Page 26

My world had been upended so many times in the past few hours that it felt like I was still spinning, half expecting another disaster to descend on us and turn my ecstasy to agony again.

My wolf was at peace, though, curled up and content in my chest as I ran my fingers through Julia’s mussed hair.

I hadn’t allowed myself to enjoy this feeling our first time, and it was another reason to add to the long list of why I was an idiot.

Julia’s body was warm against mine, her fingers soft against my face, her eyes shining. I frowned. I couldn’t feel any distress through our newly-elevated bond—quite the opposite—but it worried me nevertheless.

“You’re crying,” I said, reaching up to wipe away a tear that rolled down her flushed cheek. Julia shook her head before pressing a kiss to my chest.

“I’m just happy.”

“Okay. You’re sure? I’m not hurting you?” I hadn’t held back, overcome with the revelation that she was carrying my child. Even now, the thought made me twitch inside her, and she smiled.

“I can take you, Alpha,” she teased, sitting up to rock a little on top of me. With my knot still locking us together, I had no choice but to let her.

“God, yeah—yeah, you can,” I groaned. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Dropping one hand from her hip to the place where I disappeared inside her, my thumb started to rub small, soft circles against her clit.

“Stop it,” she gasped, her breath hitching. “It’s not like you can get me any more pregnant than I already am.”

“I can try.” I grinned, and she let out a breathless laugh as she rocked against my fingers.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it,” I countered, increasing the pressure of my thumb.

“Yeah,” Julia sighed, whether in agreement or pleasure, I couldn’t tell.

The next few minutes were lost to giving my mate yet another orgasm.

At this rate, we might never leave this spot, but I couldn’t say I’d object to that.

Never before had I been so wrapped up in something—in someone—that everything else fell away, but right now, all of Ferris could be burning, and I’d barely even notice.

“I think I’ve loved you for years,” I admitted, the words tumbling out entirely of their own accord. Julia giggled, sleepy and content, against my chest.

“Wow,” she said. “You are so bad at flirting.”

“I mean it,” I insisted. I may have been awful at showing it, but I’d loved her since our first argument: she was bold and fearless and utterly herself.

I’d been hers even before fate decreed that it was so, even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it.

“I think I just—I was so scared of what it would mean.”

It was shameful to admit how cowardly I’d been, but Julia only reached up to stroke my hair, her voice soft as she said,

“You didn’t need anyone else to worry about, I get it. You’ve already got so many people to care for.”

“It’s not a burden,” I insisted. She needed to know that. “Caring about you, it’s not a weight on my shoulders. I want you with me.” I placed a hand on her still-flat belly. “I want them with me, too.”

Julia’s hand came up to cover mine, interlocking our fingers.

“You know you don’t have to do everything alone, right?” she said. “I want to be there to support you, too. This is a two-way street, okay? You love me, I love you. We look after each other.”

“Did you just say you love me?” I said. I knew there was a wide, stupid grin on my face, but I could do nothing to make it stop, nor did I care to.

“Did I not tell you already?” she asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“No.”

“Well then, I love you, you asshole.” She dipped her head, planting a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose, and I tilted my head up to kiss her properly. Julia smiled against my lips, and I realized that I would get to do this every day for the rest of our lives.

“So you’re coming home with me?” I asked between kisses. Julia pulled away,

“The thing is, all my stuff’s on Lapine,” she pointed out, “and they’re still expecting me back sometime today. We should probably, you know, catch everyone up as well.”

She was right, of course. Caleb and Alyssa were expecting us this morning, and if Julia was going to make the move to Ferris permanently, she’d need at least a few of her things. It was the catching everyone up part of the plan that had my stomach churning.

“I see how it is,” I joked, trying to distract myself from the anxiety growing in my gut. “This was all a clever ploy to get me murdered by your brother.”

I’d really been hoping to ease Caleb into the idea of Julia and me being mates. Turning up with fresh claiming marks, not to mention Julia’s pregnancy, was more like throwing him in at the deep end.

“You caught me,” Julia said, smiling. Then, gently, “It’ll be fine. He’s your best friend; he’ll come around.”

“Yeah,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how much I believed it. Julia, however, seemed to have no such doubts.

“And if he’s a dick about it, then he’ll have me to deal with,” she declared. Her confidence was infectious, and I stroked her bare thighs as I said,

“You are very scary.”

“You’re damn right.”

It took another hour before we had collected ourselves enough to leave that spot. Talking turned to kisses, which turned to another round, and still, it was excruciating to separate enough to shift and make the run over to Lapine.

The morning was sunny and clear and warm, and it was so easy to let my wolf tumble and play with his mate as we moved onto Julia’s home territory.

There was no one to meet us at the bridge—my plan to radio Caleb and let him know when we were leaving had gone out the window that morning—so we had a few more hours to ourselves on the run to town.

Once we drew close, though, even my wolf grew hesitant.

He only knew that I was fearful, without understanding that there was no real danger.

Realistically, I knew that Caleb couldn’t really have objections to our being mated; fate was fate, after all.

Still, anxiety thrummed beneath my skin as we entered the town proper.

In an instant, Julia was at my side, nuzzling against me in silent support.

Her calm washed over me, and each step became easier.

We stopped first at Julia’s house, where we shifted back to human form to shower and get dressed.

