“It’ll work,” he said. “We will make it work.”
Isabel pulled out of his embrace and continued walking until they reached a small clearing.
“You never answered me,” Tristan said.
She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. “I know.”
Izzy’s hands trembled as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She felt more than saw Tristan’s gaze upon her. It burned her flesh everywhere it touched. She heard him growl behind her.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“You mean you don’t know?” she asked.
Tristan’s long legs ate up the distance between them. When he neared, he whipped his shirt off and let it fall to the ground. His godlike beauty left her breathless.
“What now?” he asked, voice harsh.
Izzy wiggled out of her pants then automatically covered her stomach with her hands. “I’m a stress eater. I’ve put on a little weight since you last saw me.”
His eyes flashed with banked emotion. “You’re beautiful at any size.”
She blushed. “Yeah, well, you won’t say that if I continue my cookie dough affair.”
Tristan shed his pants and slowly approached her. He gently placed his hand on the small mound she’d been trying to hide, covering it. “It’s natural for women in your state to put on weight.”
She frowned. “My state?”
“Yes,” he said. “You’re with child.”
“I’m pregnant!” She didn’t mean to shout the news. “I can’t be pregnant. I’m on birth control, and we only had sex once.”
Tristan grinned. “With my kind, once is enough, if everything else falls into place.”
Izzy swayed. “This can’t be happening!” She glanced down at the small mound and touched it with trembling fingertips. “What am I going to do?”
“Is having my child such a bad thing?” he asked quietly, but there was no mistaking the hurt in his eyes.
Izzy took a deep breath, then took another. She quickly evaluated what she felt. Shock, check. Panic, check. Fear, check. All natural emotions when someone found out they were going to have a baby. The one emotion that she expected to feel was missing. Izzy searched again. Nope, she didn’t feel an ounce of regret.
“No,” she said, pressing her hand to his chest. “It’s not a bad thing.”
Tristan shuddered beneath her fingertips.
“What happens now?” she asked.
He flashed a quick grin. “We finish what we started.”
* * * * *
Tristan spread their clothes out on the ground then gently laid Isabel upon them. He’d never seen anything quite so beautiful in his life, and she was his.
He dropped to his knees at her feet and lifted her leg to tenderly kiss the inside of her ankle. Isabel sighed.
Tristan continued kissing her, taking care to avoid the areas she wanted him to visit the most. By the time he finished exploring every inch of her, Isabel mewed incoherently.
He grabbed her knees and gently parted her thighs, then settled between them. If he got any harder, Tristan was convinced he’d explode.
“Isabel,” he said. “Look at me.”
Her lashes fluttered, then their eyes met.
“You asked me about the bite earlier,” he said.
She nodded.
“If I do it again when I take you, it’ll have a different meaning,” he said. Tristan had her full attention now.
“What will change?” she asked.
“For starters, it will bind us together,” he said, knowing he was already bound to her with or without the final act. “So I need you to be sure, because there’s no going back once it’s done.”
Isabel bit her lip, and her brow creased. “What’s the rest of it?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“You said for starters, so there has to be more,” she said. “Tell me everything.”
Tristan hesitated. There was still time for her to change her mind. Tell him she wasn’t ready for this, for him, and there’d be nothing he could do about it. The thought of not being around to raise his child made him ache, but Tristan would honor her wishes—even if it destroyed him to do so.
“If I bite you again, while we’re making love, you’ll become like me,” he said, then braced himself for her rejection.
“I’ll become a wolf?” she asked.
Tristan nodded. Isabel spent her whole life fearing and running from the monsters in the world. The last thing she’d want was to become one of them. This was it. He prepared for the worst.
“Will our child be like you?” she asked softly.
His gaze speared hers. “Yes.” Tristan searched for any sign of disgust. There was none. “It’ll also be a reflection of you...just as I am.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Tristan brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “You’ve brought out my humanity. Made me want to be more human, so that there would be a place for me in your world.” He touched her heart. “And in here.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she kissed him tenderly. “Then let’s do this,” Isabel said.
“You need to be sure.” Tristan felt his beast rise. It wanted her, wanted their child, and it didn’t care if she agreed.
She caressed his cheek. “I am sure. I’ve had a lot of time to think during the last few weeks. It seems like all I’ve done is think,” she said. “The one thing that kept coming back again and again was you.”
“I will give my life for you and our child,” he murmured. “I will protect you both with my last breath.”
“You already have, Frosty,” she said. “You nearly died trying to protect us.”
“And I’d gladly do so again.” Tristan kissed her hard and entered her with one thrust. The feel of her tight channel surrounding him was like coming home. Isabel was his. And he was hers. Together they were a family.
Emotion welled inside him. Tristan looked away before she glimpsed the tears swimming in his eyes. It had been years since he’d had a family. Years spent wandering the country alone. Now Tristan had someone to come home to. Soon, he’d have two.
He placed his hand upon her abdomen and kissed Isabel lovingly. “Thank you,” he said.
“For what?” she asked, placing her hand over his.
“For loving me enough to say yes,” he said, then began to move.
Tristan made love to her, taking her body to new heights as he bound them together in the way of his people. He took her blood, savoring it for the gift that it was, then gave Isabel his in exchange. And when she fell apart in his arms and cried out in ecstasy, Tristan followed.
He’d follow her from this life into the next and anywhere else she decided to go. Because this human—ex-human—had stolen this wolf’s heart.
