by Cecilia Lane
Mara sighed as a shiver worked its way down her spine and settled hotly in her core. She smiled against Hudson’s skin when she pulled the same trick on him and felt his cock twitch inside her.
Mmm. That was a good trick to know.
Then he rolled them to their sides. Silver eyes shined back at her, wide with awe and near glowing with her own emotions echoed back at her.
This was it. This was their entire lives.
She could have a life again. With Hudson, with a clan, in Bearden. Together, they could build each other up and put the past to bed.
Together. As mates.
Her lioness purred.
Epilogue
Mara rolled to a stop at the end of the Strathorn dirt road and turned toward Bearden without hesitation. She had an appointment in town, and she didn’t want to be late. Besides, she’d been on the outside of an enclave for too long. It didn’t hold any temptation or longing. Nothing waited for her out there.
In her head, her lioness stretched and settled back down for a lazy inspection through Mara’s senses. The beast had stopped prowling and pushing. She was as content as Mara herself.
That was an odd thing, to not want to fight against herself. Odd, but comforting. Like she’d accepted herself entirely.
The cat purred and sent a flurry of images, all showing the hot man they’d left behind. He’d tried to lure her back to bed before she left. Threats of leaving him hogtied hadn’t stopped him, but reminding him of who she was meeting had him hustling her out the door with promises to bring home leftovers.
Even though she knew the drive from Hudson’s year of descriptions and her own wanderings over the past week, Mara still slowed and watched the town as she passed. She was new to Bearden, but not. Spending the last year in a cell didn’t make a place home. First time charm still clung to everything she saw.
The first buildings she passed were just jagged frames of new constructions. Rylee’s group of scientists studying the supernatural world and population had finally outgrown their crowded quarters in the town’s clinic. The new offices would be much larger and stop them from needing to send anything for testing outside of the territory.
Clusters of homes popped up with greater frequency until she hit the edge of the main drag. Brick buildings with adorable little signs marking the establishments always put a smile on her face.
Trees lined the street on both sides. The leaves that remained were the lovely orange and red and yellow of fall colors. Soon even those would be gone and more snow than quick flurries would stick to the ground.
Mara was ready for seasons again.
She passed Tommy’s Diner and Mug Shot Coffee Shop across the street. She slowed as she neared the firehouse, then stopped right on the edge of the town square. Her former home, Bearden Town Hall loomed at one end, with the spires of the cheery bed-and-breakfast softening the scene.
Parking was nonexistent as she swung onto the street wrapping around the open square. The crisp air held no one back from enjoying the late morning. Handfuls of shifter children, some on two feet and others on four, darted up and down the steps of the gazebo while parents chatted with each other.
Mara swung back around and finally found a spot to ease into. Then she hurried toward Pierre’s.
She steeled herself. Inside was a final step to bonding with the mates of the clan, Hudson said. The women gathered together for brunch nearly every week. The tradition started when Leah first came to town. The group grew as each mate found their place.
That she’d been invited meant they accepted her as one of their cabal of mischief makers. She didn’t want to make a bad impression. The butterflies that danced in her stomach were a testament to her nerves.
She stepped into Pierre’s and found most of the mates already seated. The only one missing was Everly, but she’d already warned she might not make it in time with one of her patients close to delivering.
“Ooh, Mara, just the girl I wanted to see.” Meghan greeted with a grin. “Want to check out my new favorite video?”
“Don’t let her fool you. She has a new favorite every day,” Leah teased.
“Second favorite, maybe. Nothing beats watching Bentley getting slapped with silver cuffs when he was found guilty of crimes against a human.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be against that sort of stuff?”
“Yeah, but he did maul me and forcibly change me into one of you freaks. I can have this guilty pleasure and still work on improving rights for everyone else.” She leaned into Mara’s space. “Which brings me to this. Ronnie’s buyer finally arrived home and met with police. Here he is coming off the plane.”
