He was amazing. Every day he proved his love for me in some way, and every day I fell deeper in love with him. For once, I was genuinely happy. I had everything I could ever want in life and then some. I finally knew what true bliss felt like.
—
Epilogue.
Three years later...
“Congratulations, Emma!” They all yelled as I entered the barn. I suspected Wilma and Cherry had organized everything based off the decor and floor to ceiling signs reading: ‘Congratulations, Graduate.’
“Congwaduwations, Aunt Emma,” Nathan cried running towards me. I bent down and pulled him into my arms for one of our bear hugs.
“I can’t believe you got your bachelor’s degree in three years. You never cease to amaze me, Em,” Wilma said, hugging me and Nathan, who was clinging to me, arms locked around my neck.
“You still planning to start law school in the fall?” my dad asked, extricating Nathan from me before kissing my cheek. I’d planned to go to law school so I could legally go in and shut down Meriam and her orphanage.
I flushed, biting my lower lip and squirming beside them. I looked to Marco who raised his brow in question of my reaction. “I, uh, don’t think so.”
“Why the hell not? You graduated top of your class in social work and have a full ride waiting for you,” he pressed, a growl in his tone.
“Um, well, it’s not that easy.”
“Since when have you shied away from hard, Emma?” Wilma scoffed.
“What gives, sugar?” Cherry asked, passing me a beer. I stared down at it.
“Que pasa, mi amor?” Marco whispered, pulling me into him.
“I wanted to tell you first.” I gazed up at him.
Suddenly the room went silent and everyone turned towards us as if they had an instinctive intuition that something big was about to be revealed. I looked around trying to push past my mounting nerves.
“What’s the big secret, Em?” Micah yelled.
“Oh, God. No pressure now, Micah. Thanks.” I chuckled nervously. I fidgeted in place. I’d gotten use to a certain amount of attention, but nothing to this degree. “Uh, well...”
Marco leaned into my neck and planted a kiss there. “You don’t have to tell everyone. Your business isn’t theirs,” he said.
“Damn straight it’s our business. If there’s something wrong with my daughter I have a right to know,” my dad interjected.
“This is turning into a much bigger deal than it is. I just wanted to tell Marco first.”
He pulled back, looking at me expectantly.
“Well, dish already. We’re family.” Wilma harrumphed.
“Do you mind?” I quirked a brow at Marco.
“I don’t have a clue what it’s about, so go ahead.”
“I’m pregnant.” The words just fell from my lips in one swift drop.
His entire body stiffened as cheers erupted all around us. It was him who I was waiting on though. We hadn’t discussed having kids so I was nervous. He was great with Nathan and the pack young, but I knew that wasn’t the same. He stared deadpanned at me; he wasn’t saying anything.
“Say something, boss,” Kuha prompted, slapping his shoulder.
“I... Are you sure?” He shook his head, it looked like in dismay.
“That was my errand this morning. The doctor said I’m five weeks and five days, so it’s early yet.” I bit my lip, frowning as my stomach did flips. I lowered my voice. “Are you mad?”
“Why the hell would I be mad? This is the best damn news I’ve ever received. You just surprised me.” His gaze dropped to my still flat stomach. I’d gained some weight over the years under he and my family’s incessant feeding, but not nearly as much as they would like, so they said. A smile curled his lips. “I’m excited to turn the study into a nursery finally and rub your swollen feet every night.” He briefly met my gaze before leaning in and stealing a kiss.
I relaxed my shoulders, expelling a soft breath as I pushed into him.
“What the heck are you doing with that?” Wilma demanded, pointing at the beer still in my hands. I handed it to her. “Now go sit down and put your feet up. Brandon, get the girl a drink. Anden, get her a plate of food, and don’t be stingy. She’s eating for two now,” Wilma ordered. She certainly was the mother I never had.
“I’m five weeks, not five months, Wilma.” I laughed.
“You just go on and listen to her,” Marco said, giving me a gentle shove towards a chair.
“Don’t expect these men to let you do anything for the next nine months,” Cherry advised, placing a gentle hand on my upper arm.
