Promised to the Pride: A Shifter Romance

by Candace Wondrak

  We’d deal with the hunter and his body later. For now, I was just glad to see everyone was okay, that Holly was safe, and that we could all get along—mostly. This was only the first storm we’d weather together, but you know what? I had confidence in us. Anything life threw at us, we could handle.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Holly

  Epilogue

  The tension was high in the car. Our luggage was in the back, stacked high. I did my best not to laugh at how pale they all were, mostly because I was pretty pale too, now. But with my mates wearing shorts and t-shirts, it was kind of hard not to notice their pale, porcelain skin.

  We weren’t moving, but we were paying a visit to a few important people in my life. We had some news to share, and I’d been dying to visit them ever since finding out. It was difficult, living so far away from your family, especially when you grew up so close to them.

  Nikolas drove, Aster sitting in the front seat. I was in the back with Jonas, and I held onto his hand, watching as he stared out the window, watching as the green, sunny, bright scenery flew by. All of my mates had shaved for this occasion; Jonas had even gotten his hair cut. They all looked ridiculously sexy, and as I sat there in the car, I couldn’t help but be incredulous as to how lucky I was.

  Everything could’ve ended badly. My mates could’ve been horrible, mean, cruel shifters who kept me chained to a bed. That hunter could’ve taken us all to Genesis after killing Jonas. Things could’ve gone down so differently, it was almost impossible to picture it.

  From what we could tell, Genesis was a multi-billion-dollar company who specialized in genetic testing. Not doomsday scenario at all, right? Yeah, genetic testing never went well in the movies, but this wasn’t a movie. This was real life, and genetic testing helped humans cure a lot of diseases.

  Still, I didn’t agree with catching and corralling us shifters like we were no better than wild animals.

  We’d searched the hunter’s place after disposing of his body—the wolves and grizzlies, Jonas had assured us, would take swift care of his carcass. His phone, his computer, everything. It looked like he only had contact with Genesis once he had a catch to sell. We’d decided to remain in Fairbanks, at least for the time being.

  Of course, we weren’t in Fairbanks now. We were driving along the streets of my past, heading to my childhood home and the family I missed dearly.

  “Now remember,” I broke the silence of the vehicle, glancing to all three of my mates. “Be on your best behavior while we’re here, and don’t say anything weird to Lumi. She’s human, she doesn’t need to know the details about our relationship. She’s also twelve.”

  “Why would any of us describe the details of our relationship to your little sister?” Aster echoed, turning around from his seat directly in front of me to look at me like I was crazy. I knew he was the blabbermouth of the group, so if anyone was going to slip up, it was him.

  I gave him a raised eyebrow, to which he just said, “Fair enough.”

  “It isn’t your sister I’m worried about, it’s your parents,” Nikolas spoke, making a right turn. If he knew anything about my sister, he’d take that back. My sister was the one he should worry about, not my parents. My parents were sweet and loveable. Lumi was sweet, but only to me. She could be the devil in disguise if you weren’t careful.

  “I miss the snow,” Jonas muttered, his wide shoulders slumping.

  I chuckled, shaking my head at them. All of them. They were each ridiculous in their own ways. I, personally, felt great wearing shorts again.

  Nikolas pulled into the driveway. My parents lived in a quaint two-story house, the kind of house you thought of when you imagined the typical American suburb. The siding was a light grey, the trim a bright white, and there was some stone accenting. I let go of Jonas’s hand, the first out of the car. The guys huddled around the hood of the car as I stopped to breathe in the fresh, warm air. The sun felt hot on my skin, and I grinned to myself.

  It wasn’t but a moment later when I heard a pipsqueak voice say, “I thought I heard a car door.”

  I opened my eyes, spotting Lumi standing on the front porch, her hands on her hips. She looked a bit less skinny than she did when I left, her blonde hair strung back in a ponytail. “Mom and Dad are still setting up. They’re not going to be happy you’re here early.” She shot a pointed look at the men behind me, causing all three of them to tense up.

  Meanwhile, I ran up the steps and swept her in a hug. “Lumi,” I breathed out her name. “I’ve missed you.” I released her, holding her at arm’s length, watching as her annoyed expression softened.

  “I missed you too,” she said. Her eyes fell to my stomach, which bulged a bit more than it should. “Are you—”

  I held a finger against my lips, to which she giggled.

  “Come on,” Lumi said, grabbing my hand. “They’re in the back.” To my mates, she said, “You guys can stay there and look pretty.” Together, we left the porch and headed around the house to the side gate.

  When none of my mates followed us, I tossed a look over my shoulder and gestured for them to come. What fools. I told them Lumi was a handful, didn’t I?

  “How are you feeling?” I asked her. She looked good, but I knew she had good days and bad.

  “Okay,” she said. Matter-of-factly, she added, “Today’s about you, not me.”

  Couldn’t argue with that, I supposed.

  We found Mom and Dad struggling with some string lights. The backyard was an acre or so big, and the space around the back patio held decorations and welcome home signs, anything they could get their hands on.

  Mom wore a sundress, while Dad wore cargo shorts and a loose white shirt—free of stains, surprisingly. Dad had the lights strung around Mom, and Mom let out a giggle that was far too girlish as he pulled her closer and kissed her.

  Still in love, after all these years, even being a human and a shifter. Mom’s leopard had chosen Dad, and he wasn’t afraid of the unknown or the uncertainty that came with being with a shifter. Only the humans trusted most were told.

  Genesis must’ve sprouted from someone telling the wrong someone something they shouldn’t know.

  “Ew,” Lumi muttered, releasing my hand as she scoffed.

