Meadow and Tate are on their way home!
I wake to warm hands rubbing over my arm and a purring vibration against my back. “Maeve?” Xander’s quiet voice says in my ear. “Mmm, yes?” “My parents are almost here with your siblings. Did you want to go downstairs to greet them?” I’m out of bed before he finishes talking. “Oh my gosh, yes. What time is it?” I say, looking around the room, realizing that I’m in Xander’s bedroom. “I don’t have any clothes in here.” “Your bags are right there,” he points to the bags by the door before heading to the closet. “We’ll move the rest of your things in here today or tomorrow. I quickly get dressed, brush my teeth and hair, realizing that my hair is a disaster and pulling it into a ponytail. When I step out, Xander is once again looking like a fashion model. “How do you do that?” “Do what?” he frowns, looking down at himself. “Always look like you just walked out of a fashion magazine?” I ask, heading for the door. “Good genetics,” he says, taking my hand. “Are they here yet?” I a
I walk Maeve to Rich’s office. I don’t know if Rich wants to meet with her alone but I don’t care, she’s my mate. Now that he’s getting things figured out with his mate, he needs to know that I’m going to step in if he has a problem with Maeve. Not surprisingly, Rich wants to know about the witches. “Have a seat, both of you,” Rich says, looking at me. ‘We need to talk. Soon,’ he says to me in the mind link. I nod before sitting next to Maeve. “Tell me about the witches. Xander said you heard they are moving against the wolves.” “Yes Alpha. I’m not exactly sure, but I know that the coven leader, Levana, was working with a wolf, possibly Alpha Wyatt. The woman who gained that information was murdered and then they came after me because they thought she had told me about it.” “How do you know Levana?” he asks her. “My parents belonged to her coven, but they left when she started dabbling in dark magic. Since then, her magic has gotten darker,” Maeve says. “How do you know?” Rich
After chastising my siblings, then hugging them for loving me so much that they put their own lives at risk, I made sure they went to bed. I know they are exhausted. I am too, but I know there is work to do and if there is a battle coming, I want to be prepared to help. When Xander finds me, he encourages me to get some sleep. “We can show Meadow and Tate around the pack lands when they wake up. That way, they know the boundaries and we only have to do it once. You’ll also be able to think better if you’re not exhausted. Just a couple of hours,” he says, curling up with me. I’m asleep in minutes. When I wake, I’m ready to get started. This pack has been nothing but loving and kind to me, well, besides Cecelia. If I’m going to accept Xander as my mate, which I’ve decided that I am, then I need to be prepared to help protect this pack. I need to get a feel for the area, where I may need to set up protections for pack members, where Levana would most likely attack from. We collect Mea
Maeve and I walk back to her spell room. “Do you think they’ll be okay with the sprites by themselves?” “Yes, it’ll keep them busy for awhile and give me time to get these protection spells started,” she says. “Do you think I need to warn Tate about licking Daphne?” I ask her. “Why would he lick her?” Maeve asks me, frowning. “I don’t know. The wolves are drawn to them and the sprites consider someone licking them to be claiming them as their mate.” “Well, licking is a wolf thing,” she say, smiling and walking to me, touching my face. “Right, Einar? You licked me the first time you met me. Was that you’re way of claiming me?” she asks my wolf, who once again throws me aside to speak to him mate. “I wanted to taste you. My claim will reside here,” he says, stroking her neck where we’ll put her mate mark one day soon, I hope. “You really want your mark on my neck, don’t you?” she asks him, stroking my hair and Einar pushes against her hand. “You’re mine. I want everyone to know t
As the evening goes on, I begin to get more and more nervous about tonight. It’s not that I don’t want to be with Xander and I know that he loves me. It’s just, well, it’s my first time and I don’t want him to be disappointed. What if I don’t do it right? As we finish our pizza, I watch Meadow and Tate showing Reagan our spell, explaining what we’re doing and how we’re going to do it. Xander comes over and runs his nose through my hair to my ear. “Why are you nervous?” I look up at him. “I can smell it,” he says softly. I shake my head. I don’t want to say anything in front of my brother and sister. “Hey! I have an idea!” Reagan says. “What’s that?” I ask. “A sleepover! Meadow and Tate should come stay at my house. Mom and dad won’t care.” She turns to look at them. “It’s more like living in a real house, which is probably more comfortable for you. And Cayd’s home, so we can have a movie night, make popcorn. It’ll be fun.” “Can we Maeve?” Meadow looks at me, excitedly. She has
I wake up, curled around my mate, my marked mate. My scent now lingers with hers and it makes both Einar and I relax knowing that other wolves will know that she is ours. “Why is Einar purring in my head,” Maeve says sleepily. “Or is that you?” and I can hear the confusion in her voice. “That’s Einar, he purrs much better than I do. He’s happy that you have our scent, that every wolf in the world will now know that you are ours.” I nuzzle her neck, breathing in her scent. “We’re possessive animals, it’s hard not to feel proud when we can show off our mate to everyone.” “How are you feeling this morning?” I ask, worried that, as a human, she may not have healed from last night. I know the wound on her neck is healing, but it’s still red. I need to remember that she doesn’t have wolf healing power. “Mmmm, warm, loved, cared for, happy.” Now I’m purring along with Einar. “Those are all very good things. But how about physically?” She shifts and I can tell it’s uncomfortable for her.
