by Zoe Chant
Epilogue
Violet
Jana’s hands were tucked behind her back—she was hiding something. “I got you a housewarming present.”
With a flourish, she produced it. It was a little plant, one of those transplants you could pick up at Home Depot. Violet had often gazed longingly at them, things she didn’t have room for and couldn’t grow. This one looked like a tiny pine tree with multiple stems.
“It’s rosemary!” her sister explained, exuding excitement from every pore. “Remember? From the pie?” She was watching Violet, waiting with bated breath for her response.
“Of course I remember.” Violet pinched a leaf between her fingers and took a sniff. A warm, woodsy scent wafted out. A familiar scent.
“Bruce said you were starting a garden in the back, so I thought I’d get you something.”
“It’ll be the first thing I plant,” Violet promised. Her eyes stung as she hugged Jana. Every little thing was making her emotional these days—even, apparently, plants. She blamed the hormones.
“But,” Violet added, putting on her stern big-sister voice, “you should not be thinking about getting me presents. You should be recovering from your surgery!”
It had been three months since Jana’s kidney transplant—three fear-filled, love-filled, rollercoaster months. The doctors had given Jana the all-clear; the surgery was completely successful, and her baby sister was looking better than she had in a long time.
Jana rolled her eyes. “They let me start lifting things heavier than ten pounds weeks ago,” she said, with the long-suffering of the put-upon.
“Okay, so it’s probably two ounces soaking wet,” Violet conceded. “But it’s my prerogative to worry about you. Come on, come inside.”
It was the dead of winter, so everyone was gathered inside around the fire in the den. The room was warm and cozy, filled with people she loved and who loved her.
Bruce caught her elbow gently as she passed, and she turned to tuck herself into his side, laying an absent kiss on his shoulder.
“Jana got me a rosemary plant,” she said quietly, holding it up. “I’m trying not to cry. I hate crying.”
“I solemnly swear that if someone starts humming that Sarah McLachlan song, I will take them out,” her husband promised, stroking her back.
Just thinking about those stupid sweet little dogs and the accompanying sad guitar chords almost turned on the waterworks, to her consternation.
“Everyone’s here,” she said, nudging him. “Shouldn’t we make our big announcement?”
Bruce cleared his throat, and everyone hushed—not completely, but enough for it to be noticeable. Violet took a moment to admire how effortlessly in command her husband was as the alpha of his clan.
“So this isn’t just an ordinary family gathering. Violet and I have been married for six months now, and we have an announcement to make.”
Before he could continue, a voice came from the corner of the room. She wasn’t sure who it belonged to. “You’re going to have a baby, aren’t you?”
Silence fell throughout the room, followed by a nervous titter.
“Oh, let them make their announcement,” Ava reprimanded, but a smirk played at the edges of her mouth as she looked between them.
Bruce looked outraged that his thunder had been so thoroughly stolen. Violet took one look at him and burst out laughing.
“Sorry, sweetie.” She stroked his arm, trying to contain the giggles. “Yes, I’m pregnant,” she confirmed to the room.
Someone whooped, and there was a smattering of applause and cheering. Ava came up to Violet and hugged her. Violet tried not to spill dirt on her.
Ava’s eyes were suspiciously misty as she pulled back, taking Violet’s hands in hers. “A grandchild, can you believe it? Oh, Violet, I’m so excited for you and Bruce. And for me, too,” she added with a trace of mischief.
“Thank you, Ava. I’m excited, too.” Her mother-in-law’s approval meant a lot to Violet. Bruce had told her about Ava’s initial discontent with their marriage, about how she’d arranged for them to join another clan, but that seemed to have disappeared in the months since the wedding.
“Don’t let me forget”—the older woman held up a finger—“I have to tell you all about Bruce when he was a baby. There are certain pictures you simply must see. One of them involves a trampoline.”
“Mom …” Bruce said, while Violet giggled.
Ava tutted, cutting him off, and waved them away. “Now you two go enjoy the party.”
They did. Later, when it had quieted down, Violet took the rosemary plant and looked for a suitable window. South-facing, where it could get some sun. It couldn’t be put outside yet, not before the danger of frost was over. There was a perfect spot in the room they had decided on for the nursery, on the windowsill. Violet set it there and ran her fingers over the leaves.
The familiar fragrance made her smile. The plant was a touch of color against the gray, wintry sight outside. A green thing, a new thing. Violet ran her hand over her stomach. She wasn’t starting to show yet, but she would soon.
The door creaked behind her. Bruce slid his hands around her waist.
“A penny for your thoughts?” he offered, brushing a kiss over her hair.
She laid her head against his shoulder. “If you’d told me six months ago that today I’d be married with a baby on the way, and that I was excited about it … well, I don’t know what I would have said, but it wouldn’t be nice.”
Bruce’s chuckle ruffled her hair. “Are you ready to rejoin the party?”
Violet considered this. “Are there any more fried pickles?”
“There better be. I had strong words with them about leaving some more for you.”
“Then I’m ready.” With her mate, she was ready for whatever came her way. Even the lack of fried pickles.
A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list.
Please click on the title to write a review of The Billionbear’s Bride. I love hearing what my readers think! It helps me decide what to write next.
Page down to read a special sneak preview of Loved by the Lion.
The cover of The Billionbear’s Bride was designed by Augusta Scarlett.
More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant
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Kodiak Moment. Workaholic wildlife photographer + loner bear shifter + Alaskan wilderness = one warming and sensual story.
A Pair of Bears. One lonely cat shifter + two sizzling hot bears who want to share + a whole lot of action (in and out of bed) = one wild and sexy adventure!
