Emlyn is home again, and still moving to Canyon Ridge to be acting Luna for Cohen.
I can’t watch them leave, so after tearing myself away from Emlyn and Leander, I walk as fast as I can to my car. I’m about to pull out when Cayd jumps into the passenger seat beside me. “Hang on, big bro. I’m going with you.” I turn and look at him. “I’m going back to Shadow Falls.” “Yeah, me too.” He says, giving me a typical Cayden smirk. I shake my head and start the car. It’s good to have Cayd back. He catches me up on our way back to Shadow Falls. I’m shocked to learn how many different ways Emlyn has tried to break the Guardian bond and I’m thankful none of them worked. If any one of them had…I can’t even think about what would have happened if they had. I pull off a couple of exits before the exit to Shadow Falls. “Where are we going?” Cayd asks. “Emlyn and Little Leander need a new car, so I’m going to get one and take it to them tomorrow.” “Good. It’s about time you stepped up.” “It’s past time. But she’s willing to give me a chance to prove to her how serious I am,
I’m nervous to see Richie this evening. I’m not sure how to interact with him now. Everything used to be so easy for us, but now, it’s just awkward. I’m helping out in the kitchen, making sure that the meals will be ready for the pack when I see Emerson heading to the front door. I look at the time and I know that Richie is here. I walk out in time to hear the end of their conversation. “Emlyn invited me for dinner, Emerson.” “I’m aware. She’s willing to give you another chance, Richard. Do us both a favor and don’t fuck it up. I won’t forgive you a second time.” “I have no intention giving Emlyn or anyone else a reason to doubt my love and commitment to her ever again.” “Welcome, Richie. Come on in.” I step up and say. I’ve had enough of my brother’s Alpha posturing. I invited Richie here and while I understand his need to protect me, my issues with Richie are just that. Mine. “Leander is sleeping right now, but he should be up soon.” I gesture for him to come inside, and he gi
After dinner, Emlyn puts Leander down. Or, she was trying to before Aunt Grace came in to hold him, stealing him away and telling us not to rush back. “Maia was desperate for a run after having each of you.” She tells Emlyn. “Go. Enjoy your run.” It’s been a long time since Finley has run with Morrigan. She is thrilled to be back in her wolf form as she races around the pack lands yipping and howling her happiness. Each time she howls, I hear the answering howls from not only her pack, but mine and Cohen’s as well. Morrigan pushes Finley and we’re running hard to keep up with her. When she’s finally had her fill, she slows down, finding the lake on the Safe Haven territory and stopping to drink, panting happily. Finley, I can tell, is just as tentative about approaching Morrigan as I am about approaching Emlyn. So he slowly walks toward her and when she turns and looks at him, he lays on his stomach and crawls over to her. She watches him but doesn’t snarl at him to stay away. She
When we arrive at Canyon Ridge, I let Richie get Leander out of the car seat as I walk up to Cohen who is waiting for me. “Rich isn’t going to try to fight me for you, is he?” He whispers in my ear as we hug. I chuckle. "I don’t think so, he’s on his best behavior right now." Richie walks up behind me. “Cohen.” He nods his head in greeting. “Hey Rich. Long time, no see.” I frown, they just saw each other a couple days ago at the council meeting. “Here, take Leander, I’ll get your bags.” Richie says. “Need some help, Rich?” Cohen asks him. “She’s moving in Cohen, what do you think?” Cohen snickers before turning to me. “You’re on my floor, last room on the right.” He says before moving off to help Richie with my bags. I walk in, saying hello to everyone. They all seem very excited for me to be here. I’m excited to be back in a Luna role. It feels right and since I was meant to be Richie’s mate, I was also meant to be a Luna, so it makes sense. I head upstairs, chatting with so
“How do you want to handle this, Emlyn?” Richie asks me. He had told me that Gwen was in the cells, where she has been since he realized what she had done. “Is she still alive?” I ask. “Unfortunately.” Richie replies. “Let’s call an all-pack meeting at sundown. She didn’t just hurt us, Richie. She hurt your entire pack.” “Our pack.” He clarifies. “This was meant to be your pack too, Emlyn.” I don’t argue. “You should consider inviting the warriors, sprites and omegas that left because of her. She hurt all of them as well.” “I’ll call Emerson right now and ask him to let them know.” He pulls a phone from his back pocket and calls my brother. I go to move off his lap, but he holds me in place. When he’s finished, he mind links his patrols to let them know that we may have visitors, our previous pack mates, this evening. He then sends an all-pack mind link, requesting everyone to meet in the training field at 5pm. I look at my watch. That gives me a few hours to get Leander settl
When I hear Gwen screaming for me, I feel the pull of the spell. I immediately go to Leander, holding him against me and taking a deep breath of his scent. Since he’s nursing so frequently, he constantly smells like bourbon-soaked peaches, sometimes it’s stronger than others. Right now, it’s strong and it’s exactly what I need to ignore the pull of the spell. I bury my face against his body, breathing deeply. It isn’t long before I feel a surge of power wash over me. Suddenly, it feels like a fog is lifted from my body. If I thought my son’s scent was strong before, it’s nearly overwhelming now. I can smell him clearly and Emlyn’s scent is all over him, her peach smell so much stronger than I’ve ever smelled it before. And I know that Gwen is dead. I breathe a sigh of relief as I stand up, heading down to see my mate. As I walk down the stairs, there is a lot of chatter from the pack members. It smells like Emlyn had the twins plan a feast, whether she meant it to be a celebration or
