by J. L. Wilder
“I’ll bet,” Dax said. “She was in labor for what, ten hours?”
“Eleven.”
“I bet she sleeps until tomorrow.”
“Maybe. I kind of hope so. She deserves it, after that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t want her here at first,” Dax said quietly.
“You didn’t know,” Vince pointed out. “None of us did. You had no idea she was an omega. I didn’t even know something like that was possible.”
“Yeah,” Dax agreed. “But I shouldn’t have let that get in the way. She was carrying your child regardless, and it was pretty clear how you felt about her.”
“You were thinking of what was best for the pack,” Vince said. “I get it. Honestly, I appreciate it. It’s good to know that you’re not just going to defer to whatever I say because I’m the alpha. I need pack mates who aren’t afraid to question me, because I don’t always know what I’m doing.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Dax said, smirking. “Between me and Ace, you’ll always have someone around who’s willing to call you out if we think you’re making stupid decisions.”
“Thanks, Dax,” Vince said. “I mean that.”
“Don’t get all sappy.” Dax put down the baby he was holding. “I know you’re a new father, but I don’t want to start hugging and braiding each other’s hair here.”
“All right, okay.” Vince settled his baby back into the bassinet. “Let’s go get some beers and the rest of the guys, then, and we’ll go out on the porch and drink a toast to our growing family. How does that sound?”
“Pretty perfect,” Dax said. “I was right about you, Vince. You are the perfect alpha for the Hell’s Wolves.”
“I seem to remember you saying you didn’t think I would be the one to take power.”
“Oh my God, okay, so I was right and I was wrong. How about ruling with a little benevolence?” Dax cuffed Vince’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go and get those beers before one of these babies wakes up and starts hollering for you. Now that you’re a father of eight, it’s going to be hard for you to sneak in any free time for yourself.”
Vince knew Dax was right. But as he looked around at his sleeping family, he found that he didn’t mind a bit.
THAT EVENING, HE CRAWLED into bed beside Amy and wrapped his arms tenderly around her, kissing her shoulder, her neck, the line of her jaw.
Her eyes blinked open. “Hey,” she said sleepily.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“How are the babies?”
“Perfect. They’re perfect. Tommy’s sitting up with them right now. We’re going to take shifts, so they’re never alone and so you and I can actually get some sleep.”
“I’m going to bake the guys a cake,” she murmured. “In about ten years when I have free time again.”
“They’re happy to do it,” Vince said. “I know they come across as a bunch of tough guys, but they’re softies at heart. You should have seen Tommy when he sat down in there. It’s maybe the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”
“I’m really in the family now, huh?” she said.
“Amy.” Vince smoothed a lock of her hair. “You’ve been a part of this family since the day you came back to Oregon with me. I know it took some of the others a while to get used to it. But I’m the alpha here. I all the shots. I say what this family is and isn’t. And what it is is a group of people brought together—glued together—by love.”
“Yeah?”
“And I love you.” He heard the husk in his voice and felt embarrassed. He wasn’t used to communicating such intense emotions. But then, before Amy, he had never felt such intense emotions. The biggest thing he had ever felt before he had known her had been anger, which seemed to sweep through him sometimes with such power and intensity that Vince had often thought the wolf came to the surface specifically to cope with it.
But the intensity of his love for Amy, and for his newborn babies, dwarfed anything he had ever felt. It was too big to be contained within his body. It seemed to fill up the room, to fill up the whole house. He could feel it wrapping around Amy as she lay in his arms, shielding her from harm. He could feel it in the nursery where the babies lay sleeping, touching each one of them, getting to know them. Anticipating the lives they would have as they grew up, as he watched them become distinct and wonderful little people.
It wasn’t human, his love for his family, and it wasn’t wolf either. Instead, somehow, it was the best parts of both.
It was logical, sensible, well reasoned. They were his family. He loved them and wanted to protect them, and he was able to think about how he would do that. He was able to plan for their futures and ponder all the things he would give to them as mate, father, and alpha.
But it was also primal. Animal. It came from a place deep within him that didn’t demand to be understood or even to make sense. And it fundamentally changed who he was as a person. He was no longer just an angry shifter trying to break free of the rules of a dysfunctional pack.
He was a family man.
He was an alpha.
Amy hummed a little, slipping back toward sleep, and Vince let her go. She had had such a tiring day. He couldn’t believe how proud he was of her. No human woman could have done what she had done—carried eight healthy babies to term, delivered them successfully, and gone on to recover so well from it. He was overwhelmed with pride.
She’s my omega, he thought. She’s the one I found. Something about me brought out something in her that didn’t exist before we met.
Maybe it had just been the bite. Maybe the same thing would have happened to any woman who had been bitten by a shifter.
But Vince didn’t think so. Because surely bites must be more common than human omegas. Shifters claimed by biting, after all, which meant that most shifters who claimed human women would issue a bite at some point.
Maybe it was because he was an alpha.
