Page 27

Chapter 27

Love Actually

VANESSA

S tep one to my perfect life: land the acting role of a lifetime. Check!

Step two to my perfect life: marry the prince of my dreams. Check!

Step three to my perfect life: move into my brand new Hollywood Hills mansion. Check…CRASH!

“Oh dear, what was that?”

I race from the back door of my new home to the front, which isn’t an easy feat considering the amount of real estate I purchased. Well, technically Keenan purchased it, but I’m paying him back for half when my first big paycheck lands.

“What happened?” I wheeze, clutching the stitch in my side. Apparently, I’m willing to suspend my no running rule if it means my precious mansion is at risk.

“Nothing a coat of paint won’t fix,” Lennox says, mopping his brow while leaning against my purple couch, which seems to be wedged in the doorway. “You married rich, Vanessa. Why not replace this ugly thing?”

I run a critical eye over the couch. “Because it’ll keep me grounded as I rise through the ranks of the super famous.”

“Not a doubt in your head, eh?” He grins at me with approval.

Keenan slings his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me against him. “Why should there be any doubt? This woman is magic on film. You’ll see when the movie comes out.”

“Laz is in talks with Ashlyn Pierce about me having a role in her next period piece,” I announce, sighing contentedly as I press myself into Keenan. “What a whirlwind of awesome.” Straightening, I add, “Which is why I’m keeping the couch. It’ll remind me to stay humble.”

“Not sure humble is the word I would use,” Lennox grumbles, attempting to pull the couch through the door.

Keenan lends his strength to help yank it out of the doorframe. “It’s just as beautiful as Van…” He pauses and I pick up on the fumbling comparison in his head. “I mean I’m sure it’s as beautiful on the inside as Vanessa is.”

Lennox makes a gagging sound. “You two are disgusting.”

Keenan elbows him in the side. “One day you’ll find your mate, then you’ll be spouting all this romantic stuff.”

“If that’s what you want to call it,” he grumbles, but his demeanor changes, becoming more subdued. It’s subtle but I pick up on it. The more time I spend with Keenan’s twin, the easier he is to read.

After our wedding a few weeks ago, Lennox went back to work in New York. He doesn’t say much about it, but he’s a police detective and I know he and a partner are investigating a series of suspicious fires.

“You both look tired,” I say. “Why don’t you go sit by the pool and I’ll bring out some cool drinks?” A thrill goes through me at being able to say ‘the pool’. In the kitchen I prepare three glasses of lemonade, adding a fair amount of sugar to Keenan’s. My wolf has a sweet tooth.

As I step out onto the patio, I catch the tail end of Lennox’s sentence. “… connected to ASHRA but I don’t know how. I think it’ll be the key to getting to the heart of the organization.”

“What’s ASHRA?” I ask, setting a glass in front of each of them on the patio table before perching on the seat next to Keenan’s.

Lennox’s gaze is cool and professional. “ASHRA stands for the Anti-Shifter Human Rights Association. The organization is dedicated to separating the species and driving shifters into communes similar to Wolf-Haven but without the luxury of leaving.”

“Prisons,” Keenan adds grimly.

“That’s terrible!” I try to imagine Pinky being forced into a prison and shake my head. “It’s not going to work.”

“It’s worse than that,” Lennox says, taking a drink of his lemonade. “The somewhat reasonable ones want us in prisons, but the truly devout, the humans who believe shifters are an abomination, want to exterminate us.”

I look at Keenan, hoping he’ll deny his brothers words, but the lines around his eyes deepen and he refuses to meet my eyes.

“Won’t the shifters fight back?” My throat goes dry as I imagine Keenan having to fight.

“They will,” Lennox says, his gaze on his brother. “And there will be war.”

“Again,” Keenan adds.

We sit in silence, absorbing the grim reality of war, the heat of the afternoon sun no longer comforting as a shiver goes down my spine.

Desperation wars with anger as I ask, “What can we do? It’s only rumblings and a few fires so far, right? Surely we can stop a war before it starts.”

I dip into Keenan’s head and realize they’re both seeing the same things happening in our current modern-day society that led to the human-shifter war 700 years ago. The images in his head are like a newly opened wound. What used to be an old scar is now over-flowing with blood so vivid it makes me recoil.

I wrap my arms around him, trying to comfort him.

“We need to remember the past so we don’t repeat it,” he says gruffly, dropping a kiss on my head.

“Unfortunately, the memories of humans are short,” Lennox says.

“Not all humans are bad.” I defend my species.

Lennox smiles at me and I feel his mood lift. “Of course not. I’ve met and worked with some incredible humans. Incredibly brave people considering how short your lives are.”

“Like Charlie?” I ask and his eyes widen. I grin. “You think you’re the only one sneaking into heads? You’ve been splashing her name across your thoughts like a fourth of July sky banner.”

His eyes never leave me as he says, “Keenan, your human pet needs to mind her own business.”

