Marked (Primal Obsessions #2) - Cara Wylde Page 0,51

to make this right. I needed to set things straight, so everyone would accept Rosalie as part of our community. So, the second I got home, I banged on Lincoln’s door.

“What do you have in your freezer?”

“What?” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you drunk?”

“No.” I grinned. “We’re going to have a barbecue. Everyone is invited. So, what do you have in your freezer?”

He laughed. “Plenty of stuff. You know I eat the most around here.”

I went around and told everyone they should prepare for the biggest barbecue we’d had in ages. Finally, I went to Brooks and Rosalie. As usual, his freezer was fucking empty. That was because Krista had always taken care of his food. But it didn’t matter. Everyone else had piled what they had in the middle of the trailer park, and while the males were making the fire, the females were preparing the meat, drenching it in grease and spices. It was going to be delicious. Lincoln had gone to get more things from the supermarket before it closed. We needed beer and wine. Maybe some champagne, too. I texted him to make sure he didn’t forget the champagne.

Two hours later, we were all gathered around the campfire, the barbecue ready and neatly placed onto large, round plates. We sat on the ground. Many of us had brought chairs out, and Brooks had brought one out for Rosalie, who had Milo on her lap, giggling and fussing about. The sense of community was strong, and I loved it. Seeing us all gathered around, eating and drinking together, chatting and laughing, made my heart swell. Lincoln was just handing Rosalie a plate, and she picked a juicy piece of meat. As usual, cutlery was optional, and I loved the fact that she had no issue with that. She just ate with her hands, and she was so sexy as she did it. She wasn’t fancy, she wasn’t pretentious… She just was. Beautiful, natural, genuine. Rosalie.

“Everyone, I need one minute of your attention.” I grabbed the bottle of champagne and stood up. They realized I was going to open it soon, and they started looking for glasses, so they’d be ready. When they settled back down, I cleared my throat and looked at Rosalie. “You came into our lives not long ago, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. And I know that Brooks and Lincoln feel the same.” They nodded, and Brooks even raised his beer. “I want you to know that you belong here. You belong with us.” I turned to the people around the fire. “And I want you all to know that Rosalie Olsen is our mate. My mate, Brooks’s mate, Lincoln’s mate. And from this day on, she is Milo’s mother. I hope that you can welcome her with the warmth that she deserves. She is here to stay.”

I wasn’t much of a speaker, but my words seemed to have an impact. Someone cheered in the back, and then more cheers exploded here and there. People started clapping, and before I knew it, the atmosphere changed from one of contentment and relaxation to one of pure joy. I could tell everyone was happy for us. I knelt beside Rosalie, and she wrapped her free arm around me. With the other, she still held on to Milo so he wouldn’t fall off. Not that he could hurt himself. She still had a long way to go until she was ready to accept that Milo wasn’t fragile like a human child.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “That was beautiful.”

I exchanged a glance with Brooks. He grinned at me and tipped his chin to the bottle I was still clutching in my hand.

“Forget about something?”

“Oh, right.”

I stood back up, opened the champagne, and everyone gathered around me with their glasses. I made sure to save some for Rosalie. Brooks and Lincoln hated champagne. In fact, Lincoln always said it was for girls. I didn’t care. I took a gulp right out of the bottle.

We partied until late at night. At some point, Milo fell asleep, and Brooks took him to his trailer. When he came back, he had his shirt off and he was working on undoing his belt. I saw Rosalie stare at him with wide, hungry eyes. She couldn’t help herself, could she?

“Let’s go for a run,” he told me and Lincoln. “Burn off the calories.”

Lincoln didn’t need to hear that twice. He started peeling off his clothes, not caring that we were