They rounded a bend and there in front of them was the cottage. Cassie found herself slowing her pace as she neared the small building, climbing the two small steps even slower and then staring at the door with trepidation as Bryan pushed it open.
Suddenly he swept her off her feet and twirled her around twice. She squealed in surprise. “Bryan! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Ancient human custom; carrying the bride over the threshold. I think it had something to do with warding off evil spirits or pretending that the female was being taken against her will.” He shrugged and spun her around again before kissing the tip of her nose and setting her down inside. “I just thought it would be fun to do.”
Cassie regained her balance and giggled. “Well, it was sort of fun, once I caught my breath.”
“Do you feel better now? Less nervous?” Bryan looked at her tenderly and she wondered how he knew. He cupped her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. “I always know how you feel. In my heart, in my head, we’re connected already and it’s only grown stronger these past few months. It’s not as clear as a full blood bond, but I know.”
“Why don’t I have that yet?”
“You do. You just don’t listen to it as carefully as I do and you still rely on your human senses more than your werewolf ones. But after tonight, we’ll be on equal footing.”
She looked at the floor and then peeked up at him through her lashes. “Will it hurt? When I bite you, I mean.”
He laughed softly. “I sincerely doubt that I’ll notice. I think there’ll be a lot of other things on my mind. And you likely won’t feel me biting you, at least not in a painful sense.”
“That’s good.” She inhaled deeply and licked her lips, not sure what to do next.
“This leather binding has to go. I have some scissors on the counter.” Bryan moved to get them, but Cassie stopped him.
“Don’t cut it! I want to save it as a memento of today. Let me try to untie it.”
“We can’t do that. It’s bad luck and signifies the couples’ bond isn’t strong enough. Cutting it off is the only way to remove it. It shows that only death can ever separate us now.” Bryan stared into her eyes as he spoke and Cassie felt herself being drawn to him as never before.
He took their bound hands and pressed them to his heart. “Nothing will ever separate us, Cassie, I won’t allow it. Not time or space. We might disagree and argue, but we’ll always be together. The fates predestined our bonding. Our wolves knew each other even before we met and when we leave this world, we’ll still be together.”
“Bonded for eternity?”
He nodded and raised her hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to it. “I will always love you, Cassie Greyson. No matter what. For Eternity.”
With tears in her eyes, Cassie twisted their wrists and pulled his hand to her mouth, so she could repeat the gesture. “And I will always love you, Bryan Cooper. No matter what. For Eternity.”