Only Her- ON HOLD

Chapter 17.

Noah entered the house while Ki and Zachary remained on the front of the porch, watching for movement in the tree line and surrounding woods. As Noah came to the empty chair beside me, the room seemed to shrink smaller as he and my father looked at each other across the table. He gave a short nod to my father and took a seat, his hand reaching over and taking my hand in his, waiting for my father to speak.

My father sighed and raked a hand down his face before leaning forward against the table. "While I don't agree with the steps taken to get to this point, I understand that they were necessary to seal your bond." A small smile curled up the edge of my lips as relief washed over me. "With that said..." he continued, "there will be a proper mating ceremony and the pack will need to officially accept Noah before anything else happens."

My father looked pointedly over to Noah before speaking again. "I assume your father will want to come after you both now." His question was said as a statement; an assumption.

Noah nodded and replied evenly. "He won't take kindly to the way we left. He will want to make a statement and now that he knows Dani is what she is, he will want to move on that."

My body tensed but Noah stroked his thumb against my skin soothingly and I relaxed only a little. "I will call a meeting first thing tomorrow and introduce Noah to the pack as your mate. Once they've accepted him and he's part of the pack, we will have your ceremony and do this right." My father looked at me with a stern look, but then his features softened slightly. "The way I would have liked to have seen it done had you had the opportunity the first time."

I smiled and squeezed Noah's hand before letting go and standing to hug my dad. His big arms wrapped around me in a strong bear hug and I couldn't help but feel comfort and safety within this room. This was our home, and now Noah was here to become a part of it with me.

"But it doesn't mean I have to like it." He grumbled, but I felt him squeeze me tighter as he pressed his hand into my hair like he had always done when I was a little girl.

"I will set up the guest house out back for now so that you have a little space to yourselves. Once the ceremony is completed, we will get you set up with a proper home for the two of you to begin your life together." My mother said with a warm smile, her eyes shining with mushed tears.

Her arms opened as I stepped toward her, wrapping them around me as she nuzzled into my cheek. "I can feel the happiness surrounding you both. I can feel that your bond is strong my sweet girl. It's all I've ever hoped for you is to feel that love for yourself one day, to find someone that makes you feel whole and loves you as you are." Her voice was a whisper, but I knew Noah heard it.

"Thank you mama." I whispered back and snuggled in tighter before finally letting go.

My father stood and leaned in to kiss my mother before turning towards the door to leave. "I've got to go meet with the council to discuss our plan for any surprises we may encounter because of our new addition. Your mother will get you taken care of and then we'll talk tomorrow morning before the meeting."

My mother excused herself behind my father to prepare our room, leaving the two of us alone in the house. Noah took a slow look around and met my gaze with a warm smile. "This place looks like you."

I chuckled and reached for his hand. "Come on then. I'll show you around." He took it and I lead him through the main level before making our way up the stairs.

When I made it to the top of the landing, I stopped, briefly glancing at the closed door to my right. A flash of Wyatt standing in the door frame smirking down at me hit me.

Noah squeezed my hand gently and whispered, "I didn't know him well, but what I knew of him told me that was a good man and a strong future leader. I'd have liked to have called him brother."