Bonus Chapter 13

His eyelids drop closed and squeeze tight for a moment. “Yes. I couldn’t do that without you knowing what you were getting into. I couldn’t hide this from you. Not after what that asshole did to you.” Cedar’s Adam’s apple jumps on a swallow. “I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you would reject our bond. Why wouldn’t you, though? I’m fucking broken.” He has grown rigid. “Not just because of my nightmares that I might end up killing you one day like I just did, but because of everything I’ve done, Violet. Because of the people I’ve hurt.”
For a moment, I’m taken aback. The easygoing Cedar I’ve come to see since I met him looks nothing like the unseeing fury look he had in his eyes when he was choking me. I can’t believe that even after everything he’s been through, he’s still smiling and being the wonderful person he is, not only to me but to my daughter. To his sister, to his nephew. To everyone around him. 
He had been sacrificing himself for his sister all these years, for Goddess’ sake.
“You should be running from me.” His gaze still refuses to meet my own, but he pauses at the sight of my neck. A deep frown knit his brows. 
“No.” I rest my palm against the side of his face, stroking the stubble on his jaw. Watching on as the tension flickers there for a moment before softening almost imperceptibly into the contact. “May I remind you that I need you and your chaos and your faults to match my own, Cedar. You did all those things, but it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t have a fucking choice!” I say fiercely.
“That doesn’t make me a good man, though.”
My chest tightens at his words. “Well, I say you are.” He’d done everything he had for the only family alive he had. “And I won’t hear anyone say anything different.”
He shakes his head. “You’re supposed to be disgusted, Violet. Horrified. I’m not a good man.”
I reach up and place my hand over his mouth, scowling. “I said no one was allowed to say you aren’t a good male, and I meant it. Not even you.”
He shakes his head before kissing the top of my head.
“I don’t deserve you, Violet. I don’t deserve any sort of happiness after everything I have done. And I’m not even ready to tell you all those things. I don’t know if I will ever be... I didn’t mark you before because I was afraid that if you knew the truth, you wouldn’t even glance my way again. I don’t deserve you, Vivi. But I want you. I want your love. I want it all. But I understand if you don’t trust me.”
I stare at him for a long moment. The soft shades of morning light begin to filter in. “You love me?”
“Of course I love you.”
I launch myself at him. “If I ever hear you say that again, Cedar Dove, I’m going to let Roxy bite your wolf’s ass. You hear me?”
He wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly.
“I don’t care who you were in the past,” I say against his neck, where I want to bite tonight and mark him forever. “That’s not who you are now. You’re a cocky bastard at times, utterly bossy at others, but you’re my fated mate. And I say you’re a good male.”
He cups my face with both hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my nightmares. I didn’t want you to have any more reason to... reject us.” A haunted look comes over his face. “My mate. My beautiful fated mate.”
That knot inside me is almost completely gone.
I place my hand over his. “I like the sound of that. I didn’t think I could be so happy and that someone could complete me as much as you do, Cedar.”
“That asshole was an abusive motherfucker. He didn’t know the treasure he had. He should have cherished you, Violet. Loved you. You are so easy to love.”
I look up at him, my eyes glistening with tears.
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that such a horrific thing that he planned to do to Allie led you to find me. Is it fair that I have happiness knowing my daughter’s father is dead?” I blink hard. “She blames me, you know... Lily blames me for staying with Jordan for so long without realizing that what we had was fake. Sometimes, I see some of Jordan’s evil traits in her. Lily doesn’t have a shred of fear or remorse of hurting someone else if she’s upset.”
“Hey, don’t think like that, Vivi. Lily is a good kid. None of this was your fault. We’re going to be a family now. And I think we better get going because otherwise, I’ll be late for her session.” He opens a wolfy smile. “I have a surprise for my girls later.”
Cedar leans in to kiss me. His lips have just touched mine when I hear the first growl. ‘I want my mate! I want to go back to the packhouse with his wolf.’ I still as I hear Roxy’s voice. Then I pull back and shift. Roxy deserves everything after putting up with me. 
Smiling, Cedar rubs the little white spot on Roxy’s forehead with his thumb. Then he holds Roxy against his chest as she rubs herself against him. 
A second later, Cedar shifts, and his big white wolf appears, his eyes locked on Roxy’s. His wolf leans in, pressing the small gray spot on his forehead against the Roxy’s bright white spot. A quiet understanding passes between them as my wolf closes her eyes, the touch speaking more than any growl or howl ever could, as sparks flood through her fur.
‘I can’t wait for his mark!’ Roxy tells me in my mind, and by the look on the Alpha’s face in front of us, neither can he.

