“Thanks, Charity. That means a lot.” My smile was becoming harder to hold, but I knew she needed this—she needed to feel that I was okay just as much as I needed to be okay.
I gazed down at the two sleeping boys and marveled at how beautiful they were with their brown curly hair like their dad’s and soft pale skin like their mom’s. They were still very small and appeared so peaceful, without a care in the world. Nothing would ever harm these babies—not with Charity, Levi, and the rest of us watching closely. They were so blessed.
The baby to my right started to squirm, and I felt a vibration under my hand. “Um, Charity I think you should take them back. What do you call this one?”
“Oh, that’s number two.”
I genuinely laughed; a full-blown, deep bellied laugh. This made her very happy. “Well, take him ‘cause I think number two just did a number two.” Her eyes grew wide and then we both shook with laughter until both babies were crying louder than a wolf’s howl. And it was just what I needed.
* * *
I was stalking the woods behind Shae’s house, just like every other day. I took my usual seat on the stump and watched. I knew, just like all the other times that I wouldn’t see anything, but that didn’t stop me from doing it. My mind kept repeating Charity’s words from earlier, “God has a great plan for you—a very special destiny”.
I was thinking on those words when I heard a car door shut, drawing my attention to the house. After a moment, there was a knock on the door. I heard the door open. There was some talking; I heard Shae’s mother’s voice and a new voice, one I didn’t recognize. I strained harder to hear.
Suddenly, Shae’s mother burst into tears and ushered the woman inside. My curiosity was piqued. I watched the house closely until after some time, her mother, along with another female, passed by Shae’s bedroom window. Her mother was showing the woman some pictures. Okay, that was it. I had to know who this was.
Something strange began to happen. The closer I got to the house, the faster my heart raced. It had barely beaten at all in months, and now it was beating harder than I can ever remember. I walked faster. Something was pulling me with a supernatural force towards that house. I stepped up to the door and knocked with urgency. The door finally opened and Mrs. Leoni stood there with tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped at them.
“Oh, Eli! It’ so good to see you! What perfect timing. I have someone I’d like you to meet. Come in.”
I was passing her before she even finished her sentence. I scanned around the room frantically—searching for the reason for my anxiety.
Mrs. Leoni took my arm and ushered me into the living room, pulling me to a stop in front of a slight girl, maybe nineteen or twenty years old. What? It was just a girl, and a small one at that. But then she peered up at me, and I thought my heart had stopped. There, gazing deeply into my eyes, were the eyes I had missed for so long—one the darkest color of brown, and the other the palest shade of green.
“Eli,” Mrs. Leoni began, “this is the recipient who received Shae’s eyes. Isn’t it remarkable? She came all this way to meet us. She said she was blind her entire life until now. Isn’t that wonderful? Our Shae gave her sight.”
I knew Shae had been an organ donor and that through her death many lives were saved and changed, but this was too much. I was speechless, still gazing into those amazing eyes—eyes that stole my heart so long ago. But it was what came next that surprised me the most, making me realize that Shae was never meant for me. I felt an odd tingling on my right palm, glancing down to find a blue vine-like line forming before my eyes. What was that? Then the girl spoke, confirming Charity’s earlier words and jump-starting my dead heart once again. Extending her small, soft hand to mine she said the words that would change my life forever. “Hello, Eli, my name is Destiny.”
Epilogue
Charity
As I lay on my bed, flat on my stomach with my feet swinging in the air, I smiled, watching my three beautiful babies sleeping soundly in their crib. I could watch them all day long. Life was peaceful for once. All of us missed Raven and Rose very much, but we were more thankful for their safety.
My thoughts drifted to Eli. He was on my mind a lot these days. He had been through so much—we all had, but things were looking up for us—especially Eli. Our lovely family was whole once again. None of us would ever forget Shae and what she meant to us, but we all loved Destiny very much. She had become a part of our family with ease, as if she was born to be with us. She had always longed for a big family and was open to all things supernatural. She was beautiful, funny, and because she spent her life blind, she marveled at everything she saw. It gave all of us a greater appreciation for what we took for granted daily. She was meant for Eli, and I had never seen him this happy before. He was now experiencing what Levi and I experience with our heart-connection.