I laugh, feeling good once more after a tense few moments. “Watch that mouth or you’ll be sleeping in the doghouse tonight.”

He pretends to cover a yawn. “You need to come up with some original jokes if you’re going to hang out with us.”

After we finish our drinks, I bustle around my new kitchen, preparing a feast while Keenan and Lennox continue moving the contents of my old apartment into the mansion. Of course my paltry belongings won’t fill up more than a few rooms, but I’ll worry about purchasing more stuff later.

I offered to hire a moving company, but the wolf shifter brothers insisted on doing it all themselves. I’m not complaining though. Glancing out the window, I see Keenan drag his sweaty T-shirt over his head and mop his brow. When Lennox does the same, displaying an equally impressive set of abs, pecs and biceps, a “Holy heck!” slips from my lips.

Keenan is the only man for me, but I’d have to blind not to see that his brothers are just as scrumptious. The only one I haven’t met is Fallon, and I must admit, I’m not upset over the fact. He sounds rather frightening.

I put the finishing touches on my creation, a three-tier, chocolate frosted birthday cake, and stand back to admire it when the doorbell rings.

“Who’s that?” Keenan growls heading for the front door.

I rush out of the kitchen, attempting to cut him off.

He grabs me around the waist and hauls me against him. “I’m security around here, you let me answer the door.”

He opens it, the line between his eyes deepening as he’s met with a chorus of, “Surprise!”

I go up on my toes and kiss his bearded jaw. “Happy birthday, Keenan!”

He looks stunned as he stares at Pinky, Laz, and Angel. Cherise and Calvin from the IHOP are standing next to them and Timothy and Toya are behind them, stretched up on their toes so they can see. “Rachel and Jessica?”

Jessica waves and holds up a bottle of whiskey.

“Birthday?” He looks down at me bewildered.

“Apparently it’s our birthday.” Lennox comes up behind us. “Your mate did some digging in the historical archives while you were in Wolf-Haven.”

“Today is our birthday?” Keenan looks so befuddled, I begin to think I’ve made a mistake. Am I wrong about the date? But no, the birth dates of each Wolven-North child are neatly entered into the city’s registry. Keenan and Lennox Wolven-North were born on October 17 th .

Maybe he hates parties?

Anxiety is about to get the better of me, but my mate reads my mind and picks me up in a bear hug, murmuring in my ear, “I’m just surprised is all. This is both unexpected and wonderful.”

Lennox squeezes my shoulder. “We haven’t celebrated a birthday since the war.”

So there are bad memories associated with their birthday. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interfere. I should’ve asked if you even wanted to celebrate before throwing a party. I thought since Lennox was here, it would be a good idea…”

Keenan presses his forehead to mine, his lips stretching into a smile. “A party sounds perfect, and it means the world to me that you brought my brother here to join the celebration.”

I blow out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “I tried to invite the others, but there’s too much going on in Wolf-Haven and Magdalene?—”

“Is still in the Shadow Realm,” Keenan finishes.

Someone clears their throat.

“Should we start the party out here on the porch or can us peasants come inside the mansion?” Pinky grins, taking the bite from her words as she pushes past us. “Would you look at this place? Is that a cupid statue on your staircase?”

“My friend Hailey has one.” I follow her to the marble statue, running my hand proudly over its wings. “She’s planning on coming by later. I can’t wait for you to meet her. You have lots in common.”

“Like what?”

“You can both fly.” I grin at Pinky.

We usher our guests out to the patio where I set up lanterns and spread out the furniture. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge of kitchen chairs, patio furniture and my purple couch, but no one seems to mind.

“This is all you,” Keenan says, slipping his arm around my waist as he joins me.

“What do you mean?” I glance at my guests, making sure everyone has a glass or a plate of food in their hands.

“You collect strays of every kind, pulling them into your orbit.” He nods toward the pool. Hailey Whitmore, who arrived shortly after everyone else did, is next to Pinky and Rachel, all three sitting with their feet in the water, beverages in hand, chattering like they’re old friends. “You bring people of every background together.” He pulls me to him and dips his head for a kiss, murmuring against my lips, “You create family everywhere you go.”

An ache starts in my throat and the background noise fades away until it’s only the two of us. “After my mom died, I was lonely. I searched for people who gave me the same feeling of home I felt when I was with her.”

“And you found them,” he says gruffly.

I snuggle into his chest. “I found them, and then I found you.”

We watch our party guests, laughing when Jessica shifts into her squirrel and starts juggling peanuts. At first a gasp ripples through the humans attending the party, then a few clap until the humans are cheering loudest at her antics.

Eventually Rachel joins, turning into her fox and diving into the pool for a swim.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Lennox says, joining us.

“This is what we fought a war for,” Keenan adds. “This is what we need to protect.”

“We will,” Lennox agrees, his lips pressing into a grim line.