Chapter 47 Ginny
Leela stared at the smartphone Fennigan had just handed her. It felt heavy in her hand, not because of the device, but because of who she was about to call.
"She’s going to kill me," Leela whispered.
"She loves you," Fennigan corrected, "Make the call."
Leela dialed the number she had memorized since fifth grade.
It rang once. Twice.
"Hello?" The voice was tired.
"Ginny?"
There was a silence on the other end so profound it felt like the line had been cut. Then, a shriek that nearly shattered Leela’s eardrum.
"Lee?! Oh my god. Where are you? Are you okay? I called the police! I called the hospitals! I thought you were in a ditch!"
"I'm okay," Leela said quickly, tears pricking her eyes. "Ginny, listen, I'm safe. But there is so much I need to tell you. I can't explain it over the phone."
"Explain what? Where are you?"
"I'm... west," Leela said vaguely. "But I need you here. I'm getting... well, it's called a Marking Ceremony. It’s like a wedding."
"A wedding?!" Ginny screeched. "You’ve been gone for three weeks and you're getting married? To who? Did you join a cult? Lee, blink twice if you're in a cult."
Leela laughed, a wet, choked sound. "No cult. Just... family. But I need my best friend. Will you come?"
"I have twelve dollars in my bank account and my car is making a noise like a dying cat," Ginny said flatly. "I can't get to the grocery store, let alone 'West'."
Leela looked at Fennigan. He was already tapping on his own phone.
"Do you need money?" Leela asked. "Fenn can wire you some."
"Who the hell is Fenn?" Ginny asked, her voice sharpening.
"That's... something else I need to explain," Leela said.
Fennigan held up his phone to show Leela the screen. Transfer Complete.
"Check your account, Ginny," Leela said.
A pause. Then, a gasp that sounded like all the oxygen leaving the room.
"Lee... there are three zeros here. Who is this guy? Is he a drug lord? I'm coming to save you. I'm packing my pepper spray."
"Just get on the bus," Leela smiled. "We'll pick you up in town." she gave her all the information she needed to get there before hanging up.
Two days later, Fennigan’s black truck idled in the center of the small town square nearest the territory.
When Ginny stepped off the Greyhound, she looked ready for a fight. But when she saw Leela standing by the truck—clean, healthy, and glowing with a vitality she had never possessed before—Ginny dropped her bag.
They collided on the sidewalk. Ginny hugged her with a strength that knocked the wind out of her, sobbing into her shoulder.
"I was so scared," Ginny cried, muffled against Leela’s coat. "You just stopped answering."
"I know," Leela smoothed her friend's hair. "I threw my phone in a dumpster two states away. I thought... I thought I was losing my mind. I didn't want you to hear me crack."
"You're an idiot," Ginny sniffled, pulling back to look at her. Then she looked past Leela to the six-foot-four wall of muscle leaning against the truck.
Fennigan smiled, looking like a devastatingly handsome lumberjack.
"Hi, Ginny," Fennigan said. "I'm the drug lord."
Ginny’s jaw dropped. "Okay. I get it. I'd join a cult for him too."
For the next two days, Ginny stayed in the Pack House.
The culture shock was immense. She stared at the lumberjack type mansion. She stared at the wolves patrolling the perimeter. But mostly, she stared at Leela.
Sitting on the bed in the Master Suite, Leela explained everything. The runaways. The truck stop. The voices. The Elementals. About Fennigan was the boy from her dreams and they had actually been fated since they were children.
"So," Ginny said, processing, a half-eaten croissant in her hand. "You're a werewolf. But like... a super werewolf. And you can grow flowers with your mind."
"Basically," Leela nodded.
"And Fennigan is the Alpha. Which makes you the Queen."
"Luna," Leela corrected.
"Same thing," Ginny waved a hand. "And tonight is the wedding where he bites you."
Leela subconsciously touched her neck. "It seals the bond. It anchors the magic."
Ginny looked at her best friend. She saw the peace in Leela’s eyes—a peace that had never been there when they were sleeping on park benches or hiding from Leela’s parents.
"I'm happy for you," Ginny whispered. "Crazy as it sounds... you finally found home."
