Imagine that.
Shiny black hair, one green eye, and one blue. Button nose. All those tiny fingers and toes were too much to handle.
“She’s absolutely gorgeous.” I took my friend’s hand in mine. Tris and Samson fawned over the baby as well until Wendi let out a yawn. “I think it’s time for you to rest. And your mates are probably gunning to get back in here.”
Wendi smiled at me and tugged on my hand. “Come back tomorrow.”
“I will. Let’s go.”
Samson, Tris, and I left the clinic/house in awe and stupor. My best friend was now a mama. They weren’t a harem. They were a family.
And more than anything, I wanted that for us.
Chapter Seventeen
We managed to keep the pack from learning the good news until the next morning, something I wouldn’t have believed possible, but it worked. Gigi stayed overnight, but my mates and I left after having supper with the happy new family. The baby, Alessandra, was more beautiful than I’d ever have believed, and I fell asleep in my mates’ arms, dreaming of her little face. Somehow, I’d thought maybe there would be multiple babies, ever since the necklace with all the wolf pups on it, but having taken in the sight of her, and how she resembled all of her daddies, now I understood. Wendi and her men would be having more, and only time would tell what they would be like.
Gorgeous. Smart. Funny. Loving. Adored. Everything else was up for grabs.
The noise from outside our window woke us and let us know the secret was out, so we hurried to dress and grabbed some toast and coffee on the way outside. The alphas and their first lady must be present for such an occasion. It would no doubt end up being another party, but the cloudy skies and cold wind let me know it would need to be indoors.
The alpha house was the logical location for now, but I had an idea for the future. If our pack continued to grow, and the number of pregnant females indicated it would, we needed a dedicated gathering space for when it wasn’t nice outside. Wendi’s mates, along with the help of some others in the pack, had built their home, and it was very nice. I’d been browsing online and found a “kit” for a huge barn-like structure with storage above, high ceilings, a basement, and a ton of other features that could be added—like a commercial kitchen. I bookmarked it, but didn’t plan to bring it up for a month or so, when my mates were past their sticker shock from the holidays.
But it would be perfect!
Bundled up, we headed for Wendi and her mates’ place. She’d given birth in the infirmary but had already headed home since she’d had no complications. Nearly the whole pack was gathered below the upstairs window where Wendi had set up the nursery in the room attached to the master. They’d taken down most of the wall in between, so it was a big, open arch and the baby’s area was like something from a magazine. My friend wasn’t fancy, and neither was the room, but it was still stunning. Lots of natural wood, soft colors, and a sweet rocking chair for her or her mates to cuddle with their new daughter. Just the thought of it all made me ache with love for them. If ever anyone deserved happiness, it was Wendi after all she’d been through growing up. And her mates all had their own tales as well.
But then nobody ever had a perfect life, did they?
I took a sip of coffee and grimaced. “I think the milk has turned. It tastes off.”
“Really?” Samson drank from his mug. “Mine is fine. Maybe it’s your cup. Give it to me.”
I passed it over and watched him drink then pass it to Tris. They both shrugged.
“It doesn’t taste bad to you?”
“Nope,” Samson said.
“Not me either,” Tris agreed. “Must just be you.”
“I guess.”
We left the crowd outside and went in to be with Wendi and her guys when they brought their child to the window to show her off. She wore a loose dressing gown, but her figure was almost back already, and her happiness spilled over onto everyone below when she stood in front of the window, Alessandra cuddled in one arm, and waved.
“Can I hold her for a minute or two? Then I think I’m hosting a celebration at the alpha house in her honor.”
“Do we have to go?” Wendi sounded wistful. “I mean, normally, I’d love it, but I’m a little tired and…”
“No,” I told her quickly. “I don’t think so. They want to party in your honor.”
I was able to get in a few minutes of baby adoring before I stood up from the rocker and passed Alessandra to her mom. “Okay, party time. But my stomach has been so off all week, I think I’ll try to avoid eating much. All the holiday food I guess.”
“Really?” Wendi peered in my eyes. “Any other symptoms?”
“No, my tummy is off. A little. I only threw up once.” I spotted my travel cup on the dresser and waved vaguely at it. “Oh, and my coffee tasted bad this morning, but the guys swear the milk isn’t off. And I’m a little tired. But think of all we’ve done lately. Anyone would be.”
Wendi’s smile spread across her whole face. “True. But you know what I think?”