Richie stands up immediately, pulling me from the chair. He hooks his fingers into my leggings and pulls them down, kneeling in front of me. He removes my shoes then taps my leg. “Step out.” He says quietly. When I’m naked in front of him, he runs his nose along my inner thigh, purring. He stands, lifting me and wrapping my legs around him, taking me to the bed. He lays me down gently, before removing his shoes. “Do you want me to leave my clothes on, Emlyn?” “Shirt off.” I’m not sure how much restraint I’ll have if Richie is naked, and we still have things to work through. But my body is screaming for him. It feels like forever since I got to enjoy his touch. He does as I ask, removing his shirt but leaving his pants on. He climbs on the bed, settling himself over top of me, laying between my legs before brushing his knuckles over my cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Emlyn Grace.” I know my eyes roll back into my head. He hasn’t called me Emlyn Grace in months. I always loved the soun
I knew this was the first night that Emlyn could get a break from feeding Leander, so I took it upon myself to listen for him. I’m not used to the sounds my son makes, so while I would fall into a deep sleep, as soon as he made a noise, I would jolt awake. And, since I know my time is limited with both of them, I’m going to take advantage of the time I have. I can sleep after they go back to Canyon Ridge. Okay, that’s a lie. I’ve barely slept while they’ve been gone. I’ve gotten more sleep in the one day Emlyn has been here than I did all three days combined since I saw her last. I take Leander into my closet and notice that Emlyn’s scent lingers here because of her clothes. I’m hoping she leaves them. I’m hoping that this space feels like a place she wants to come to every day, a place where she can be with me and Leander. As I pull the shirt and jeans I plan to wear today off the hanger, I think about last night. Her scent has lingered on my face and hands. I dread her leaving and
Hello everyone, Thank you for being on this journey with me. Emlyn and Richie's story wrote itself in my head and while it wasn't meant to be the first of the next generation books, it pushed it's way forward. I know this book went through some emotional roller coasters, so thank you for sticking with it. Because it was the first in the series, I gave glimpses and hints of the other stories that I'm planning to write. Lily and Aolis's story is next up. I'm going to take a break for the rest of the year, but early January, be on the look out for Enchanting the Prince. I know some of you mentioned wanting to see more of Lily's strength when Emlyn was in Araphrya, but my focus wasn't on Lily. You'll see plenty of her strength in her book and since we'll be in Araphrya, we'll get to see all sorts of fun, magical creatures. In addition to Lily and Aolis, I have a plan to write Xander and Maeve's story, Leana's story, and Cayd's story. I'm debating on Malin, Quinn and Riley. I may do a gr
“Momma, why are we going into the city?” My son asks me. “We’re going to see Uncle Xander, Aunt Maeve, Uncle Cayd and Aunt Madelyn. The humans decorate the city this time of year with pretty lights, and they have a park where you can play in the snow, they have hot chocolate and they give away candy canes.” I tell Leander. “But you can’t say anything about being an Alpha or a werewolf son. This is a human city, they don’t know about us and we want to keep it that way.” Richie adds. “Why Daddy?” Briella asks him. I look at him. It’s a lot to explain to a two-year-old. “Well, pumpkin, humans can’t do a lot of the things that werewolves can and they get jealous.” “Like what?” Leander asks. “They don’t have wolf spirits and because they don’t, they can’t shift, which means they can’t hear or smell or see like we do.” “That’s terrible. What a boring life.” Leander says. “We think so.” Richie tells them, laughing. “Oh, and they’re not as strong as us, so be careful if you end of pla
Two years later “Daddddeeeeeeee.” I watch as my daughter races past me arms extended to her father, her sandy blond curls bouncing around her face as she runs. From the moment she was born, she was a daddy’s girl. Richie reaches down and scoops her up. “What is it, pumpkin?” “Lender won’t pway with me.” She hasn’t quite gotten Leander’s name down as she tells her father why she's upset. I turn and watch my three-year-old son walk into the room. He may look like me, but his swagger is all his father’s. I’ve seen him watching Richie and mimicking his walk and he has it down. His arms are swinging out to his side and away from his body, like Richie’s. Unlike his father, Leander doesn’t have the muscle tone to cause his arms to push out the way Richie’s do, so instead it looks like a cute attempt to look like a grownup. “Dad, I can’t play with her, I’m busy doing Alpha stuff.” Alpha stuff? I roll my eyes. My son is three, the only ‘Alpha stuff’ he has to do is stay healthy and grow b
