“They’re living in my town, Gaia,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. For an angel, he was rather good looking. She hadn’t noticed it before, but his features were as powerful as his aura. It wasn’t just his uniform that made him come across that way, either. The way he held himself proved he was something other than human.
“I assure you, my reason for being here is to keep the balance of nature,” she replied. “You don’t have to worry about any problems coming for your panthers. My bears are happy living in peace.”
“I don’t want any trouble coming for either of them,” he admitted, wringing his hands. “So, why here? Why Olive Branch?”
“I needed somewhere I felt needed,” she finally admitted, gritting her teeth when she realized she had said too much.
“You’re Mother Nature, Gaia,” he stated. The sheriff’s eyes heated as they roamed her face. The observation made her cheeks darken. “Everyone needs you.”
“The world is changing, Garrett. I’m not as needed as I was before. The humans are destroying what I gave them, and one day, I will have to maintain balance, taking back what belongs to me.”
“Will you let me know before you do?” he teased, a rare smile tilting just the corner of his lip. Gaia inhaled a breath. He really was quite handsome…for an angel. “I have some unfinished business I need to take care of.”
Rex stood on the porch as the sheriff’s car drove toward the house. He’d left their shotguns inside the front door, because there was no threat from the sheriff. There was a peaceful friendship between them, and although his brother wasn’t as trusting, Rex owed the male for the help in taking down Ada’s old clan.
“Sheriff.” Rex nodded to the lawman as he stepped out of his patrol car. “What can we do for you today?”
“I’d like to speak with your mate and the others from the O’Kelly clan,” Garrett announced. “I have something of importance to give them.” Rex narrowed his eyes when the male retrieved a black briefcase from his car. “Can we have a meeting?”
“Sure.” Rex entered the house, calling for Gunnar to gather up the elders and the two O’Kelly brothers. “Have a seat.”
It took less than five minutes to round everyone up. Rex stood behind his mate as she took a seat to the sheriff’s right. Anna Claire sat beside Ada, and the others took the remaining seats. Ransom and Luca stood at attention at the other end of the table.
“What’s going on?” Ada asked. Rex felt the tension in his mate’s body, and he lightly massaged the tops of her shoulders, relieved when she relaxed a little.
“I was able to acquire something I found at the O’Kelly clan’s property right before the ATF came in and confiscated the guns.”
“What did you find?” Ada pressed. Rex worried it was information that would upset his mate. If there was evidence in that case of Robert’s involvement in anyone else’s death, he wasn’t sure how the others would take it.
“I understand Barnett Haskell paid Robert half a million dollars to purchase Ada,” he began, but a loud snarl from Rex stopped him. “Let me finish.”
“This better not upset my mate,” he warned.
“I don’t think it will,” Garrett smirked. That smartass look on the lawman’s face was agitating Rex’s beast. It took all of his self-control not to take a swipe at him.
“Please, tell me,” Ada urged, her voice shaking.
“I don’t think there is anything in this world that could take the place of the things and people you’ve lost due to the monster who ran your old clan, but I hope this will ease things for you for some time.”
Garrett unlatched the case, lifting the lid as he spun it around. A round of gasps echoed through the house. The clan all stood, leaning over to stare inside.
“Is this the money Robert was given?” Ada asked under her breath.
“This isn’t the half a million, but it’s damn close,” Garrett announced. “Ada, this is, by all rights, your money.”
“No,” she gasped, shaking her head. “This belongs to all of us.”
“Ada,” Martha gasped. “Robert sold you! You deserve that money.”
“No,” Ada sobered, reaching one of her hands up to place over Rex’s fingertips. “We all suffered at his hands. It’s only right we split the money.”
“It’s your decision what to do with the money,” Garrett said as he stood from the head of the table. “I will see myself out.”
Once Garrett was gone, they sat there for the longest time just staring at the case. The elders looked like they’d found happiness again. Ransom and Luca stared at the money, much like Ada and Anna Claire were…with uncertainty.