I head upstairs, trying to remember which room they put me in. A door opens and Cayd walks out. “Hey big guy,” he says to me. “Hi Cayd. Can you tell me which room I’m in?” I watch as he lifts his head, sniffing the air. “That one,” he says, looking at me. “Is everything okay?” I nod, not feeling like talking and worried that I’ll embarrass myself and start crying. I get to my room and close the door. I look around. Nothing here is familiar. There’s a loveseat in the room and I go to sit on it, pulling a small pillow into my lap and holding it against me. If Maeve is married, she’s going to leave. What if her husband, Xander, doesn’t like me? I’ve heard that animals in the wild kill the young of females so that they can mate with them and have their own children. I know I’m not Maeve’s child, but she’s been my only parent for three years. What if he takes her from me? Meadow is great, but she and I weren’t enough when we were on our own. I never felt safe, and Meadow is pretty go
After Xander leaves to go talk to Tate, Reagan, Meadow and I get the spells together and begin walking out of the packhouse. “Hi Penny,” Reagan says. I look over and see one of their pack mates. “Hi Reagan, hi Maeve.” “Penny this is Meadow. She’s Maeve’s sister.” “Oh, hello. What are you all up to today?” Penny asks. “We’re going to put protection spells up around the pack lands. Do you want to join us?” Meadow asks. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” she says and there is something about her, like she’s lost and hasn’t quite found her way. It’s a feeling that, up until I met Xander, I had become very familiar with. “It’s no bother at all, as long as you don’t mind helping with some spells,” I tell her. We walk outside and Meadow and I find the starting point. “Okay, Penny, you’re with me, Reagan, you’re with Meadow.” “What do I have to do?” Penny asks. “Just hold this for me,” I tell her, handing her the potion for the spell. Meadow and I stand beside each other and beg
Two Years Later “No, Einar is the strongest!” my daughter adamantly yells at Leander, standing in front of Einar who is playing with the kids. “No, Finley is the strongest!” Leander says back, both kids arguing that their fathers’ wolves are the strongest. Briella is riding on Finley’s back. Cyran growls low, coming to stand between them. Both Leander and Felicity look at Cyran then back at each other. “Grandpa Cyran is the strongest!” they both yell. “Get him!” Leander says and the two of them go chasing after Cyran while Finley teaches Briella how to stay on him when he’s running and Einar is just trying to keep his fur while Gale and our third child, Mena, tug on it. She was given a name meaning love, as my love for my mate continues to grow year after year and I know his for me continues to grow too. I stand on Angel and Liam’s back porch watching as the fathers and grandfather play with the kids. Angel comes out, carrying Emlyn and Rich’s third child, another boy that they na
One Year Later If you had asked me a couple of years ago if I was a family man, I would have told you, ‘One day, but not today.’ If you had told me that I would trade in a college campus and no responsibilities for a mate, a job and a family, I would have laughed in your face. And yet, all it took was me meeting my mate, a little slip of a witch, to prove me wrong. I finished my education, getting my degree and officially becoming Chief Executive Officer of Holstin Enterprises, Inc. We have expanded our operations into search and rescue because of the witches. So, now we have three arms of to the company. It not only works well for our company, but it also works for Maeve’s shop. She’s busier than ever and that doesn’t include the humans that come in to buy their witchy toys so they can pretend that they are witches. Word got around very quickly that, as the oldest Cross, Maeve was the true High Priestess of the Night Garden coven, so more and more witches having been coming to find
I’m up several times with my baby girl throughout the night, but every time I come back to bed, Xander pulls me to him, curling up around me and helping me fall back to sleep. In the morning, I wake up groggy, but Xander gets up and makes coffee while I drag myself to the shower. I bathe and there's a mug of steaming coffee waiting for me on the counter when I get out. I walk out of the bathroom in my bathrobe, drinking my coffee and I see Xander waiting for me. “Come sit,” he says, patting his leg. I look at him a moment, before walking toward him. “What happened?” I ask as I reach him, and he pulls me into his lap. He brushes my damp hair out of my face. “We found Levana.” “Where?” I ask, my mind instantly awake. “In your uncle’s castle.” I start to stand, but he holds me in place. “And she has a new coven, or maybe it’s some of the old coven, I’m not sure.” “How many?” I ask. “I don’t know the answer to that. She found the cameras and blew them out. One of the security te