🐺 🐺 🐺

“Well?” I ask, anxiously waiting for his thoughts. 
Cedar doesn’t answer; he looks around the place as if imagining exactly what it would be like. Like he could build it himself, I assume.
“The thing is...” I add that after his silence becoming too much to bear. “I love the packhouse. Really. But I don’t know if I can keep living there, Cedar. I want a place of our own. I need it.” I plead with my eyes.
Cedar takes a deep breath and then shifts his gaze from the space in front of us to my eyes. “I get it, sugar. But you know Lily will be a little sad about not living with Az anymore.”  
To say mildly. Fuck if I don’t know!
“She can sleep there whenever she wants, I’m not forbidding her—”
“Calm down, will you? I’m not judging you. But you do know that it has to be taken into consideration too. They’re used to living together. It’s not like they’ve been living apart since they met. Lily told me that when Az moved back to Summerville with Allie, it was really hard for her.” Cedar steps closer and grabs me by the waist. Goddess, he smells so good.
I sigh. “She’ll hate me even more.” 
Raising a hand to cup my face, he says, “Don’t think like that. I’ll be by your side. You’re not alone anymore.” 
I take a deep breath and smile. “Okay. So what do you think?” 
He looks over my head to the place behind me. After his training with Lily, we had breakfast with everyone, and then I went to take care of some pending issues at the nightclub in Ian’s office, but I couldn’t help but think about how I didn’t want to live in the packhouse anymore. 
Actually, this thought had been on my mind since I was out of the pack, but I only became even more certain of this decision when I returned to my bedroom earlier and realized that even with Cedar there, I didn’t want to continue living there. That’s why I called him to my favorite place in the pack. Around a cedar tree, there’s a great space that would be great to build a house. For us.
“Yeah, I think it can work,” he opens that charming smile of his. “It will be a bit expensive, but yeah.” He nods. A glint of joy shines in his meadow green eyes.
I bounce. “Yeah! Don’t worry about the money. I have plenty, silly!”
Cedar tenses, scowling down at me. “We’re not using *your* money to build our house.” 
“Well, why the hell not?” 
“Because I provide for this family.” 
I sigh, ignoring the butterfly dancing in my belly. “Baby, that’s horrible to say and so freaking old-fashioned.” 
“Don’t care.” He tightens his grip on my waist. “I’m paying for the house. You need something, I will get it for you. No arguments.” 
I blink several times. “Just because you say that doesn’t mean I won’t argue!” 
It doesn’t feel right not to work and contribute. I glance up at him, biting my lip.
For Goddess’ sake! *Does he know how much my Birkin purses cost?*
“You’re wasting your breath if you do,” Cedar says in his deep voice. 
I huff out a breath. “Well, what do you expect me to do with all that money then?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t care.” 
Goddess help me! “Cedar, I’m serious. You can’t just expect me to accept it.”
“Do you think I can’t support Lily or you, Vivi?” he asks in a low voice. 
The fucking male ego is sure a fragile thing. 
Before I can answer, he goes on, “I know I don’t have much, and I shared the money I inherited with Allie and Az, but I work hard, and I’ve been saving.”
“I know you can, baby. This isn’t about your ability to support me. Or Lily. But I can also support myself and you and Lily.” And it’s not because my family has money, I have a job in Ian’s nightclub. 
“I know you can. But you don’t have to. I have *plenty* of money for us, sugar. We don’t need to spend yours.” 
“But—” 
“Keep pushing me, and you’ll go back over my knee,” he growls. But the memory of me over his knees floods in my mind, and it does not sound bad at all. 
“Fine. Okay. Maybe I can set up a charity for orphaned children.” 
Yeah. That isn’t a bad idea. Cedar grabs hold of my ass and squeezes it. “Fuck. You’re perfect, sugar.”
Then he kisses me. Hard and fast. 
I don’t take offense to what he said. I’m finally coming to realize that this male is a real male. A real fated mate. 
Protective. Possessive. A bit gruff and arrogant but with a huge heart. Cedar doesn’t calculate every move and makes a decision based on what he thinks he would get out of something. 
Cedar genuinely wants to do what is best for the people he cares about. For Lily. 
For me.