“Damn straight,” Micah declared.
“They better not,” my dad gruffed.
“Nothing at all,” Marco confirmed.
“Wait... Is it safe to shift?” I frowned. It turned out that I was the first female ever to shift and survive. Two had done it prior, but their bodies could handle it. That had definitely instilled the fear of God in me. I was careful every time, ensuring Marco was with me. I didn’t want to deny her freedom, but it was my body that she invaded, not the other way around.
Everyone turned to their neighbor, puzzled expressions on their faces.
“Don’t,” Marco clipped. He softened his tone. “Just to be safe.”
“I agree with the alpha on this one, Em. Thank God you can control it.” Wilma’s features twisted with concern.
“I agree, sugar,” Cherry said. “Congrats, though. Nathan’s been needing a playmate for a while now.”
I was doted on the rest of the afternoon and evening, but was eager to change into my pajamas. Since I told everyone at once, I didn’t get the private moment I’d wanted with Marco earlier so I saved the sonogram pictures to show him when we were alone. I’d just put on my tank top when he came up behind me. He nuzzled my neck and pressed his hands to my lower stomach.
“We’re having a baby, Mrs. Raul.”
I grinned wide. “Yes we are, Mr. Raul. Do you want to see it?”
He turned me to face him. “How?” His brows furrowed as he stared down at my stomach.
“With a picture, silly.” I lightly slapped his chest. I walked to the bedside table, opened the top drawer, and grabbed the three pictures. “I think it looks like a peanut right now, but the doctor said he or she is a healthy peanut. It’s heart will start beating in the next week as well.”
We studied the black and white images for several minutes, lost in amazement at the tiny miracle.
“You need to call your parents tomorrow,” I said, leaning into his side.
“Oh, God. My mother is going to be worse than Wilma. She’s been bugging me for grandkids for nearly ten years now.”
“Well, you are her only child.”
“A baby.” He smiled in awe, setting the photos aside. “I’d be happy raising a skunk if it was with you.”
I laughed. “Let’s not.”
“I love you, mi amor.”
“I love you too.”
He lifted me into his arms and carried me towards the bed. “Now let’s go rock our baby’s world.” He wagged his brows, a devilish smirk lighting his expression. He tenderly laid me on the bed. Climbing up me, he showered me with kisses, the same way he showered me with love every day of our forever.
—
*****
—
And now, please enjoy this sneak peek of the next book in the popular Alpha Doms series: Controlled Desires.
CONTROLLED DESIRES
As a plus size woman in a world where size matters, Sara didn’t think she would find someone to love her full frame…
Until her new landlord stopped by.
Desi scented his mate for over a week before he went to her. It was unusual for a wolf to be mated to a human. But with one look at nature’s chosen one for him, he was in love.
If his mate won’t let go of her inhibitions though, this alpha will have to take control. Not that he minds...
—
Controlled
Desires
Chapter One
SARA
It’d been a long week at work, despite working only three days due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I gathered my purse, threw on my jacket, scarf and gloves and shut down the computer at my workstation in the same minute.
“You leaving, Sara?” Dr. Rahmad asked as he stepped into the front office area of the practice.
“Yes, sir.”
He smiled pleasantly, his peppered grey beard feathering outwards. “Have a good holiday.”
“Don’t stay too late. Your wife wants you home before her parents arrive,” I said, reminding the work-a-holic doctor of his priorities.
“Good call. Thank you.” He froze, folder in hand, as if to consider what case files he could try to squeeze in before he needed to leave.
“See you Monday.” I waved and headed for the door.
“Bye.” He carelessly tossed the word over his shoulder, his mind deep in another layer of work already.
I tossed my purse onto the passenger seat of my car as I slid into the driver’s spot; I immediately started the engine and blasted the heat. It was only November, but we’d had below average temperatures for this time of year. I waited for my windshield to defrost and my body to stop shaking before I took the wheel.
