He got out, but as Emily watched her friends laughing while they settled into position, she was awed into stillness that a moment like this belonged to her.
Vera looked like a pink disco ball in her sequined dress, and Tobias had his arms wrapped around her from behind, whispering secrets into her ear. Naughty secrets if Vera’s wicked smile was anything to go by. Elyse and Ian were both holding their son’s hands and swinging him high in the air, and Jenner stood next to Lena at the tripod, gesturing for everyone to move in closer to fit into the frame. Link was holding Fina and tickling her little belly as Nicole made silly faces at the dark-haired, giggling toddler, and Kate was staring lovingly at the dark-eyed newborn baby boy that Dalton cradled against his chest. And in front, Miki and Sasha Two played tug of war with a length of rope.
It was organized chaos, just like every holiday, birthday, and barbecue. Emily loved it.
In front of the truck, Chance waited for her, his hands in the pockets of his dark wash jeans, his wide shoulders flexed against the fabric of his sweater, green to match his eyes.
“Are you going to cry again?” he asked as she slipped from his truck and smoothed her sweater dress over her leggings.
“No.” Chance laughed like he didn’t believe her, so she amended, “Probably not.”
She’d become sappier over the months here as she’d gotten to know herself, and the fox that dwelled within her, but she didn’t regret the changes. Dad and Uncle Victor had made her too hard, but Chance had softened her again.
Vera let off a whistle. “Oh, foxy lady!” she called.
Emily waved as the others greeted her, and Chance kissed the side of her head, as if he knew how much this moment meant to her. He wrapped his strong hand around her much smaller one as they sidled around the camera.
“Okay,” Lena said. “The camera is set to automatically take one picture a second so I can try to get at least one where everyone has their eyes open. But just…try not to blink! Chance and Emily, I want you front and center.”
“Me?” Emily asked, shocked. She’d thought she would stand with the Galena pack on the outer edge.
Lena didn’t answer her, but instead started the countdown. “Five…four…”
Forcing her legs to move, Emily jogged beside Chance and jostled into position between him and Link, while Lena settled next to Jenner on the end.
“Three…two…smile!”
Chance hugged her tight and Emily rested her hand on his chest, right over his heartbeat, which was drumming too fast. She shot him a worried glance, but he was cheesing for the camera and seemed fine. A few more soft clicks of the camera and Link said, “I have something I want to say.”
Usually, this would be the part where everyone would groan and tell him, “No.” But not one of them uttered a word.
Confused at what Link could possibly have to say right in the middle of a group photo, Emily ghosted him a glance, and to her surprise, he was looking right at her.
“A while back, I made a tough decision that hurt one of my wolves,” Link said.
Click, click, click.
Vera sniffled, and when Emily looked around, she noticed Kate and Nicole’s eyes were rimmed with tears, too. What the hell? She was obviously missing something big.
Link cleared his throat and continued. “I told one of my wolves that he couldn’t be with someone because I didn’t trust them. And then I told the woman he’d chosen that she would never be a part of the Galena pack.”
He was talking about her and Chance. Emily lifted her hands to her cheeks to cool the heat there as Link squared his shoulders to her to the sound of the clicking of the camera.
“I hope today you’ll accept my heartfelt apology, Emily. I was wrong. You and your fox are good for our pack. You’re good for Chance.” Link lifted his chin and stared at her with those lightened gray eyes, honesty pooling in them as he declared, “You. Are. Good.”
Warm tears streaked down her cheeks, and Emily drew a ragged breath as her throat tightened.
“Emily Vega, I would be honored if you would become a full member of the Galena pack.”
Emily turned to Chance to see if he was as shocked as she was, but he wasn’t where he’d been a minute ago. Instead, he was down on one knee, gaze on her, and a glittering diamond ring offered in his hand.
Her shoulders shook with a sob, and she clasped her hands over her mouth to quiet her crying.
Chance let off a shaky breath, then said, “Before you say ‘yes’ to being a part of this pack, I want to ask you a question that has been on my mind since the day I met you. Before you, I thought I would be the one in our pack who never found a match, and I was okay with it. I’d accepted it. But from the moment I saw you at that gas station, I knew you were important. I knew you were it for me. You terrified me, not because you were hunting me, but because I could feel your potential to completely change me. And you have. I’m a better man for being around you.” Chance pulled her hand down and kissed the faint scar on her wrist, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. “You told me once to look for you in the northern lights, and I do. Every time I see them, I’m reminded of your love and your sacrifice to build a life with me. And now I want to give you something so you can look at it and see my love for you. Em, will you marry me?”
All that came out of her mouth was a helpless squeak, so she nodded her answer and straightened her fingers for him to slip on the ring.
The yard erupted in cheering and whistling as Chance stood and lifted her off the ground, hugging her hips tightly. His smile took her breath away.
And as she looked around at her friends, who had become her family somewhere along the way, she realized today had never been about a group picture. Chance had planned this special moment for her and involved the people who meant the most. And now she would have frame by frame photographs to cherish for the rest of her life.
Her pack gathered in close, hugging her and Chance. Her pack. The Silvers followed suit, and everything was perfect—every happy tear that slipped from her friends’ faces, every embrace, every soft murmured congratulations.
Chance had given her more than he could ever know.
In a life that now felt so far away, she’d been Emily Vega, the Hell Hunter. That was all. But here, with the people she loved, she was much more. She was Em, fox shifter, friend, pack member, sister, mate, and now she would be Chance’s wife.
No longer would she bear the Hell Hunter name, Vega.
Now and forevermore, she would be a Dawson bride.
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Other Series by T. S. Joyce
Saw Bears
Lumberjack Werebear (Book 1)
Woodcutter Werebear (Book 2)
Timberman Werebear (Book 3)
Sawman Werebear (Book 4)
Axman Werebear (Book 5)
Woodsman Werebear (Book 6)
Lumberman Werebear (Book 7)
Fire Bears
Bear My Soul (Book 1)
Bear the Burn (Book 2)
Bear the Heat (Book 3)
Gray Back Bears
Gray Back Bad Bear (Book 1)
Gray Back Alpha Bear (Book 2)
Gray Back Ghost Bear (Book 3)
Gray Back Broken Bear (Book 4)
Lowlander Silverback (Book 5)
Last Immortal Dragon (Book 6)
A Very Beastly Christmas (Holiday Novella, Book 7)
Bear Valley Shifters
The Witness and the Bear (Book 1)
Devoted to the Bear (Book 2)
Return to the Bear (Book 3)
Betray the Bear (Book 4)
Redeem the Bear (Book 5)
Bear Valley Valentine (Valentine’s Day Novella)
Hells Canyon Shifters
Call of the Bear (Book 1)
Fealty of the Bear (Book 2)
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p; Avenge the Bear (Book 3)
Claim the Bear (Book 4)
Heart of the Bear (Book 5)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
Standalone Shifter Romance
Coveted by the Bear
Amazon
Standalone Contemporary Romance
Shelter Me Home
Amazon
About the Author
T. S. Joyce
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. Experienced at handling an alpha male of her own, she lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.
Contents
Other Books in This Series
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
New Release Newsletter Sign-Up
Other Series by T. S. Joyce
Fire Bears
Gray Back Bears
Bear Valley Shifters
Hells Canyon Shifters
Wolf Brides
Standalone Shifter Romance
Standalone Contemporary Romance
About the Author
T. S. Joyce, Chance Fur Hire
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