The tiger caught sight of him as he stepped out from behind Cal, and faltered. Before Dylan could speak, before Cal could move, the tiger began to shift until standing in front of them was a man. And not just any man, the one from the memory he'd pulled from Shay. His father.
Damon spoke with a voice hoarse from disuse.
"Your scent is familiar. Why is that? There hasn't been another tiger in this territory in over a century. And those eyes… who are you?"
Behind him, Cal shifted and stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"My name is Dylan. I… I…"
Dylan turned to Cal for help when words failed him.
"Dylan's mother was a Wiccan named Emily Hallan."
"No." Damon shook his head, glancing away. "That can't be. The child died. Shay told me he'd died."
He looked back at Dylan.
"But those eyes… they're Emily's eyes."
"Shay… Shay is my grandfather. He told me you'd left long ago, that you didn't care, that you were probably dead."
"Never. Emily was my mate. I loved her with all my heart. We were a family. We were going to be even more of a family when you were born."
He stepped forward, watching Dylan like he didn't believe what he was seeing.
One hand reached for him, touching his face, his hair.
"Your name is Dylan?" He nodded against the hand cupping his cheek.
"I'm Damon," his father replied, looking past him to where Cal stood. "And this is…"
"My mate, Callix."
"One of the Evenfall bears," Damon concluded, seeming unsurprised at Dylan's words. "I knew your father, an honorable man."
Cal's hand still rested on his shoulder, but his grip relaxed. "It's good to meet you, Damon. We've traveled a long way to find you."
"Then let me extend my hospitality, as meager as it might be. I can at least offer you breakfast and some shelter from this wind."
Hand in hand, Dylan and Callix followed Damon as he led them around the mountain. He moved with the practiced steps of someone who knew the terrain like the back of their hand. They came upon Damon's home unexpectedly as it was tucked away between outcrops of rock similar to where they'd taken shelter.
Damon invited them in. It was a simple structure, built against the wall with wooden slats, but it kept them out of the wind. Damon built a fire, and Cal pulled out the rabbit meat they'd cooked from the previous day's hunt. They shared the food, and between the two of them, Cal and Dylan filled Damon in on how he'd learned of Damon's existence. Damon listened to most of the story in silence.
"I shouldn't have taken Shay's word for it, he was so against us. I should have checked."
"But I'm here now, and you're here, and Cal said shifters live long lives so we have time, don't we?"
Dylan's words erased some of the lines of guilt from Damon's face.
"Yes, we have time."
Cal stepped out after they ate to give them some time together. Things between them were awkward at first, but Dylan was eager to hear about his mother, a subject Shay had rarely spoken about. Damon was almost the opposite, eager to talk about her, about the time they spent together, though his stories were tinged with sadness.
It was almost five days later when they finally headed for home, Damon promising to come and visit them in a few months' time. He descended the mountain with them, and they said their goodbyes at the foot of the cliffs.
Cal gave father and son some space as Damon pulled Dylan into a hug.
"I'm very proud," Damon said. "Seeing you here, now, is more than I had ever hoped for. You've given me new life and new hope."
Dylan looked back three times as they walked away.
"Don't worry," Cal assured him. "We'll see him again soon. He'll always be welcome at Evenfall and you'll always be welcome here."
"I feel… I feel whole," Dylan said. "Does that make sense?"
"It makes perfect sense. So many of the pieces that make you who you are, are coming together."
Dylan smiled at him. There was a look in his eyes that Cal hadn't seen before. "What, what is it?"
Dylan shrugged. "Just something Damon said."
He stepped closer, bumping his hip against Cal's.
"Let's go home."
Cal threw an arm around his shoulder.
"Yes, let's go home."
Epilogue
Two months later
There was nothing to disturb their lie-in. No crying baby, no bickering brothers, just Cal and Dylan sleeping soundly. At least, they would be, if Dylan wasn't tossing and turning beside him.
Cal laid an arm across his back to settle him, only to find Dylan's skin hot to the touch and drenched with sweat.
"Dylan?" he called, a hint of alarm in his voice. Was he hurt or sick?
"Dylan?" He stroked a hand across his back, his worry doubling as he caught his mate's unusual scent.
His mate woke. "Huh?" Dylan glanced around, one eye open.
Cal tried to pull back to get a better look at his mate, but Dylan latched on to him, curling closer.
"Dylan, I think there's something wrong."
"You're here," Dylan murmured sleepily. "What could be wrong?"
"You're really warm."
Dylan smiled lazily at him. "You smell really good."
"Dylan, focus, please."
"I am focused. On you." He pressed his nose against Cal's neck, breathing in deeply before licking a long line across his skin.
"I don't know what's wrong with you…" But even as he said it, the pieces were sliding into place. Warm, clingy, aroused.
"I think I'm in heat," Dylan admitted, giving voice to Cal's suspicions. "Damon said it might happen, but he wasn't sure so I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"You… how?"
"He could tell from my scent. I reminded him of his Omega father. Omega tigers only go into heat every few years."
"Years?"
"Yeah," Dylan nodded against him. "So, you know, we should take full advantage."
And he kissed Cal on the lips, tongue demanding entrance. Cal broke the kiss after a long moment, sitting up and lifting Dylan into his lap, his mate wrapping his legs tightly around his waist.
"Are you happy?" Dylan asked.
Cal pressed another kiss to his mouth, murmuring the words against his lips.
"I've never been happier."
Author's Note
Thank you for reading Bound by Fate, Book Two of the Evenfall Trilogy. If you have a moment to spare, please consider leaving a review.
If you'd like to hear about new releases in this series or are interested in receiving review copies of future books, you can sign up to my mailing list here or visit clairecullenbooks.com
Cover by Vivian Monir Designs
Copyright © 2017 by Claire Cullen
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincident
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