by Mia Taylor
“We have a lot more time together,” Luke promised her. “Stop talking like it’s over.”
She peered into his face and gave him a wan smile.
“You don’t have to always be brave, you know,” she said softly. “Sometimes you can let me take the burden, too.”
“You’ve been braver than you ever needed to be,” he told her gruffly but Lily felt him settling into her arms, his breaths matching hers evenly.
A bittersweet combination of love and sadness overwhelmed Lily as she realized it might be the last time they would be able to lie like that, savoring the rhythm of each other’s heartbeat without fear.
She didn’t want the moment to end but a knock on the door caused them both to tense.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Melissa Stark called as she popped her head inside. They both sat up to look at her curiously.
“It’s all right,” Lily said, beckoning her inside. “How are you doing? I thought you would have gone back to Dubuque by now.”
Melissa grinned almost sheepishly.
“There’s been a slight change in plans,” she replied, casting Luke a shy look. “I hope I’m not overstepping here but I came bearing gifts.”
She produced a case and Luke swung his legs over the side of the bed to peer at it with interest.
“What’s that?”
Melissa grimaced.
“I went to see my father,” she explained and Luke’s face twisted into a frown.
“He’s still around? He’s feeling brave, is he?”
“He wants a truce,” Melissa said, sighing. “I don’t expect you to agree but he doesn’t want to be exiled.”
“I don’t think he has much of a choice in the matter,” Luke growled. “He caused quite a shit show.”
“But did he really? He didn’t do anything.”
“He planned to do a lot,” Luke snapped, looking at Lily as if to say, “Can you believe this?”
“Hear her out, Luke,” Lily said quietly and Melissa cast her a grateful look.
“Stella Lapierre has something for Lily—if she wants it.”
Lily stretched her neck forward to look at what Melissa held in the case. Inside was a vial, next to a huge syringe.
“What the hell is that?” Lily demanded but Luke inhaled sharply as if he recognized it.
“Where did she get that?” Luke exclaimed, snatching up the vial.
“She’s been holding onto it for a while,” Melissa said. “She wants to give it to Lily.”
“Is this a trick?” Luke’s eyes were glowing with suspicion but Melissa shook her head.
“It’s a peace offering,” she said again. “All they want is immunity.”
“They were responsible for that bank robbery!” Luke hissed. “How am I supposed to look the other way when they have been wreaking as much havoc on Chicago as my father has?”
“They only came here for Rand Simon,” Melissa pleaded. “I know my father hasn’t been a model citizen, Luke, but with Rand out of the picture, he just wants to live quietly with his mate. Don’t you want to do the same?”
Lily looked from one to the other.
“I don’t understand. What is that?”
Melissa turned and smiled at her wanly.
“This will give you immortal life as a bear shifter, Lily. It will protect you and ensure that you and Luke can be together forever.”
Lily’s eyes were saucers.
“What?”
“There are only a handful of these concoctions in the world,” Luke added begrudgingly before turning back to Melissa.
“Do you trust him, your father?”
“No,” Melissa replied. “But if he screws up, we know where to find him, don’t we?”
Luke gritted his teeth and eyed the serum, the interest in his eyes unmistakable.
“What do you think, Lily?”
“What do I think about being with you forever? About not having to hide? I think that I’m good with that,” Lily cried. “What do you think I think?”
Luke laughed, a note of relief in his timbre.
“Tell your father he has one shot to make this right. If I get a whiff of his sleuth doing anything they aren’t supposed to be doing, they’ll have the wrath of the entire CPD on them, without mercy.”
Melissa grinned happily.
“I’ll pass along the message,” she agreed, turning for the door. “Thank, Luke.”
“Hey,” Luke called out after her. “Does this mean you and August are staying in Chicago now? Coming back to the force?”
“Only if you’re in charge,” Melissa replied, winking before she disappeared out the door, leaving the couple alone.
Lily gaped at him.
