"You don't know that."
"I know that she made her decision and she knows how we feel. She is welcome here as family. If that's what she wants, she'll come. If it isn't, then the best thing we can do is raise Andre and love him unconditionally."
Stix remained silent and fell asleep in her arms.
The next morning when Andre awoke, he cried and asked for Andrea all day. Satia tried to comfort him and explain that she had gone away but she loved him very much, but with all that he had been through Andre was disoriented and afraid.
By the end of the week, Andre had stopped asking for Andrea and instead began to cling to Satia. It both gave her hope and broke her heart at the same time.
With their newly formed family trying to find a routine, Stix and his father decided that they would hire a manager to run the bar for the time being so that Stix could spend more time with Andre and Satia. All plans for changing the first restaurant into a nightclub were on hold until things settled down at home.
By week two with Andre everyone had begun to fall into a rhythm with Andre in the house. Even Deacon had taken to stopping by daily to check on them, eating dinner with them and playing with Andre. With everything beginning to settle Stix's parents decided it was time for them to head home the following day.
Satia lay in bed with Stix after having made love and stroked his arm. "I like this," she said. "It feels... almost complete."
He kissed her head. "Almost?"
"I still feel like there is a piece missing."
Stix sighed heavily. "Andrea."
Satia sat up. "Not Andrea. Opal."
Stix stared at her as sadness clouded his eyes.
"It's time, Stix."
"Satia, I don't know-"
"You healed me, Stix. Healed my heart. Healed my past. Healed my soul. You and Andre, and your mom, and dad, and even Deacon. If our family can heal me, they can heal Opal as well. She is your sister. We need to try at least."
Stix smiled and pulled her close kissing her long and slow. "I love you, Satia."
She placed her hand on his cheek. "And I love you, Stix."
Epilogue
Stix sat anxiously flanked by his parents, Deacon, and Satia, who held Andre. The quiet sitting room furnished like a Victorian house smelled of tea and wood polish.
Satia held Andre and worked on a new sign she had learned. Aunt. They practiced as they waited.
His mother stood and walked to the window. "I don't know that I can do this."
"You can," said his father. "Opal is doing much better here they said. She's been getting the best of care. Her injuries have faded, and they say she is making tremendous strides."
"But last time we saw her-"
"Last time she was in the middle of a drugged out craze. She didn't mean the things she said, Joyce."
A tear fell from his mother's cheek, and she pushed it away roughly.
There was a knock on the door and everyone stood.
"Here we go," said Deacon.
The door opened and in walked Opal. Her hair hung in loose curls down to her shoulder. She wore a long skirt and shirt that seemed a couple of sizes too big for her. But her skin had regained its beautiful tan glow, and her eyes were bright and alert for the first time in a long time.
She stood in the doorway taking them all in like a scared rabbit. She tugged on the ends of her sleeves, and her gaze drifted to their mom.
"Hi, Mom."
Joyce burst into tears and ran to her daughter. Opal broke down as well and the women hugged tightly. Joyce kissed Opal all over the face and hair. Minutes passed and then they walked toward the rest of the group. She hugged her dad tight as he whispered words of love and affection. Next, she went to Deacon who tried hard to hold back his tears.
"Hey there, Porcupine."
Opal laughed, and he hugged her tight.
"I missed you, kid."
"I missed you too, Deac."
Finally, she walked to Stix. He looked down at his little sister remembering the last time he'd seen her. Eyes sunken in, skin pale and waxy. She appeared nothing like the girl he'd found unconscious on the floor almost dead from an overdose.
"Hey, Stix."
A moment passed, and then he gathered his little sister in his arms. She gripped the back of his shirt as she buried her face in his chest. He fought to hold back the flood of emotions that crashed down upon him suddenly.
She relaxed her grip and then turned her head toward Satia.
Opal smiled. "Who is this?"
Stix reached out and took Andre from Satia and then gripped Satia's hand.
"Opal, I would like for you to meet Satia, my mate. And Andre, my son."
Andre smiled and looked at Satia. Satia made the sign for Aunt. Andre turned to Opal and made the sign.
"Auntie," Satia said.
Opal's eyes filled with tears again as she laughed. She grasped Satia's hand. "Welcome to the family."
Fated Despite the Moon
As dawn broke over the horizon, Makayla tiptoed to the front door of her mother's Beverly Hills mansion, a pair of designer black stilettos in her hand. Her designated driver duties over, she was happy to be home for a day of crashing with her besties before they restarted the partying.
"Ouch!" A giggle sounded behind her.
Makayla turned. "Shhhh…"
Rachael slammed her hand over Mindy's mouth, and both of them stifled their laughter.