She hit a button and played shaky video of a man in a business suit. Another behind him—a lawyer, she thought—threw his jacket over his head to try hiding his face, but the damage was done on that already. Newspapers across the country carried reports of the hunter fortress and the children found inside. The outage sparked protests and calls for protection all across the country.
Most of the cubs were in the process of being reunited with their families. Even one of the shifters freed and recovering in Bearden recognized one of the young faces. Mara heard not a single eye remained dry during the scene.
Leah met her eyes. “How have you been settling in?”
“Good. It’s still an adjustment, but it’s good.” She rubbed her palms on her jeans. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Kate. It’s nice getting to see my niece and nephew for more than a half hour a day. Joy is smart as a whip, and Jack is growing more every day.”
It was strange bonding with her after years of controlled interactions. They grew close when Matthew introduced Kate into their lives. Being held captive put barriers around their relationship. Mara didn’t doubt they would find their groove again.
“How are the twins?” she asked Becca.
“I can’t wait until they look a little more different. The sock trick only works if they aren’t masters of kicking them off. I had them confused for an entire diaper cycle the other day. There’s no mistaking certain parts for another when you’re getting aimed at!”
Everyone at the table simultaneously groaned.
The bell above the door dinged and Everly rushed inside, unwinding a scarf as she made her way to the table. “Sorry I’m late. Did I miss anything?” Everly asked brightly.
“Just in time.” Becca raised her glass for a toast. “So, with the best holiday of the year right around the corner, I’d like to take this moment to say a few words.”
“Not fair. I can only have orange juice,” Leah grumped.
Meghan smiled into her glass. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you sniff mine.”
“We haven’t always made things easy on ourselves. Some damn stupid decisions have been made, right along with some good ones, to get us all here today.” Amusement entered Becca’s scent and her eyes danced. “But now we have a former kidnapper in our midst.”
Mara flinched. Then she bared her teeth. If they were going to have problems, she wanted to get right to it. No need for passive aggressive bullshit.
Becca pushed on. “So we know if anything ever happens and we make bad choices, she’ll figure a way to get us out. Welcome to the clan, Mara.”
Glasses clinked together with more murmurings of welcome. On the heels of the toast, a stuffy looking man with a pure white apron covering his waist nearly tossed baskets of bread on the table. With a glare and a sniff, he turned on his heels and pushed back through the kitchen doors.
“Thanks, Pierre!” Everly called after him. To everyone else, she said, “I think his service is improving.”
“Have you heard the news? About Jacob?” Rylee peeked at her and dropped her voice.
How could she have missed it? Kate was in a tizzy over it, and the implications for her future. She’d been partially embarrassed to bring it up, but too excited to keep it a secret.
The others hadn’t. “Jacob is getting a place for himself. Cole has been moping a
bout it for the past two days. He’s been the best roommate possible, aside from the complete meltdowns he’s tried to keep to himself, but oh my goodness, I’m so glad to have a place with just Cole.”
Leah nudged her in the side. “AKA you’re going to be the next one knocked up. Join the swollen ankle club, Riles.”
Rylee’s cheeks reddened. “We—we’ve talked,” she stammered. “And maybe thought about it.”
Mara joined in with the wolf whistles.
A part of her held back, ready to turn and fight at the first sign of danger. She wasn’t used to simply living without a need to be on alert. Hudson and his clan made the transition easier.
They made her feel like a real person. She wasn’t a monster. She’d done monstrous deeds, but those actions didn’t define her. She simply chose to keep living and they saw her in that light. She was flawed, and just trying to get by.
She still didn’t feel like she deserved forgiveness and she doubted she’d ever fully be at peace with what she’d done, but Mara knew she had to put one step in front of the other and keep carrying on.
The laughs at the table were a step in that direction. She’d found her family. Even more than that, she’d found friends. They were help when she needed it and sounding boards for advice. They were quick with the jokes and even quicker with their acceptance.
They were her clan.
When she arrived home—still a strange thought, but it always made her lioness purr—a black SUV parked next to Hudson’s brand new truck.
