by T. S. Joyce
Safe. That word had been a dream before she’d met Beast. It had been this elusive thing she’d always wished for, but could never quite reach.
Behind his broad shoulders, the snow thinned enough to show the limp piles of the council scattered around the clearing. All of that treachery for nothing. The lions would lose their way of life or keep it. Whichever way made no difference to her. She couldn’t conjure a single ounce of pity for the lions that had tried to kill her mate. For all she cared, Kane could burn them to nothing and devour all their ashes.
Ripping her gaze away from the carnage, she kissed Beast’s neck, his cheeks, and then worked her way to his lips and held. They just…stayed there with their mouths pressed together as he rocked her gently. Beast eased back and rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed as he inhaled. And then he leaned into her and kissed her again, his lips softening.
When he pulled away, it was to whisper, “Tell me you’re both okay.”
The baby was kicking up a storm, probably thanks to the adrenaline. On her knees in the snow, Kiera smiled emotionally and dragged his hand to her belly. The baby was putting on a good show. A bump, and Beast huffed a relieved sound and rubbed his cheek against hers in a sign of devotion. “It’s over, Kitty. You don’t have to run anymore.”
“You’re really mine?” she choked out.
“For as long as you’ll have me.”
Kiera lifted up and hugged his shoulders as tight as she could just to convince herself he was really still here—warm and breathing and alive and...hers. She’d found her person. She’d somehow found the man who would go to war with an entire shifter race just to keep her safe. Beast belonged to her, and she belonged to him back. This was the moment she would remember for all her life, the moment she actually got to keep her happiness. The moment she put down her first root into the future she wanted. It was the moment she got to wrap her heart around this full life with the man she loved.
The Blackwings were here now, loosely circled around them. They were clawed to hell. Kane stood beside his Roe, chin lifted high as he looked at Kiera with a knowing smile on his lips. Logan looked pale, and his chest was ripped up with fresh scars. He was recovering from Beast’s attack the other night, but he was here, leaning heavily on his mate, watching Kiera and Beast with a slight grin quirking his lips. He’d gone to battle with the council for her man. So had Winter, Dustin, and Emma. So had the dragons. So had the Bloodrunners.
Home wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Kiera had searched for it from the day she’d lost her mom but hadn’t quite been able to pick a house. Silly her, home wasn’t a house at all.
Home was a trailer park where she would raise her cub with the man she adored.
Home was the D-Team, who’d risked everything to save them today.
Home was Kane’s Mountains.
She smiled emotionally at the Blackwing Crew—at her crew—and then she laid a kiss on the scar on her mate’s face. Kiera let her lips linger on his cheek as a silent I love you because he had given her everything.
Home was Beast.
Epilogue
Beast blew out a steadying breath and hugged his baby boy closer in the cradle of his arm. Three days old and Beast still had trouble looking away from him. He was so tiny. And perfect. It was insane to think about this fragile, little boy someday growing up to be a big, brawling lion shifter.
He adjusted the blue hat and brushed his finger down the baby’s round, soft cheek. In his sleep, his son made sucking motions with his mouth.
“I love when he does that,” Kiera whispered from where she lay stretched out next to Beast on the couch, her head on his thigh as they watched their boy together.
“Dreaming of boobies,” Beast murmured through a smile. He stroked Kiera’s hair, and then pressed his finger against the baby’s hand. He wrapped his small fist around Beast’s finger on reflex and held it.
Kiera let off a sigh that sounded happy and slid her hand over Beast’s thigh. When the content noise tapered into a growl, Beast frowned down at her. Kiera’s eyes had stayed gold since she’d had the baby. Beast pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles before he straightened the baby’s hat again. He couldn’t help touching them all the time now. It was like his lion was only sated if he could physically reassure himself that his little family was safe and happy.
“Are you going to call him today?” she asked.
“Are you reading my mind now?”