Makayla couldn't help but laugh too despite the fact there'd be hell to pay if she woke up her mom and brother. She pushed her sweat soaked blonde hair out of her face and unlocked the front door. Pushing it open she listened for a moment then padded across the enormous entrance to the security alarm on the wall. Punching in the code she disarmed it, then looked out the door to her friends and waved them in.
They closed the heavy door with a bang making Makayla's heart jump. Mindy and Rachael hung onto each other like conjoined twins, trying to hold back more drunken laughter.
"Come on," she whispered. "Get up to my room before you two fall down and my mother thinks you’re burglars and shoots you."
The trio headed toward the large winding staircase.
"Makayla." The soft yet firm sound of her name coming from the living room raised goosebumps on her arms.
She closed her eyes and blew out a harsh breath. Damn. Mindy and Rachel stared at her from the bottom step. "Go on. I'll be there in a minute."
The two nodded and stumbled up the winding staircase. She prayed they didn’t vomit on her mother’s pristine carpet. If that happened, she’d never hear the end of it.
Makayla straightened her spine and tried to pull down her too short skirt as much as possible to appease her mother before heading for the living room. As she trudged across the cold granite floor she ran through various excuses as to where she had been, and why she was returning home at five thirty in the morning. Unfortunately, in the last month she'd used them all already.
She reached the step leading down into the plush cream salon and stopped. Her mother sat tall and proud- despite her graying hair hanging loose over her shoulders- in the high wingback chair her father had used only for business or family meetings. A chair that hadn’t been occupied in over six months.
Makayla swallowed hard at the sight of her older brother Colt standing like a living statue behind their mother. If Colt was home, she was in for a serious tongue-lashing. She donned her best smile and descended into the room where her toes sunk into the thick pile carpeting.
"Colt. Great to see you. I'm glad you could take–"
Her mother waved her hand, shaking the sleeves of the peach silk bathrobe that swathed her thin frame. "Have a seat Makayla."
Makayla folded her arms over her chest as the rebellious streak that had taken root in her over the past months reared its ugly head. "I'm good here, thanks."
She needed to keep on her feet in case things got too annoying, and she had to make a quick getaway.
Her mother and broth
er stared at her, and she fought the urge to squirm. Even in human form her mother wore the countenance of an Alpha female.
"Where were you this time?" her mother asked.
Makayla opened her mouth then shut it again. Why lie? They'd know anyway. They most likely already smelled the tobacco and sweat wrapping every inch of her.
"I just went dancing with some friends."
"And drinking?"
She wished her mom would give her some credit. She wasn't that horrible.
"No, mother. I was the designated driver."
"How can you do this to us, Makayla? Flaunt yourself in public for everyone to see? As if our reputation hasn't been tarnished enough by your actions. Now you stay out all night clubbing with your friends? What would your father say?"
"Stay safe?"
Her mother's expression hardened, and her eyes flashed.
Wrong answer.
"I'll have no more of this. You aren't a child, but you do live under my roof and off what I give you. You don't work. You don't study. You don't help out. You dropped out of college–"
"You know why I did that." Anger whirled inside her like a tornado.
"Yes." Her mother nodded. "We all grieve the loss of your father. But you no longer have time to be a selfish child. You yourself will be a parent in only five short months. How do you plan on taking care of a child? Provide for it? It's obvious the father will not step up. Not that I would expect him to."
"Don't say that about Derek. He'll come around, he just–"
"No." He mother shook her head. "He's had time. Three months’ worth of time. As have you. But what do you do? Go out clubbing all night with friends. Sleep all day. It's enough. I will not have a grandchild of mine raised like this."
"And what about Colt? Did you give him this same talk when he knocked up Gianna? I don't see him running off to do his duty."
Colt took a step forward. "I wanted to marry Gia. She is the one who said no."
Her mother held up her hand. "This isn't about Colt. It's about you. And I am done allowing you to sully your father's good name, and his pack, by acting like the spoiled—" Her mother sucked in a sharp breath. “Your time is up. You have not made any right decisions since finding out you were with child, and I will no longer allow you to continue down this destructive path. It's finished.”
Her mother rose from her chair and rang the bell on the coffee table. A set of heavy footsteps sounded on the granite floor moving toward the front of the house.
“What… what's going on?” Makayla tried to keep the fear from her voice.
“You are being sent away,” her mother replied.
Mark, her father's right-hand man, walked into the hallway carrying Makayla's two largest suitcases.
A chill raced up Makayla's spine. "You can't do this."
"Can't?" her mother asked. "I most certainly can. This is my house, my money, my pack. I make the rules. If you don't like them you are welcome to leave your cellphone, credit cards, and car and walk out."
Makayla's mind whirled. She was being sent away. All because she was pregnant and had no mate.
"Where are you sending me?" her voice came out barely a whisper.
Her mother nodded to Mark, and he walked out the front door.
"You are going home."
"This is my home."
Her mother shook her head. "No. This is where we live. You're going home. To rejoin our pack in Wolf River."
