Jaded Hearts
One

Kade POV

“I’ll go to the courthouse if you want, or the backyard, or an old dirty warehouse; just please for the sake of my sanity pick a place. Please!” I begged.

I’d proposed to my mate Morgan three months ago on her birthday and since then she has gone back and forth deciding where we would get married.

I was never the type for relationships or marriage; one-night stands were my go to every time I needed to let off some steam.

That was until she walked into my birthday party almost two years ago and turned my world upside down.

Deep brown hair that hung just past her shoulders, incredible bi-colored eyes one hazel and one chocolate brown, flawless olive skin and the most adorable freckles.

She was an angel, there was no other word to describe her.

Since that day there’s never been another woman for me. She became my air and my reason for waking up in the morning.

And now I really just wanted her to pick a place so I could make her my wife.

“Don’t rush me handsome. This is a big decision. I’m only doing this once; I need it to be right.”

“Sugar Bear! How long are you going to make me wait? This is torture,” I pouted.

I’d given her that name a while ago because it suited her perfectly.

She was the sweetest thing in the world to me, baked the most incredible pastries on the planet, and she was a bear, or part bear.

I used to think that bears were only good for one thing: fighting. I’d take my friends to underground werebear fights and revel in all the b***d and gore. They were huge and vicious and strong as hell; it was insanity.

I never dreamed my mate would be a bear, but not just any bear; she happened to be cousins with one of the best underground fighters I’d ever seen.

Correction: he was the best fighter I’d ever seen. I was still trying to beat him sparring and I’d been trying for more than a year.

“Why don’t you go somewhere and relax? I’ll replace the girls and see if they can help me figure this out. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like we’ll be old and gray before we finally tie the knot.”

She walked over and looked up at me with her sexy hypnotic eyes. I’d never get used to how it made me feel looking down into them; it made me feel whole and complete.

“We are getting married, as soon as possible. I promise, just give me the chance to decide what place works for us. I want someplace that’s important to both you and me, I want a spot that matters. Just let me replace it, okay?”

“Okay, if that’s what you want, I’ll step back and let you work it out. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life, I just need to make you mine forever.”

“I’m all yours and you are mine. Forever. Now get out, I’m pretty sure you’ve got a meeting with Xander to get to.”

“s**t! And I’m late, I’ll see you later,” I said as I rushed out the room and up to Xander’s office.

Luckily, we all lived in the same house and I only had to run up one flights of stairs to get to where I needed to be.

When I arrived, I walked in without knocking. At this point I didn’t know why he even bothered to close the door; no one in the house cared, we all just walked in.

“Xan, sorry for being late. What’s going on?” I asked and fell back on his couch.

“You’re my beta, you’ve really got to be on time at least once in your life.”

“I’m always on time, everyone else is just early.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, you’re coming with me to Oregon in the morning.”

“What’s in Oregon and why do I have to go?”

“The Canyon Woods pack, and because I said so.”

I just sighed and rubbed my eyes.

“What’s going on with Canyon Woods?”

“I’m not 100% sure. All I know is that Alpha Thorne has asked that all the Alphas and Betas who were in position four years ago and attended the Northwestern Wolf Summit that he hosted that year, return. I don’t know why, but we’ve never had any issues with him or his pack, so I don’t see a reason to not go and replace out what’s going on.”

“I was drunk for most of that summit, all the summits I’ve been to actually; you know I hate those things. I doubt I remember anything about it.”

“Either way, we’re going. It shouldn’t take more than one day, so we should be home sometime Saturday.”

“Alright, I’ll let Morgan know.”

“Any progress with the wedding plans?”

“Nope. But I think me pressuring her is making her panic, so I’m going to step back and chill for a while to see how things go. Marriage is a big step for her too, and I don’t want to stress her out any more than she already will be.”

“Good thinking. I’m sure between the four of them, the ladies can figure something out that will be perfect.”

***

Morgan POV

“I just don’t know. We’re not an average couple, nothing about our journey to get here has been ‘normal’ and I want to wedding to reflect that. Why is this so hard?”

“It’s really not, you’re putting way too much thought into it. Yes, a lot of planning and checking boxes goes in to putting a wedding together but picking a date or a theme or even a season shouldn’t be this stressful. What is the real issue?” Taylor asked.

Taylor had been my best friend since childhood. We grew up together and have faced every up down life has thrown at us together. I love her like a sister and now that she was married to my cousin, we were officially family.

She was also married to our Gamma, Matt. Two husbands, one wife; she was living the dream.

“There is no ‘real issue’ Tay. I just want it to be perfect.”

“It won’t be.”

I looked at her shocked, why would she say something like that?

“That’s harsh.”

“I’m not being harsh babe, I’m being honest. You can plan all you want, but something is bound to go wrong. When I married Matt, I ripped my silk negligee I’d bought for the wedding night before I could get it on and have him rip it off me. And when I married Tyson, a bird almost s**t on the officiant. It’s never perfect, and if that’s your goal you’ll end up disappointed.”