Bear Watching. BBW park ranger + bear shifter smokejumper + a lonely fire-watcher's post = one red-hot fire between the sheets!
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Loved by the Lion
by Zoe Chant
Special Sneak Preview
Cole couldn't keep his eyes off her the whole night. He watched her eyes sparkle as she told jokes and laughed and smiled, seeming perfectly at home with his family. With his pride. His lion purred at the thought of Kira as part of the pride.
Across from him she leaned to the side to talk to Marlene over someone else's head, her slim hand curled around the beer he'd given her. Her top pulled against her skin, and he imagined the skin underneath, smooth and flawless, that he could run his hands over and squeeze.
If only there weren't so many people around! Cole knew if he could just get her alone . . .
She caught him looking, flicking her warm brown eyes to his. The edges of her mouth curled just so when she did, before she was called away by someone else. Internally his lion snarled a little, put out by her attention going somewhere else.
The thing was, she didn't even seem to know how beautiful she was. That was a damn shame.
And it wasn't just her physical beauty, either. She was no ditz: smart, competent, kind. If she were a lioness, Cole knew instinctively and without a doubt that she would be an alpha like him. The other members of the pride responded to her in the same way they did to him, with that instinctual understanding of who was in charge, the kind of deference that couldn't be faked.
Since his mother had died, there had been no woman leading the pride. Everything was on Cole's shoulders. He didn't mind the burden, but for the first time in years he thought of what it would be like to not be the only one carrying the weight of the pride's worries on his shoulders.
But that was stupid, he reminded himself, even in the face of his lion's disagreement. She was just a normal human. She couldn't be his mate, no matter how much he might like the idea.
After the last piece of spaghetti had been slurped down and the last meatball had disappeared, Kira even took charge of the cleanup effort. Most everyone wandered out of the dining room in search of a drink and post-dinner chat.
"Oh honey, you don't have to do that," Marlene chided, moving to take some dishes from Kira's hands.
Grinning, Kira pulled them out of her reach. "You think I'm going to let you get out of it?" she teased.
Marlene stared at her for a moment and then laughed with gusto. "Fair enough, darlin'."
"And what about you?" Still smiling, Kira addressed Mason, who was sitting in the corner, sulking. Only teenagers could exude that perfect blend of apathy and disdain while slumping and refusing eye contact.
Mason shrugged one shoulder, but at least his scowl didn't get worse.
Kira seemed to take that as consent. "Grab the pots and bring them into the kitchen," she instructed, and, hearing the note of command in her voice, Mason – miraculously – obeyed.
Cole himself was harangued into dish duty as well, though it wasn't too hard to get him to agree, not when it meant spending more time around Kira. She joked around easily with Marlene and Mason, and for a moment he was a little jealous.
His own relationship with Mason was ambivalent. He loved the kid, like a little brother even, but two alphas in a pride was one alpha too many. A century ago or more, Mason would have gone out into the world to form his own pride. But that instinct wasn't so helpful in modern society, where eighteen years old made you technically an adult but not actually independent.
Mason had just begun college, still living with his parents for financial reasons, and over the past several months Cole saw him beginning to chafe. He wasn't doing so well with his parents – that Cole attributed to the human side of him, no mystery there – but he reacted badly to Cole in particular lately: one alpha didn't want to take orders from another alpha, at least not when they were both male. Ultimately they were each other's competition.
That didn't seem to extend to other people's orders, though. He did fine with Kira, loading up the dishwasher while she asked him questions about his college, his major, his plans for the future. She sounded like she was really interested, too. Cole almost swore the kid was smiling by the end of their conversation. How long had it been since that had happened?
Mason still had all a teenager's laziness and interest in video games, so when the conversation reached a lull he wandered off. Not long after, M
arlene gave him a significant look and excused herself. Cole had a feeling he knew what that look was about.
"You're good with him," Cole said when it was just the two of them. There was a loud wave of laughter from the rest of the house. Even though they'd loaded up the dishwasher, there were still a few dishes left to be done by hand. Kira spilled some soap in the sink and let the hot water run.
"Mason?" He heard the smile in her voice. "He seems like a good kid."
"He is. When he lets himself be."
She chuckled. "I think all teenagers are like that. Better than having to grow up too fast."
They worked in silence for a few minutes, Kira scrubbing the plates and Cole rinsing and racking them with comfortable ease.
"Are there any plans for tomorrow?" she asked, handing him another plate.
"Most everyone's going out hunting in the morning." Cole rolled his shoulders. "It's been awhile for almost all of us. Just about everyone lives in the suburbs and in cities, you know."
"That must be hard on you."
Cole shrugged noncommittally. "It can be. Everyone appreciates the chance to stretch their legs once in a while."
"And break out their claws, too, huh?" Kira teased.
"That too."
"Too bad I can't come with you, at least not without a ride," she joked.
Cole grinned, his lion roaring to life. "If all you needed was a ride, all you had to do was ask."
"Oh, you're offering?" she said slyly, turning toward him and pulling her hands out of the water. They were covered in suds.
As she turned, a lock of hair fell into her eyes, and before he knew what he was doing, Cole reached back to push it behind her ear. His touch left a droplet of water on her cheek, and her skin was smooth and silky. His hand lingered there; he didn't want to let go of her.
His lion urged him to make a move already: take her, make her yours, right here, right now.
"My hands are all soapy," she reminded him, holding them up as evidence.
"Don't care," Cole said with a rough undertone to his voice. Having her skin so close to his was intoxicating. Unable to take it anymore, he leaned down to press his lips to hers.