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CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
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The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FORTY SIX
I can smell breakfast cooking downstairs, but I don’t want to be around anyone right now. At least, anyone but Nash. And I think I should give him some space right now.I climb back into bed, burrowing myself in the blankets. I wish I could just go back to sleep and start the day all over again. I would stay in bed with Nash, and never run into Regan, and never decide to confront Nash about her nasty rumors.I can’t fall back to sleep, though, because raised voices outside catch my attention. The big picture windows in the master bedroom overlook the porch and the beach below, and I can sometimes hear it when people are talking loudly on the deck.I creep toward the window, curious. It sounds like Nash and another voice. I focus, using my shifter senses and finely attuned hearing. Nash is arguing with Regan. He must have run into her on his way out for a beach walk. “What did you tell her?” Nash demands. I peek out the window so I can see them, but they can’t tell that
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
Finally, I get hungry enough to want breakfast. I make my way downstairs to find Juliana, Amanda, and Greyson all sitting around the kitchen table. There’s a plate piled high with crispy bacon, and another with fluffy pancakes.“Morning, Sarah,” Juliana says, bouncing baby Samuel on her knee. “You doing okay?” Amanda asks. “Sounds like a rough morning.”I sit down, reaching for my own plate of bacon and pancakes. “Yeah...I was out on the beach this morning, and Regan came up to me, saying all sorts of awful things about Nash.”Amanda makes a face, then passes me the bottle of maple syrup. “Regan likes to create problems that don’t need to exist,” she says sympathetically. “I wouldn’t worry about anything she says.”I sigh, swirling my fork around in the syrup on my plate. “I wish I’d had that advice an hour ago. I decided to ask Nash about some of the things she told me, and he got really upset that I would believe her enough to even want to bring it up.”“That’s rou
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
I wander around the pack house for a while, looking for something to do, but my thoughts are consumed with Nash. I sense his return a little before lunch. Out the window, I can see him, walking back toward the pack house. Thrilled, I grab some sandwiches and sodas from the fridge in the kitchen and run down to meet up with him.“Hi, Nash,” I say, giving him a gentle hug. He looks exhausted, so I hand him a sandwich and a soda. “I was hoping we could talk about everything that just happened.”“Yeah, that would probably be smart,” Nash mumbles. He opens his soda with a loud fizzing noise, and we sit down on the sand, looking out over the ocean. “I’m really sorry, first off, for taking Regan seriously enough that I would bring that stuff to you first thing in the morning,” I say.“Not my favorite way to wake up and start the day,” Nash says. “I know, and I should have waited, calmed down, thought things through, and started a conversation in a nicer way,” I agree.
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FORTY NINE
We sit on the beach together in silence for a while. Then, Nash pulls me close and says “Thank you for telling me all that. I know you don’t like talking about this stuff.”“I’m glad you know, now,” I say. “I’m done keeping secrets.”Nash smiles, kissing me. “Actually,” I say, tousling his hair with one hand, “if you don’t mind changing the subject from our exes and all the pain we’ve been through, I have something completely different to share with you. And it’s happy news, I promise.”“Oh?” Nash raises an eyebrow in curiosity.“It’s the reason I was up early and out on the beach in the first place,” I explain. “I was going to do a whole announcement where I wrote it in the sand for you to see from the deck, but I can’t wait any longer to tell you. Nash, I’m pregnant!”His face splits into a huge grin. “Really!?”“Yes! Nash, we’re having a baby!”He shouts in excitement and nearly topples me over with a hug. We collapse onto the sand, cuddling and kissing, thr
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FIFTY
The day of the wedding, it’s sunny and warm. Juliana and Amanda help me set up a canopy out on the beach, and everything looks perfect. In wolf shifter culture, weddings aren’t always a big deal - mating and claiming marks are more important - but for the younger generations, especially those of us who grew up around humans, weddings have become a fun way to celebrate a couple’s connection.Inside the pack house, Amanda and Juliana help me get laced into my wedding dress. Layla helped us tailor it to accommodate my pregnancy, which is just beginning to show. As we’re finishing up with my hair and makeup, Greyson pokes his head into the room. “Hey, the guys and I just set up all the chairs outside, but it’s only enough for the San Diego pack. Should we be expecting anyone else?”I shake my head. “No, no guests coming from my side.”Greyson makes a sympathetic noise and shares a glance with Amanda before leaving. I sigh, trying to think about what a happy day it is.
