by Tasha Black
“Yes, just take it slow and put it away for later if it’s too hard. The beginning is supposed to be funny, okay? So don’t be surprised.”
The girl nodded and fell onto the carpet at Ainsley’s feet, her nose already deep in the book.
Ainsley reached down to twirl Mary’s messy blonde ponytail around one of her fingers and the girl leaned back companionably against Ainsley’s shin.
LeeAnn reached over her daughter’s head to hand Ainsley the little package.
“I made it myself,” she said proudly.
Ainsley smiled and pulled the ribbon. Nestled in the brown paper was something small and pink. Ainsley couldn’t see anymore, as her eyes filled with tears.
Erik saved her, pulling the tiny dress from her hands.
“LeeAnn, it’s beautiful. But how did you know?” he asked.
“I just knew,” she said simply, as if that was all the explanation required. “And I’m just sure it’s going to be a little girl.”
Ainsley’s hands went to her middle, and the new life growing there. Besides Erik, only Grace and Cressida knew.
“Are you really going to have a baby?” Mary asked.
Ainsley smiled and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“Can I babysit?” Mary asked in delight.
“I’m sure she can’t wait to meet her Aunt Mary,” Ainsley said.
“If she gets to be Aunt Mary, then I want to be Uncle Zeke!” Zeke exploded off the ground where he and the twins had been putting together a puzzle. Rachel and Ruth followed him.
“Can I be Uncle Rachel?”
“And I want to be Princess Esmeralda!” Ruth declared.
The front door burst open, cutting off the chatter, and a rush of cold air filled the room. Grace and Cressida bustled in together, arguing good-naturedly.
“I’m telling you, they’re supposed to be funny,” Cressida insisted. “There is no way anyone would ever be afraid of a guy in a hockey mask with claws for fingers.”
“First of all,” Grace said, squatting to pat Camilla Parker Bowles, who had launched herself off LeeAnn’s lap to flop down at Grace’s feet. “Those are two different guys, and the claws are on a glove. And secondly, not everyone can turn into a giant wolf whenever they want.”
Cressida smirked and walked past the hall closet to fling her jacket on the newel post.
Once again, Ainsley was pleasantly surprised at the unlikely friendship that had formed between the two women. She figured it must have been the result of the crazy night they’d battled the moroi together. They were like old war buddies.
“Hi, Grace,” Ainsley said, moving to greet them.
Grace wrapped her small arms around Ainsley and squeezed her a little too tightly.
“Everything okay?” Ainsley whispered.
“Yeah,” Grace replied. “I think it really is.”
Her voice sounded good, more relaxed than it had in the last month.
Ainsley had worried. A lot. She knew from her best friend’s prominent cheekbones that she’d been missing meals, and maybe not sleeping either.
But tonight Grace seemed at peace. Maybe it was something in the air.
“Tea?” Ainsley asked.
“Not tonight,” Grace told her. “Let’s go sit, bring everyone in.”
Ainsley was mystified, but gestured to Erik and LeeAnn to join her in the dining room.
When they were all gathered around the table, Grace cleared her throat, then leaned in and addressed them.
“I’ve been grieving long enough. Now it’s time for action. We’re leaving, Cress and I, to hunt down the moroi and finish what we started.”
They sat in stunned silence for a moment. Ainsley had so many questions. She couldn’t decide which one to ask first. She went with the most obvious one.
“You and Cressida?”
Grace looked to Cressida, who flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“You don’t really need me here.” She shrugged, glancing at the tiny pink dress Ainsley still held. “And I think this is my destiny, or whatever.”
“What do you mean?” Ainsley asked.
“Grace says it’s because of my dad,” Cressida explained with a studied nonchalance. “He was one millionth Cherokee or something, my grandpa always told me. That’s why the moroi was afraid of me. The Native Americans were the first guards.”
“Wow,” LeeAnn said. “You’re Cherokee, huh?”
Cressida smiled and nodded once.
“I think that’s awesome, Cress,” Erik said.
Ainsley tried not to notice how Cressida looked down in a pleased and submissive way at his words. It was hard to get used to Erik being an alpha, too. It sometimes seemed as though every woman in both packs was overwhelmed at his masculinity.
As if he had read her mind, she felt his warm hand spread possessively across her back. She smiled. He really was a nice guy.
“I’ve been over Julian’s old books and journals,” Grace said, her dark eyes flashing. “And if he’s right, this thing is going to be trying to free more of its kind. Someone has to stop it. And I owe it one.”
“And someone has to keep her out of trouble,” Cressida added.
They all laughed, cutting through any trace of tension in the air.
Ainsley understood. Grace still stung over Julian, she wanted revenge. Ainsley would never try to dissuade her. Though she hoped her best friend would keep a level head.
Of course keeping a level head was what Grace always did best. And Cressida was naturally interested in following the action. They would be good out there together. They needed to do this.
Part of her envied them. The moroi was far less terrifying than the prospect of being a mother. And Grace wasn’t the only one with a score to settle with it.
But Ainsley had her hands full in Tarker’s Hollow. She and Erik needed to strengthen the bond between their two packs.
And she’d done the math. The baby had been conceived when Erik didn’t have his wolf.
Ainsley had no idea what that would mean for the baby. And no idea how they would actually make a blended pack work. Or what the Federation had planned for them.
She sensed her mate looking at her and she turned to face him.
Erik smiled at her, his amber eyes crinkling at the corners. His gaze made her feel strong and weak all at the same time.
Whatever challenges lay ahead, they would face them together, as a family.
-THE END
THANK you so much for reading Fate of the Alpha. I can’t believe it’s over!
Of course, there is more in store for the Tarker’s Hollow gang down the road.
If you want to find out when the adventure continues, be sure to sign up for my mailing list here:
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I’ll let you know when I have something new coming out, plus I do contests, sneak-peeks and freebies to reward my loyal readers. And if you made it this far, that is definitely you!
Thanks again!
x0x
-Tasha
AFTERWORD
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If you enjoyed Fate of the Alpha, I invite you to become part of my One Percent Club by leaving a review.
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Drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you!
And thanks again for reading my book. As long as you keep readi
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-Tasha
ALSO BY TASHA BLACK
Curse of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle
Read the series that started it all!
Ainsley Connor is determined to turn her back on her shifter past.
But the wolves of Tarker’s Hollow call on her to choose the next alpha, and Ainsley becomes the object of desire for every eligible wolf in the quiet college town.
Surrounded by seductive shifters, all desperate to claim her, Ainsley wants nothing more than to leave the pack behind forever. But her newfound passions will not be ignored.
Ainsley soon finds herself torn between the mysterious stranger with the dark secret, the gorgeous and loyal friend from her past, and the hunky sheriff that wants her all to himself.
And the shifters aren’t even the strangest part of Tarker’s Hollow.
As she struggles to come to terms with her true nature, Ainsley is thrust into the center of a steamy web of shifters, ghosts, witches and warlocks, caught up in a life-and-death struggle for control of the pack she tried to abandon.
But for Ainsley Connor, the toughest wolf she must face might just be the one inside herself.
Winter Heat:
Set in Bella Andre’s Game for Love world, Winter Heat is the story of a young artist that falls for a bad-boy snowboarder with a dark secret. If think you know enough about me by now to take a guess at the secret, you might be surprised!