Nathan stood there, his body starting to go numb as the watched the plane pull away from the gate. This was it. She was gone. He felt like his entire world was crashing around him. His wolf howled in distress. “Violet. I need to tell her …”
“Tell me what?”
He froze. Slowly, he turned around to the source of the voice. He must be hallucinating, because Violet was standing in front of him, her beautiful blue eyes wide with surprise.
“You missed your flight.” He was so dumbstruck it was the only thing he could think to say.
“I didn’t,” she said. “I couldn’t go.”
“Why not?”
“I couldn’t leave without telling you I love you.”
“Violet …” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close. He pressed his lips to hers, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. “I love you too,” he whispered.
She sucked in a deep breath. “You came all the way here to stop me from leaving?”
“No,” he said with a smile. “I could never stop you from following your heart. Those girls need you. And you need them.”
Violet stepped back from his embrace and gave him a dumbstruck look. “I don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t going to stop you from leaving,” he said. “I was going to ask you to wait for me. I’m going with you, Violet. To Eritana. To anywhere you want go.”
“Nathan …” Her voice trembled as she said his name. Taking a step forward, she pressed her body to his and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss.
As their lips touched, he felt a warmth washing over him like a gentle wave. His heart clenched, and it was like something was wrapping around it, something soft and comforting like a down blanket yet it felt like it could be strong as steel. When he pulled away, he realized what it was.
The mating bond.
“You’re mine now,” he said. “Mate.” His wolf happily agreed.
“Oh!” She put her hand to her chest. The contented purrs were strong and vibrant. “I can’t believe … it’s incredible.” She laid her head on his chest. “I’ve never felt like this.”
“Me neither,” he said. “I never want to be away from you.”
“What what about your job? Your family?” She looked up at him, a little wrinkle appearing between her brows. “You can’t just leave everything behind.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m not. It’ll work out, Baby,” he said, kissing her frown away. “I’m not leaving everything behind. I’m following my everything.”
Epilogue
A few weeks later…
Nathan wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood back and inspected his work. Not bad, he thought. He grew up knowing how to work on cars and other machines, but he’d never built an actual structure with a roof and walls before. One of the construction workers working on the building, a middle-aged man named Gregor, gave him a thumbs up. He grinned back and returned the gesture.
This particular building was going to be the start of the second home in the orphanage compound so that they could take in even more girls.
A few days after their reunion at the airport, Nathan handed in his notice to Lennox Corp. His friends were sad to see him go, but they all understood and told him he would always have a place in Blackstone and with the company. Nathan and Violet hadn’t discussed any long-term plans yet, but they both knew Antonia and the girls needed their help. Nathan packed his bags, reluctantly handed the keys of his Mustang to Kate, and he and Violet flew to Eritana.
It seemed they had gotten there just in time as the villagers had gathered as a mob to throw Antonia and her girls out of their home. Needless to say, they didn’t just see the fury of the Golden Demon, but its wolf mate as well.
They scrambled to find a new home for the girls, but in the end it worked out. Nathan, with the help of funds from his friends, purchased an old abandoned mansion just outside Aldari, the capital of Eritana. They first renovated the house so the girls could have a place to live, and then they started making plans to further expand the property and the Blackstone Girl’s Orphanage.
“Nathan! Nathan!”
He turned around and saw a group of the youngest girls crowded around him. “Hey girls,” he greeted.
“Nathan, please!” the smallest one, Eva, said. “Do it, please?”
Tiny voices saying “Yes!” and “Please!” rang around him.
He rolled his eyes in fake exasperation. “Well … all right. But you promise to keep studying your letters, okay?”
“Yes!”
He turned around, facing away from them, and then whipped his head back. Wolf ears popped from his head and he grew his snout, whiskers and all. Fur sprouted all over his face. This sent all the girls into a fit of giggles.
“Are you bothering Nathan again, girls?” Violet asked as she walked up behind them.
“Sorry, Miss Violet,” Eva said. “We just wanted to see the puppy.”
“Puppy?” Nathan asked in an incredulous voice.
“The Silver Puppy!” another girl screamed, and the rest of the girls joined her in chorus.
“Hold on.” Nathan walked over the Violet, a sea of girls parting as they let him through. “You’re the Golden Demon and I’m the Silver Puppy?”
“Probably something lost in translation,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips and a glint in her eye. “Besides, they think you’re cute. Like a pet.”
He turned to the girls. “Puppy, eh? I’ll show you puppy! Raaawwr!” He raised his hands and formed his fingers into claws. They giggled and screamed, running away from him as he chased them around the compound. He continued to run after them until Antonia called them inside for lunch.
“Whew,” Nathan said as he sat down beside Violet. She had taken shelter from the hot sun under a large fir tree. “Those girls are giving me a run for my money.”
“You hardly broke a sweat, love,” she said. “Besides you’ve been working a lot.”
“You’ve been working a lot,” he countered, then reached over to cuddle her to his side. His hand snaked around over her belly. “I don’t want you getting too tired and stressing our cub.”