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
I follow Arnold’s scent, slipping around to the side of the pack house to find him standing there, his hands clasped together like he’s nervous about something.“Arnold!” I cry, running to him to give him a big hug. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m glad you got my message, but I didn’t expect you to actually come!”“I am happy for you, Sarah, on the occasion of your marriage, but I actually came here for a different reason. Can we go inside and talk?”“Sure thing,” I say, curious about what he’s going to tell me. “Let me go grab you some snacks.”I send Arnold inside, then run down to the beach to pick up some grilled shrimp for him. Nash has started a beach volleyball game, and several people shout at me to come join, but I tell them that I need some alone time before rejoining the festivities.Carrying a plate of food and a glass of champagne, I head back into the pack house, where Arnold is sitting on the sofa in almost the exact same spot where Nash and I sat during the
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
When I tell Nash later about Arnold’s message of warning, he agrees with me that it’s concerning, but also that we shouldn’t leave the pack behind. We start training for battle with Greyson and his friends, increase security around our pack house and our San Diego territory, and do our best to keep an eye on any incoming threats.A few months go by, and all seems peaceful. I start to wonder whether Arnold was able to convince Malcolm not to come attack us. My belly grows bigger, and I know I’ll be giving birth any day now. Amanda and Juliana like to fuss over me, giving me advice about babies and chattering excitedly about potential names and how to ensure that my baby will become best friends with little Samuel.Speaking of Juliana’s baby, Samuel has started to walk, and he toddles around the pack house and the beach, making everyone smile at his bravery and his cute chubby cheeks. One afternoon, we’re out on the beach snacking on ice cream and watching Samuel run around cha
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
At first, I can hardly process what I’m seeing. A battalion of shifters, some in human form and others in wolf form, are surrounding our pack house, baying for blood. For an instant, I’m frozen to the spot, taking in the horrific sight. Then, I hear cries of alarm and shouts for help, and I spring into action.Completely forgetting about Regan and her nonsense, I race toward the house, shifting as I go. I see Nash, his golden brown fur flying and his sharp teeth snarling, as he fights against the first assault, defending the house. I see Miranda, her dark hair tied up in a no-nonsense military style bun, and attack her. She’s all rage and no strategy, flailing and fighting me, and soon I’ve tossed her far from me, seeing her land on her back in a cloud of sand. Even though I’m pregnant, I still feel as strong and fast as ever, and I push my way through the onslaught, biting and clawing as I search for Malcolm and the Rogers Lake Alpha. If I can take out their leaders, I hope, I
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The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED
Damian is a healthy baby, well loved, and by the time he’s a few months old, it’s obvious that Jasper and I don’t need to stick around in Serpent’s Creek. The mansion is nearly full to bursting with wolf and bear shifters excited to be part of this new family and to dote on the precious baby whose existence symbolizes a fresh start for everyone.Jasper mentions going home to Santa Cruz a few times before I’m happy about it, though. I tell him that Orsina could still use my help, or that there’s still some magic I want to learn from Clara. He sees right through my excuses, though. “Are you nervous and going back to live somewhere with those guys in the basement?” Jasper asks me one evening, sliding his hands around my waist to nibble at my earlobes as he asks. “Maybe,” I say. “Now that he’s not a rabbit anymore, and he’s seen me and spoken to me, and he’s already gotten out once -”“He didn’t get out,” Jasper reminds me. “We let him think he escaped.”“I know, but he th
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE
My eyes fall shut easily, after such a long day. But I don’t sleep very deeply. Instead, I get caught up in a long, complex dream.In the dream, I’m back in the celestial realm, standing in the same dungeon cage that Coello used to keep me in. Sterling is there, too, walking up to me with those piercing gray eyes and that familiar smile. “Hello,” he says. He leans in to kiss me, and I think that the bars will prevent him from being able to, but he just passes right through. I feel his hands on my face, his lips on mine, and he kisses me for a long time.When I open my eyes after the kiss, I’m no longer in the cage. Now, Sterling and I are standing on top of the massive tower where we found him, high up above the rest of the celestial realm. But when I look out, I don’t see the rolling, starlit darkness of the celestial realm. I see the golden yellow plains of Montana, the valley that stretches out around Serpent’s Creek.“Where are we?” I ask, feeling strangely dizzy.
