As her happy laughter rang out, Kellan felt like his heart stopped. Is it possible to be so relieved that you stop breathing? Because that was how he felt. She’d said yes. And now he was engaged.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
Yes. She’s our mate.
She dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her sweater. She kissed Declan on the head and moved to Kellan, grabbing him around the neck and holding on. “I love you,” she said.
Once she pulled back, a single tear ran down her face. “Don’t cry,” Declan said. “We have your ring.”
She sniffed. “I’m only crying because I’m happy.” She held out her hand. “Do you want to put it on my finger?”
With great seriousness, Declan flipped the lid off the tiny box and pulled the ring out. With his brow furrowed, he pushed the ring on Clara’s left hand.
“Now you’re my stepmom!” He tugged on her arm. “Can I call you just mom?”
“Oh, sweetie, of course you can,” she said.
“You’re my mom, and you’re my dad’s mate!”
Kellan closed his eyes. Declan had grown up hearing his uncles speak of their traditions, and of the instincts that drove a dragon, and those instincts included finding a mate.
It wasn’t Declan’s fault. A five-year-old shouldn’t be expected to keep secrets. He shouldn’t be expected to not share everything with his new mom, especially the mom who knew all of his other secrets.
Clara’s green eyes met his. “Mate? Does that mean something different to dragons than it does to humans?”
“I promise I was going to bring it up.”
“Just tell me.”
“So dragon shifters don’t just fall in love, or get married. Sometimes we take things a little bit farther than that.” He didn’t have the words to explain it. Clara didn’t have an inner dragon that drove her or guided her instincts.
“I’m listening.”
“Well, when we find someone that we fall in love with, it could stop there, and be what humans would consider a normal relationship. Or it could progress.”
“Progress to mates? How is that different?”
“The choosing of a mate is driven by the dragon. My dragon isn’t separate from me, but sometimes he pushes me.”
“Does he talk to you in your head?” she asked.
He definitely didn’t want her thinking he was crazy. “It’s more like a gut feeling, or an instinct.”
“And I’m your mate? Your dragon said so?”
“Yes. He’s been certain for a while now, but he’s become more insistent.”
“So now my dad will never have another mate. Only one, which is you!” Declan declared, holding up one finger.
“So dragons mate for life, is that what he’s saying?” Clara asked.
“Yes.”
Clara nodded to herself a few times. “Okay. Mates for life. I can deal with that.”
“You’re not mad?”
Clara put one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “My handsome fiancé, who I’m in love with, just told me that he’s mine for life. What’s not to like?”
That had gone better than he’d expected. Far better.
Kellan let his entire body fall backward until he hit the sand. “I think I need to lie here for a minute and recover from that.”
Instantly, two faces were right above his. “Tickle fight?” Clara asked.
“I just proposed, you guys! Give me a break!” Kellan tried to escape, but it was too late. Declan jumped right on his stomach, and Clara started tickling him, all over his ribs, while Declan threw his head back and laughed with glee.
24
Clara
Three weeks after they’d arrived back home to Cedar Lake, Texas, and settled back into the normal routines, Clara brought home a wedding magazine and dropped it on the table.
“You said you want us to get married now instead of waiting. Do you have any preferences, or do you want me to handle it?” Clara had already called a few wedding planners, and for the amount of money Kellan was willing to pay for their services, they’d promised to move mountains to get the big day scheduled sooner rather than later.
Clara didn’t really care what they did, as long as Kellan and Declan were there, along with the rest of the guys. Clara didn’t have any family left, and sadly she couldn’t call the few friends she did have in Mississippi for fear of letting her ex know where she lived.
“Do you have a preference for where we get married?” Kellan asked.
“No. I don’t have any family. And I can’t call my friends or co-workers.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want the ex to know where I live.”
“Oh.” Kellan looked away and then chewed on his lip for a moment. “I may have a confession.”
“What now?”
“I may have visited your ex.” He waved his hands around. “But in my defense, it was before we were together and you told me to stop trying to fix everything for you.”
“Just tell me when?”
“Right after you moved in and told me all the details.”
“What did you do?”
“I threatened him. Showed him how easily I could destroy his credit and his reputation.”
Clara pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t say I’m upset. But please. Ask me next time.”
“I couldn’t help it. My dragon couldn’t stand knowing he was out there in the world, thinking he’d gotten away with terrorizing you.”
She shook her head. “Thank you, really. Now. Let’s get back to the wedding location. I can tell by the glint in your eye that you have a plan.”
“Well, the thing is, I do have a plan, but it only really benefits me, Declan and my brothers. It won’t do a thing for you.”
“Go ahead and tell me,” Clara said.
“I found this remote island. One of the most remote places in the world. We could go there, and we’d all be free to shift as much as we want to.”
