HYACINTHS'S POV
He'd said yes.
He'd agreed to my deal.
I couldn't believe it. I was going to have my freedom in a little more than a month from now! I was going to get to walk away and never look back. I wouldn't have to run from him anymore. I'd made him promise last night, swear on his life to stick to the arrangement once I was gone. He'd agreed. He'd sworn he wouldn't try to look for me. He would let me go. His only other condition of our arrangement was complete secrecy. The pack could not know about our agreement until it was over. He didn't want them to worry. I was fine with that.
I was getting everything I wanted, so why did it feel like a large part of my heart had been ripped out of my chest?
I pushed the feeling away. I couldn't dwell on it. I didn't have time. Most of the wolves were already gathered outside. Shockingly, they had pulled together all of the arrangements for our Announcement Ceremony in less than eighteen hours.
I looked out the window, down at the wide open expanse they used for Pack gatherings. The sun had gone down, and several fire pits were burning, and more than one hundred cut logs, spaced out in smaller groupings, for the wolves to sit on. Everything arranged so that there wasn't a central focal point, but instead all of the wolves milled around together equally.
However, for this celebration, a little area had been set up under the edge of the surrounding trees, with twinkling lights in the branches above and a large bench where Leander and I would sit. It was a relatively informal affair. Leander would say some words of encouragement, he'd announce the Claiming Ceremony, and then he'd place his Mark on me. After that, we would sit down to receive any gifts and words of appreciation from the wolves, while everyone ate, drank and talked.