Her smile was beautiful as it stretched her full lips. “Maybe. Our bond has been getting stronger.” She had a point. Neither one of them were fighting it, so yeah, they could damn near read each other’s feelings.
And Beast was nervous for reasons he couldn’t explain. Of course his intuitive mate picked up on it. She was sensitive.
He inhaled deeply and nodded. “It won’t be a long call. The old silverback isn’t much of a talker.” Beast eased his cell out of his back pocket and dialed one of the most important numbers he had.
“Beast.” Callum greeted him in a gravelly voice that brought back a hundred lessons from childhood.
Beast pinned the phone between his ear and his shoulder so he could stroke Kiera’s soft hair again. “I have news. Last week, Kiera and I officially registered to the Blackwing Crew as a mated pair. And then…” Beast shook his head as he became overwhelmed with the emotion of the words he’d never thought he would get the chance to say.
A single tear streaked out of the corner of Kiera’s eye as she smiled up at him. Beautiful mate. So sweet.
Beast blew out a steadying breath and tried again after he dragged his gaze to the baby. “Three days ago Kiera gave me a boy. We named him Callum.”
The old silverback chuckled warmly. Static blasted over the phone, and then in a muffled voice, he told his mate, Soren, “It’s a boy. They named him after me.”
Beast could make out Soren’s excited laughter that almost immediately morphed into joyful crying.
More static and then Callum asked, “Are you happy, boy?”
“Yeah, I’m happy.” Beast blinked hard. “I wanted to call you sooner, but I had a lot to think about. I had a decision to make. Do you remember when you gave me the name Beast? You said that someday I wouldn’t need the name anymore and I would call you and give you the name back.”
There was a lengthy pause and then, “I remember. Is that time now?”
Beast traced Kiera’s smiling lips with his thumb. “No. Beast is my name. It’s part of my history, and the name my crew knows me by. It’s the name my mate knows me by. And if someday my boy should turn into a brawler like me, and he’s in need of the name Beast, perhaps I’ll give it to him then, like you did for me. Until then, I’ll carry it. I’ll own it. I wouldn’t be here without it. I wouldn’t have found Kiera or this life without it.”
Beast had never seen or heard the old silverback get emotional before, but Callum sniffed hard. “I’m real proud of who you became.”
When his voice cracked on the last word, Beast had a hard time controlling the burning sensation in his eyes. He ran his hand down his jaw and locked gazes with Kiera. She was so damn good about giving him strength when he needed it.
Beast cleared his throat. “You taking me in like I was your own? I never thanked you for all you did for me.”
“Aw, now don’t get sappy on me,” Callum rumbled, but now his voice was thick and breaking apart. “Tell Kiera hi and give your little mini-beast a hug from me and the missus. We’ll see you in two weeks when we visit.”
When the line went dead, Beast set the phone on the couch cushion beside him and shook his head in awe at how his life had ended up.
A long growl rumbled from Kiera, and she doubled in on herself like she was in pain. She’d been putting off her first Change, likely because of her maternal instincts. She was reluctant to leave little Callum even for a second.
“It’s time,” Beast murmured, running his fingers through her hair again. “She’s been pati
ent, Kitty. She let you keep your body all through the pregnancy. She was a good momma lioness, but you can’t put her off forever.”
The smile fell from Kiera’s face. “What if I don’t remember how to Change?”
Beast helped her up and rocked up off the couch after her, careful not to jostle his sleeping boy. “It’s okay if it doesn’t go smooth the first time. You’ll figure it out.”
Kiera slipped her hand into his and walked out of their trailer by his side. Beast led her down the porch steps and past the fence that no longer sported the No Trespassing sign. He led her to the edge of the woods and stopped. He swayed Callum gently back and forth as Kiera meandered into a small clearing between two towering white pines.
Slowly, Kiera turned, and Beast was stunned by how stunning his mate was in the evening light. Her hair was long and curled, waving down her shoulders as she eased out of her clothes, and that sunset sure looked beautiful on her skin.