“Is it wrong to take this?” Ada asked, glancing up at him.
“You are owed so much more for what you and the others endured, Ada,” Rex answered. “In the human world, there are lawsuits filed for large amounts of money when someone has been wronged. We can’t do that in our world. This money is the only penance you can get without us being exposed. If you’d like, I can count the money and divide it evenly for everyone if it would make things easier on you.”
“Please?” she replied with a nod toward the case.
Rex sat in the sheriff’s seat and turned the case in his direction. It took awhile to count all of the bills, and when he was done, he looked up at each and every one of the people who was now a part of his clan.
“There’s four hundred and fifty thousand dollars here,” he gulped. “Each of you will receive fifty-six thousand, two-hundred and fifty dollars.”
Martha began to laugh, the sound gaining strength as she ran a weathered hand over her face. Peggy chimed in, and before he knew it, all of them were celebrating the end of their ordeal.
No matter the money, Rex knew his mate was more relieved Robert O’Kelly wasn’t around to torment anyone else. She’d found peace with his death, and with his death, she had regained her family.
Rex and his brothers had welcomed in an entire clan, and with each passing day, they were getting closer to them, trusting in their newfound family. Drake had mentioned the other night how he enjoyed his long talks with the elder males. Rex had to agree. They were the same age his parents would’ve been if they were still around.
Maybe that was what the Morgan clan had needed all along…a family.
“Rex?” Ada called out. When he turned around, she’d stood from the table, her hand resting on her still-flat stomach. He smiled warmly at her, excited for the time when she would be round with his cub.
“Yes, sweetheart?” he replied, holding his hand out for her.
“Come to bed with me,” she suggested. He couldn’t say no to her, and when she looked at him with such trust and love in her heart, he knew he’d made the right decision of listening to his mating instinct that day in the woods behind his home.
Epilogue
Early December
Ada rolled over in the bed as best as she could. With the fullness of her womb, there wasn’t much comfort going on the last few weeks since they’d gone into hibernation. Rex was fast asleep beside her, as usual. She was jealous at how easy he was resting since they’d retired to their underground quarters three weeks ago.
With a curse, she sat up and slung her legs off the bed. Her beast demanded food. Rex had made her promise to wake him should she need something, but he wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon.
The hibernation was one of the most peaceful sleeps a bear could get, and waking one up wasn’t always best. She’d let him sleep while she made herself something to eat in the small kitchenette out in the living area of their quarters.
She dug around in the refrigerator, but decided on a quick sandwich. Her bear grumbled at the offering, but she didn’t have any energy to make a meal. The cub inside her was close to delivery, and Ada knew the increase in appetite was preparing her for the moment their cub was born.
She glanced at the cabinet in the corner of the room. Rex had packed everything they’d need for the delivery, and he was beyon
d excited to have his first cub born before the end of the year. As far as Ada was concerned, the cub could come now. She was so large, she was sure there were two in there, even though the pride’s healer assured her there was only one.
“You’re going to be a boy, I just know it,” she whispered and rubbed absently at her swollen belly.
The sandwich was enough, and it actually settled her beast. She washed up the few dishes she’d used and headed back to the bedroom, only to stop at the doorway.
Rex was on his back, his long hair covering most of the pillow as he slept. Her mate’s tattooed arm was thrown over his eyes as if he was blocking out the light from the other room. She quickly flipped the switch and shifted her eyes to move about the darkened room.
When she climbed in the bed, Rex stirred, his arm falling away from his face. “Ada?”
“Shh,” she cooed. “I just had to get up for a moment.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, mate,” she promised, pulling the covers over her body as he fell back asleep.
The next ten minutes were spent finding the perfect spot to get comfortable enough to sleep. Once she was settled on her side, Rex’s hand snaked out and rested on the top of her hip. In his sleep, his thumb rubbed circles on her skin, lulling her to sleep.