But his happiness had come at a cost. After many weeks of courtship, Destiny and Eli had gone back to her home in Chicago to spend a few weeks with her parents so that Eli could get to know them. Her mom had had her at a young age and had spent years single so she could raise her blind daughter. But two years ago her mother had fallen in love and remarried. A few months after the wedding she was pregnant with another baby, a little girl. She named her Journey. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike again and during their visit a hurricane hit; Hurricane Sandy. Eli was only able to rescue Destiny and the baby. Sadly, Destiny’s mother and step-father were swept away during the massive flood. Shortly after, Eli and Destiny returned home to us with a new addition. After a quick and small wedding, they adopted the lovely baby girl, giving her the new name of Journey Drake. And once again, through tragedy God had brought blessings.
In addition to everything else in our lives, Levi and I had finally settled on names for the triplets; Darrow, Deacon, and Dixon Drake. Yes, I got my way and they all started with the same letter. I was a happy and content woman. Nothing could’ve made me any happier—not even heaven itself. Okay, maybe heaven would have.
I was smiling, thinking of our beautiful little boys, when Levi entered our room. “Hey kitten. Did you miss me?”
I sat up on the bed and gripped my chest dramatically. “With all my heart. Hey, Rose said she was sending me some ultrasound pictures in the mail. Did they come?”
He smirked. “You mean these?” he said, holding up an envelope.
I squealed and jumped into his arms, snatching the envelope and ripping it open with eagerness. I almost dropped them as my fingers flipped through them. “I can’t believe how good these look. I can almost see how beautiful she will be.”
Levi was peering over my shoulder. “Amazing. She’s going to be so beautiful. But we knew she would be.”
“Yeah. I love the name they picked for her; Rain Vanderburg.”
“Yeah, I like it too.”
“You know, now that Ash and Josh’s little Glorianna is here that means after Rain is born we will have three new girls born to the pack.”
Levi turned to peer at me strangely. “Umm, yeah?”
I shrugged and stood. “Well, I was just thinking that wouldn’t it be awesome if someday our boys fell in love with them? I can just see it now; each one fighting over the other; heart connections forming.”
“Charity! Your matchmaking skills have officially crossed the line. Our children are just babies for crying out loud.”
I rolled my eyes, applying fresh lip balm as I walked away with Levi tight on my heels.
“Please don’t tell me you’re truly considering pressing this silly notion! No matchmaking with our babies!” He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re gonna press this, aren’t you? Charity? Charity!”
Last Note from the Author
This last book is titled Wesley’s Hope, and I’d like to think I’ve saved the best for last. This story centers on the boy we all love to hate, Wesley Windsor. It seems he’s been causing trouble since the very beginning. Will he finally get what’s coming to him?
His story begins shortly after their last battle with the vampires; the battle that saved Raven and Rose. Here we are introduced to the lovely, and colorful, Hope Mason. I hope you enjoy this last story in the Charity Series. But don’t feel sad, I have a feeling that the Drake triplets might show up in future stories. Feel free to drop me a note. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Wesley’s
Hope
Chapter One
Wesley
“Yes, Sergeant Mason. I will watch over her. You have my word,” I spoke into the phone.
“I’m counting on you, Wesley,” he said. “This is my little girl, and I won’t tolerate anything bad happening to her. Levi says I can trust you, so you better take extra care of Hope.” His voice was sharp and stern.
I rolled my eyes. This guy was such a pain in my butt. Why did I have to get stuck babysitting some spoiled little girl? So what if Charity was having her babies. Why did I have to suffer? Oh well, I’d go get the witch and get it over with.
“Yes sir. I promise I will take care of Hope for you.” I practically spat the words out.