She heaved a shaky sigh. “What if it takes a long time?”
“There’s no pressure. None. It’s only me and Callum here watching.”
“And me,” Dustin called from the woods. He popped out from behind a tree like a creeper and lifted a long-lensed camera. “I’ve been waiting for three straight days for this. I’m taking pictures. Emma is gonna make a scrapbook. And we might do a slideshow at the next D-Team Sucks Saturday. Shift pretty, Kitty.”
“Fuck off, Dustin,” Beast called. “And don’t call her Kitty. That’s my pet name.”
“I’m taking video,” Winter said from farther in the woods. She stepped out with a bright smile, her round belly leading the way when she wandered closer. She would be having Kane and Rowan’s baby in a few months’ time. And surprise, surprise, Roe appeared behind her, making sure Winter didn’t trip and fall. Her maternal instincts had kicked in so thoroughly they extended to Winter, who didn’t seem to mind the devotion.
Exasperated, Beast glared at the D-Teamers. “What is happening right now? Kiera doesn’t want extra eyes on her.”
Logan, Kane, and Emma appeared around the corner of Beast’s trailer with half-empty beer bottles in their hands. Kane handed Beast a full one.
“I’m not drinking while I’m holding a baby.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Why not? Callum’s asleep. He won’t know.”
“Fuckin’ D-Team,” Beast muttered.
“The show hasn’t started yet?” Kane asked. “Come on, Kiera. Let her out already.”
“I’m hungry for asparagus,” Dustin said unhelpfully as he fiddled with the camera. “It makes my pee smell funny. Here, Kitty, I’ll help.” Dustin pulled out his cell phone and pushed a button, and the notes of a song echoed through the woods. Dustin, that dick, had recorded Beast saying, “Aw fuck, Dustin! You’re my best friend!” on the phone the day Kiera had been kidnapped. And then he had paid someone to remix a song with that as the only lyrics. It was auto-tuned and everything. He’d played it about eight million times already. Beast was definitely going to choke him. Beside Beast, Emma was singing along off-key, and even Logan was tapping his foot.
Kiera’s eyes went round and, slowly, she covered her full boobs, like any of the shifters here gave a flying fart about nudity. “Uuuh, even with music, I don’t think I can do this in front of everyone.”
Beast looked from crew member to crew member and tried to hold an angry grimace. Wasn’t working, though. A stupid smile kept trying to take over his face. It was the D-Team’s fault for annoying him into smiles lately. That and this stupid song. And of course they had stalked Kiera so they could watch her first Change. He used to hate the way the crew shared everything, but that wouldn’t ever change. And lately, he didn’t feel like it was such an awful thing. He didn’t want to let them know he was going soft, though, so shook his head in silent apology to Kiera then called out, “I hate you all.”
Dustin did some sign language, and beside Beast, Emma said, “Aaaaw, he says we love you too, Beast.”
“Annoying,” Beast muttered, but that damn smile was back stretching his face. He sighed and handed Callum gently to Emma.
Kiera smelled scared, but she didn’t need to be. He would always keep her safe. She just needed a reminder of her inner badass. Beast undressed and let his lion rip out of him. He landed on all fours and then meandered to Kiera, rubbed up against her in a tight circle. She smelled like a lioness, and he could feel her. He walked a few paces into the woods and turned. And then he lifted his head and called her animal out. He roared, over and over, softer as time went on, until Kiera’s body buckled, and she fell to the forest floor. Her Change was slow and she would be sore tomorrow, but for now, she stood on all four shaky legs. And here in the muted sunset lighting, with the Blackwing Trailer Park as the backdrop behind her, Beast fell for his beautiful Kiera all over again.
Her lioness was a soft gold, her coat shining. Her body was lithe, and though her first steps were clumsy, she found her grace soon enough. It was her eyes that held him, though.