Julia vetoed sharing the shower, since we were purposely trying not to turn up at Caleb and Alyssa’s house reeking of each other.

Once clean, Julia tossed me a pair of Caleb’s old sweatpants that she’d purloined, while she pulled a sundress over her own head.

The mark I’d left on her shoulder was proudly displayed, and while it made my wolf give a pleased, possessive purr, it also brought a fresh wave of nerves rolling over me.

“Having regrets?” Julia asked. Her tone was teasing, but I could see the brief flash of insecurity behind her eyes, so I pulled her close, kissing her.

“Never,” I said. “Just nervous.”

“It’ll be fine,” she reassured me for the hundredth time. She was probably right, but I couldn’t shake the stomach-churning anxiety that was constantly threatening to overwhelm me.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said, and Julia punched my arm playfully.

“That’s the spirit.”

The walk over to the Alpha’s residence felt like it took an age and a millisecond. When we arrived, the door was open, and Julia hesitated only long enough to squeeze my hand and press a kiss to my cheek before she strode in, calling out,

“I’m home!”

The sound of tiny feet hitting the wooden floors echoed through the house, and a pair of excited screams filled the air.

“Auntie Julia!” The twins were way ahead of their parents, barreling down the hallway and attaching themselves to Julia’s shins.

“Hey guys,” she said, her hands landing on their black curls. “Have you grown while I was gone? I think you’ve grown!”

They squealed in delight, with Emmy releasing Julia so she could stand up straight and show just how tall she was, while Jack hid his smile against Julia’s leg. She was so good with them; I couldn’t wait to see what she’d be like as a mother.

“Auntie Julia’s probably tired from her journey, babies.

Give her a little space, come on now.” Alyssa looked no less happy to see us as she and Caleb emerged from the kitchen.

It only took a few seconds for her eyes to widen as she took in our matching marks, and she quirked an eyebrow at Julia, who shrugged, smiling.

Caleb, however, was not smiling. His stern, aristocratic features—so like his sister’s—were fixed in a frown as his gaze flicked from me to Julia and back again.

Before he could say anything, Julia decided to take charge.

“There have been some developments since I left home,” she said, reaching out to take my hand.

“I can see that,” Caleb replied. His voice was even and calm, but there was tension in his jaw. He was consciously holding back, probably for the sake of the twins. I was not above using his children as human shields, so I took the plunge.

“So uh… we’re mates,” I told him, and for a moment, I was overwhelmed with Julia’s joy. I supposed this was the first time she’d heard me say the words out loud.

“And I’m pregnant,” she added. Maybe I’d been wrong: maybe this was actually an elaborate plan to kill Caleb. He certainly looked as though he might keel over from shock at any moment.

“You’re—” Caleb started, but then Alyssa’s hand was on his belly, stroking his abs gently as she cooed,

“Deep breaths, honey. You’ve got this.”

Caleb did as he was instructed, taking several slow breaths in and out, his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he looked marginally calmer, and his voice was level when he said,

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yep,” said Julia, popping the “p” as she met her brother’s gaze, unflinching.

“And he’s…” Caleb nodded toward me. The fact he wasn’t addressing me directly was not a positive sign.

“Yep,” Julia repeated. “Oh, and we’re married.”

“What?” Caleb looked more distressed with every fresh revelation. “I thought you guys hated each other.”

“You’re the only one who thought that,” Alyssa muttered, catching my eye and winking.

“I had to marry her to get her away from Arbor,” I volunteered. “It’s not really—I mean, it’s not really relevant, but we are. Also married.”

“I’m going to need so much more information,” said Alyssa, who was clearly trying not to grin, and Julia delivered the final blow:

“I’m also a witch.”

“You’re what?” It was Alyssa’s turn to be shocked, but this time it was clearly mixed with elation. “You have to tell us everything right now. Come on, come on.”

She swept Jack up with one arm and took Julia’s hand with the other, dragging her down the hall and into their living room, Emmy toddling after them. That left me alone with Caleb, and as ever, I could not find the right words.

“Look, Cal—” I started, but he was interested in my (probably awful) explanations.

“She seems happy, and that’s all that matters,” he said. Clearly, he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me, but that was something, at least.

“Don’t bother telling me you’ll kill me if I ever hurt her,” I told him. “Firstly, I’m really not planning on it. Secondly, she’d kill me first.”

That seemed to soften him, and he smiled for the first time since we’d walked through the door.

“You’ve got me there,” he admitted, moving aside so that I could step past him into the house. I heaved a sigh of relief as we followed the women into the living area, where Julia was already telling an enraptured Alyssa and the twins about the burgeoning of her magic.

I stopped on the threshold, just looking at her.

She was animated in the telling of her tale, her blue eye bright and her full mouth smiling around every word.

Everything might not be perfect—Caleb and I would need to debrief about the ongoing threat from Arbor—but it was far closer than I’d ever considered possible.

When I finally looked away from my mate, Caleb’s gaze was fixed on me, intent and searching.

He gave me a small nod and a smile before going to join his family.

We’d likely be here for a while; there was a lot of story to tell, and I was more than content to sit curled around my mate for the rest of the afternoon.

Julia reached out for me as I approached the couch, threading her fingers through mine without pausing her storytelling.

It was easy to drop a kiss on her shoulder as I sat down next to her, settling in for the long haul.