Page 10 of Secret Guardian (Fated Mates Collection #4)

One Year Later

It’s been one year since Jane passed away, but her sacrifice, her love for her pack, is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

And on today’s anniversary, I’m visiting her grave to give her some news.

They say Jane loved babies more than anything, and it broke her heart that she could never have one.

So, as I sit crisscross by her grave, like I have so many times before, it’s a sweet relief to say the words.

“Aarick and I are going to have a baby,” I whisper, as I brush some wayward grass off her headstone. It’s a double headstone. Sam will be buried beside her when his time comes. “I just thought you should know because they all say you would have been the best grandmother.”

I pull out the ultrasound photo from my back pocket. “We’re having a girl. I told Aarick we should name her after you, so we’ve decided on Janie. I…I hope you’ll be okay with that.”

A breeze swirls around me suddenly, sending the grass clippings flying, and I smile up at the sky. “They said you already had your name picked out for when you became a grandmother. So when we talk about you, we’ll use it. I promise, GramGram.”

“Are you ready?” Aarick calls from behind me, and I turn to see him making his way up the hill, already shirtless.

“Ugh, do we have to today?”

He offers me a hand, and I hold my growing abdomen as I stand.

“You know exercise is good for you. And little Jay.”

“Fine.” I roll my eyes. “Did you bring clothes for me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he reassures me, showing me the pack tied to his leg. “Now let’s go.”

I obey—not because I have to, but because I want to—and we shift instantly, taking off at a run.

I still glance around me. I still lock the doors and stuff like that.

But I’m not as paranoid as I once was, because even if she’s no longer on this earth, I still feel as if I have a secret guardian somewhere, watching over me.

The End