The night of the ceremony, the moon was full and blindingly bright.
The clearing behind the Pack House had been transformed. It wasn't just Blackwood wolves. Representatives from the neighboring packs—the ones who had accepted the Goddess’s ultimatum—were seated at long wooden tables. It was a gathering of peace.
Leela stood in her dressing room.
Her gown was a masterpiece. It wasn't white silk or satin. It was woven from a material that shimmered like captured moonlight. The fabric seemed to drift around her like smoke, translucent in layers but opaque where it mattered. It looked like she was wearing a piece of the night sky.
"Wow," Ginny breathed, standing in the doorway in a dark blue bridesmaid dress.
"You look magical."
"I feel magical," Leela admitted. She touched Elemental Stone, which was now showing through the fabric of the dress.
They walked down to the clearing together.
As Leela stepped into the circle, a hush fell over the crowd. Fennigan was waiting for her at the altar—a simple stone archway covered in vines that Leela had bloomed herself earlier that morning.
Damon stood between them, looking regal in his ceremonial robes. Jax stood beside his parents, looking sharp in a suit, though he kept tugging at his tie, looking bored.
Ginny took her seat in the front row, right at the family table, wiping her eyes.
Leela reached the altar. Fennigan took her hands. His silver eyes were burning with pride.
"Do you, Leela, accept the Wolf, the Land, and the Bond?" Damon asked, his voice booming.
"I do," Leela said clearly.
"And do you, Fennigan, offer your strength, your heart, and your life?"
"I do."
"Then let the mark be placed."
Fennigan leaned in. He brushed her hair aside, his breath hot against the junction of her neck and shoulder. He didn't hesitate. He claimed her.
Leela gasped, a jolt of pure, golden light shooting through the bond. The crowd erupted into howls—a chorus of welcome.
As the applause died down and the feast began, the circle broke.
Fennigan pulled back, licking the mark on Leela’s neck to seal it. He was grinning, high on the adrenaline of the bond.
But then, he stopped.
He looked over Leela’s shoulder.
Jax was standing ten feet away, next to Elana. He had frozen mid-step. His nose was flared, inhaling deeply. His bored expression had vanished, replaced by a look of absolute, stunned paralysis.
Jax turned his head slowly. He wasn't looking at the buffet. He wasn't looking at the visiting Alphas.
He was looking straight at the front table. Specifically, at the girl in the blue dress. He didn't walk toward her; He moved with a lethal grace that made the other guests instinctively lean back to clear a path.
Ginny sat frozen, a half-eaten shrimp puff in her hand. She watched the tall, terrifyingly handsome man in the suit—the one Leela had introduced as Fennigan's "Irish Twin," which Ginny assumed meant "Second in Command of the Cult"—march straight at her.
He walked right up to her chair, stepping into her personal space with an audacity that made her breath hitch.
Ginny stiffened as his face came dangerously close to her neck. He buried his nose in the curve of her jaw and inhaled deeply, a long, ragged intake of breath that sent shivers racing down her spine. Ginny’s brain short-circuited.
Ginny squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual. She tried to lean back, but there was nowhere to go. "What are you doing?"
Jax pulled back. His eyes were blown wide, his pupils dilated so much his dark eyes looked black. He looked drunk, but he hadn't touched a drop.
"You smell like vanilla," Jax rasped, his voice rough, like gravel grinding against silk.
Ginny blinked, her heart hammering against her ribs. She tried to summon her usual sarcasm.
"It’s called body wash," Ginny managed to stammer, "Target brand. Five dollars."
Jax shook his head slowly. He leaned back in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, his voice dropping to a possessive growl that vibrated through her entire body.
"No," Jax corrected her. "It’s called mine."
Thump.
Ginny didn't have an inner beast. She didn't have a wolf
But when he said that word, she felt it.
It wasn't just attraction; it was like gravity.
She looked up at him, breathless.
"Oh," Ginny whispered. "Okay."
From the altar, Fennigan watched the scene unfold, wrapping his arms around his glowing, wife.
"I think we're going to need another wedding," Fennigan laughed softly.
Leela rested her head on his shoulder, watching her human best friend stare at Jax with stars in her eyes.