A few hours later, she woke again, feeling a tightness in the top of her stomach. She rubbed at the spot and closed her eyes, falling back asleep as fast as she’d awoken.
Rex moved beside her, spooning against her back. She hadn’t realized she was facing the other direction. God, she was exhausted. She should’ve been sleeping more, but the end of the pregnancy kept her restless.
“Sleep, sweetheart,” Rex mumbled against her ear.
“I can’t,” she yawned. “I’m having some contractions.”
“What?” he barked, coming awake. His hair was in disarray, but his eyes were as clear as if it was the middle of the summer.
“It’s nothing to get excited about,” she promised. “It’s minor, and they don’t hurt that bad. The healer told me when they take my breath away, I’m in active…ohhh.”
“Mmhmm,” Rex smirked. “How far apart are they?”
“Fifteen minutes or so,” she replied. “I’ve been napping between them because it’s not that bad.”
“That last one was?” he pressed.
“It was a little stronger than the others.”
“Others?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “How long has this been going on?”
“A few hours,” she explained. “There was no reason to wake you.”
Rex urged her to lay on her side again, returning to his position behind her. He rested his hand on the top of her belly and kissed the back of her neck. “Try to sleep.”
“Ada, I need you to take several deep breaths, sweetheart,” Rex urged. The labor was coming along great, but his mate was in so much pain.
“I need to push, Rex,” she cried out.
“Not yet,” he warned. “Breathe, Ada.”
The room was eerily quiet, only the panting and occasional moan coming from his mate. An hour and a half ago, he had transformed their bed, setting up a birthing area for her to deliver their cub.
Being trained for years by their father was finally paying off. The pride’s healer offered his services, but to a bear shifter, it was an honor to deliver his own into the world. Ada was his mate in all ways, and the cub inside her womb would be loved and cherished by him. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Rex was prepared to do everything required of him.
“Rex,” she moaned again.
“Let me check you,” he stated, lifting the sheet he’d draped over her. There was still no sign of the cub’s head, but he knew she was getting close. There was an urgency in the way she breathed, telling him she was holding on until the cub was in position.
The beast that lived inside Ada would help him. She would know when it was time to deliver the cub into the world in its human form. With a look at his mate, he knew that time wasn’t here, because her eyes were not the golden hue of her beast yet.
“Your contractions are three minutes apart, sweetheart,” he announced after she fell back against the pillows with a heavy sigh.
Rex took the moment between them to wipe her brow with a cool rag. Ada’s hair was pulled up on top of her head, sweat pebbled her skin, but her face glowed from her impending motherhood.
“Rex, I want our cub in my arms,” she fussed as he kissed her brow.
“Soon, sweetheart, soon,” he promised.
The next contraction was stronger than the last, and the one after that was the sign he needed to bring his cub into the world. Ada’s fangs thickened and her eyes glowed with that of her beast. The skin on her arms rippled as she cried out.
“Push, Ada,” he urged. “Come on, once more. That’s it. Now rest for a second.”
They worked for the next half an hour. Every single time Ada pushed, her beast growled deep in his mate’s chest. They were exhausted, but finally, after several encouraging words, Rex held his son for the first time.
“We have a son!”
“Give him to me,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Rex hurried along, cleaning the cub so he could take him to his mate’s breast. Once he was settled, he snuggled close to them, holding his mate while she held his cub.
“Do you have his name?” Rex asked as Ada stroked the cub’s cheek.
“His name is Thane Morgan, and he will be a strong as his father,” she said, turning her face up to kiss Rex with a passion he’d craved for so long.
The End…
About Theresa Hissong:
Theresa Hissong is the bestselling author of the Rise of the Pride series. She writes paranormal romance, rockstar romance, and romantic suspense.
She enjoys spending her days and nights creating the perfect love affair, and she takes those ideas to paper. When she’s not writing, Theresa spends her free time traveling and attending concerts all over the United States.
Look for other exciting reads…coming very soon!
Mating Instinct (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 2) Page 15