🐺 🐺 🐺

I zip up the side of my pale blue silk dress below my arm. But I almost stop when I suddenly hear a loud growl as Cedar enters the room.
I squeal as he approaches me and pulls me into his arms. Slapping my ass, he says, “No wearing this teeny tiny dress in public. Too fucking hot in this stuff.” 
“Oh, really?” I ask, and he nods as he licks his lips, looking at my cleavage. “You should write a list of all the things I can and can’t wear,” I tease. Absentminded, he keeps nodding as eye-fucking me. “Then I can set fire to it and wear whatever the fuck I want.” 
Cedar growls, meeting my gaze again. “Got my work cut out for me, don’t I?” He slaps my ass.
I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck. As I get closer, I feel his hard cock. I swear to Goddess, that thing never come down. “Such a big bad wolf.” I grin. 
Jordan never cared what I wore—never praised me, never got possessive when I dressed up for him. And he definitely never growled about my skirts being too short. But Cedar? His heated stare alone makes my skin burn. His possessiveness is intoxicating. 
And honestly? 
I love watching him try to control himself. 
A few minutes later, we find ourselves in the heart of the pack’s territory—a peaceful park bathed in golden afternoon light, just a short walk from the main bunker. The air is warm, laced with the scent of fresh grass and something sweet drifting from a nearby bakery.
Beside me, Lily chatters nonstop to Cedar, her words tumbling out in an excited rush, barely pausing for breath. Her favorite pink strawberry ice cream is nearly melting, dripping lazily down the cone. She scoops up a spoonful, still mid-sentence, completely oblivious to the sticky mess she’s making.
I’m about to reach over when Cedar beats me to it. With a quiet chuckle, he leans in, gently dabbing her chin with a napkin. A smudge of strawberry ice cream clings to her skin, but she doesn’t even notice, too busy rambling.
Cedar’s touch is careful, almost instinctively, like he’s been doing this forever. My heart is so warm. For the first time in years, the world feels... soft. 
My ice cream arrives—a mountain of whipped cream and caramel drizzle—but my heart absolutely stops when I see Cedar’s smirk. Because in front of him sits one sundae. For two. With two spoons.
Goddess help me.
I’ve fantasized about this exact moment so much. Sharing dessert, stealing bites. And now, the way his eyes darken when our fingers brush, I realize that reality is so much sweeter. Literally.
I don’t even think. I just surge forward and kiss him, slow and sticky-sweet, tasting vanilla on his lips.
“Ew! Ewewew!” Lily chants, gagging dramatically.
Cedar just laughs against my mouth, then—because he’s perfect—pulls the crumpled bucket list from his pocket. Then he crosses off ‘Share an ice cream sundae with two spoons’ in green marker. Then, two more items, because earlier he had given me two flawless leaves—one deep purple, one sunset-orange—that he and Lily found during training. Cedar’d described them like rare artifacts: ‘The purple one is velvet, like your pussy’s skin. The orange? Fire. Just like your eyes looking straight at me. 
This male!
Yet, I treasured the pretty leaves. They’re so precious. He talked so much about these leaves after that, at this rate, I will have an impressive collection of aesthetically placed leaves in our new home.
“Oh, I left them in the car!” Lily’s eyes go wide, and she runs to where Cedar’s car is parked a short distance away. The sun’s going down, and a few people are hanging out in the park—some eating ice cream, others as wolves.
Frowning, I look at my daughter and then move my eyes to him.
“You will see,” he tells me with a tiny smirk. His left hand on my thigh doesn’t budge, not even when he leaned in to wipe Lily’s chin earlier.
“I bet you’re worn out from listening to her,” I ask.
His hand on my thigh tightens, his nails painted metallic gray glistening in the sunset. Even though he said he hated it, he refused to remove it.
“Nah. I could never.” He looks her way as Lily opens the car door. “Ten years of eating in silence... Now there’s a kid lecturing me about dinosaur facts.” He smiles. “I hang on every word.”
Good Goddess. Does he try to be this precious? Or does it just come naturally?
Then, a suave smile softens his lips as he peers lovingly at me, and a jolt spears down my spine.
Feeling my cheeks heat, I lean in and finish our ice cream sundae. 
“Here,” approaching us, Lily chirps, stretching her hand toward me, fingers sticky from melted ice cream. Nestled in her palm are three delicate bracelets—each one painstakingly beaded, their colors glowing in the sunlight.
I wipe my mouth, leaning closer. 
Pink, black, violet. 
Our names spelled out in tiny letters, surrounded by swirling stars, delicate flowers, and playful wolf paws. A crescent moon dangles from each one. The wind makes the charms jingle softly as she looks at them proudly.
“It’s so precious,” I breathe, running a finger over the beads—so small, so carefully chosen.
“Cedar and I made them together,” she announces, beaming at him. “Az is going to be super sad he doesn’t have one yet, but I’ll make one with him next! Then I’ll have two—one for you guys, and one for him. Oh! And Uncle Ethan and Auntie Allie should probably get one, too. And Ava! Or else they’ll—”
Cedar moves like lightning.
One second, he’s listening to her ramble, his expression soft. The next—his body slams in front of hers.
A sickening thunk splits the air.
My scream rips free before my brain even processes it.
Before I see the arrow lodged deep in Cedar’s eye, the shaft still quivering. It was meant for my daughter’s head.