Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future
Chapter 220

Chapter 88

Kas's POV

I watch Bronx for a minute as he looks at himself in disbelief in the mirror. Then I quietly slip away to give him time to himself so he can process his new appearance. I sit on the upholstered bench in our closet room and take a few deep breaths. In the moment, creating a new eye for Bronx seemed like nothing. Our connection was stronger than ever and it helped me make his healing come to fruition, but now I feel completely spent, like the tank is empty. I can't let him know how much it drained me or he may want me to stay in the apartment instead of going downstairs for dinner.

I take a deep breath and look around at my clothing options. Lex tries to convince me to wear a low cut dress. She always wants me to wear a low cut dress. Much to her disappointment, I decide on a dark gray sweater dress and black leggings with ballet flats.

Bronx comes into the closet when I'm sitting on the bench to put my shoes on. I smile at the way his confidence seems to have skyrocketed in the last ten minutes. I have always thought he was the most handsome werewolf on the planet, bu now, with both crisp green eyes admiring me, I feel myself swoon a little more than usual.

"Let's not go downstairs," Lex purrs in my ear, "Let's stay up here with our mate."

"While I love the sound of it, Lex, we have responsibilities to the pack tonight."

"Such a party pooper," she huffs and goes to lie down in the back of my mind.

Bronx sits on the bench next to me and pulls me onto his lap. I allow my weight to sag into his chest, letting our mate bond soothe and recharge me.

'Thank you, Kas," he murmurs into my ear, "I don't even know how to begin to show you how much what you just did means to me."

I smile and wrap my arms around his waist, "Just promise you'll always love me. That's all I need from you, Bronx. I know things have been challenging lately. Knowing you're by my side has made it bearable."

"Forever, Baby. We're in this together, forever," he kisses my temple and holds me tighter. His embrace is warm and consoling. His energy is usually surges and wanes with an authoritative tone but now it feels fluid and reassuring almost as it is trying to match mine. 1

I wish I could stay right here in his arms all night, letting his energy feed my soul, but we need to get downstairs so he can give his speech to the pack, officially introduce our new pack members and my sisters. I let him get up while I watch him get ready, making small talk while I wait for him.

"Kas, what do we say to the pack about my eye?" he asks while he buttons his shirt. It's not an unreasonable question, but not one I am sure how to answer. Bronx is usually so sure of himself and rarely needs guidance on matters related to himself and the pack.

'Well, I guess you could say it's a blessing from the Moon Goddess? Technically, it is," I shrug. I hadn't even thought about what everyone's reaction would be to the major change in his appearance.

He nods and pulls his mouth into a little pout as he thinks about it, "I'll figure something out."

I watch as he goes to his drawer full of eye patches and pulls it open. He takes one out and holds it up to his shirt to make sure it matches before he slides it over his head. As soon as it's placed over his eye, he slides it back off and looks a me sheepishly.

'This is going to take some getting used to," he laughs, and sets it back in the drawer. I laugh along with him as he shakes his head in disbelief.

"Maybe we can donate a lot of those," I stand up and join him in front of the drawer of neatly laid out eye patches. I pick up the one I had made for him for our wedding, "Keep a couple as keepsakes?"

"I think that's a great idea, Baby. When Carly is back in the office tomorrow, I will ask her to look into it," he takes me by the waist and turns me toward him, "Are you ready to go downstairs? Ashley worked with Mrs. Miller on a special ment and everything. She said you're going to love it."

'Yes, I'm starving," I smile broadly, "Let's go!"

Bronx and I stand hand in hand, taking in the sights proudly. People are so busy talking and running around, they barely notice US entering the ballroom. There are beautiful red, white, and gold decorations all over the room. Pack members are bustling around with excitement introducing themselves to the former Silver Moon members. Some of the Manae have even started mingling and joining in on conversations.

From behind me, I hear a familiar little voice. I turn to see Hannah in a pretty pink dress, running up to me with a huge grin on her face.

"Luna! Luna! Guess what?" She squeals happily, jumping on her toes in front of us.

"Hi, Hannah! What's going on?" I smile, bending down to her eye level.

"Luna, met my teacher. She said I'm going to be a snowflake in the play. We're going to learn a dance and a song about wintertime. Are you going to see the play?" she is so excited her hands clap in front of her as she speaks. 1 I laugh happily, "I will definitely be there, Hannah. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Okay, good. You'll get to see how good of a dancer I am, Luna," she puffs up her chest with confidence.

"I can't wait, darling. Now, go replace your parents now. Dinner is starting soon. The Alpha has some announcements first, okay?"

"Okay, bye, Luna!" she waves and runs away.

'You are so good with the pups, Kas," Bronx places his hand on the small of my back and compliments me into my ear, "One day that will be our little one proud to tell you about being in the Winter Solstice play."

I lean against him with a smile, letting him kiss my forehead, "One day, Sweetheart."

"Alpha? Luna?" Ashley calls to US and comes running over. It's a little early for Halloween but, she has the cutest sweater with a jack-o'-lantern on her belly and script letters that say "Mommy's Lil' Pumpkin".

'Cute sweater," I giggle.

"Yeah, I don't think it's going to fit for Halloween, so I figured it's close enough," She doesn't look up from the screen of a tablet, "Bronx, according to Carly's notes, make sure your speech includes new pack member introductions, Kas's sisters introductions, and don't forget to mention temporary housing and volunteers to show new pack members around."

She finally looks up with a broad smile and falters. The look on her face changes slightly as she sees Bronx for the first time, then looks at me, then back to Bronx. We watch as her eyes get wider with recognition.

We look at each other and smile when she tries to form a sentence, "Alpha, your...how...when..."

"A miracle from the Moon Goddess through my beautiful wife," Bronx says to her. Don't worry, I will be adding that to my speech too." 1

"Do Milo and Reggie know? How about Lenora?" she asks, barely able to close her mouth from the shock of seeing Bronx with two eyes.

"Not yet, Ashley. Don't worry, I'll replace them and let them know before I make my announcements," Bronx reassures her. "O-okay," she backs away slowly, not able to take her eyes off of Bronx until she needs to and makes her way into the crowd. "She took that pretty well, I think," I giggle at Bronx who looks flushed.

He rubs his hand on the back of his neck, "For Ashley, yeah...I guess so. If that is everyone's reaction, this is gonna be really awkward for a while."