  Mom and Dad pulled away from each other, their expressions swelling into joy the moment they saw me—and the three males inching closer behind me.

  “Honey,” my mom exclaimed, wriggling away from the lights before rushing to sweep me in a hug. “You look so good.” By the time she released me, Dad had made his way over. His eyes, I noticed, were purely on my mates.

  Now was not the time to act like a protective father.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t notice,” I said, running a hand along my belly. “Lumi did.”

  “What…oh!” My mom hugged me again, this time harder. “Greg, did you hear that? Our baby is pregnant.” She was slow to let me out of the second hug, her eyes wide as she realized, “I’m going to be a grandmother. I didn’t know this was that kind of party—I would’ve gotten different decorations!”

  Lumi rolled her eyes at that.

  Dad, meanwhile, gave me a hug, this one much shorter than Mom’s. “Congrats, kiddo,” he told me. Once the hug was done, he moved to my mates. “I suppose I should say congratulations to you guys, too.” His tone was a bit sterner, and it was only after Mom threw him a glare that he extended his hand to the nearest male—Nikolas. “I’m Greg. It’s good to finally meet you.”

  My mates introduced themselves to my parents and to Lumi, and I watched, feeling a warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest. This was happiness. True happiness. It felt nice.

  My parents had decided to cookout and order pizza. Lumi chose the chair beside mine, sipping lemonade. We were all situated around an outside table, and I was busy describing what it was like, living in the cold, when Lumi broke in to ask, “So how does it work?”

  My mom looked like she was going to have an aneurysm, while my dad looked mortified. Aster’
s cheeks flushed, Nikolas stuttered out some non-words, while Jonas took that cue to grin.

  “Lumi,” Mom hissed, shushing her.

  She would not be shushed, though. “Am I going to get more than one husband, too?” Being human, polygamy was much less common, but I guessed if it would make her happy, then sure.

  “Whatever makes you happy, honey,” Mom choked out, earning herself a questioning glare from my dad. She took a long swig of her drink after that.

  “Holly, come here, I almost forgot.” Lumi grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “There’s something I want to show you.” She dragged me away from the table, and I prayed that my mates would be good while in the presence of my parents without me.

  Into the house I grew up in, up the stairs to the bedrooms, Lumi led me to her room and sat me on the edge of her bed. It was decorated in everything Disney, and I breathed in the familiar space, ridiculously happy that I was here. I never thought I’d see any of them again, so being here…it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

  Lumi moved to her desk, nearly knocking down her backpack. “I didn’t finish it, because you came early, but I’ll definitely have it done before you leave.” She found what she was looking for, and she turned to me, holding a piece of paper against her chest.

  I had no clue what it was, so when she showed it to me, I was breathless, startled in the best way. Lumi did art on the days she was too tired to do much of anything else, but this was next-level stuff. I took the paper from her, my eyes studying the drawing. Most of it was in pencil, but she’d started to color it in.

  Me. It was me, wearing a white wedding dress, surrounded by three snow leopards, each of them different and beautiful.

  “Since I wasn’t able to come to your wedding,” Lumi muttered, unhappy. I didn’t tell her that we didn’t have a wedding, because she was twelve. She didn’t need to know the details. “That’s what I imagined it looked like.”

  Me, my mates, snow all around us, and a giant moon hanging in the night sky. It was a beautiful portrait, and I couldn’t wait to see how it looked once she was done with it.

  Tears prickled my vision, and I set the paper aside, reaching for her. “It’s beautiful,” I said, hugging her. “Thank you so much, Lumi.”

  She hugged me back, whispering, “It’s not the same here without you.”

  “I know.”

  Lumi pulled away first, judging me. “So can you shift? Can I see?”

  I patted my stomach. “It’s not easy on the baby, shifting.” I knew she was disappointed, so I quickly said, “Once it’s born, I’ll come visit again, and when I do, I’ll shift for you.” Until we knew for sure I was pregnant, I’d kept practicing. It still took me longer than it should, but I had gotten better. The baby put a stop to that, though.

  “Fine,” Lumi pouted.

  I laughed, and soon Lumi and I were back outside. Hamburgers and hotdogs were on the grill, the smell of meat in the air. When I took my seat between Lumi and Nikolas, I leaned back, gazing up at the blue sky.

  “Your mother was telling us about your Star Wars phase,” Aster spoke, leaning around Nikolas to glance at me. His dimples sat on his cheeks, and I resisted my urge to pinch them, among other things.

  “They haven’t seen any of the newer movies,” Mom said. “I’m going to buy them tomorrow and send you home with them.” She spoke it almost proudly, and I rolled my eyes as Lumi laughed.

  Dad shot me a grin. “What other embarrassing stories can we tell?”

  My mom shot up. “I have pictures of Holly in the bath—and her baby teeth! Let me go get them.”

  I buried my face in my hands. Pictures of me, naked and in a tub, and my baby teeth. What a combination. As my mom emerged from the house, carrying a bunch of stuff, I met eyes with my mates. Even though the topic of conversation wasn’t what I wanted it to be, it was still great to be here. Having family, being surrounded by the ones you loved—it was the best feeling in the world.

  Me, Nikolas, Aster, and Jonas. Soon it would be us plus one. Our child would be a shifter, and I hoped, prayed that we would invite him or her into a better world. A world where shifters weren’t hunted, where we could be out in the open with our mates and not hide the truth. A world where every single human knew about us.

  Eh, that was probably hoping for too much…but still, I’d hope.

  Hope, it turned out, could be both a wonderful and a risky thing.

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