Page 63 of Secret Heart
I wrap my arms around her and crush her into me.
“You’re sure?” The words are hoarse.
“I’m sure, Triston.” She presses the words into the hollow of my throat. “But I swear if we get a shitty pack name, I will file the long ass forms to get a new one.”
I can’t help but laugh even as I cup her face and kiss her, long and hard.
Chapter Thirty-Four
BEAU
Penny squirms on my lap. I quietly hand her a new toy, trying to focus on the man across from us who’s setting a small stack of papers on the table. She squirms more insistently, and I let her slide down to the floor. She crawls a couple feet to the diaper bag and starts sifting through it, emptying it in calm and methodical movements. Emily sighs, and I squeeze her hand under the table.
“All right.” The Council staff is all business. “As you know, it can take up to two weeks for the entire process to complete.”
He grabs a small handful of pens and hands one to each of us. Then he smooths down his tie and adjusts the small tie tack that holds it in place. The small piece of silver is the Council’s insignia, an omega symbol with the alpha symbol nestled in the middle. It’s too small for me to be able to read the small words that are probably engraved in it, the Council’s full name. He clears his throat, and I uncap the pen.
“This first bit is a series of disclosures for Mr. Harding and Ms. Monroe,” he says. “They’ll serve as updated information for your profiles already filed with the Council.”
He pulls a few pieces of paper from the stack and slides them in front of Emily and Triston.
“If you’ll make sure all of the information on this page is up to date. If it’s not, please cross out what’s incorrect and write in the update.”
Emily scans the page and then signs at the bottom. Triston’s slower, quietly scratching out the address they have listed. His eyes flick over to me, triple-checking. I smile and palm his thigh. His smile is softer than mine, more intimate. It makes me want to find a quiet corner and kiss him until his cheeks are flushed and his scent surrounds us.
He guides them through the next few forms. I try to listen, but most of my attention is on Penny, making sure Emily and Triston feel comfortable focusing on the information the Council member is providing. She starts trying to open the wipes, and I quickly cross the room before she can make a larger mess that won’t be as easy to clean up. She pushes her lips into a pout as I take the wipes out of her hands and replace it with her bunny blanket.
“Dada,” she says. She grabs for the wipes. Instead, I offer her one of the small bars from the snack cube. She smiles and reaches for it. “Dada.”
“Mr. Pierce?” the Council member’s voice pulls my attention back to the table. “We’re ready for you.”
I settle back in the seat between Triston and Emily, grabbing the pen I’d left uncapped. He slides a form in front of me.
“Since you’re not officially registered with the Council given your designation, we’ll need to create a profile. If you’ll fill this out, I’ll be able to do that and then process your pack registration right afterward.”
I fill in the boxes with the required information and then sign the bottom. He takes it and sets it in a separate pile from the forms already signed. Then he holds out the last of the papers.
“This is your official pack registration. This is what will be held on file with the Council and will be provided if there are any concerns regarding pack information like proof of pack name.”
This form is longer than the others and on thicker paper.
“Some packs choose to frame it in the same manner as some couples put their marriage licenses on display. I encourage you to be intentional how you sign this in case that is something you’d like to do in the future.”
Emily signs it first, notating her designation next to her signature. Then I sign on the line below her, following the same pattern. Triston’s hand trembles as I slide the paper to him. Emily reaches across me, grabbing his elbow. He looks up from the form, his eyes wide with surprise that quickly melts into a happiness I haven’t seen from him much since he came back. Vanilla slowly weaves around us, and Triston relaxes entirely. His signature is more practiced than ours, probably from all the public events he’s done in the last two years.
The Council member smiles when Triston sets down the pen.
“Congratulations,” he says with genuine warmth. “Some packs desire pictures. There’s a small courtyard they often use, and we have a few photographers if you’d like to use them.”
“Yes, please,” Triston says without looking at either of us.
“Lovely. Let me make sure the courtyard is currently available and pull one of them.” He stands from the table and buttons his suit jacket. “The person in charge of confirming paternity should be here in the next few minutes as well.”
Then he leaves the small conference room. I immediately pull Triston into me, palming his neck and slamming my lips to his. Emily joins, too, her hands twisting into Triston’s hair as she runs her lips along his jaw and behind his ear. He shivers and then his hands are on us, running down Emily’s spine and cupping my cheek. We only separate when there’s a small doubleknock on the door. Triston’s flushed and Emily’s vanilla is so damn thick in the room.
The woman who walks in is dressed in dark jeans and a white lab coat. In her gloved hands are two cotton swabs, the ends covered in a plastic lid. She gives a small smile as she stops just inside the threshold, letting the door close behind her.
“Hi, I’m here to get the samples for the paternity test.”
