David shrugged. “Sometimes I do, yeah. But it’s not how we live. I’ve come to terms with my life. In fact, you’re the one who talked me through all this werewolf shit when I was first turned, remember? Told me to accept what I’d become, I’d be a lot happier if I didn’t fight it.”
“I remember. One reason I accepted all the bullshit that went with being were, I never wanted to bring a woman into a life that involves potential death as part of it. Now there could be a way around the killing. Hell, maybe I am getting old, but it’s time for a change. Starting today.”
“So do I need to clear out? Is she moving in here?” David poured a shot of whiskey.
“No, she’s got her own place. You can stay. Long as you don’t mind the sound of a totally hot, horny woman experiencing the best sex she’s ever had.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that sound before. From anyone who’s been in my bed.”
“Sure, okay, keep telling yourself that.” They both laughed then touched their glasses together before downing the shots.
“Seriously, though, some shit’s going to hit the fan here shortly.” Vincent gave his cousin a brief rundown of what they’d discovered. “I have a feeling the Regents aren’t going to be too happy with me, and I’ll be getting a visit from them soon. You might want to leave when that happens.”
“Are you kidding? I want a front-row seat to watch you tell them where to stick it. Man, that’s some serious shit. Messing with changing humans to werewolves. Keep me posted.” David headed toward the stairs. “I’m going to shower and change, then I’ll take off for the night. Hook up with one those hot, horny women of my own.”
* * * *
Gen opened her eyes slowly, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Vincent’s bedroom. Smelled good, like him. Kind of earthy, spicy, a pine undertone, and the scent of their sex on the sheets. She’d been having the best dream. Light filled her soul and a sense of peace enveloped her. She didn’t believe much in angel guides, but if she had to put a name to this feeling, angelic would be it. And her guide was happy, telling her she’d made the right decision.
What woke her? The ringing started again, and Gen rolled from the warm bed to dig in her purse. Mom, calling for the fourth time. She never called incessantly unless something was wrong. Not really wanting to disturb this sense of euphoria, Gen answered anyway.
“What?”
“I just heard from Aunt Dottie and your cousin Angela. They feel great! Clearheaded, not at all muddled. The best they have in years. What did you do? Did you find a way to break the curse?”
Uh, did she? “I’m not sure. I’ve been busy doing…different things.”
“Like what?”
“Like too much to go into right now. I’ll tell you everything soon.” Not everything. “Are you going to contact all our relatives, see how everyone’s doing?”
“Yes, I am. I’ll get back to you when I know. But, baby, I think you did it. Tell me, what happened?”
“Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.” Really, she did have to go. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and Gen headed to what she assumed was the bathroom.
Shit! Cold seat. At least it was in the down position. Vincent said he ran hot. Would they constantly have thermostat wars? Nice, clean bathroom, though. Only the essential manly toiletries, not a lot of foo-foo items. Pretty much what she expected. Though tempted to open the medicine cabinet she resisted.
Slowly her mind came into focus and the enormity of her mother’s words hit her. The curse. Had it really been lifted, and if so, what could she have done to break it?
Back in the bedroom she checked her phone again. A text she’d missed from Hallmar, sent yesterday. Sorry so long getting back to you. Busy and slow connections here in Nepal. Belise mentioned courage, unselfish maybe? Can’t recall exact. I’ll contact you when I can.
Courage and unselfish. Did going after Ethan Kern qualify? She’d done it for Vincent and to help a man she didn’t know. Not for her own interests, but because she had to do what was right. So that was it, the secret to lifting the curse. She’d proved herself worthy of forgiveness and deserving of love again, like Belise said she had to do.
Hot damn! Gen twirled around and laughed. Love. She could fall in love. No more keeping up shields, no more goodbyes just when her heart started to care. She could marry, have a family if she wanted, children who would be raised by two parents. And so could all the rest of the Birch women. She’d done it!
The sound of men speaking, then the front door slamming reached her ears. Gen stopped dancing long enough to pull on her jeans and sweater, which were folded and piled on a chair in the bedroom. Vincent must have retrieved their clothes and brought them up. Thoughtful guy. She padded downstairs.
“You’re awake.”
He smiled in greeting, and her heart flip-flopped. She could get very used to seeing that smile every day. “Is someone here? I heard you talking.”