She made a humming sound while she thought about it. “Why don’t we get married here in town? I think it would be good for Declan. And I think it would be good for all of us. You made Cedar Lake your home, just like your brothers. I think the town would enjoy getting to support you and Declan on your big day. Brennan can officiate.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “That is a fabulous idea. And it’s true that our standing in town has improved greatly since you started watching Declan. Now people might actually come without the fear that he’ll throw the cake on them.”
“Oh, stop. That baby is well behaved.”
“He wasn’t. But he is now. And he’s well-loved too.”
Every time he complimented her, she blushed. “And then we’ll all take a family vacation over to that place,” she said.
“You’re a genius. But wait, what about our honeymoon?”
“We can take the honeymoon as soon as we’re done with the family vacation.” She kissed him on the nose. “Honey. You’re a billionaire. It doesn’t solve all your problems, but it does solve this one – you can take all the vacations you want.”
“A great observation,” he agreed.
“I can hear the excitement in your voice over this place. I’m assuming Declan will be just as pumped?”
“Yes. Let me show you pictures. It’s so remote that we’ll be able to fly as much as we want.”
“Where is it?” she asked, mainly to hear the delight in his voice.
“Right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, between Africa and South America. There are no commercial flights. There’s no development, no hotels, no houses, no cars, no people.”
“Why is that?” A truly uninhabited place was pretty unusual these days. Had her impulsive fiancé bought an island? Although his wealth sometimes caught her off-guard, she was happy he had it when it made life easier for him and his brothers.
“Um.” One corner of his mouth curved up, and a dimple showed up. “It’s a volcano.”
“Oh Lord. I gue
ss if it starts to spew, we’ll be able to get off quickly with all of you shifted into dragon form.”
He laughed. “Yes. That’s true. Hopefully we would feel the impending heat, but I’ve always heard a volcano starts to rumble first. And I already checked – there hasn’t been any activity in hundreds of years.”
“I didn’t think you’d take me to a place with bubbling lava,” she said, laughing. She sat down at the table. “I do have a serious question. And it’s one I want to go ahead and ask Liam about if you think it’s possible, or a good idea.”
He pulled a chair out and sat down across from her, so he could give her his full attention. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to overstep.”
“Clara.” He put his hands down on the table and leaned in. “You watched me change into a dragon, when you didn’t know they existed. You pulled an enchanted dagger out of my back. You fought witches with no powers, and bested them.”
“With a lot of help from your son.”
“He had you with him. That’s why he was so calm.”
“Speaking of Declan.” Clara took a very deep, steadying breath. “If it’s okay with you, and it’s possible legally, then I want to adopt him.”
Kellan blinked a few times. Then he stood up from his chair so fast it fell backward and clattered to the floor.
Clara gripped the countertop, assuming Kellan must have heard a threat outside. But he came straight at her, scooping her up and hugging her before spinning her around.
Even when he put her down on the ground, he didn’t let go. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. I’ve already looked into having his mother’s rights terminated, just in case this ever came up.”
He finally stepped back and fixed the overturned chair. “She’s been absent for five years, she’s never paid child support, and since the day she left, she’s never called, visited, emailed, texted, nothing.”
“I just don’t want to make this harder for Declan,” Clara said.
“I’m not saying it won’t ever bother him that his biological mother is absent from his life. But he’s the one who wants you as a mom. He knew it would work before either of us did.”
She had to grab a paper towel to wipe her eyes. “I’ve never been a crier, but I feel like I’m tearing up all the time now.”
“You’ve had lots going on lately.”
“If you’re ready, then I’d like to visit Liam tomorrow. I want to start the paperwork so we can have the adoption finalized once we’re married.”
Kellan had to hug her one more time. “You are the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met. I wish my parents could have met you. They’d have been so happy to know I had a mate like you.”
Two months later, the notes from Canon D Major floated through the air as Clara walked down the aisle.
Now a brand new Kindergartener, they’d decided that Declan would be the one to walk Clara down the aisle. They wanted him to be involved in the ceremony, and since he was the reason that they’d met, it was even more appropriate.
The sight of him in his tiny tuxedo was nearly more than she could bear. He looked so sweet, and even more grown-up than she’d expected. He led her down the aisle, beaming up at her the whole time.
Then her heart caught in her throat as she saw Kellan at the altar. He was jaw-droppingly gorgeous in his designer tuxedo. His wavy black hair had been tamed, and she could see his blue eyes glittering even at this distance.
Next to him stood Brennan, who was going to officiate. On his left, stood Quinn and Liam, who’d both been named best man.
To their right, stood Clara’s new friend that she’d made in Cedar Lake, the mother of one of Declan’s new friends. And beside her, Clara’s co-worker from back home in Mississippi, who she’d finally gotten the courage to call once Kellan confessed that he’d made sure her ex would never try to find her.
As Clara stepped up to the altar, and placed her hand in Kellan’s, she knew she’d finally come home.
