“It is done,” Liam spoke as he approached. “We are able to leave when you are ready.” He looked Kris and I over, making sure we had both been seen by the doctor.
Seemingly satisfied with what he saw he picked up something from the table to eat and I growled at him playfully. He looked concerned for a moment before he took a large bite and smiled back at me.
“I should be good to go soon,” I said. I was feeling content with what I had already eaten.” I just want to...” I trailed off as the officer led a well dressed shifter our way.
The man was tall and painfully thin for his height, dressed in an expensive suit and carrying a briefcase. Looking him over I got the distinct impression of a weasel.
“Kristen,” the officer spoke, “this man requested to see you. He has some matters to finalize before you leave.” The officer nodded to Liam and I before walking away, leaving the stranger with us.
“Kristen?” The man waited for her nod before continuing. “I’m Troy’s attorney.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it, a weasel attorney. He shut his eyes and took a moment to collect himself, he clearly got this reaction often.
“Yes. As I was saying. I represent Troy’s estate and, with his passing, am now acting on his last wishes.” He paused for a moment, opening his briefcase and removing a few sheets of paper. Per his request you, Kristen, are to receive the entirety of his rather substantial fortune and property.” Silence fell upon the group at his words, Kris staring at him in disbelief.
“What?” She spoke weakly, confused. “Why?”
“He called the other day to make sure all was in order. He knew he wouldn’t be alive for much longer.” His gaze flickered out to the devastated mine. “He called again several hours ago, requesting I come here to find you. He said that he wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”
Kris took the papers from him and looked them over quickly, her eyes widening with every line. “This is insane. I didn’t know about a tenth of this! He had houses all over the world!” Her voice choked off as she read the last page. “Is that his bank account?!”
“It represents the total sum of his savings and investments, yes,” the attorney said somewhat smugly. He was clearly impressed with himself at having managed whatever the number was on that page.
“I don’t want it.” Kris held the papers out towards him. “I can’t take this.”
The attorney just smiled and replied, “He said you might feel that way. I was told that if you did, to ask you to do some good with it all since he had always been too selfish to do so.”
“Better you take it than let it all just go to the state.” Kris looked to me at my words and I just shrugged, wincing slightly. I needed to pay more attention to my injuries.
Kris stood staring at the papers for several minutes, torn between accepting Troy’s ‘charity’ and giving up some ridiculous sum of money. Eventually she sighed and reluctantly nodded towards the attorney. “Fine. It’s mine. Are you still going to be managing it all?”
“I can,” he smiled, “for the usual fee of course.”
“Of course,” Kris grinned.
It took some time for her to fill out all of the required paperwork but, before long, we were making our way towards her car. It was well past time for us to leave.
“You know,” Kris mused, “none of us really have jobs anymore.” She turned to me and grinned, a hint of the old Kris lurking behind her eyes. “Let’s open a club!”
I groaned.
Epilogue
Jen
Two Weeks Later
I looked around at the construction that was surprisingly well under way. Kristen had, sadly, been completely serious about opening a club. I shook my head as I watched the workmen scurrying around, it was my job as the senior manager since Kris was off recruiting more employees. Which really just meant she was out having a good time at every shifter club she came across.
Liam strode into the shell of the building, his face lit up when he spotted me across the room and made his way over. Pulling me into his embrace he leaned in and kissed my breath away. I hadn’t seen him for a few days.
As we separated I felt myself smiling so hard that it hurt. The past two weeks had been glorious. For the first time since we had met each other we were free, truly free, to be together.
We had moved in with Kris at Troy’s sprawling house and have been ‘breaking it in’ while she was away. I hadn’t walked right in over a week, though I was beginning to heal during his absence. Liam winked down at me and smiled as if he had been reading my thoughts.
“So,” I smiled up at him. “How are things on the reservation? All well in your animal kingdom?”
“Well enough,” he chuckled. “I brought visitors, they wanted to meet you and see us together.”
“Visitors?” Looking past him I noticed a man and woman, I’d been so focused on Liam that I hadn’t seen them enter behind me.
Their strides were confident, predatory, and I knew at once that they were tiger shifters. Well, the woman was. The man was human, though he moved in the same way as his companion and he was marked so strongly as her mate I had thought he was a shifter as well.