Several months later Life is perfect. My mate is pregnant with our daughter, our son is happy, healthy and very active, and our pack is thriving. While my father is still assisting Xander with the business, he seems to be taking it in stride, along with on-line classes, having a mate and a pre-made made family all at once. While that nasty witch Levana hasn’t bothered the pack again, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been causing Maeve, and therefore, Xander lots of problems. He knows that if he needs anything, the pack will be there. Leana has taken her place at the council. I think she’s finally accepted her mate. She had to have a long discussion with our mother about it, but not unexpectedly, our mother was understanding and supportive. While we were fighting our battle with the packs, she was busy fighting a war with the vampires. I didn’t realize how far reaching the discontent with the Guardians had become, but in hindsight, it makes sense. All supernatural beings who break our l
I feel so much better. In that moment the she-wolf said ‘mate’, I was terrified. But after Richie spent time calming me, letting me open my presents from him, confirming that we’re mates, I feel better. I feel like I’m ready to celebrate! Richie doesn’t leave my side. We walk around, talking to our family and pack members. Everyone notices the necklace and the watch, and he smiles at me as I tell them all that one was my gift from last year and one was my gift for this year. As we all move into the dining room for the dinner feast that has been prepared for me, Richie walks me to our seats, but rather than sit, he waits for everyone else to take their places. “Family, friends, pack members. Today we celebrate one of the most amazing women I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. And that’s saying something since we all know our packs are full of Guardians.” Everyone laughs at that. “We’ve all had a rough year, none worse than Emlyn.” He pulls me too him, wrapping his arm around me a
I know Emlyn is nervous about her birthday. I can feel her nearly constant anxiety through our bond. I love always knowing what Emlyn is feeling or if something is wrong. So, I knew this birthday was causing her stress. I also know, she has nothing to worry about. There is no way that history will repeat itself. It can’t. We’re marked and mated. I want her to realize the past is in the past. And unlike last year, I want to finally give her the watch I had made special for her. It’s been in my drawer for a year. And this year, I had a necklace made for her too. I didn’t want a birthday to go by without getting her a special gift. I don’t ever want to miss celebrating these special moments. However, I nearly cancel when she starts getting sick. I was terrified that I had underestimated her level of stress, even with our bond. Once I realize she’s pregnant and the similarities from last year are making her stress even worse, I make a point to push a calming aura to her even more freque
If I’d thought that Richie and I needed time to reconnect, our time on the island was exactly what we needed. We made love, swam, made love, ate, made love, slept. Finley chased Morrigan, Finley caught Morrigan, Morrigan chased Finley and they each marked the other in wolf form, solidifying our overall bond. The weekend was amazing, and I didn’t want it to end, but we both had to get back to the real world. We still have a pack to run. When we get back, Richie schedules an official Luna ceremony, having me take my oath again in front of the pack and having them swear their loyalty to me. It’s not necessary, the pack has already recognized me as his mate and their Luna, but he insisted that we make it official in front of the entire pack. Afterward, we begin to fall into the same pattern we used to have. Richie and I always made a great team. The pack is again running smoothly and before I know it, I’m planning a party for Cayd’s going away. He will be starting college and like Xande
This week has been exhausting. If I thought the funerals for our pack members and those of Safe Haven were difficult, listening to the stories of a great Alpha and Luna was gut wrenching. Listening to everything Alpha Anders did, most of which was before I was born renews my passion and desire to be the best Alpha I can be. I know I can be that man with Emlyn by my side. But in order to do that, my mate needs to wear my mark. As soon as we’re home, I speak to my mother about going away with Emlyn. She is thrilled to be able to watch Leander, grumbling about having to fight Aunt Grace for time with her own grandson. I meet with Jackson, my Beta to ensure he’s prepared to run the pack in my absence. “It looks like Xander is going to remain in the pack, or in the city and continue to take online classes, so if you need anything…” “I have your dad, and both your brothers. Don’t worry, Alpha, I’ve got it covered. After the decimation of one pack, the dismemberment and absorption of anoth
It was nice to be back in Safe Haven, even if it was for a terrible reason. I hadn’t seen everyone since I went to Araphyra. While Richie spent time with Quinn, I spent time with Riley. It’s strange now that both of us are adults and mated. Clint obviously adores my sister and he’ll be a good mate. Her flamboyance seems to have become a bit muted. That could just be the funerals, but it feels more permanent. It feels as if Clint calms my sister. She and Quinn were already best friends, just like I was with Cayd, Cohen and Clint. So, it will be seamless for them to begin working together now as a team for the pack. I spend a few minutes with Clint, catching up and threatening him that he better be a good mate to Riley. “You know I will be, Em. I’ve always wanted to find my mate. And now I have and she’s my best friend’s sister. It’s perfect. She’s perfect.” It’s been a very sad couple of days and as Richie and I pack Leander into our car, I know today will be even worse. Alpha Anders