She nodded. “Yes, I’m their mother.” She wanted to say something more, but what exactly?
Ethan seemed to ponder this for a few moments. “And you’re their daddy?” He looked at Ash.
“Yes, and I’m your daddy too.” Ash ruffled Ethan’s hair like he always did, which made the boy smile. “That’s never going to change, you know that, don’t you?”
Ethan nodded, he still seemed to be deep in thought though. “My mommy is in heaven.”
She watched Ash’s Adam’s apple work, saw his eyes become glassy. “Yes, buddy, yes she is.” His voice had a hoarse edge.
Ethan nodded. Then he looked at Alice with those beautiful big, green eyes of his. “Please, will you be my new mommy?” They filled with tears.
Alice could hardly breathe. Could hardly move. Love filled her up. Choked her up too for a few seconds. “Of course I will,” Alice finally pushed out, she put her free arm around Ethan. “I would love to be your mommy. We can still talk about your mommy in heaven, even though you never met her. We can still look at her pictures, but, yes, I want that very much.”
“I’m going to watch a movie with Uncle Gage now,” Ethan announced. “It’s the one about the bunny and the fox.”
“Sounds really good.” Ash walked Ethan back to the door. “I’ll see you a bit later, buddy?”
Ethan nodded like mad. “Bye, Daddy.”
“Bye, my boy.”
“Bye, Mommy.” He giggled and ran out of the room.
“I’m sorry.” Alice widened her eyes. “I should have checked with you first, but it just felt so natural, it felt so right. I—”
“No need to explain or to ask permission.” Ash leaned down and kissed her. “You’re already his mother. You tuck him in at night and read him stories. You take him bike riding and put Band-Aids on his already healed cuts and scrapes. That’s what moms do. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it took this long.”
“What do you mean, this long? It’s only been a few months.” Alice raised her brows.
“We shifters know. We don’t need a whole lot of time. Months …” He shook his head and made a snorting noise. “My bear knew you were mine the moment I caught a snoutful of you. That’s why I couldn’t let you just walk away. I had to have you. I even resorted to stalking you.” Ash narrowed his eyes on hers. “I still can’t believe you let a stalker into your house.”
“More than just my house.” She grinned. “You’re lucky you’re so darned hot.”
“Maybe, despite being a mere human, you knew too. Somewhere deep down.”
Alice shook her head, she couldn’t hold back a massive grin. “You were hot and I was horny. It had nothing to do with fate.”
Ash frowned so deeply that it made her laugh. When his jaw fell open, she laughed even harder.
“Take that back,” Ash said.
“You’ll have to make me.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Kind of tough when we both have a baby in our arms.”
“The good news is, I’m here for a long time to come.”
Ash brushed his lips against hers. “I love the sound of that.”
“Me too.”
Ash deepened the kiss just as Holt gave a mighty yell. “I think someone’s hungry,” Alice chuckled; she couldn’t stop smiling. Didn’t want to.
24
Six weeks later …
“This place is unreal.” Meredith’s eyes were wide, her face animated.
“I know! I couldn’t believe it when I saw it myself. Ash kept referring to our new house as the cabin.”
Meredith snorted. “This is like no cabin I’ve ever seen. It’s huge.”
"We are a family of five, so four bedrooms is a must."
“This kitchen is something else though. The best thing of all is that view of the valley.” Meredith walked over to the big bay window.
“It’s quite something.” Alice smiled. She picked up a cheese platter. “You grab that.” She pointed to the chips and dip. “Thanks for coming all the way to celebrate the new house. I also wanted you to meet my boys. All three of them.”
“Stop thanking me already. I can’t believe you invited me.” Her friend smiled broadly.
“Of course I invited you. You’re Aunty Meredith, remember?”
“And I can’t get enough of those munchkins … and Ethan’s going to show me his bike later.” She scrunched up her nose. “I can’t believe I left their gifts back at the village.”
“You left your whole bag behind.”
“It was the smaller of the two. What?” She lifted her hands like it was no big deal. “Don’t look at me like that. I was excited about seeing you again. Give a girl a break.”
Alice laughed. “You’d forget your own name if people didn’t keep reminding you what it was.”
“I would not,” Meredith snickered. She began to walk in the direction of the terrace.
Alice put the platter down, and Meredith did the same with her food items. Winston had little Logan over his shoulder. He, Gage and Ash were chatting about something or other. Ethan was playing with his Lego on the floor. Ana helped herself to some of the chips. “Are the boys sleeping better yet?”
Alice widened her eyes as she helped herself to some of the chips as well. “I eventually left them to cry three nights ago. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” She shook her head and sighed just thinking about how awful it had been. “I put a mattress on the floor and lay between their cribs. I wanted them to know I was there, but I didn’t so much as touch them like you advised.”
Ana nodded. “And it worked didn’t it?”
“They woke up again at three-thirty again yesterday morning but only cried for a minute or two before going back to sleep. They woke up just after five this morning, a much more manageable time.”
“Yeah, Logan also switched around day and night like that,” Ana spoke to Meredith.