Or maybe it was because the bite had been given in wolf form. It hadn’t been deliberate, the way a claiming bite was. It hadn’t even been planned. He had been frantic, in pain, afraid, and she had been afraid too. He knew that. But for whatever reason, the two of them had reached out to each other that night in the woods.
Even before we met in the bar. Even before she became pregnant. Even then, some part of me recognized something.
Maybe.
Maybe it had all been chance.
He would never know. Not with complete confidence.
And at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter.
He had her here. His omega, after all this time, after all the searching and the acceptance that an omega could never be found. Here she was, in his arms, in his home. The mother of his children.
She stirred slightly, eyelids fluttering, and Vince realized that she was dreaming. He kissed her neck again, gently, careful not to wake her, and wondered what visions were playing out behind her eyelids. Something nice, he hoped. Something about the children she had just brought into the world.
“We’ll raise them together,” he whispered softly in her ear. “I’ll teach them everything about my world, and you’ll teach them everything about yours. We’ll watch them grow up. You and me.”
Then, snuggling closer to Amy and wrapping his arms more tightly around her, Vince closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into dreams alongside her.
More Books by J.L. Wilder
Hell’s Bears MC Complete Series Box Set
Take a ride on the back of a Hell's Bears' motorcycle in this sizzling complete series box set!
Book 1: Omega’s Bears
I’m an omega. I’m all alone. And the wolves are coming for me.
All my life, I’ve felt I should be stronger. All my life, I’ve felt I should be powerful. But all my life, I’ve been nothing. The only thing I had was my clan. But the wolves took them from me. Every single one of my family is gone.
The wolves want me for crossbreeding, and I have to run. The only bears who might protect me are dangerous, lawless,
and wild. But still I ride on. Straight into the den of the Hell's Bears MC.
Book 2: The White Omega
I've never left my home. I'm a prisoner in my own pack. All because I'm an omega...
All my life I've been told I need to stay inside, stay protected. As an omega polar bear, i'm an object of lust to shifter men, and the outside world is not safe.
When my pack's alpha claims he has imprinted on me, I know it’s a lie. I know the outside world is the only one I can trust. Even if I get kidnapped, and delivered to the doorstep of the infamous Hell's Bears MC.
I am to be their new omega, their breeder. What terrifies me most, is which Hell's Bear will imprint on me, and claim me for life....
Book 3: The Hidden Omega
There's something wrong with me. Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm human.
I was raised by humans, and all my life I thought I was a monster.
Turns out I'm something more valuable—an omega bear shifter.
After being kidnapped for a prostitution ring, I'm rescued by the Hell's Bears MC.
There is Clay who imprints on me, Mike who comforts me, and Bruno the alpha.
Sometimes it seems like Bruno wants nothing to do with me...
Do they really want me to be a member of their pack,
or do they just want to use me for breeding?
This box set contains three full length romances and is 18+ only!
Hell’s Wolves MC-The Omega Games
An omega held against her will.
To protect her, he must win the omega games—or watch her be bred by another.
Wyatt
All my life I’d been a lone wolf.
Drinking, hiding my inner beast.
Then I became second to the Alpha of the Hell’s Wolves MC.
That’s when she came into my life—the omega.
Now my sole purpose is to protect this sexy little wolf.
Even if it violates my alpha’s orders.
Izzy
Those bastards think they can treat me like a breeding bag.
When the wolf moon comes and I’m in heat,
They’ll hold the omega games—with me as the prize.
What they don’t know is I’ll decide who gets my body, and my heart.
For me, there is only one.
And I need him so bad it hurts.
Hell’s Wolves MC-The Omega Purebred
No one ever taught me what to do if I was kidnapped. What did they expect? I am a rare Omega purebred—the last of my line.
Hazel
As an Omega purebred of the wealthiest shifter family on the east coast, I was given three rules:
1. Stay in the house.
2. Always travel in groups.
3. Don’t go out at night.
Well, I didn’t listen to those rules, and now I’m the world’s most wanted omega. I've been kidnapped for breeding. Who can protect me now?
Emmett
I’m president of the Hell’s Wolves MC, the Itinerant Chapter. I travel from place to place doing difficult and dangerous jobs. I have no women and no children, and I like it that way.
I just landed the best paying job of my life, rescue a kidnapped Omega. A lot of what they say about Omegas is myth, but there is one thing about them that is true—they are nearly impossible to resist. And a rare omega purebred is no exception. Good thing I care more about money, than mating with an Omega.
18+ Only. Standalone shifter romance. Full length novel.
About The Author
J.L. Wilder likes wild things! Her alpha shifters are gruff and tough, with a pinch of tenderness. Curl up with these bad boy book boyfriends, and they will have you howling at the moon!
When not writing shifter smut, J.L. spends as much time as possible exploring the outdoors. She loves getting into trouble with Ace, her Siberian Husky.
You can grab a free shifter romance and join her email here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/mvci9dryz6