* * * * *
Epilogue
Tristan and Isabel sat in Sticks, waiting for Mindy and Nic to arrive. The dive bar was hopping. Tables had been pushed aside to accommodate the dancers. Even with the added space, they overflowed into the aisles, kicking up sawdust as they moved to the music.
“If they don’t get here soon,” Isabel said, “I’m out of here.” There was edginess to her movements as she scanned the crowd.
Tristan smiled and rubbed her lower back. “Hungry again?”
“Starving,” she snapped.
Isabel had eaten two hours ago, but her stomach was already rumbling again. He stroked her rounded belly. She’d deliver in another month—thanks to Weres’ short gestation periods. Until then, Tristan would fetch her whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it.
“They’ll be here soon,” he said, hoping it was the truth. If not, then he’d leave a message at the bar to meet them at the restaurant.
Isabel looked around the crowded barroom and sighed.
Tristan tensed. “What’s wrong? Is the baby okay?”
She touched his arm. “The baby’s fine. I was just thinking about Everly. She
’d never hang at Sticks, but she would’ve gotten a kick out of this place,” she said.
He squeezed her hand. “I wish we could help her, but there’s only been one wolf who has ever crossed into the Darkling world and lived to tell about it.”
“Where is he now?” she asked, a hint of hope in her voice.
Hope that he was about to crush. “He’s dead,” Tristan said, fighting back impotent rage. He wanted to do something to help her, something to make the situation better, but he couldn’t.
Isabel didn’t bother to hide her disappointment.
“I’m sorry, love,” he said.
“Me too,” she said, then glanced at something behind him. “Mindy and Nic are here.” Isabel pasted a smile on her face and wiggled her way off the barstool. She waddled across the room to hug her sister.
Tristan followed close behind, making sure none of the wolves jostled her. They gave her a wide berth, once they caught sight of him.
“Ready to go to dinner?” Mindy asked.
“I was ready an hour ago,” Isabel said.
“Guess that means you don’t want to stay for a drink,” Mindy said.
“Unless you plan to do a shot, then no,” Isabel said.
“Lookout! Pregnant cranky lady coming through,” Mindy shouted.
* * * * *
Nic waved to his friend, Lucien.
The bartender smiled and waved back. His jovial mask faded the second the couples left the bar. Lucien overheard Tristan and his bondmate talking about her friend, Everly. She had been taken into the Darklings’ world. He shuddered at the thought of a human being trapped there.
Tristan was right. There wasn’t much that could be done to save her. But he was wrong about one thing. The wolf that made it out of the Darkling world wasn’t dead. He was right here, hiding in plain sight.
Lucien knew firsthand the hell that existed on the other side. He’d barely managed to escape. If he hadn’t stolen a portal rune stone, he wouldn’t have succeeded.
It had taken months for him to recover his sanity. Months spent trapped between man and beast, raging against the darkness trying to envelop him.
He’d kept his past a secret from everyone, including his best friend, Nic. It had been safer that way—safer for everyone.
Once he’d recovered, Lucien vowed never to return. Not just because the Darklings put a price on his head, but because Lucien knew he wouldn’t be so lucky next time.
He pulled the black stone out of his pocket and ran his thumb across the runes etched into the surface. Dark magic snapped at his fingertips, making them tingle. Lucien shoved the rock back into his pocket. Why had he kept it? He should’ve gotten rid of the stone long ago.
If what they’d said was true about Everly, then she was running out of time and he was the only one who could save her.
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If you enjoyed Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan, LEND IT to a friend. All my books are lending enabled. If you really loved Izzy and Tristan’s story, then please consider leaving a REVIEW.
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Other Books by Jordan Summers
Dead World Series
Dead World Prequel: Raphael
Dead World Prequel: Kane
Dead World 1: Red
Dead World 2: Scarlet
Dead World 3: Crimson
Moonlight Kin Series
Moonlight Kin 1: A Wolf’s Tale
Moonlight Kin 2: Aidan’s Mate
Moonlight Kin 3: Nic
Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan - Coming Soon
Phantom Warriors Series
Phantom Warriors 1: Bacchus
Phantom Warriors 2: Saber-tooth
Phantom Warriors 3: Talon
Phantom Warriors 4: Arctos
Phantom Warriors 5: Linx
Phantom Warriors 6: Riot
Phantom Warriors 7: The Dark King
Phantom Warriors Anthology Volume 1
Phantom Warriors Anthology Volume 2
Phantom Warriors’ Box Set
Hawk’s Slave
Atlantean’s Quest Series
Atlantean’s Quest 1: The Arrival
Atlantean’s Quest 2: Exodus
Atlantean’s Quest 3: Redemption
Atlantean Heat 3.5
Atlantean’s Quest 4: The Return
Atlantean’s Quest 5: The Dark King
Atlantean’s Quest Bundle Volume 1
Atlantean’s Quest Bundle Volume 2
Lords of the Night Series
Gothic Passions
Rose’s Rapture
Various Standalone Titles
Tears of Amun
Heat of the Night
Paris After Dark
Private Investigations
Hot Shot
Off Limits
Sensational Six Box Set
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About the Author
Jordan Summers has thirty-one published books to her credit and has sold over 150,000 ebooks. She’s a member of The Horror Writer’s Association, International Thriller Writers, the Author’s Guild, and Novelist Inc.
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Twitter.com/jordanwriter
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