Thanks to Apex, those eyes had been frozen into her face the first time he’d met her. This animal wasn’t supposed to exist anymore, but their love had brought her back. He’d waited so long to see this part of her, spent countless hours imagining what her lioness looked like, and the moment was finally here. She stood tall and proud, twitching her tail, her ears erect. She stole his breath away. He needed to touch her, so Beast strode up to her and rested his forehead against hers. Hey, Kitty. And then Beast ran his body down her length. She was much smaller than him, but she held her ground. Strong mate.
She always talked about his silent I love yous, and this was another one. She deserved to feel his adoration, every day, every hour. Until he drew his last breath, he would live every moment for her because she had opened his eyes and made him feel again.
When he ran his body up her other side, she was ready and rubbed her face against his.
Beast walked beside her as she strode deeper into the woods. Around them, the Blackwings gathered. In front of Beast, Logan had his arm thrown over Winter’s shoulders as she chattered on about how good Kiera had done for her first Change. Rowan followed closely behind Winter, swatting at a bug that almost landed on her. Dark Kane chuckled warmly at his mate and pulled her in close before he kissed the top of her head. Behind Beast, Dustin clicked away on his camera as that damn best friend song played on and on. Beside the wolf walked Emma. A soft smile curved her lips as she looked down at little Callum cradled in her arms. She cooed the song to him. That little cub was going to grow up completely adored by this crew of dysfunctional maniacs. Beast and Kiera had somehow found their cub a pride, only so much better.
The D-Team was a chaotic, incessantly obnoxious, perfect mess.
They were his mess.
Beast had thought he never wanted to be close to anyone again, but look what had happened? This crew of crazies had somehow pried his hardened heart open. Kiera had come in and filled all the holes, and then his baby boy had broken the rest of his walls down completely. Feeling didn’t hurt anymore.
Kiera sometimes spoke of how he’d saved her, but she didn’t see. She was the one who had saved him. Beast had thought he was destined for an empty existence, but she’d given him a life that was better than anything he could’ve dreamed. His stone heart had been shattered, but had been pieced back together by the woman who had refused to give up on him, and because of her, he now believed in magic.
He believed in love, and his crew.
He believed in fate, and hope, and 10:10 wishes.
He believed in his brave Kiera, the family they were building, and the future that stretched out in front of them.
And for the rest of always, Beast would be the protector of what he’d found here in Kane’s Mountains.
Want More of these Characters?
Kane’s story can be found in the Harper’s Mountains series
Bloodrunner Dragon (Book 1)
Bloodrunner Bear (Book 2)
Air R
yder (Book 3)
Novak Raven (Book 4)
Blackwing Dragon (Book 5)
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More Series by T. S. Joyce
Bears Fur Hire
Husband Fur Hire (Book 1)
Bear Fur Hire (Book 2)
Mate Fur Hire (Book 3)
Wolf Fur Hire (Book 4)
Dawson Fur Hire (Book 5)
Chance Fur Hire (Book 6)
Fire Bears
Bear My Soul (Book 1)
Bear the Burn (Book 2)
Bear the Heat (Book 3)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
Saw Bears
Lumberjack Werebear (Book 1)
Woodcutter Werebear (Book 2)
Timberman Werebear (Book 3)
Sawman Werebear (Book 4)
Axman Werebear (Book 5)
Woodsman Werebear (Book 6)
Lumberman Werebear (Book 7)
Gray Back Bears
Gray Back Bad Bear (Book 1)
Gray Back Alpha Bear (Book 2)
Gray Back Ghost Bear (Book 3)
Gray Back Broken Bear (Book 4)
Lowlander Silverback (Book 5)
Last Immortal Dragon (Book 6)
Boarlander Bears
Boarlander Boss Bear (Book 1)
Boarlander Bash Bear (Book 2)
Boarlander Silverback (Book 3)
Boarlander Beast Boar (Book 4)
Boarlander Cursed Bear (Book 5)
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