“No.” I tried to follow whatever line of reasoning she had. “Flu? Cholera? Swamp fever?”
“Christie and Samson and Tris, sitting in a tree,” she chanted. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Christie with a baby carriage!”
I stared at her. “No way. I mean sure, it could happen.” When was my last period? I was always so regular. But… I was counting on my fingers when she burst into laughter.
“Christie! Our children are going to be best friends just like us!”
Epilogue
Wendi
The day I arrived in town to go to college, I thought I’d never walk again due to the accident I’d had as a child, the one that killed my parents. My aunt who’d raised me was dead, the family home burned to the ground. Shifting was out of the question. For a girl who’d only had remote schooling and few friends, buying my little house and registering for college in this new place had been a huge adventure.
If anyone had told that girl where things would go, what true adventures lay ahead, she’d have thought them delusional. Having a mate? Never. Who would accept a shifter who couldn’t shift? Friends…well, I might have dreamed of them, but never one as amazing as Christie. Nothing had gone the way I’d predicted, the way I’d have been grateful for.
I still woke up every morning wondering how I deserved the life I’d been granted. My aunt in her love for me had kept me in the chair, in two-legged form so I wouldn’t draw the attention of those who sought to harm me. Unfortunately, she’d never shared such important information with me, so I believed I’d been permanently injured, forever unable to don my fur and run the woods with the others.
And regaining that heritage had almost cost me my life more than once. But as I sat in the nursery off the master bedroom, rocking and feeding Alessandra and watching my mates sprawled out and snoring in the very big bed, my heart grew so big it nearly burst with joy and gratitude. They hadn’t slept anywhere else since she arrived. Eventually, there would be nights when only one slept with me, but the time wasn’t now. Not for some weeks yet anyway. I would follow the advice I would offer all the new mothers in the pack—and there was a growing number of baby bumps appearing, as if our new peace led them to grow their families right away.
I was Healer. Who knew? And my bestie, Christie, the girl who took me under her wing when I was new and more than a little nervous at school? She was Warrior. Together, with our mates, we would protect and care for the Midnight Alder pack with our dying breath if necessary.
Christie was having a baby, too, and her mates would likely be just as over-the-top in their adoration for the child as they were for her. The future would hold challenges for all of us because life always did, but we were up to them.
We were proven through fire, and we were backed up by love.
Warrior and Healer, restored to their people. But also moms and mates and friends. Dreams I’d never dared to dream come true.
Alessandra stirred in my arms, and I shifted her to the other breast to finish nursing. As she made those snuffling sounds when she latched on, I giggled softly.
“Such a greedy girl. Wanting everything life has to offer.” I kissed her downy hair, breathing in her clean baby scent. “And if I have anything to say about it, or if your daddies do, you will have it all, my darling.”
I leaned back in the chair, cradling her close and waiting for her to be done, I grew drowsy about the time she did, and was nearly asleep when Brandon took her from me and Moss led me to bed. Her cradle was right next to us, and Cash’s hand rested on her back, aware of her even in sleep. Escher was also still snoring away, but it didn’t wake our daughter. Her daddies could do no wrong in her eyes.
Or mine.
While snow fell outside, I drifted into a deep sleep, in love with everyone I could touch, and loving so many more.
To all our beloved readers, thank you for reading the A Shifter of Consequence series. This is the final book, but a new series will begin in January 2021…and some of the characters we’ve grown to love from the Midnight Alder pack may just pop in to visit. We wish you as much happiness as Wendi and Christie share with their mates and friends.
An Excerpt from Tremble
Chapter One
“Hello, beautiful, Tris said, pulling back the covers. He slipped inside next to me, and I rolled over to get close to his warmth. Wolves were always a bit hotter than others, or so I’d been told since I hadn’t actually cuddled with anyone else, but Tris seemed to be just a degree warmer than anyone else, And on a cold night in the late fall, I welcomed the furnace of his body. “Sorry I stayed up so late.”
“It’s okay,” I murmured, resting my head on his chest. “I was waiting for you to get here.”
“Were you?” He stroked a lock of hair back from my face and kissed the bit of forehead he’d bared. “Did you have anything special in mind?”
My cheeks burned. No matter how often we made love, he had the ability to make me blush. It was never ordinary or boring or something I took for granted. In our situation, nothing was guaranteed. Until he and his brother got their act together, our mating was incomplete.
