by Davis, Lia;
Ana glanced down and noted Sable’s wrists were handcuffed in front of her. Looking over her shoulder to the male standing in the doorway, Ana scowled. “Are the cuffs really necessary?”
Jared shrugged but didn’t reply.
Sable gathered Ana’s hand in hers. “I chose this. It makes the Pack feel safer if I’m locked up.” She frowned briefly then let out a breath. “I requested that Jared bring me here to help you.”
Ana sniffed. “Help me how? Nothing will help except bringing my mate back to me. I can’t feel him anymore. It went from a low hum to nothing.”
A hiccupped sob stopped her ramblings, but it was Sable’s soft voice that broke through Ana’s grief. “As cats, we have nine lives. Share one of yours with him.”
“What do you mean?”
Sable smiled weakly and stared at Kieran. “Share your magickal signature with him. Fill him with your love and will him to wake.”
Ana shook her head. “I can’t bring him back.”
“Yes, you can. It’s part of your gift to connect to one’s soul and spirit.” Behind them, Jared grunted impatiently, drawing a growl from Sable. “Ana, you can reconnect the bond and break the spell. Just focus on what you desire the most.”
Sable left the room and Ana studied Kieran’s peaceful form. Wiping her eyes and cheeks, Ana sat up straighter and linked her fingers with his. His hand was warm, and she could feel his pulse just under the skin.
She leaned over and kissed his lips, then whispered. “I love you and will not let you go. Ever.”
With her eyes closed, she searched for the link that connected them. Once she found the dull, quiet thread, she filled it with all her emotions. If the last few days had taught her anything about her powers, it was that they were stirred by her emotions. She’d use that in healing her mate.
The thread brightened, and a spark of hope pushed her to direct the energy into Kieran. She followed the new life she was offering him and hoped he was still there somewhere to accept it. “Kieran. Come back to me. Come home. Your Pack needs you.”
Dread settled in the pit of her belly, and fear that it wasn’t working threatened to bring the rain of tears and sorrow back. She brought his knuckles to her trembling lips. “Please, K…”
Just then, his fingers twitched. She snapped her gaze to his face, waiting and hoping it had worked. When his gold eyes opened, she cried happy tears and kissed him. His confusion mixed with pain flooded the mating bond, and she couldn’t have been happier to receive the extra emotions.
She framed his face. “Hi.”
He held her gaze for a moment. His brows dipped, then his eyes grew round as if he remembered what had happened. “Are you okay?”
A soft half-sob, half-laugh escaped her. “I’m fine. You took the hit for me. I thought…I thought I’d lost you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into a tight hug. Crawling on the bed with him, she rested her head on his chest. His heart beat steadily, and she allowed it to sing her to sleep.
****
Kieran held Ana as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. Her fatigue told him she hadn’t slept in God knew how long.
Dani entered the room. “Oh, thank God.” She drifted to him, taking his wrist in her hand. “Ana exhausted herself with crying and worrying about you.”
“How did you know I was awake?”
The Healer met his gaze. “It stopped raining and the sun came out.”
Ana stirred and muttered, “My powers are linked to my emotions.”
“I’m not surprised.” Kieran kissed her head, then directed his next question to Dani. “When can I go home?”
“Whenever you’d like. Physically, there is nothing wrong with you. It was like you were under a spell.” Dani glanced at Ana and smiled. “Apparently, a strong mating bond broke it.”
“Thanks, Dani.”
“Don’t thank me. Your mate brought you back to us. Thank her.” She turned and left the room.
His mate snuggled into his side as if cold. He pulled the blanket over them and hugged her closer. “Sleep, beautiful.”
“Love you, K.”
“Love you, too. Just promise me something.”
Ana picked up her head and stared at him. “Anything.”
“Never stop being who you are, and never underestimate Savannah again.”
Her grey eyes darkened. “Believe me. I will be fully prepared to face her the next time. The witch will pay for messing with what is mine.”
A chuckle escaped him. After kissing her on the forehead, he settled into the bed with his mate. “Teleport us home so I can release all this built up energy by pleasuring you.”
“Yes, my mate.”
Epilogue
“What’s on your agenda today?”
Ana glanced up from the book she’d been reading as her handsome mate entered the living room. Tilting her head slightly, she studied him, drinking him in with her eyes. Since she’d opened up her magickal senses and tore down the walls containing her power, she’d felt more relaxed. It was as if she were finally at peace with herself. And with Kieran.
She’d never realized how much of the tension between them was because of her constant focus on hiding who she was.
“I’m training with Tanner and Kirk today. Did you know Kirk has the ability to weave spells?” Ana had sensed a darker form of magick in the leopard but thought it would be rude to ask so she’d left it alone. After all, Kirk protected the Pack with his life.
Kieran stopped walking and stared at her. After a moment, he shrugged and sat beside her on the sofa. “He is part demon.”
That made more sense to her somehow, though it was hard to explain why. “I’m not surprised. His magick is darker and heavier.”
Leaning into her, Kieran nipped at her nose. “Could you be persuaded to skip training this morning?”
“What did you have in mind?” She laid the book on the end table and turned so her body faced his.
A devilish smile curved his lips and his cat glowed in his eyes. “I need to taste you. Everywhere.”
A knock sounded on the door, drawing a growl from Kieran. Ana laughed as she stood to answer it.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m answering the door.”
Kieran grabbed her from behind, his arms wrapped around her middle. “We could go to the room, get naked, and ignore whoever it is instead.”
She groaned. “So tempting. However, it is my family. I don’t think they’d go away so easily.”
He nipped at her ear before releasing her. She slapped playfully at him. “Behave.”
Confusion clouded her thoughts as she opened the door to find not only her brothers and father, but Luna and Hayden, as well. “Hi. What’s going on?”
Keegan didn’t speak as he entered the room, which was a first for him. Alec kissed her on the cheek as he passed by. Blaine just smirked. Luna looped her arm with Ana’s, surprising her. The mama wolf had never shown her affection before that moment.
“Am I in trouble? Oh, no. Who died?” Her pulse spiked and she wondered if something had happened to Sable, or Nigel.
“No one died, dear.” Luna released her when they were inside the living room. “Blaine.”
The Alpha cleared his throat and faced Ana. “Luna and I…no, the Pack as a whole, has chosen you as our Beta.”
“What?” Ana fumbled with Blaine’s words in her mind for several moments. “Beta. Why?”
Keegan took her hand, grabbing her attention. “It is your birthright. Besides, you have done some amazing things for the good of the Pack and the youth.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She glanced from person to person until her watery gaze landed on Kieran. “You knew this?”
He smiled and shrugged. “Just say yes. You’ll be a much better Beta than Alec.”
Alec growled but his eyes lit up with approval and a playfulness she hadn’t seen much from him. “The official ritual will take place two days before the
full moon.”
Overwhelmed with pride, happiness, and love, Ana nodded and blinked away the happy tears filling her eyes. “I am so honored to accept the role.”
Kieran hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “Welcome home, love.”
Home. Until that moment, she’d never known what the word truly meant. Yes, she was home where she was loved, protected, and pushed to her limits. Most of all, she was free.
“I love you all so much.”
The End
About the Author
Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and three equally special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, and a lover of romance. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it's her home and she loves it!
An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very active imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing is stress reliever that allows her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.
Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature, and hanging out with her kitties.
Find out more about Lia Davis Here:
Website: http://www.authorliadavis.com
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Twitter: @novelbylia
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
About the Author