As they approached I felt a sense of regal power radiating from them. The way they moved, the way they held themselves, the way everyone made room for them, all spoke of an massive inner strength.
They were Primes.
“Hello Jen.” The woman spoke calmly, a smile blossoming on her face as she regarded me. “I am Helen. This is my bond mate, Philip.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Philip's eyes shone with genuine mirth as he shook my hand. “Liam has told us all about you of course.”
“Only good things I hope.” I smiled at them both. Their presence was instantly disarming, not at all what I’d expect from a tiger and her mate.
“Yes, we do break the mold a bit.” Helen’s chuckle turned into a laugh at my shocked look. “No, I can’t read your mind, though I year you can. That’s new, and unexpected. No, when you’ve lived as long as I have you can pick apart scents with a surprising precision.”
“I see.” I had no idea what she was talking about. Liam’s hand found my own and squeezed it reassuringly.
“You don’t, not yet, but you will.” Philip smiled amiably as he looked at Liam and I.
“It is clear that you love each other deeply,” Helen said. “We will keep this short so the two of you can spend some time together.” Her eyes glittered knowingly as she looked at us together. “It has been more centuries than I care to count since Philip and I were first bonded, but I still remember it. Vividly.” Philip chuckled and blushed slightly beside her.
Liam growled hungrily next to me and I felt myself blushing slightly from the sound.
“So then,” Helen continued, “to business. First and foremost, welcome to the fold. Primes are, by necessity, few and far between and we welcome you to our ranks. A true pairing is unheard of, you may very well be the first, and we are excited to see how the world shapes itself around you.”
“Thank you,” Liam and I spoke together. I still had no idea what they were talking about but their energy was infectious and I felt myself smiling.
“Philip and I will remain nearby for a time to bring you up to speed on everything, but the short of it is that we Primes work to preserve our people. Humanity has spread well beyond all reasonable expectations and our world will be discovered.” She watched the workers around us about their tasks, studiously ignoring us.
“We needed to prepare for that eventuality and so had this reservation formed near a human town to slowly integrate our societies. Once news gets out about us it will serve us well to have established communities.” Helen signed, she was clearly worried about what would happen then, but resigned to its inevitability. The silence stretched on.
“What does that mean for Liam and I?” I prodded gently, it seemed we were now a part of something far larger.
“It means,” she looked into my e
yes and, for the first time, I saw the fierceness of her tiger dwelling within. “That this town is yours to prepare for the times ahead. And that you must not fail.” She looked to Philip, both solemn. “Our people depend on that.”
“I see.” The weight of her words settled onto me like a net. “No pressure, just save the world.”
“Something like that,” Philip chuckled.
“It’s not that bad,” Helen chuckled, “And you won’t be doing it alone, far from it.” She smiled reassuringly, “oh, one other thing. Liam, you may notice your wolf form getting marginally larger. It’s normal for Primes and usually takes around a year to reach your full size.”
“A year?” Liam glanced at me in a panic, if he got any larger he’d have his own gravity.
“I’ve never seen a shifter uncomfortable at having a larger animal form,” Helen chuckled. “This is a first.”
“Yeah, well,” I laughed softly before looking to Helen and Philip. “He’s already around ten feet tall in his wolf form. I don’t know how much larger we can handle.” I grinned at Liam’s lost expression.
“Really...” Philip’s voice was small as he and Helen stared wide eyed at Liam who just shrugged. “Well then. Let’s be off my dear and let the young ones have some time together.” He stepped back, took Helen’s arm into his own, and steered her away towards the exit. “It was a pleasure meeting you both!” He called back over his shoulder, “We’ll talk to you again soon. Stay well!”
Liam and I waved and chuckled as they departed.
“Well then,” I turned to face Liam, “ready to save the world?”
He smiled, leaned down, and kissed me. “With you at my side? We’ll have it done by the weekend.” I laughed and kissed him back.
One thing was for certain, life was going to be very interesting.
THE END
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Sonja Morelle is an avid reader who decided enough was enough and it was time to start contributing.
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Bound to the Prime (Bound to the Pack, #3) Page 10