“In charge?” she echoed. “You’re in charge of the 22 now?”
Luke shrugged nonchalantly.
“Temporarily,” he muttered. “We’ll see how things go.”
Lily squealed and threw her arms around him.
“I knew you couldn’t give up being a cop,” she gushed, kissing his cheeks. “You’re just too good at being a protector.”
“I only want to protect you,” he told her earnestly, cupping her face in his hands. “I don’t care what job I do, as long as we’re together.”
Lily laughed and kissed his mouth softly.
“Looks like that won’t be a problem now, will it,” she sighed. “Stick that in me, Luke. I’m done running.”
Epilogue
“Are you sure about this?” Luke muttered and Lily had to laugh. He was less convinced about the day than she was.
“Trust me, it will be less painful for us in the long run if we just do this.”
“Thank gods the day is finally here,” Luke retorted. “I don’t know how you managed to plan a wedding with her for a year. The woman is insufferable.”
“She’s been my friend since childhood,” Lily reminded him. “She was worse as a child.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Luke muttered. “I’ve spent ten minutes with Sasha in the last month and I want to murder her.”
Lily didn’t reply as she gave herself one last look in the mirror before grabbing his hand.
“It’s better now that I gave up the maid of honor position,” she assured him. “Before that…”
But Lily wasn’t sure that was all that had mellowed her out. She was sure that being turned into a shifter had somehow both calmed and emboldened her in ways she’d never known before.
It was more than just not being on the run all the time or worrying who might know what she knew.
It was as though the serum coursing through her body had diminished the scared girl who had been afraid to disappoint and replaced her with a confident woman who had no problem saying no.
No more deposits into Mom’s account so she can go on drinking binges. No more running all over Chicago to do Sasha’s bidding. No more being a pushover.
A part of her wondered if it was being turned or Luke’s influence on her life which had changed her so much. Whatever it was, Lily was grateful for it.
“You look amazing, by the way,” Luke whispered in her ear. “Are you sure you don’t want to blow this whole thing off and stay here?”
The warmth of his breath on her ear gave her a shiver of pleasure and for a second, she considered his offer very seriously.
You’re not a pushover anymore but you’re still not going to ghost your friend on her wedding day—no matter how much she might deserve it.
“The bed can wait until tonight,” Lily giggled, yanking on his hand. “Come on. You don’t want to enrage bridezilla.”
“Fine,” Luke grumbled. “Party pooper.”
They made their way out of the brownstone and down the front steps where the limo waited to take them to the church. Lily paused to look back at the new house, her breath catching again.
Upon Stephan’s banishment, his assets had been liquidated and the funds deposited into Luke’s account.
“I don’t want his blood money!” Luke
had protested. “I have no idea where half that income came from!”
“If you don’t take it, the government will,” Lily reminded him gently. “If you don’t want all of it, just take enough to ensure you’ve got enough to be comfortable and donate the rest to charity.”
In the end, Luke had bought them a house and done exactly that—given the rest of the millions to the CPD victims’ fund.
“You all right?” Luke asked and she nodded, turning to smile at him warmly.
“I’m just thinking about how much has happened in such a short time.”
“It has been a short time, hasn’t it?” he mused. “Sometimes it feels like a lifetime.”
She studied his face closely.
“Do you regret not writing the bar exam?” she asked and he shook his head with vehemence.
“Not at all,” he laughed. “The idea of sitting in a stuffy office all day is the least appealing thing I can imagine right now.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing right now anyway?” she teased, linking her arm through his as they continued down the steps toward where the chauffeur waited to open the car door for them.
“It ain’t easy being on top,” Luke sighed and Lily laughed.
“It suits you,” she replied as they slid inside. “It might have happened abruptly but your promotion was a long time coming.”
“I just needed a nudge in the right direction,” Luke agreed, kissing her cheek softly as the door closed.
“Maybe I should look into being a cop,” Lily joked. “August and Melissa seem to work together well.”
Luke met her eyes.