It was a complete surprise when they found out Violet was pregnant. She had felt tired all the time, and she was throwing up in the mornings. Even her tiger seemed extra stressed, like it was fatigued but restless. They thought it was just the heat or the stress from travel and renovations, but a week ago they both heard it. Soft but strong, it was the heartbeat of their cub in her womb. The chemical that had brought on her heat had probably obliterated her birth control too. Needless to say, they were thrilled.
“What did your parents say?” Violet asked.
“They said they’ll be here next week,” Nathan answered. They had both agreed to keep the pregnancy between them for now but wanted to tell their families in person. “They’re still on that retirement trip with their friends, but they want to swing by to meet you. And yours?”
“They can come anytime, so let’s see if we can hit two birds with one stone and have them over and make the announcement.”
“You’re so smart,” he said, giving her a kiss on the nose. “Oh. I almost forgot to tell you,” he fished his phone from his pocket, “Matthew said to check the account again. He and Catherine sent another round of funding when they heard the girls got into school for the next semester.”
“Your friends are too generous,” she said.
“They’re not just friends,” he reminded her. “They’re our family.” He scrolled through his mailbox, searching through the tons of new mail. “Weird.” He frowned.
“What is it?”
“This must be a joke.” He chuckled and showed her the email that read “Luke Lennox” on the “From” line. “I didn’t even know Luke had an email address.”
“Well? What does it say?”
“Let me check.” As he read the single sentence in the email, his heartbeat began to speed up and his fingers tightened around the phone.
&nbs
p; Violet gripped his arm. “What is it, love?”
“Blackstone. Everyone’s in danger.” He stood, dusting the dirt from his pants and helping her up. “I need to go.” He looked around them. “We have enough people and guards here. You and Antonia and the girls will be safe until I come back.”
Violet’s eyes turned steely with determination. “I’m going with you,” she said. He opened his mouth to protest, but she placed a finger on his lips. “No. Like you said, they’re our family. And when family needs your help, you go. Besides,” she pulled him into a hug, “I’m following my everything. Wherever he wants go.”
He smiled down at her. Even though he wanted Violet and his cub to stay here and be safe, he knew she’d fight him with every ounce of her strength until he relented. “All right. But this,” he placed a hand over her stomach, “is our priority, okay?”
“Of course,” she said. “Now, let’s go save our family.”
He couldn’t love her more in that moment if he tried.
The End
Dear Reader,
Thanks for making it all the way to the end.
I hope you enjoyed Violet and Nathan’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
But wait.
It’s not over yet.
First, you can read some sexy and sizzling bonus scenes by signing up for my newsletter. If you’re part of it, then you know where to go.
Next, I’ll be ending this part of the Blackstone series with one last book.
Yup, the Blackstone Lion is coming. Luke’s story will be out next month, April 2018.
If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll be the first to know when it’s out AND know about my special sales and FAN PRICING.
Go ahead and turn the page for AUTHOR’S NOTES.
All the best,
Alicia
Author’s Notes
Written on March 19, 2018
For authors, there are certain characters that are troublemakers. The ones who refuse to do what you want them to do or act how you tell them (I’m looking at you, Quinn). They keep you up nights or worry you, much like a child would worry a mom (Connor!)
I’m happy to say that Nathan was NOT like that at all. He was the baby who slept through the night (which meant I got some sleep), did as he was told and happy to play along.
Except maybe when it came to Violet.
I didn’t know what to do with her. I wanted the Nathan’s interactions with her to be much different, but sometimes these characters have a life of their own. He refused to let her be weak, or even act as the “hero/rescuer”. It was like, he was telling me that Violet was going to kick ass and be the hero in this story.
He even changed the ending. We’ve always read about heroes telling the heroines that they would follow them to the ends of the earth. And I’m glad that Nathan was the one to prove that saying right.
So now, we’re almost at the end of Blackstone. Up next is Luke.
Oh my.
It’s going to be a tough one. I suspect a lot of heartbreak for our hero. And for me too. Much like when I “ended” my other series (Meredith and Daric, Connor and Evie), I know I’ll be a little sad to say goodbye.
Of course, if you know me by know, I’m pretty sneaky. I’ll have more surprises for you!
Please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to tell me what you think about my story.
If you really want to let your feelings known, leave me a review! It helps me out a lot as an indie reader.
Until next time!
All the best,
Alicia
Other Books by Alicia Montgomery
Paranormal Series:
The True Mates Series
Fated Mates
Blood Moon
Romancing the Alpha
Witch’s Mate
Taming the Beast
Tempted by the Wolf
The Lone Wolf Defenders Series:
Killian’s Secret
Loving Quinn
All for Connor
The Blackstone Mountain Series
The Blackstone Dragon Heir
The Blackstone Bad Dragon
The Blackstone Bear
Contemporary Series:
The Billionaire Heirs
Seducing the Billionaire’s Daughter
Surrendering to the Billionaire’s Son
The Combustion Series
Take Me There
Hearts on Fire
All of Me
Their Game
Let the Games Begin
The Game is On
End Game
The Blackstone Wolf: Blackstone Mountain Book 4 Page 15