“Having your day start at three-thirty is not fun.” Alice said.
“You looked a bit like a zombie the other day,” Ana chuckled. “I remember those early days.” She widened her eyes. “I still have zombie moments but they’re slowly getting less and less. You took the prize though.” Ana touched the side of Meredith’s arm and grinned. “I came over one morning,” she lifted her eyes in thought, “a week or two ago. Oh, my word! Alice’s eyes were bloodshot. She had these back smudges under her eyes. She was a total mess.”
“Ash went on his first scouting mission since the twins were born, so I was on my own. It made me realize that things needed to change. It wasn’t just the day and night thing,” Alice said, taking another handful of chips. “They also woke up at different times. I would just get Luke down and Holt would wake up. It was … difficult.”
Meredith frowned. “I thought you read a book all about raising twins from birth.”
“A book!” Ana snorted.
Alice smiled at her very sweet, very clueless friend. “I did, I even highlighted important parts. I studied it from cover to cover. It was dog-eared by the time the boys came, but theory and practice are two very different animals. Having said that, I am implementing quite a few of the recommendations, like waking up a twin, even if he’s still asleep, if his brother wakes up. I tried it and it took less than two days to get them on the same cycle. They are more awake during the day and sleep more at night. I stick to definite routines. We’re getting there.” She rubbed a hand across her face. She’d never been more tired or happier in her whole life.
“And Ethan?” Meredith spoke under her breath. “How is that going?”
Alice had to smile. “He loves his little brothers. He fetches diapers and is always asking to hold them.”
“He keeps asking when he’ll be able to play with them,” Ana added and they all laughed.
Ash slid his arm around her. “You’re doing great. You’re the best mom in the whole world.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree.” Winston winked at Ana.
; Ash planted a kiss on the side of her mouth. “I have no doubts,” he whispered.
Gage cleared his throat. Oops! That left Meredith and Gage standing around like two spare wheels. “I’ll take you to go and fetch your bag?” Gage suggested, eyes on Meredith.
“Why don’t you just go on your own?” Ash asked, an edge to his voice.
Gage shrugged. “It would take longer because I wouldn’t be able to shift. I would have to carry the bag. This way, we can be there and back in no time. Would you mind coming along?” He looked at Meredith.
“Not at all,” she gushed. “It would be fun.” A red stain appeared on her cheeks.
Gage nodded once. “Let’s head out then. We’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Dinner won’t be ready for at least another hour, so that’s perfect.” Alice took a sip of her drink.
“Can I come?” Ethan asked, eyes wide.
“Not this time buddy,” Gage responded. “We’ll do something fun tomorrow.”
Ethan nodded and got back to his building. Meredith grabbed her coat and she and Gage headed out.
“Gage had better not get any ideas.” Ash shook his head, frowning.
Alice had to laugh. “I think it’s more the other way around. Meredith is the one with all the ideas.”
Ash took a drink from his beer bottle. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
There was a loud roar which ended abruptly. It was followed by a piercing scream that disappeared so quickly it was like someone had shut a door on the sound. Alice couldn’t make heads or tails of what she had just heard, other than it was wrong. All wrong. Ash dropped his beer, it smashed on the floor. Then he was running for the front of the house. Winston handed the baby to Ana and ran as well.
Ana stood there, eyes filled with shock, cheeks pale. “What the hell was that?”
Meredith.
The scream.
Oh no!
A feeling of dread filled her. Without thinking, she raced after Ash and Winston, bursting through the front door, which was already wide open.
Gage lay on his back on the floor. Both Ash and Winston were on their knees next to him. His chest. She covered her mouth and made a mewling noise. It was slashed open. A bleeding mess that reminded her of ground beef. She could even see flashes of white. Bone.
Alice felt her stomach roll and turned away. She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Meredith!” she shouted. “Meredith!” she tried again, louder this time, looking around them. There was no sign of her friend.
That wasn’t true. There was a shoe on the ground. A sneaker. Meredith’s sneaker.
“He’s coming around,” Ash growled.
When Alice looked down, Gage was just opening his eyes. He blinked a few times and then groaned. Deep and hard. The groan turned into a wince. “Oh shit!” he choked. “Fuck!” He ground his teeth. “It. Has. Her.”
The words sent chills racing up and down her spine.
“Didn’t see much,” he groaned through clenched teeth. “Too quick. Too damned strong.” Gage panted, blood flowed with each breath. He looked Gage in the eyes. “You were right. Has wings.” He grimaced, holding his breathe. “Big wings … feathers.” Then he passed out.
The final book, Unchained is out on pre-order now
About the Author
I hope you enjoyed the book. The next installment will mark the final in this series.
I live on an acre in the country with my gorgeous husband and three sons and an array of pets including a couple of horses.
In my spare time you can usually find me typing frantically on the computer completely lost in worlds of my making. I believe that it is the small things that truly matter, like that feeling you get when you start a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.
Liked the book?
Please leave a review so that others can find it.