“Christie?” he prodded. “What can I do for you?”
“How do you make that sound so naughty,” I muttered against his skin, inhaling his scent that said home more than any particular building ever could.
“You bring that out in me, sweet girl,” he said, trailing a finger down my back all the way to the crease of my bottom. “Especially when you sleep naked.”
Naked? Was I…why didn’t I remember making that choice?
“So are you going to make a special request?” he teased, tipping my face up to brush his lips over mine. “Or are we just going to sleep.”
Two could play at this game. I opened my jaw wide in a yawn that even in the darkness of the bedroom, with only weak moonlight he couldn’t miss. “I’m awfully sleepy. I’ll take option B. Night night.” I planted one more chaste kiss on his lips and snuggled down. “See you in the morning.”
The low rumble came from deep inside him before he flipped me onto my back and rose to loom over me. Even though I’d never fear he’d hurt me, a chill ran down my spine at the gleam in those beautiful eyes. His wolf put a gold cast on them when we made love, as if I should never forget he was more than just a man. His lips crashed into mine, taking possession, dominating me in a new way. When he lifted his head, he arched a brow. “Still sleepy?”
“No,” I gasped. “I’m wide awake now.”
“That’s better.” Kissing me again, he palmed my breasts, the nipples hardening under his touch. I submitted to him, happy to let our teasing play go in favor of passion. He explored my mouth with lips, teeth, and tongue before leaving it behind to nibble his way down my throat and to where he held my breasts ready for his oral attentions.
“Oh my gods,” I whimpered when he sucked one nipple into his mouth while pinching the other between thumb and forefinger. “You—it’s always new with you.” Not that he hadn’t indulged in breast play before, but this time there was a new edge. He bit a little harder, sucked a little deeper, and stayed a little longer before continuing on down my torso.
His tongue lapped at my navel, tickling and I writhed under him until he pinned me with one big hand spanning my hips. “Shh. I am busy here.” And he was so busy, moving to lie between my thighs after urging them apart and resting them on his shoulders. “And hungry.”
“Is the Big Bad Wolf going to eat up Little Red?” I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.
“Let’s find out.” He blew on my swollen, aching folds, and looked up my body at me. “Do you think she wants me to?”
“Y-yes please.” The tremble in my voice held all the yearning I had for him to do that. “Please, please gobble me up.”
He pressed his lips to me and chuckled. The vibration traveled all the way to my toes and back up to my head. “Mmm.” I gripped the sheets on either side as he took a long lick from front to back and then blew again, inflaming my desire even more. “So sweet, just as I thought.” He buried his face in me licking and nibbling, one finger finding its way into my pussy and pumping. I’d never felt anything quite like it before, as if he’d changed up his technique to something equally good but different. Amazing. And when a second finger joined the first, I shrieked and fell over the edge into a sparkling night filled with multicolored stars.
Before I came to myself again, he was on top of me, replacing those fingers with his cock. I released the sheets and linked my hands behind his neck, legs around his waist, while he rode me like an unbroken mare. He braced himself on his arms over me and drove in, withdrew and drove in again until I was just screaming, overwhelmed and coming. Coming so many times I lost count. When he poured his cum into me, I was already floating far away above my body, watching it twitch in overstimulation but never wanting it to stop.
“Christie, come on. Breakfast is ready.” Someone was grabbing my shoulder, pulling me out of the magical place where orgasms and love blended into a perfect reality. “You’ll be late for school.”
I forced my eyes open to see Samson standing over me. “Oh…hi.”
“Hi. You were really out of it there. Do you need to stay home? Feel okay?”
Blinking in bright daylight, I shook my head. “No. Lazy, I guess. I was dreaming. Is there coffee?”
“Of course.” He set my favorite cartoon wolf mug down on the night table. “I made it just the say you like it.” Samson wrinkled his nose. “So sweet with all that sugar.”
So sweet, just as I thought.
Oh my gods…was he, was that? I sat up and untangled my nightgown from around my legs as he left, shaking his head at my coffee choices. The sheets and blankets lay smooth around me, not at all as if anyone had made love here, and I knew. Although deep inside I wished Samson had made love to me, it wasn’t him, not really. Not even Tris as I’d believed. Just a vivid dream. But maybe one that could come true?
Tinsel: A Shifter of Consequence Holiday Tale (Shifters of Consequence Book 8) Page 6