It was already after 4 p.m. when I pulled out of the parking lot. Traffic was nearly non-existent since most businesses closed early the day before a holiday. I would have left with the rest of the office staff at noon when we closed, but decided to finish scanning all of the old records into our new electronic filing system.
As I headed home, I looked forward to snuggling in front of the fire with an erotic romance and a hearty bowl of the chili I had cooking in the crockpot all day. I’d promised to forget about the rest of the boxes cluttering every corner of my new apartment, opting to unwind rather than unpack this evening.
—
Chapter Two
DESI
It’d been a week since I first scented her. It’d been a week of torture with a wolf that refused to stop growling and a cock that wouldn’t go down. The urge to break into her apartment and demand her surrender as my dick drove in and out of her tight pussy was unbearable. I’d barely maintained control of myself, let alone the entire pack. They didn’t think I had noticed their avoidance of me or the skittishness of my beta, Mark. They read their alpha well; I was grouchy, in a perpetual state of horniness, only minimally out ranking my wolf. I’d avoided shifting all week in fear of my wolf seeking her out against my will. And once it found her, I had no hope of stopping it from taking her… with or without her consent.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself?” Mark asked, stepping into my living room. He plopped down on the loveseat. He tried to act casual, but his body language revealed his uneasiness. “You own her building after all,” he added, averting his eyes when I continued to glare at him.
“I can’t be nice right now.” The words were delivered through gritted teeth; the deep pull in my groin ached just at the mention of her.
He took a deep breath, running his hand through his sandy blonde hair; his honey eyes seemed to widen marginally, enough to clue me in on his concern.
I sat up, setting my beer on the coffee table. I slid along the cold leather of the sofa, willing the frigid fabric to affect my dick. No such luck.
I leaned my elbows on my knees and bent closer to my beta. Mark’s gaze met mine, knowing it was going to be important if his alpha lifted off the couch for the first time today other than to get another beer. “I’ve jerked off ten times in the last two days, and not once has my cock laid limp afterwards. There’s a constant fire in my balls that only she can put out. If that wasn’t bad enough, my wolf is damn near shredding my insides trying to claw its way out so he can run and claim her. It’s been hell trying to rein him in when our mate is less than a block away, a dessert teasing us with her delicious scent all day and night. You compound those on top of dealing with maintenance issues for all our investment buildings, accounting questions, pack concerns and every other fucking load of crap anyone wants to drop on my door step and you can see why I can’t be a nice person right now.”
I snatched the beer off the coffee table and chugged the rest of what was in the bottle. I wished I could drown my wolf, stop the incessant clawing between mewls that mimicked a damn pussy; he was trying everything he could, hell bent on breaking me down and forcing my body to surrender to the change.
Mark watched me closely, considering me. He was a man who usually thought before he spoke, so this was nothing new. Abruptly he stood. “Eventually you’re going to cave. Either you get close to her now while you’re still thinking somewhat coherently, or you get close to her as a wild beast who, regardless of whether you claim her or not, will certainly chase her off.”
With his blunt blow to my gut delivered, Mark left.
I scrubbed my face. I knew he was right. Damn it. Why did fate have to mate me with a human? If it were another werewolf, I would have claimed her already. I would have thrown her on her stomach and demanded her surrender as I pounded into her sweet pussy the moment I smelled her as mine. As a human, I had to worry about my speed, my force and my strength with her. As a human, I had to take care to not break any of her tiny bones as I thrashed my burly body against hers. I was fucked if she had an underweight model’s frame.
Shit. I couldn’t take it any longer. I had to know. I had to at least see who the stars had matched me with.
—
*****
—
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christin Lovell was born and raised in Charleston, SC, but now lives in the hottest place on earth: Orlando, FL. She has three beautiful children who keep her running non-stop, but would love to adopt a few more. When she’s not juggling life and kids, you'll find her huddled away somewhere writing her next book or happily reading someone else's. Like most authors she’s come across, she’s a coffee addict, owns far too many books than she can fit on her shelves, and she goes to work in her pajamas a lot.
CONNECT WITH HER HERE:
www.christinlovell.com
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