“David. He’s gone now.”
“Everything okay with him?”
“It’s fine. I told him what we did, a little bit. Told him you’re my woman now, and I’m going to introduce you to the pack. Why are you bouncing on your toes and grinning like a crazy woman?”
“The curse. I broke it. My mom called and said the women who were insane are getting better. Then I read a text that Hallmar sent me. He thinks Belise said, whoever breaks the curse has to do something unselfish and courageous. Going with you to get Mark was it.”
“Nice. So now what?” His smile grew broader, contradicting his casual tone.
“Now I get to love you all the way, Vincent Bradshaw.” She walked closer and draped her arms on his shoulder, a shiver running from head to toe at the contact. He touched his lips to hers, then pulled away, the light of love shining in his eyes. Could anything be better than this?
Epilogue
“How are plans coming with the addition on Vincent’s house?” Morgan poured them each another cup of tea.
Gen and her friend had finally carved out an hour of time to catch up on their lives, and now sat in her shop after closing. Though she and Vincent had spent every night together the past week, he and the Howlers were running with the full moon tonight. She was fine being alone, she assured him.
“Great. He’s pretty much letting me pick out whatever I want. He’ll act like he’s all interested in looking at cabinet colors, but he doesn’t give a shit. Sorry. Hanging with those wolves has turned me into a potty mouth.”
“They do have that effect, don’t they? You should have heard me the other day when a Labradoodle got loose in the clinic. Like a sailor on shore leave. You really ready to give up your apartment? Living with a guy is not just fun and rolling in the hay all time, you know.”
“I know. It’s not like I’m moving in with him, exactly. I’ll have my own suite right off his house. My own kitchen, living room, and bedroom. When we want to be together we can; when we don’t, it will be easy to maintain our privacy.”
“How did it go with the Regents’ visit to Vincent?”
“Like he expected. One of the big shots got all in his face and yelled at him. He kept cool, he says, didn’t punch the guy. They went to that cabin in The Woods to see if they could find anything, but it was occupied by a family renting it and repairs were already made on the broken window. They took a wolfy sniff around but didn’t turn up anything new.”
“Is he still investigating Ethan Kern and working on finding out who’s responsible for messing with the weres around here? That was some pretty heavy stuff I read on the flash drive he showed me.”
“Not technically. He put on a big show and acted all repentant, told them he would turn over all the files on the Omega Experiment to the Regents and leave it alone.”
“And is he?”
“Of course not. He’s still looking into it. Just more discreetly now.”
“You dealing with the pack okay? I haven’t been around them for a while. Too busy getting the new doc in my clini
c all set up.”
“It’s coming along slowly. I’ve started testing the Forget Me Always potion. Your suggestions on tweaking the formulation were perfect, by the way. So far, it’s worked on a couple of the Howlers, and they’re pretty impressed. I’m getting pack cred big time. Vincent is kind of easing the thought process along, about more weres keeping permanent mates and having families. My idea, to go slow. He was all ready to start charging in, changing protocol. These people, they’ve been living so solitary for a long while. It’s going to take time to introduce a new concept.”
“Always does. You’re okay turning down that job with Born Beautiful?”
“Sure am. I won’t be paying rent because big, manly Vincent refuses to take money from me. Says he’s been wanting to put an addition onto his house for a long time, and the service I’ll be providing for the weres will be plenty of payment. And I’ll have a nice income from selling them my products, since the Regents are interested in buying large quantities of Forget Me Always if I can get it just right. My natural ingredients work well on the weres too. Not using chemicals seems to agree with their constitutions. I’m getting all kinds of business from them. Out of the area, too.”
Morgan lifted her tea cup. “Here’s to business success, love with wolves, and wild times. It’s great to share with you, my friend.”
Gen clinked her cup in the toast. It sure the hell was!
The End
Publisher’s Note
Please help this author’s career by posting an honest review wherever you purchased this book.
About Naomi Bellina
Naomi Bellina lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and a magical calico cat. She became a romance author because her characters insist on falling madly in love. So she lets them. She writes paranormal, contemporary and new adult romance and often erotic romance. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and creating healthy meals. Her motto: Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!
Visit her at http://www.naomibellina.com/
Table of Contents
Sins of Long Ago
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
About Naomi Bellina
Sins of Long Ago Page 22