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” he assured her. “But I think teaching is what you do best. You’re patient, kind, warm… you’ll make a good mother.”
A hot flush touched her cheeks at the thought.
“I’ve always wanted kids,” she confessed and Luke nodded.
“I know,” he replied, sliding closer to rest his hand on her knee. “That’s why I think we should think about having some.”
“Now?” she gasped. “Really?”
Luke shrugged and nodded.
“Why not?” His hand inched up her thigh suggestively, a small grin toying on his lips. “And we can start right away.”
Lily chortled as he fell onto her, raining kisses along the plunging neckline of her gown and causing shivers to flood her body.
Abruptly, he raised his head and met her eyes.
“What do you say, Lily Brenner? Would you do me the honor of having my children?”
She smiled, her heart melting at the plaintiveness in his handsome face.
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more,” she whispered.
Fallon’s Mate (Preview)
Shifters Forsaken
By: Mia Taylor
Chapter One
A Helping Hand
Shivers spilled down her spine as the rain trickled beneath the collar of her thin jacket. It wasn’t a cold day (she had certainly seen colder in her time on the streets) but the sprinkling of water from the heavens chilled her skin just enough to cause goosebumps to dance over her arms. She ran for cover under an awning of a coffee shop, knowing that it would give her little reprieve from the weather but it was a temporary fix.
Just like everything in my life—a temporary fix.
Long, matted strands of hair plastered against her face and she reached a dirty hand through the mass to clear her vision, her chocolate eyes darting about as if she expected someone to venture from the storefront and chase her away.
It had happened before, after all. She did not expect that it would be long before someone either called the police or tried to bully her away from the windows. She wasn’t good for business in her hole-littered clothes and tangled hair. No one wanted to snack on a scone while thinking about the too-skinny homeless woman on the other side of the glass.
She peered through her reflection, hoping that maybe the acne-faced barista was working. Sometimes he took pity on her and brought her a coffee and bagel but only if his manager wasn’t looking. On the other hand, if he wasn’t and the shrill blonde was behind the counter…
Her cheeks flushed with humiliation as she remembered the last encounter she’d had with the woman. It shocked her that people could treat one another so inhumanely.
We all live on the same planet, the brunette thought mournfully. How can we be so cruel to one another?
“Fallon?”
She whirled at the sound of her name, leaning away from the woman as if she was a feral cat and the exquisitely dressed woman was doing her harm merely by uttering a single word. But what a word to say! How long had it been since she’d heard someone call her by her real name?
“Fallon Rusholm! I can’t believe it!”
Her mouth parted slightly as she tried to place the tall redhead with sparkling emerald eyes.
Where have I seen her before?
“It’s me—Beatrice Wexley. From Pierpont High. Go Stingrays, right?”
Fallon still could not find words, possibly because they were lodged in the depth of her throat or maybe because she couldn’t understand how Bea Wexley was standing on a sodden sidewalk in downtown Ashbridge, striking up a conversation with someone that anyone could plainly see was homeless. They had nothing in common, not anymore. It was hard to reconcile they had ever shared a lunch table, let alone a conversation.
She did remember Bea, of course. The girl had been one of her only friends in their high school days.
Go Stingrays, indeed, Fallon thought with some bitterness.
It seemed an unlikely match: Bea, stately, rich and fire-haired with a brilliant white smile and outgoing personality while Fallon was shy, reserved and barely five feet tall, her mother a drug addict.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” There was hurt in her voice but Fallon quickly shook her head in denial.
“Yes, yes, I remember you,” she replied quickly, her voice gravelly for it seemed it had been days since she’d last used it. Fallon worried that the woman would leave her there, offended by her poor manners, and for reasons she could not understand, she wanted Bea to remain, if only to share another few words.
Beatrice seemed relieved as she chuckled, those ivory fangs gleaming against the gloomy sky, almost as if she was wearing a set of false dentures, but of course that was ridiculous; they were the same age.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents