Total pages in book: 8
Estimated words: 7011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 35(@200wpm)___ 28(@250wpm)___ 23(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 7011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 35(@200wpm)___ 28(@250wpm)___ 23(@300wpm)
“Daddy, calm down,” I say, entwining my fingers with Dane’s. Dad looks pissed. More pissed than I’ve ever seen him.
“Seneca, get dressed. I am taking you home. You don’t belong in this den.” I frown. He’s never once indicated that he was prejudiced against shifters, but the way he said den freaked me out.
“I can’t leave, Dad. You know I can’t. Look,” I say, pointing to the scar on Dane’s chest.
“You didn’t,” he says, clearly taken back. “Seneca, this pack has problems. Why couldn’t you fall for the alpha of the Gordon pack?” Dane growls and grips my hand harder.
“I did. I had to. You know I couldn’t stop it. Gordon isn’t my mate. You know it doesn’t work like that,” I say, laughing.
“Sen, you’ve shared your powers with him. You can’t come home again. What will your mother say?”
“Dad, I am less than two miles away. We’ll see each other all the time, but this is home now.”
“But your children will be,” he begins, but I cut him off.
“They will be fine and very well protected.”
“Ma’am,” the boy on the floor says, moving over in front of me.
“Ansel. What did you do?” I ask, using my sleeve to wipe the blood off of his face.
“I pledge my loyalty to you, mistress.”
“Enough of that, Ansel. Consano,” I murmur, watching the wounds on his face heal. “Heart of gold.” His voice is full of awe in my head. This is going to take some getting used to.
“But I must. Please accept my loyalty.”
“Alright. I accept it. Get up, Ansel. Go to your mother,” I say as the woman enters the room. He runs over to his mother. He whispers something to her, and she comes over to me. Not once does her gaze stray to my shirtless man. Thank God. She grabs my hands.
“I pledge my loyalty to you, mistress,” she says earnestly.
“I accept,” I say, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. She nods and walks away.
“Are they all going to do that?” I ask Dane.
“Yes.”
“Alright. I’m gonna need my pants for this,” I say, giggling.
“Yeah,” he says, nodding.
“You need a shirt,” I tell him. He nods.
“Seneca, what about the coven?”
“There are no rules about this,” I assure him. “I can be both.” I almost believe that myself. “You can be,” Dane’s voice fills my head, making me smile.
“Very well. I expect a marriage announcement within days. I also want the vandalism to stop.”
“I don’t think the boys will pose any further problem. Ansel is full of regret, and I am pretty sure scarred for life.”
“Alright. I’ll leave you to it. I am certain your mother will be out here in the morning.”
“I’m sure she will,” I say, chuckling. My mother, Dede, is a somewhat eccentric but pretty stereotypical witch. She reminds me of Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, red hair, and all.
I hug my father, and he leaves. Then I hear the buzz of voices outside the house.
Looks like there’s no time for pants.
One by one, each member of the pack comes before me, pledging their loyalty which I accept. By the time it’s just Dane and me again, its noon, and I’m starving. The pack is much larger than I thought it was.
I wander around my new home. I stop in front of the enormous bay window in the living room. The view is fantastic. I can see the town down below and the mountain high above. If I weren’t so fucking in love and lust with this man, I’d think this is moving way too fast, but knowing that we will be together forever makes this so much easier. I feel him come up behind me. He wraps his arms around me.
“I love you too, mate,” he growls in my ear.
“I know. I can feel it with every fiber of my being,” I tell him, kissing the hand that is resting near my face.
“Let me take you out to lunch.”
“I have a better idea,” I say, ducking out of his arms and running up the stairs, giggling all the way. I feel him bounding up behind me, chasing me.
“I can’t wait to catch you, love,” he thunders.
“You already have,” I sing-song, bursting into his bedroom. Just as I reach the bed, he catches me and spins me around so that I’m facing him. The laughter between us dies down, and the heat that replaces it sizzles in the room.
Will it always be like this?
“Yes.”
Epilogue
Dane
Two Months Later
I look over at my sleeping wife. She’s bewitched me, in more ways than one. I would do anything for her. Her cute little snore draws my attention to her face. She’s exhausted, I’m sure, but something is happening.
“Seneca, wake up,” I say, gently nudging her.
“No more, Dane. I can’t go again right now,” she says, shooing me away.
“It’s not that, Seneca. Wake up.”