Mila opened her mouth to say “yes,” but Asher answered for her from the kitchen. “No! We’re all waiting on you. Hurry up!”
Roman waggled his eyebrows and said, “Raincheck,” then dragged her by the hand through the kitchen and out the back door.
She only had on a sweater, leggings, and snow boots, but there were no humans around and no reason to pretend she got cold. Plus, Blaire was currently climbing on Gentry like a backpack, clad in only a thin long-sleeved shirt and bootcut jeans, so okay. The peak wasn’t that long of a hike anyway.
Asher led the way, so far ahead she lost sight of him a few times, but Gentry and Blaire stayed close, chattering happily with Mila and Roman. Twice, Roman turned to help her up steep rocks. He’d kiss her knuckles when she was safely to him, then would continue talking as though he didn’t even realize he was giving the affection. Oh, this man. He owned her heart without even trying. And it wasn’t scary like she’d thought love like this would be. She’d given her heart willingly because she trusted him.
The snow was fresh and crunched under their boots. Mila and Blaire’s laughter echoed through the hills, and everything was perfect. As they made it to the top of the incline, huffing and puffing frozen breath, Mila was struck with how beautiful this moment was. The sun was setting in a half-circle right at the edge of the horizon, casting the valley in gold light and deep shadows, making the new snow sparkle like God had dumped glitter on the landscape.
Asher was setting up a tripod and camera, right along the tree line, facing the cliff edge they used to sit on as kids.
Mila slowed and tugged at Roman’s hand. “What’s going on?” she asked.
He squared up to her, pulled a folded photograph from his back pocket, and handed it to her. She opened slowly. It was the picture of Roman, Asher, and Gentry—the one where Gentry was sitting by himself.
Roman cocked his head and gave her a sad smile. “We need to redo this one. Do you want to take the picture?”
She was so overcome with emotion, her answer stayed stuck in her tightening throat. She nodded instead.
Roman pressed his lips onto her forehead and made his way to the big rock with his brothers. Blaire gave her an emotional smile, tears rimming her happy, green eyes. This was a big moment for the Strikers.
Asher sat in the snow, Roman beside him, and right beside Roman sat Gentry. All three looked out over that gorgeous sunset and waited as Mila clicked picture after picture on the camera.
Roman turned and gestured to her. “Come here.”
“Okay,” she whispered. When Blaire hugged her as she passed, Mila almost lost it. How many moments had they spent like this as kids and had taken them for granted?
Mila sat beside Roman, leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He settled his cheek on her hair. She could feel him smiling, and she closed her eyes as the sunset warmed her cheeks. The clicking of the camera faded away as she melted into this beautiful moment with the man she loved. With the man she had always secretly loved. With the man who now loved her back.
“Mila, open your eyes,” Roman said. His voice sounded strange, nervous almost.
When she opened them, Gentry wasn’t sitting beside her anymore, and Asher wasn’t sitting on Roman’s other side. She twisted around to see where they’d gone, but they were standing with Blaire behind the camera.
Confused, she looked back at Roman, but he was holding something. It was a small white-gold band with a single diamond that glittered like the snow. Mila clamped her hands over her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Couldn’t be.
Roman said, “Mila, it was always you. You were the light. You were the only one who was going to save me, the only one who had a shot at keeping me steady. My little chicken.” A grin stretched his face. “I got to watch you turn into a big bad wolf, and I’m so fucking lucky you picked me back. Plus, you have”—his eyes dipped to her cleavage—“perfect ten tits.”
“Roman, focus,” Blaire said through an emotional laugh.
“Right. Mila, you’re already my mate. You’re already my home. Wherever you go, whether you stay here in Rangeley or want to travel the world, I’ll go. I’ll do whatever makes you happy because your smile is where I feel okay. Will you marry me?”
Mila closed her eyes tight, dislodging tears as her shoulders shook with emotion. “Yes,” she squeaked out.
“Yes?” Roman asked, lifting her chin with his finger. “For real? You’re saying yes?” he asked louder.
She laughed thickly and swallowed a sob. “For me, it was always you, too.”
Roman swallowed over and over as he slid the ring on her finger, and then he pulled her in tight. Mila could hear the clicking of the camera. He’d done this so sweetly, at a place that meant so much to her, in front of the people she loved.
For the rest of always, she would never forget how utterly happy she was in this moment.
One by one, the others came and sat on the ledge beside them—the Wolves of Winter’s Edge.
On her right was her best friend, her mate, her fiancé, her future husband…her entire future. And to her left was Blaire, Gentry, and Asher, all staring out over the snow-covered hills with absent smiles on their lips.
Without warning, Asher tossed his head back and gave a long, low, haunting howl. Gentry joined, then Blaire. Roman was watching Mila, and he smiled knowingly as the urge to join them bubbled up inside of her. He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly, and then he arched back and howled, too.
Asher was calling something from her, some instinct to sing with them that was impossible to resist. So she didn’t. She let off a howl with the four rogues who had made their way into her heart and encouraged her strength.
She let off a howl of joy for what she’d found in a town that had been immersed in darkness.
She let off a howl with her mate, her best friend, her Roman.
She didn’t know what would happen as alpha, but she wasn’t a Bone-Ripper anymore.
Mila was a Wolf of Winter’s Edge.
Up Next in this Series
Asher (Book 3)
Coming January 2017
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For new releases, exclusive sneak peeks, and giveaways, sign up for T. S. Joyce’s Bear Shifter Romance Newsletter HERE.
More Series from T. S. Joyce
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Blackwing Defender (Book 1)
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Wolf Bride (Book 1)
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For More Books by this Author
Visit www.tsjoyce.com for a full reading list.
About the Author
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.
T. S. Joyce, Roman (Wolves of Winter's Edge Book 2)
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