I would love to hear from you so please feel free to look me up:
www.charlenehartnady.com
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Also by Charlene Hartnady
The Chosen Series:
1# Chosen by the Vampire Kings
2# Stolen by the Alpha Wolf
3# Unlikely Mates
4# Awakened by the Vampire Prince
5#Mated to the Vampire Kings (Short Novel)
6#Wolf Whisperer (Novella)
7# Wanted by the Elven King
The Program Series (Vampire Novels):
Book 1: A Mate for York
Book 2: A Mate for Gideon
Book 3: A Mate for Lazarus
Book 4: A Mate for Griffin
Book 5: A Mate for Lance
Book 6: A Mate for Kai
Book 7: A Mate for Titan
The Bride Hunt Series (Dragon Shifter Novels):
Book 1: Royal Dragon
Book 2: Water Dragon
Book 3: Dragon King
Book 4: Lightning Dragon
Book 5: Forbidden Dragon
Book 6: Dragon Prince
The Shifter Night Series:
1# Untethered
2# Unbound
3# Unchained
Demon Chaser Series (No cliffhangers):
Book 1 Omega
Book 2 Alpha
Book 3 Hybrid
Book 4 Skin
Demon Chaser Boxed Set Book 1-3
Excerpt
The Program Series: Book 1
A Mate for York
Chapter 1
Cassidy’s hands were clammy and shaking. She had just retyped the same thing three times. At this rate, she would have to work even later than normal to get everything completed. She sighed heavily.
Pull yourself together.
With shaking hands, she grabbed her purse from the floor next to her and pulled out the folded up newspaper article.
Have you ever wanted to date a vampire?
Human women required. Must be enthusiastic about interactions with vampires. Must be willing to undergo a stringent medical exam. Must be prepared to sign a contractual agreement, which would include a non-disclosure clause. This will be a temporary position. Limited spaces available within the program. Successful candidates can earn up to $45,000 per day over a three day period.
All she needed was three days leave.
Cassidy wasn’t sure whether her hands were shaking because she had to ask for the leave and her boss was a total douchebag or because the thought of vampires drinking her blood wasn’t exactly a welcome one.
More than likely, it was a combination of both.
This was a major opportunity for her though. She had already been accepted into the trial phase of the program the vampires were running. What was three days in her life? So there was a little risk involved. Okay, a lot of risk, but it would all be worth it in the end. She was drowning in debt and stuck in a dead-end job in this godforsaken town. This was her chance, her golden opportunity, and she planned on seizing it with both hands.
To remind herself what she was working toward, or at least running away from, she let her eyes roam around her cluttered desk. There were several piles of documents needing to be filed, and a stack of orders lay next to her cranky old laptop. Hopefully it wouldn’t freeze on her this time while she was uploading them into the system.
There used to be two of them performing her job, but it had been months since Sarah had left, and she was never replaced, so it was just Cassidy. She found herself coming to work way earlier and staying later just to get the job done.
To add insult to injury, there were many days when her a-hole boss still had the audacity to come down on her for not meeting a deadline. He refused to listen to reason and would not accept being understaffed as an excuse. She’d never been one to shy away from hard work, but the expectations were ridiculous. Her only saving grace was that she didn’t have much of a life.
There had to be something more out there for her, and a hundred and thirty-five thousand big ones would not only pay off her debts but would also give her enough cash t
o go out and find one—a life that is, and a damned good life it would be.
Cassidy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. If she asked really nicely, hopefully Mark would give her a couple of days off. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken leave. Then it dawned on her; she’d taken three days after Sean had died a year ago. Her boss couldn’t say no though. If he did, she wasn’t beyond begging.
Rising to her feet, she made for the closed door at the other end of her office. After knocking twice, she entered.
The lazy-ass was spread out on the corner sofa with his hands crossed behind his head. He didn’t look in the least bit embarrassed about her finding him like that either.
“Cassidy.” He put on a big, cheesy smile as he rose to a sitting position. The button on his jacket pulled tight around his paunchy midsection. He didn’t move much and ate big greasy lunches, so it wasn’t surprising. “Come on in. Take a seat.” He gestured to a spot next to him on the sofa.
That would be the day. Her boss could get a bit touchy-feely. Thankfully, it had never gone beyond a pat on the butt, a hand on her shoulder, or just a general invasion of her personal space. It put her on edge, though, because it was becoming worse as of late. The sexual innuendos were also becoming highly irritating. She pretended they went over her head, but he was becoming more forward as time went by.
By the way his eyes moved down her body, she could tell he was most definitely mentally undressing her. Oh God. That meant he was in one of his grabby moods. Damn. She preferred it when he was acting like a total jerk; that was easier to deal with.
“No, that’s fine. Thank you.” She worked hard to plaster a smile on her face. “I don’t want to take up much of your time, and I have to get back to work myself.”
His eyes narrowed for a second before dropping to her breasts. “You could do with a little break every now and then… So could I, for that matter.” Even though she knew he couldn’t see anything of her curves because of her baggy jacket, his eyes stayed glued to her boobs anyway. Why did she get the distinct impression he was no longer talking about work? Argh!
Unbound (Shifter Night Book 2) Page 19