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT
Clara and Zach arrive soon enough, and we all go careening up the mountain. With Clara behind the wheel, we get back to the house in record time. Orsina is sweating now, her breaths coming heavy and hard, and Zach has to help her out of the truck and into her room.“Can you shift?” Clara asks her, gently lowering the laboring mother down into her bed. “It’s so much easier if you shift.”“I think so,” Orsina says. She squeezes her eyes shut, holding her breath. It takes a few tries, but soon she’s a bear, curled up on top of the quilts in her bedroom.“Perfect, perfect,” Clara coos. “There you go, mama bear.”“Could that cause a problem for the baby?” Zach asks, hovering in the doorway. Clara asked him to bring towels, and he’s already brought twice as many as we’ll need, but he has yet another armful. I don’t even know where he’s getting them from, at this point. Even a mansion like this can only hold so many towels.“What do you mean?” Clara asks, her voice calm and unf
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN
When we call home to let Regan and Isaac know what’s going on, they’re thrilled to hear that Barrett is okay and that Zach and Orsina have a safe place to land. They tell us that Howling Wolf is doing amazingly well - after so many volunteers and friends came to help us with the battle, we’ve gotten tons more clients in the shifter world, and we’ve been able to hire a handful of new employees.Since they seem to have things well in hand, Jasper and I decide to stay in Montana. We set up in one of the westward facing bedrooms, next door to Zach and Orsina. Clara and Bennett take an upstairs bedroom, smaller but cozier and with more privacy. With Weston defeated and his supporters scattered after our Santa Cruz victory, the rest of the bear clan needs a leader and a place to stay. Through a peaceful process, Clara and Barrett become the Alpha and Luna for the bear clan. Bear clans don’t typically refer to their Alpha’s mates as a “Luna,” but Clara is a wolf, and the title just see
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX
“Barrett!” Orsina rushes to his side, laying a hand over his forehead. He lifts his head weakly at her voice, then his eyes spark with recognition.“Orsina…” he croaks, his eyes fluttering shut again. “Help…”Everything then happens in a flurry of activity. Clara sends everyone but Orsina out of the room, giving each of us specific directions. Jasper is sent to get a bowl of hot water and towels, I’m supposed to find a medicine kit under the sink in the kitchen, and Zach is told to go secure the perimeter of the house, especially the rear door.I return with the medicine chest in my arms. It smells familiar, full of the healing herbs and magical potions Layla often uses. It’s also got modern medical stuff like clean white bandages and stitching kits.Clara instantly sets about getting Barrett to sit up. She holds a glass of water to his lips, encouraging him to drink and take a handful of pills and capsules she’s picked out of the medicine chest. She works on Barrett fo
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE
We barely have time to process everything Clara has told us before she’s packing us a picnic dinner and ushering us out the door. We pile into her battered, ancient Jeep, which is almost definitely running more on shifter magic than gasoline at this point, and she heads out toward the mountains. “So, uh,” Orsina asks, after a bit of silence, “does that mean this is, like…you?” She rolls up her sleeve to show the tattoo mark of the wolf that appeared on her arm after the spirits from the carving gave their blessing.“It is perhaps an image of me,” Clara says in her cryptic way as she careens up the switchbacking roads. “Or, perhaps it is another manifestation of my spirit. There have been many over the years.”“What about your beloved?” Orsina asks. “The bear shifter you fell in love with. Where is he?”“That is a lovely question,” Clara says softly. “At times, we have found each other. At other times, our spirits have been far from one another. Since the curse took a deep
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FOUR
It takes Malcolm and Coello a little while to accept the reality of their new situation - that Malcolm is irreversibly bound to Coello, and that Coello is bound to us by virtue of some very powerful magic Layla cooked up for us. They snarl and fight, argue and wheedle, and even try to bust out of their chains by brute force. But nothing works. We’ve won. Malcolm and Weston are both banished to cells in the basement, very far apart to prevent them trying to scheme together. Maybe someday we’ll have another use for them, but for now, it’s a breath of fresh air to know that my biggest enemy, and the biggest enemy of my pack, are both completely neutralized. I had hoped that we would be able to relax and settle down for a bit now that this problem has been solved. In fact, we had a lovely day after the battle, with all our friends and volunteers and former trainees lounging on the beach and splashing around in the cool water.But something is bothering Orsina. She paces, agitate
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE
The Moon Rabbit doesn’t waste any time once Malcolm agrees to the binding spell. With quick, almost spider like hands, Coello spreads the stalks and herbs out on the rocky beach, fluttering them into complex shapes. I stand on my tiptoes, peering out from behind my hiding place. Coello’s form of magic is rough and brutish, nothing like the delicate work Layla does. But it does the job. Malcolm steps over the edges of the intricate shape Coello has created on the ground, and even I can feel the burst of intense magic that snaps through the air as the spell takes effect. “I look forward to having you in my service,” Coello says with a low bow. “For now, however, I must depart. Do enjoy your newfound power.”Malcolm smiles, flexing his hands like he can somehow feel himself getting stronger. Then the two separate, Coello sneaking back into the tree house before anyone catches him outside.I’m surprised, but not entirely so. Some of us thought Coello would try to get as far a
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO
The various wolf shifters staying with us to help out have been instructed not to speak with the Moon Rabbit, but to keep a close eye on him. Coello soon gives up trying to draw them into conversation and instead just wanders around the busy tree house, doing what he clearly thinks is subtle reconnaissance in preparation for his escape attempt. What he doesn’t know is that his ability to slip out of here isn’t going to be the result of his own careful cleverness. It will be perfectly engineered by me and my team, right down to the very moment. It’s early afternoon when we get the signal. We’ve had scouts placed in inconspicuous locations all around the forest and the town of Santa Cruz watching for any sigh of Malcolm or Weston. Sure enough, they roll into town with a huge entourage of bear shifters and werewolves. Our scouts say that they’ve set up a campsite near the beach about a mile south from our location, and that Malcolm is heading our way on his own, apparently to chec
