by Lisa Ladew
Fuck, why did he have to be so sensitive? So good at this shit, while she sucked at it? She did like hearing that, though. It made her feel safe and connected, like everything would be all right. She laid her head down on his chest and let the feeling wash over her, wondering if it could really be true. Could he really love her? Love was something she hadn’t spent a lot of time considering in her life, had never had someone tell her they felt about her before. Like, she didn’t even know if she would recognize it if she felt it for him. He was sweet as hell, constantly funny, sexier than anyone she’d ever known, and the man could fuck like a dream. But was that love? She didn’t think so. She buttoned her lip, not wanting to say anything, glad he didn’t seem to care that she didn’t respond at all when he said that.
Bruin pulled into the driveway of a farmhouse. Rogue sat up straighter, tension flooding through her. Do or die time. Shit. Did she really believe those were her sisters in there? Butterflies fluttered in her stomach while some small part of her felt guilty, almost as if she were moving on from her first family, her first sister.
But she wasn’t. No way. Now that she had access to a shit-load of cops, maybe they could figure something out that she had never been able to.
Mac helped her out of the car and she practically ran up to the house, ready to get it over with. Forty-five minutes, and then she would pull Mac back to his place. Get some alone time with him.
The front door opened and a woman came out. Striking black hair. A belly as big as a basketball. She smiled at Rogue and held out her arms for a hug. Rogue surprised herself by going straight into them. Bruin had told her about all her half-sisters already.
“You must be Ella,” she said, cutting the hug just a little bit short. She didn’t love the hugs anyway, but hugging a woman with a belly that big was double-uncomfortable. She put her hand out hesitantly and Ella nodded. “You can touch it.”
“Shit,” Rogue breathed. “You’re like a house. When is the baby due?”
A cloud crossed over Ella’s face, but only for a second. “Soon.”
Rogue pushed Ella’s belly with her finger, surprised how hard it was. “Is it a baby in there, or a wolf?”
“There’s two of them, and every time we’ve seen them so far, it’s been babies.” She produced an ultrasound picture like a magician.
Rogue took it. “Aww, they’re kind of cute, if you like really big heads.”
Ella laughed. “Come inside, everyone is dying to meet you.”
Rogue’s nervousness eased a little. Ella was nice. Sweet. “Is the dragon in there? I want to thank him.” And maybe sneak a bite when Mac wasn’t looking. No! Bad Rogue. No sister’s-mate biting.
Inside, everything was normal, more normal than Mac’s house. Pictures on the walls, normal furniture. Boring. Tons of people. She was introduced to them one by one. Smile. Shit. Hi. Forgot your name already. Nice to meet you, too, shit, I’m not going to remember any of this in two minutes. She liked all her half-sisters, though. Ella, Heather, Dahlia, Cerise, she could remember them.
But then came Graeme. She could remember him, too. She tried to give him her most sincere smile. “Thank you. Like seriously, thank you.”
“Thank yer mate and the bear,” he said, in a delicious brogue. “They did all the hard work. I only did what comes naturally to dragen.”
He had his arm around his mate, Heather. Rogue eyed her up and down, the blonde hair, the full lips, and her own growing belly. Of course she wanted a hug, too. When they were pulling apart, Rogue said. “So, what, are you fireproof?”
Heather laughed. “Actually, I am.”
Something deliciously nasty snuck through Rogue’s thoughts. “So, what, you two do fire play instead of rope play or breath play? Like, does he tie you up and try to shoot fire up your cooch?”
Heather’s mouth dropped open and Graeme looked equally stunned. Mac came up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders, steering her over to the table of food, next to where Bruin was already loading up. “You gotta ease ‘em in, Roe, ease ‘em in. At least let them get to know you before you ask your sisters any sex questions. And maybe don’t do it in front of their mates.”
Rogue grabbed his hand. “Do you think they swap partners out here? They’re all living together, right?”
Mac’s face went rigid. “Good God, woman, don’t ask them that. We’ll be banned from ever coming back.”
Rogue looked around. “Seriously? I thought they were gonna be fun.”
Mac curled her close to him. “Well, they’re not. I’m the only fun one. I’m probably the only one you should talk to about sex, too. I know they’re your sisters, but they aren’t like you.”
She went to give him a kiss and ask him what that meant, when Bruin went rigid next to her, his plate of food spilling out of his hands.
He faced the wall straight ahead, and when he spoke, it sounded strange. Not like him.