“Very good, Wesley. You can meet my team to switch her out at the location we mentioned earlier.” His voice broke off, and for a moment all I heard was his intake of breath before he said, “Thank you, Wesley.”
“You’re welcome, sir. I will see your team there. Oh, and how are the Vanderburgs settling in over there?”
“Fine, fine. They’re like a part of the family already. They’ll like it here. I’ll tell them you asked about them.”
“No!” I snapped, but then caught myself. “I mean, nah, that’s not necessary. Well, gotta go. I’ll keep you posted.” I clicked the phone closed. Whew, that was close. The last thing I needed was Raven thinking I cared anything about him or his wife. I’d never hear the end of it. It was bad enough that I got duped into this stupid mission. Babysitting a brat. Great.
* * *
My grandfather, Papa Windsor, along with my grandmother, Nana Butterfly (that’s what we’ve always called her) used to run this pack. That is, until I turned eighteen. That’s when I inherited my right to be alpha of our pack: the Windsor Pack. I had a feeling Papa Windsor was slightly disappointed in my leadership. I had always felt his disapproval, even when I was a kid. I felt he loved Levi more than me. I could do no right in his eyes, and Levi could do no wrong. I guess that’s why I was always doing things to get Levi in trouble. The problem was no body bought it. I figured that was one of the reasons I focused so much effort on the rivalry with Levi’s pack. But I was relieved the rivalry was over. I had regained my honor during our last fight in the clearing months ago. I wasn’t fooled though. I knew Levi had staged his injuries so I could win. The truth is, it touched me deeply that he would suffer for my benefit, though I would be hard pressed to admit it to anyone. I did try to hide the fact that it touched me, but Charity saw it. That’s okay though. It was worth it. Keeping up the hatred was exhausting. Besides, I needed to be focusing on my own pack—and now on getting this stupid girl here.
Suddenly, I had a thought that seemed to come out of thin air. Maybe Nana Butterfly could take this Hope Mason under her wing? She could put her to work in her greenhouse. That would keep the brat busy and out of my way. I smiled, pleased with myself for the first time today. Maybe this babysitting thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Two
Wesley
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” I yelled into the phone. “She ditched you? How on earth did she do that? You guys are werewolves, right?” I was so mad I was seeing red. Somehow I sensed they were just ready to be rid of her—not a good sign. They were probably planning to pin her escape on me and my guys. I knew I had to get there right away. This girl was beginning to really bug me, and I hadn’t even met her yet. “Okay fine. We’ll be there soon, and then we’ll locate her scent and take over from there.” I hung up the phone and cursed. I would have to find a way to make this girl suffer for the annoyance she’d already caused me. Hope Mason. The only thing I knew about the girl was that she was trouble. And I sure didn’t need any trouble right now.
Thirty minutes later, I and my elite, Andrew, Li, Jax, and Mitch, arrived at Douglas International Airport to locate this Hope Mason, bane of my existence. We picked up her scent near the ladies restroom nearest the exit. I stuck my head in and called for her, but there was no answer. I heard movement in one of the stalls and, with anger spurring me on, I plowed into the ladies restroom without any other thought other than to find the girl with the blue hair.
“Okay, Hope Mason, I know you’re in here, I can smell your annoyance! Don’t worry, I’m annoyed too. Now come out and we can compare degrees!” It was taking all my strength not to rip out every stall door and jerk a knot in this girl’s head. I passed a sink and happened to glance down to recognize pink dye splattered all over it. Hmm. I shrugged and continued my walk down the long row of closed doors. “You can come out, Hope, I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s just pick up your bags and get going. I’m sure it’s been a long day for you, and you would probably enjoy a warm bed and a hearty meal. So what do you say?” I smiled, thinking I wasn’t so bad at this nice stuff, even if I was pretending like crazy.
“Fine! But just because I’m hungry, that’s all!” she spat as the last door swung open wide and a petite girl maybe five foot tall stepped out with her arms crossed over her chest defiantly.
