by Ally Summers
“And you don’t care about not having heirs?”
“Of course I do. We’ll find a way.”
I took a swig. The bourbon burned my throat. “Surrogate panther maybe?”
He shrugged. “Who knows. We’d have to find someone willing to take that chance too.”
Just then the door creaked behind us and I jumped to my feet.
Daphne stood in the doorway. “Congratulations, your majesty.”
I didn’t wait for her to finish her announcement. Drew slapped me on the back and I raced up the stairs. My legs hurled me forward until I was at the top. I burst through the suite, the door slamming in my wake.
“Cadence.”
I stopped in my tracks. I had waited for this moment for four months. Since the day I found out Cadence was carrying my baby. I wanted to see them in her arms. Hold them. Greet them the way a father should welcome his heirs into their new royal world.
I’d had dreams about it. How she would look with them nuzzled against her breasts. How my children would have her soft features and my strong green eyes. What it would feel like that instant we knew we were a family.
My eyes locked on hers. Only they were no longer bright blue.
I walked toward the bed cautisously. The babies were wrapped in blankets. She held one in each arm.
I didn’t know which one to hold first. She pushed one into my arms as I leaned to kiss her.
“How are you feeling? Are you ok?” Her skin was bright pink. She almost glowed.
“I am. But…”
I held the baby close to my chest. It wiggled next to me.
“You’re—how in the hell?” I stared at her in disbelief. I couldn’t process what I was witnessing.
“I don’t know. It happened all at once. Daphne can tell you more about it then I can, probably.”
I sat next to her. I wanted to check out my son and daughter. I did. But I couldn’t get over it. Her eyes were so green. Like emeralds. Like the deepest rolling hills of Ireland. Like the glimmer in the Northern Lights.
Cadence was a she-panther.
28
Cadence
The balance of magic had shifted. It was twisted and flipped upside down in ways that none of us had known were possible, least of all me—a human.
A former human.
My strength didn’t come to me gradually. I didn’t grow into it or gain skills as the days passed. No, my panther was an all-consuming part of me gifted to me by my children in a way I couldn’t explain. She was instant and present. I could feel her under my skin. She buzzed with powerful energy. And I loved her. I loved the new me I had become because of her.
I knew what it meant to shift. I knew what it meant to belong to the Maddox line. Becoming a panther had brought Case and me closer together.
Ruling together as a king and a queen joined us in a way only rivaled by raising our son and daughter together. It was a daunting prospect to realize that the Maddox princess and prince counted on me to teach them how to rule and how to lead. But with Case by my side, I knew what was most important was love. I just loved them with everything in my heart. I gave them every ounce of what I had, just as they had given it to me.
I put my brush down as Case walked up behind me, gripping my shoulders as he lowered his lips to kiss the side of my neck. I felt the edge of his teeth nip my neck.
“Good morning.”
I smiled at my mate in the mirror.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked.
He stared at me. I could see the circles under his eyes. I giggled. I didn’t know if there was anything sexier than the way he doted on the twins. At six months old they were starting to wake up again at night. Case had been taking a few night shifts for me.
He shook his head. “Not really.”
I spun into his arms. “Would a hot shower help?” I suggested.
He growled. “I think it would.”
My nails trailed along his shoulders. I loved how his muscles rippled in chiseled ridges. I purred.
“Are they sleeping now?” I had to check.
“Yes. Finally.” He pushed the robe from my shoulders, growling at the sight of my naked body. He lifted me from the tile floor, hooking my legs around his waist.
He walked backwards, stepping through the glass door and turning the water to hot. The steam surrounded us and our eyes lit with emerald desire.
“God, I love you,” he growled against my throat as I threw my head back.
“Show me,” I teased. I always knew when Case showed me, he screamed his love with the loudest roar. The sharpest bite. The most intense emotion I’d ever experienced.
He closed the shower door, locking it in place.
“Are you daring me?” he asked.
I nodded. “How much do you love me?”
The rumble started low and deep in his chest. He pushed me against the wall. I gasped in surprise, knowing I had lit another fire. Stoked our passion in a way that was going to make this the start of another day full of our primal love for each other.
This was my life now. The life with my mate. The father of my children. The man who was both jaguar to my panther and the inside of my soul. I couldn’t breathe without him. I couldn’t live without his love. His body. His kisses. His touch.
I sighed as he pressed his lips to mine.
We were a family. We were the king and queen of the Maddox line.
And I knew I was the woman he had always needed. I was his panther.
About the Author – Ally Summers
Ally loves to write about hot alpha male shifters. The sexier, the better. When she's not lost in her fantasy world or hanging out with her own alpha, you might catch her wearing heels with a glass of wine in hand and a bag of chocolate in her lap.
Ally wants all her characters to have a happily ever after, but sometimes the long journey to get there is the best part!
For Ally's latest release exclusives, signup for her shifter newsletter:
http://www.allysummers.com
Visit my Amazon Page to learn more about my books.
You can find the complete Nox and Tribe series:
The Nox Series
Dare
Defy
Deny