“Caught between her future and her past, Amaranth calls for her sister, but denies it even to herself. Find her along the river walk, behind the purple door.”
Stunned, Rogue grabbed Bruin’s arm. It was like trying to move concrete. “What?”
Bruin shook his head, his eyes clearing, and looked down for his food, frowning. “What?”
Mac grabbed him, too. “Shit, bear, you did it again.”
Bruin’s face went white. “No.” He looked around. “Did anyone hear?”
“I don’t know.” Mac moved in close to him and repeated what he’d said.
Rogue grabbed for Mac, pushing and pulling both males away from the table, into a corner where they could whisper fervently. “What in the hell? Somebody explain this to me.”
Mac gestured at Bruin. “Bruin sees the future. He told me, just like that, all spacey and weird, that I was going to meet you at the rut, and then he told me if I didn’t claim you, you were going to die.”
Rogue rubbed the mark on her shoulder, the one that looked suspiciously to her like a knife, but Mac thought looked more like a sword. “That didn’t sound like a future thing, but more like a present thing.” Nausea swept through her as she tried to consider actually finding her sister. She’d been waiting twenty years for something like this to happen, the smallest lead, the littlest clue. Even a crazy one would do. She had to go. Tonight. Plans for how she would get out, get away, start looking for her sister, began running through her mind.
Mac grabbed her hands, tried to catch her eye, even as she tried to turn away. “It sounds like we’re supposed to go look for her.”
Bruin rubbed at his beard, his face pinched. “Wade’s not going to like this.”
Mac swore. “Who gives a shit! Rogue needs to find her sister.” His eyes flashed. “You’re with us, right, B? We can go without you if we have to, even if Wade won’t give us anyone else, but I’d feel a lot safer having you along.”
Bruin nodded. “I go where you go, Mac-attack.”
Rogue’s hearing dimmed as she watched the two male’s lips move as they made plans. She hadn’t expected this. For something so important to her to be just as important to Mac? She’d thought he would try to write it off, say it didn’t mean anything, say she couldn’t go, it was too dangerous, but no, he was going to defy his boss for her. He seemed to feel just as she did.
But he didn’t even know Amaranth. Neither of them did.
And then it hit her. That’s what love was. At that moment, she didn’t question anymore whether Mac felt love for her. It was in the tense set of his shoulders, the urgency of his tone and words, the look in his eyes.
Finding Rogue’s sister was important to him, because it was important to her. It was that simple.
Her heart opened. Bloomed. Love for him spilled out of it like water from an overflowing vase.
He was sweet, funny, sexy, and could fuck, but that wasn’t why she loved him back.
She loved him because of who he was, and who they were together, and who they would be tomorrow and the next day and the next, as they wa
lked through life together, always having each other’s backs. Always being there for each other.
She dug her fingernails into Mac’s arm until he stopped talking and looked at her.
Her voice was soft, weak, and she tried to strengthen it. “I would think Wade would want us to go find her, since she’s a one true mate.”
Mac’s eyes popped and she smiled, wondering what her sister looked like as an adult. They weren’t identical. Hadn’t even looked much alike at five, in her opinion.
Mac leaned in close to her, holding her around her waist, and she was glad for his strength. “Are you telling me Amaranth is your twin?”
She nodded.
Mac pulled her close, tucking her into his side.
“Bruin, go find Wade. Shit just got real.”
Rogue looked around at her other sisters, talking happily, shooting her smiles, and wondered what Amaranth was going to make of all this.
She couldn’t wait to find out.
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Book 6 cover reveal coming soon!! I hope you liked it!
Notes by Lisa
This was my favorite book to date. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I busted my ass on it and gave it blood, sweat, tears, plus one incredibly long, shower-less week at the end, where I pulled five or six 16-hour days in a row. Something like that, it’s a blur.
It was both incredibly hard to write, and incredibly fun. My friend Savan Robbins and I laughed and laughed as we discussed Mac and Bruisms.
But now, I’m at a bit of a crossroads. This book was 20,000 words longer than any of the others in the series, and I’m not sure if that’s the direction the rest of the books will go or not.
**** If it is, that means it’s going to take me longer to get them out there. ****
So, anyway, back to the rest of the books. I’ve decided there will be at least 13 books in the series. I’ve written a blog post about that here.
Stay tuned! There will be an extended epilogue from this book only for my newsletter subscribers and it will be at the bottom of every newsletter from now on. Sign up here.
And thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for reading. Thank you for all your comments, and for loving this universe. <3
Lisa