I studied her slowly from head to toe. She was wearing combat boots with skinny black jeans and a black shirt that was ripped at the sleeves with the thumbs-down symbol smack-dab in the center. The light reflected, drawing my eyes to her shiny lip ring and then to her curly hair that was cropped to her shoulders—and it was pink. Pink! It clicked. I snapped to attention. “Did you just color your hair pink?” I yelled, my anger returning with a vengeance.
She smirked and cocked her head, clearly enjoying my reaction. “Yeah, so what?” she challenged.
Using way more effort than I typically needed, I took control of my rage. “So that’s why you ditched your pack, so you would have time to change your hair color from blue to a more obnoxious one for my sake?” I stepped closer and put on my most intimidating gaze. “I’m flattered, but you really shouldn’t have done that.” My gaze intensified. “We’ll take care of that when we reach the facility. Now, let’s go!”
She jumped at my command and then she narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t know who you think you are!”
I stared down at her, silencing her at once. “I’m Wesley Windsor, your new boss. And you’ll do as you’re told or you will be shipped back to papa. Now move it!” I spun and made my way out of the ladies restroom where a line of curious women had gathered and were listening in on the conversation.
“She’s my runaway sister,” I said to the ladies in case they were alarmed. I surely didn’t need security called in. I put my hand to my heart, dramatically. “I’m so glad I found her. We’ve been so worried.” I faked a thrilled expression before continuing my walk.
Hope growled out a huff, stomping loudly behind me. “I can tell we’re gonna be great friends.”
I smiled at her sarcasm but kept walking. “You have no idea.”
At the baggage claim, Li, Mitch, Jax, and Andrew all had bags in both hands, including a guitar case. “Just how many bags did you bring?” I asked in disbelief.
She shrugged, and after a brief moment, she stuck out her chin and said, “If you must know, I have my stuffed animals in most of these bags.” After noting my expression, which I’m sure resembled disgust, she added, “Well, I couldn’t just leave any of them behind. It’s not their fault my dad is a jerk and sent me away.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I turned and picked up the last bag from the conveyer belt. It was so heavy that the top flew open, spilling its contents all over my feet and the surrounding floor. She gasped and knelt with me to begin the cleanup process. I grabbed one of the books before she could stop me
and read the title, “Lazy Days and Lustful Nights! What a stupid title! What kind of book is this?” I snapped as she snatched the book from my grasp, stuffing it, along with the others, into the suitcase.
I have to admit, she turned an adorable shade of pink and not the disgusting shade of her hair. My guys were holding back their laughter. She stood and eyed them with annoyance before turning to me. “Fine! I have an addiction to romance novels! If you don’t like it, you can kiss my voluptuous rumpus!!”
My eyes widened and a laugh burst from my lips. “Um, what? I think that is the last thing I would call your tiny butt,” I said, twisting my head to take a look.
She jerked back and used her hands to cover her rear, her anger boiling over. “You are an overgrown, pig-headed dolt!” She pointed her finger in my face. “Don’t even think about talking to me again!”
I smiled. “Whatever you say, Trouble. Come along then.” I reached down for the now secure bag and made my way toward the exit. In that moment, something told me my life was about to take a serious detour—one that would kick me in the groin and make me wish I was born a girl. Unfortunately, Trouble was coming with me.
Chapter Three
Hope
I hated him already—this guy called Wesley—my new alpha. How dare he criticize my romance novels—or my butt? However, as annoyed as I might have been, I couldn’t deny that he wasn’t all that bad to look at. He was very tall with a muscled physique, black, messy spiked hair, and an intimidating gaze. But this guy was a bigger jerk than even my dad was. His sharp tongue and arrogant swagger were proof of that.
Sitting in the back seat of the tinted limo, staring defiantly at Wesley and the Asian guy named Li, I already wished I was back at home. I missed my friends, Cathy most of all. She had always been a good friend to me and such a great listener. My dad thought she was trouble. Little did he know that I was the bad influence on her, not the other way around. I smirked when I thought about it.
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