My eyes went wide and so did most of the crowd's. The fear that had been in the room a moment ago shifted into something different entirely, a collective stunned silence as every head turned toward me. I took a step back without meaning to, my mind catching up slowly with what had just happened.
He had declared me his mate. In front of the entire pack. Out loud, with no warning and no ceremony, after months of silence and distance and careful concealment.
Cel exhaled slowly, her tail moving in something between disbelief and giddy satisfaction. "He really just did that."
He really did.