Epilogue
“Will the baby be a dragon shifter like me?” Declan asked.
Declan asked that question just about every day.
He was six years old now, and a big first-grader. As soon as Clara and Declan had gotten married, Declan begged for a baby brother or sister.
Clara was ready immediately – she’d always wanted a big family, and she wasn’t daunted by the prospect of having dragon-shifter babies.
“We think so,” Kellan said, trying to maintain his patience with the question at seven a.m. on a Thursday.
Before Declan was born, Kellan had never known another shifter who’d mated with a human before. When Declan’s mother was pregnant with him, Kellan had wondered if his baby would be human, shifter, or some mixture of both. But when Declan was born, his eyes had glowed yellow about three weeks in.
When he cried, he sometimes breathed fire. He’d set the crib and the bedding on fire. The fire didn’t hurt him, but being woken during the night by the blare of the smoke alarm had gotten old fast. They’d gone through two cribs before Kellan had realized that a soft bedding set wasn’t required for a baby dragon.
Kellan and his brothers had grown up sleeping on the cave floor for that very reason.
After that, he’d bought Declan a metal crib with a metal base, and their problem was solved. He’d just had to make sure not to let anyone go into Declan’s room at that point or they’d have called the authorities.
Having a shifter baby had also meant that no one but Kellan or his brothers could watch Declan when he was a baby, which made working difficult for all four of them, But they’d made it, and now they knew what they were doing, more or less.
Clara wanted to go back to teaching eventually in the Cedar Lake School District, but she was planning to wait until the new baby was old enough to attend preschool, so she was planning to handle the caregiving full time.
Kellan was also planning to take a substantial amount of time off to parent along with her. Declan would be in school during the day, but if this new baby was anything like him, he or she was going to be a handful.
He patted his son on the shoulder. “Time for school. Get your backpack.”
Before Declan could get his bag, Clara came into the kitchen, and her face was white. “I think I’m in labor.”
Kellan dropped the cereal bowl he was holding. He’d done this before, but it had been six years ago.
“Okay. Let’s go.” He wrapped his arm around her and nodded to Declan. “Call your uncles. They’ll meet us there.” Because shifter babies were born in their human form, it was safe to go to the hospital.
“I’m not going to school, right?” Declan asked.
“No. You’re going with us. And you can sit in the waiting room with your uncles.” He took a second to bend down and hug his son. “You have to be there when you become a big brother.”
He hopped up and down, still as energetic as ever. “I can’t wait.”
Kellan handed Declan his phone, and the little boy began calling each of his uncles, who all promised to meet them at the hospital. Brennan even said he was on his way with a police escort.
Six hours later, Kellan sat Declan on the end of Clara’s bed, and placed little Shannon Ciara Cormac in her big brother’s arms. She was seven pounds and three ounces, with a head of black hair and blue eyes just like her brother’s.
Clara savored the tender moment, snapping photos and taking a video of Declan cradling Shannon in his arms.
Trusting Declan to hold his sister carefully, Kellan shifted to the side and wrapped his arm around his wife. “Congratulations, honey. She’s beautiful.”
She tipped her face up for a kiss. “I can’t believe she’s finally here.”
With one arm around his wife, and one arm around his son, Kellan gazed down at his baby daughter. “Welcome to our family, Shannon. We all love you.”
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CONNOR (EXCERPT)
Strauss Bear Shifter Brothers of Colorado
1
Connor
It was winter again at Black Bear Lake, and that meant the lodge was hitting its busiest season. Connor Strauss slipped his hands into his pockets and glared at a tapestry that hung next to a large window that overlooked one of the expert ski slopes outside. The tapestry was a fantastically detailed scene featuring four black bears, all mid-action by a creek, and it looked incredibly dusty.
Connor pursed his lips as he walked up to it, tapping at it with the tip of his finger. No, just a little faded. He supposed the tapestry was quite old; one of the many Strauss family antiques held over from when his parents ran the lodge. Most such heirlooms were kept at his parents’ estate, but the brothers had managed to get away with quite a few choice items that they displayed proudly around the lodge.
Connor especially loved their family antiques; they were a reminder of his heritage. At the same time, the pieces gave the place the feel of a family-owned enterprise, which is exactly what the lodge was. He and his three brothers had been running the place for a few years now, overseeing every aspect of the place equally, despite the fact that, technically, the lodge was predominantly his as the eldest. Decision making for and about the lodge was split between the four of them equally, and Connor wouldn't have it any other way.
Finished with his inspection of the tapestry, Connor nodded to himself and hummed, satisfied, before walking on down the corridor into the depths of the third-floor east wing. The lodge was booked to capacity. Everything had been cleaned, fixed, updated, and given Nathan’s seal of approval, but Connor was still on high alert - always was at the beginning of winter. Cody liked to say it was when Connor was most on edge, but that’s not how he saw it.
Billionaire Dragon's Nanny (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 13