After Felicity is born, we stay in the packhouse for another week, giving the family a chance to spend time with her but also giving Maeve and I a few days to adjust before taking her home. When we get home, it’s a very similar situation to being in the pack. Avery, Lynn and Penny all come by to say hi and hold Felicity, cooing over her and talking babies with Maeve. “You know, Xander, we should build a nursery in the building." Maeve says to me that night. "Penny and Avery are pregnant, we have Felicity, and Lynn has her two little ones. I’m sure there will be other babies as the wolves find their mates and the witches find their pairings. I’d feel better about leaving Felicity here while I’m working and I know Lynn would feel better about it too,” she tells me. So, I talked to my father and a week later, I bring her to the 12th floor, where the Holstin Enterprise offices are. There, we can hear loud music and banging in the offices on the other side of the floor from ours. “What’
Oh, how my life has changed in the year since I met Xander. I went from fearing for my life, struggling to keep my family together and still run a business to having a thriving business, an incredible mate, a family that is safe, and I now belong to a werewolf pack. It’s not official yet, Xander wanted to wait until our daughter was born. But Meadow and Tate both agreed and became official members of the Shadow Falls pack. Both of the were excited to have a low level ability to mind link, at least with the ranked members, and Rich's family. Today, I’m sitting on the back porch with Emlyn as she rocks her newborn. Rich and Xander put additional rocking chairs out here so super-pregnant women like me and young mothers like Emlyn could be comfortable and still be outside enjoying the fresh air. “How can I be so large, and uncomfortable but watching my mate sparring still gets me all worked up?” I ask her as we watch Xander and Rich spar each other. Xander is battling hard against his Ri
Before we leave the castle, we search the house, making sure that there is no one else there and that Levana isn’t hiding somewhere, unbeknownst to Laris. Once we find it empty, I have my team set up cameras and security, so we can watch and see if she returns. As soon as we’re back to the pack lands, I take Maeve in to see Dr. Teresa. She used a lot of energy and a lot of magic in that fight, not to mention getting stressed out about Laris Bevan calling the werewolves filty and blights on society. Secretly, I loved that my mate is acting so possessive. As a wolf, possessiveness is how we show that someone is ours, that we want them, claim them. So she basically told the entire room of supernaturals that I was hers. And while I was worried about her getting herself all worked up, it made me feel special. ‘You are special,’ Maeve says in my mind. My heads whips to hers where she’s lying on the hospital bed waiting to see Dr. Teresa. “You can hear my thoughts?” I ask her out loud.
Avery walks into the room as I’m digesting what Laris Bevan said. He’s my uncle and he hates my family. “What’s with all the dust?” Avery asks. “Vampire dust,” Leana says, looking around to make sure they are all dead. “And the witches?” she asks, looking at the dead bodies of witches scattered on the floor. “Maeve,” Leana answers her. Xander comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. ‘Are you okay, my little witch?’ he asks in the mind link. “For now. No guarantees later,” I tell him. ‘Einar and I are here for you, whenever, whatever and however you need us. Let’s deal with your piece of shit uncle and get home. Do you want me to interview him?’ ‘Would you do that?’ I ask him, so thankful for his understanding. I’m feeling overwhelmed, not only with the number of deaths that I just caused but also with learning that he’s my uncle and most likely at least partially responsible for the death of my parents. Xander kisses the side of my head and moves to crouch down in fro
All of the wolves were distracted by the scent of magic. Balls of magic were coming down on us like rain. But once Avery and Amir put the magical umbrella up, and we began racing inside. One we got past the scent of magic, we could smell their sickly sweet scent. It burns into our noses. ‘Vampires!’ Einar says to me a moment before snarling. The rest of the group begins shifting immediately. If the witches are attacking, the vampires will too and with so many humans, we can’t wait and risk their lives. I want to race into the castle with everyone else, but my mate and my pup are here, so Einar moves in front of her, guiding her into the castle. ‘Do NOT leave our side,” Einar and I say as one to Maeve. As we run, I feel her grab onto Einar’s tail. ‘I need to look for Laris Bevan, but I don’t know what he looks like,” she says, just as a ball of purple light comes hurtling at us. Maeve slams her magic into the light and I hear a witch scream somewhere close by. ‘Why are they with
The next afternoon, Meadow and I are in the shop with Jesse, who is now a permanent fixture in my life. I hear the bell on the door ring and Reagan walks in holding up a credit card. “Look what I got from Xander! Time to shop for our trip, Meadow!” she sings as she walks in the door. A moment later, Penny walks in behind her, frowning. I hear Jesse snarl and faster than I can see, he’s got Penny pinned against the wall. “JESSE!” I yell and I see Meadow’s hands light up with magic. Reagan turns to see what is happening, and she puts her hand up to us, telling us to wait. “Mate,” Penny says, looking at Jesse the way Xander looks at me, her eyes full of love. “Mine!” Jesse snarls, before his mouth latches onto Penny’s. Reagan quickly looks around, making sure the shop is empty of humans. For once, it is. “Oi! Jesse, take her to your place!” Reagan says, and I feel the pressure of her Guardian aura coming out. Jesse steps back, shaking his head as if coming out of a dream. “Oh, I