Hopefully he was right, or Roni might just have to seriously hurt her mate. The Alphas were comfortably situated in a seating area with Kye, Shaya, Caleb, and Kent. But there was no sign of Marcus.