"You're sending me to backwoods Idaho?" A shrill tenor tinged her voice, and panic raced over her skin.
"Jeremiah has spoken to the men of the pack. One of his sons has agreed to take you and your child in. To care for you and make you his family."
"Whoa! Wait a second. Make me his family? You mean… marry me?"
Her mother's blank stare told Makayla that's exactly what she meant.
"An arranged marriage?" Makayla cried. "To some back hills country bumpkin?"
Her mother was across the room in a blur of movement. "You father was from Wolf River. My family is from Wolf River. You would do better to show some respect."
Anger rippled off her mother and forced Makayla to step back. The commanding presence of an Alpha wasn’t something she could ignore, no matter how much she wished she could.
“But… marriage? You want me to mate someone I don’t even know. Someone that I’ll be with… forever. You always told me mating was something I was supposed to take very seriously. Something I couldn’t take back. And now you are just selling me off like a prize mare?”
“We did always tell you that. But you are almost twenty-five, and you have yet to show up at our door with even one male suitable for the only daughter of Alphas. You’ve rejected every male we have introduced you to. And now with this latest development of yours, there is no one from our pack who will want you. Petty, I know, but there it is. You know Jeremiah, and you know his boys. They are good men. Griffon is already mated, and his mate is expecting their own first child. So, you will already have someone with something in common to talk to. Both Logan and Caleb are successful and good boys. You are fortunate to have one of them as your mate. And as a father to your child.”
Makayla remembered the three wolf boys who’d taunted and teased her every summer since she was a child. She’d not seen them in years though. When she’d reached high school age their family vacations together had ended as their fathers grew busier.
Colt joined them and laid his hand on his mother's shoulder. "Maybe it's best if I take her."
Her mother shoved an envelope into Makayla's hands. "Here is the information you need. The jet is already waiting for you at Burbank airport. Colt will see that you get on the plane. Should you refuse or run, I will cut you off permanently. No more money. No phone. No trips. Nothing."
Makayla looked down at the envelope. Her mom was sending her away. All because of one stupid mistake. But more likely because…
Her mother's voice softened. "I love you Makayla, and I believe in the person you were before, and the person you can become. Believe it or not, I think this is actually for the best. And so, did your father. It had always been his wish that you would marry one of Jeremiah's boys."
‘Uncle Jeremiah,’ as Makayla had known him, was her father's oldest friend. They'd left Wolf River together to go to Stanford and then on to start a fortune five hundred company in Silicon Valley. They'd sold out right before the bust. And though Jeremiah had returned to Wolf River, he and her father had remained close and continued to do business right up until her father's sudden death. Now Jeremiah did business with her brother Colt. So, was this a business thing? A merger of sorts? A way for Colt to gain a foothold in Jeremiah’s business dealings? Or maybe it was her mom’s version of payment to Jeremiah for something.
A pawn, that’s what Makayla was. A pawn for her mother to move around the board at will.
Her mother embraced her. "I do this because I love you, Makayla. And hopefully someday you will thank me. But even if you don’t thank me, maybe you’ll understand at the very least… once you become a mother yourself."
A blanket of numbness floated over her shoulders and shrouded Makayla in dread.
Her mother released her, and Makayla dropped her sparkly high heels to the floor. "Guess I won't need these anymore."
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read Unleashed with the Moon. I love writing this series. It's been a lot of fun writing a series about shifters in real world situations, like Satia and Stix. Family can be difficult, especially when they are blended. But I wanted to show that blood isn’t always what makes a family. And pay tribute to all those Step parents out there who take in children and love them as their own.
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Rebekah R. Ganiere - BOOKS WITH A BITE
Award Winning–Bestselling Author
Rebekah R. Ganiere
Fairelle Series
Red the Were Hunter - Book One
Yanti's Choice - Free Fairelle Short Story
Snow the Vampire Slayer - Book Two
Jamen’s Yuletide Bride - Book Three
Zelle and the Tower - Book Four
Cinder the Fae - Book Five
Belle and the Beast - Book Six
Gerall’s Festivus Bride - Book Seven
Jak the Giant Healer - Book Eight
Wolf River
PROMISED at the Moon
CURSED by the Moon
RECLAIMED from the Moon
TAMED under the Moon
UNLEASHED with the Moon
FATED despite the Moon
The Society Series
Reign of the Vampires
Rise of the Fae
Vengeance of the Demons
The Otherworlder Series
Saving Christmas
Cupid’s Curse
The Aether Pirate Chronicles
The Lady Fugitive
Dead Awakenings
Kissed by the Reaper
The Bride
Rekindling Christmas
Christmas Lodge (2020)
www.RebekahGaniere.com/Newsletter
Unleashed With The Moon (Wolf River, ID. Book 5) Page 13