“My water broke before we could ‘K**s the Bride’, definitely not in the plans,” Alaia chimed in.

She was our Luna, the highest female in the pack and both Xander, and Alexi, our Head Advisor’s, wife.

Shifters had no problem with multiple mates and the Blue Moon pack loved love, it didn’t really matter to us how it was packaged.

“I get that, and if something goes wrong then fine. But at the very least, when I look back on the day years from now, I want to see the most beautiful location, a place that was made for me and him, a place that means the world to us.”

“I know I’m still new to the group, and I’m not married, but if someone asked me, I’d marry Henry in a shoe box. I’ve never been the type of girl to want a big event, just me and him is all I need,” Aires said.

“You’re a bridesmaid babe, your opinion matters whether you’re married or not,” I replied.

“Are you and Henry planning to get married anytime soon?” Alaia asked her.

“I don’t know; but I want to. He’s so good with Isabella and no other man has ever catered to me the way he does. He just worries about leaving the pack for a honeymoon or still being able to devote his attention to training while having a wife and child. He puts too much pressure on himself.”

“The pack is lucky to have him as our trainer, but he has to have a life too. We can’t let him put it on hold for us, I won’t allow that to happen,” Alaia replied.

As the Luna, if anyone could get Henry to take a step back and enjoy his life with Aires and their daughter, it was her.

“He’ll figure it out, just like I will. Marriage is huge; it doesn’t matter if it’s the wedding or life after ‘I do’, you just want to be sure you can do it right.”

Taylor walked over and wrapped me in a hug.

“You and Kade are two parts of a whole, and you’re going to have an amazing marriage. When things start to get stressful and you feel overwhelmed, just focus on that. Focus on your love for him and everything else will fall into place.”

***

“Besides the trail, what is in Oregon?” I asked when Kade told me about his upcoming trip.

“I’m guessing people, cities, grass, trees, dirt; the usual s**t all states have.”

“Clearly, but why do you have to go?”

“Something to do with a summit Xander and me went to years ago. I don’t remember it, so it’s a waste of time for me to even go, but Xander is adamant. Canyon Woods is half our size, but you still don’t want to antagonize or disrespect another pack unnecessarily.”

“That’s smart. Just keep your d**k in your pants while you’re gone please and thank you.”

He walked over and grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against his naked chest.

His body was a work of art; covered in intricate colorful tattoos that I loved to run my finger along. Add in his always messy dirty blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, he drew women in like moths to flames.

It’s what helped him get all, and I do mean all, of the girls before we met.

“My d**k only comes out for you Sugar; you already know this. Me being in another state won’t change anything.”

“I know, I just wish there was a way that others could know it,” I replied.

Because I wasn’t a wolf, and my bear genetics made it too dangerous for Kade to try to turn me into one, I was unable to mark him.

To wolves, being unmarked makes you fair game and having him gone for the first time made me nervous. Shewolves would smell him a mile away and who knows what they would do to try and get him.

He gently held my face in his hands and rubbed his lips across my cheeks, kissing my freckles.

“Just make sure when we do finally get married, you get me a badass ring. Maybe one with flashing lights and traffic cones letting the ladies know that I’m spoken for and to keep their distance.”

“I have no idea where to even replace one of those, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Don’t worry about anything Angel; it’s only one night and I’ll be right back home with you on Saturday.”

“Okay. Now let me finish packing your bag so you can leave on time in the morning. You know Xander hates to be late, especially when traveling to other packs; it makes us look bad.”

“And this is why I’m marrying you; you keep me in line and keep me from tarnishing Blue Moon’s good name and sterling reputation. What would I do without you?” he asked.

“Obviously nothing; you’d be late and miss everything.”

I walked into the closet and began pulling a few items from the hangers. I had no clue what he was supposed to wear, but I figured a clean button up shirt and a nice pair of jeans should do the trick.

As I was placing the items in his garment bag, he walked up behind me and put his hands on my h**s.

“Let’s have a baby.”

I stopped what I was doing and turned around to face him.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. You know I love kids and I love you. So, let’s make a baby, I want to be a father to your child.”

He pulled my shirt over my head and began kissing down my neck, making me shiver.

“Wait! We can’t make one now, what about the wedding?”

“What about it? All I know is I’m getting this body of yours naked and burying myself inside it; now. Do you have any objections to that?” he asked.

“N-No, no objections.”

He skillfully removed the rest of my clothes and tossed them aside; it was then that I noticed that he was already naked. He had this all planned out before he even stepped into the closet.

“I didn’t think so. So, do you want this slow and gentle, or fast and rough?”

I bit my l*p and narrowed my eyes at him.

“What do you think?”

A deep growl passed his lips and he lifted me up, slammed my back against the wall, and thrust into me in a skillfully executed move.

Fast and rough; this man knew what I liked and always delivered.