That he needed one at all was still a sore spot. Oh, he claimed he understood why she did it, and even talked a big game about how he’d have done the same in her shoes. But he’d eyed trucks lining the streets and looked them up online with big sighs. And he’d banned her from ever getting into the driver’s seat when he brought his new baby home.
Fine by her. She was happy to take Rylee’s old car. It was cheap, and until she knew what she wanted to do with herself, she felt guilty spending Hudson’s money.
“It’s about damn time we have some representation,” Hudson said as she walked up.
Crewe, his old CO, leaned against the deck railing with an open beer in his hand.
Mara cocked her head with her question. “What’s going on?”
“Crewe is trying to get me to join up with his new SEA force.” Hudson toyed with the label on his bottle and didn’t meet anyone’s eyes or offer up more explanation.
“The agency is looking to clean up its act. Too many scandals are making people uncomfortable. Calls get made, complaints get lodged, and someone has to put a fresh coat of paint on the whole damn thing. I’ve been given the command to create a shifter division to help police our kind and the threats we face. The office is setting up outside of Bearden. Someone figured since this was ground zero for everything, it’d be the right spot to start over.”
Mara wondered how much Meghan had to do with that. She was like a dog with a bone and kept hammering away on all the reported incidents. Misconduct here, aligning with hunters and attempting to kill a prisoner in custody there... Mara certainly would never trust an SEA agent.
But a chance to clean it up and make it right was a nice idea. The cat was out of the bag on the supernatural world. Even armed with silver or iron or stakes, humans weren’t generally ready for the strength and speed of someone with magic in their blood. Hardly anyone wanted to talk about the threat of hunters, either.
She could see the thoughts play out on Hudson’s face. Then he scanned the cabins through the trees. They belonged to his clan. His people.
“I wish you luck, Crewe, I really do. But this is my place now. I have a good life here. I like what I do. I like knowing when I’ll be home.”
“That’s a refusal, then?” Crewe sighed. “All right. You’d have been perfect for the team—”
“I’ll do it,” Mara interjected. Both men looked at her with surprise. “What? You said my knowledge was invaluable. I’m never going to be okay with what I had to do to survive. I need to keep making amends. I can do that here.”
Hudson crossed his arms over his chest and considered her for a long moment before turning to Crewe. “With her record, you won’t ever get her past the clearances for duty.”
Mara ground her teeth together to keep from clawing him up. Then he surprised her with a quick glance and a wink.
“But she’d make one hell of a civilian consultant.”
Mara squeezed his elbow. He’d given her a new mission.
Live.
Wrangled Fate: Black Claw Ranch Book One
Same town. New clan. Get ready for a wild ride.
Wrangled Fate
Coming November, 2018
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About the Author
Cecilia Lane grew up in a what most call paradise, but she insists is humid hell. She escaped the heat with weekly journeys to the library, where she learned the basics of slaying dragons, magical abilities, and grand adventures.
When it became apparent she wouldn’t be able to travel the high seas with princes or party with rock star vampires, Cecilia hunkered down to create her own worlds filled with sexy people in complicated situations. She now writes with the support of her own sexy man and many interruptions from her goofy dog.
Connect with Cecilia online!
www.cecilialane.com
Also by Cecilia Lane
Shifting Destinies: Shifters of Bear’s Den
Forbidden Mate
Dangerous Mate
Hunted Mate
Runaway Mate
Stolen Mate
Untamed Mate
Shifting Destinies Standalone Stories
Her Christmas Wolf
Claiming the Wolf Princess
Wanted by the Bear
Cursed Dragons
Dragon’s Touch
Dragon’s Desire
Dragon’s Demon
Cursed Dragons Books 1-3
Fated Hearts Club
Burning for the Dragon
Bear’s Baby Blues
Howling for a Mate
Fated Hearts Club Books 1-3
Dragonsworn
Smoulder
Singe
Scorch
Dragonsworn Book 1-3