Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  I moved forward and sat at the table. “This dinner looks and smells amazing. Thank you. It’s been a long time since I have had a meal not cooked at the bar.” I held my hand out in invitation, and when she placed hers inside I pulled her to the seat next to me. Mack sat across from us, looking between us with a quizzical look on his face.

  “What’s wrong, Mack?” Suzanne asked, still holding onto my hand.

  “You are holding hands, and you have a goofy look on your face, Ma. Does that mean Mr. Jerome is going to be my Da?”

  I spit out the sip of water I had just taken. This kid didn’t mess around, straightforward with his question. I liked that. I looked at Suzanne again, letting her field this question.

  “Well, what would you think about that?” She held her breath waiting for his response. Mack gave me a good once over taking in a big sniff, Wolf came forward preening through my eyes.

  “I think he’d make a good Da, and Cat says you smell good together. So yes, I want him as my Da.” With that final announcement he focused on his plate and ate like the growing cub he was.

  I leaned over and whispered, “What do you think, Suzanne? Mack wants me, but do you?” I didn’t wait for her answer, I took my cue from the little guy and dug into the food on my plate doing my best to ignore the fact that I could smell the lust rolling off her. I knew she wanted me, but would she accept me? I finished the bite in my mouth. “We will discuss it more after Draven leaves, yes?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was a bit breathy. I winked at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her blush. Wolf and I enjoyed flirting with her, and couldn’t wait to do more once the threats were taken care of. We finished dinner and she shooed me out of the kitchen. I opened my mouth to protest when Sterling’s voice rang in my head.

  “Boss, we are set to go, infiltrating in five. Will contact you once we have subdued the threat.”

  I didn’t respond, one wasn't needed, and I joined Draven in my office to find him sitting still as stone with his eyes rolled back in his head, only the whites showing. I watched him for a moment for movement, but saw none. I had never seen a vampire actually look through their child's eyes, and I would be happy not to ever again.

  TEN

  I POURED myself a stiff drink and sat behind my desk. I was not good at waiting. Sterling contacted me the same moment Draven came back from his child. “Boss, secure the cub and his mother, they are there. Now. The alpha, his beta, a vampire, and one other. I’ve already sent more guards to the house.”

  “They are here,” Draven whispered.

  “Yes, I know.” I growled as I stood and raced around the desk.

  “No, I mean they are here, in your basement. I can sense the vampire. I will deal with him while you and your guards take out the rest.” He was gone within a blink, using his speed to find the intruder. I hurried back to the kitchen grabbing up Mack and placing my hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

  “Suzanne, come, you and Mack need to hide, we have intruders.” She dropped the dish towel in her hand and followed me, her eyes big with worry. I took them to my office and handed Mack to her. “Close and lock the door behind me. It’s solid steel and would take a bomb to get through. Do not open it for anyone but me. I will knock three times when it’s safe come out.” I started to leave but Wolf stopped me, turned, and strode back to Suzanne. We reached down together, Wolf and I, and grabbed her around the waist and took her mouth in a kiss. I needed to taste her just once in case things went bad. This wasn’t a gentle kiss, Wolf and I were claiming her, telling her she was ours. I rested my forehead against hers. “We have a lot to talk about when this is done.”

  “Yes we do.” She placed a gentle kiss on my lips. Our bodies rocked with the impact of Mack as he wrapped his arms around our legs in a hug.

  “Don’t worry, Ma, Da will take care of them and then we can be safe. For good.” He looked up into my eyes with adoration. His confidence in me and my wolf was humbling. I ruffled his hair.

  “Yes, you will, son.”

  I exited the office, closing the door behind me and waiting for the lock to click. Knowing that they were in the safest part of the house I let Wolf out. We were ready to hunt and I let him take the lead. I drew in a long breath filtering out the scents. My guards were in the house now, they worked well together, and I didn’t need to check in with them. If they found anything they would alert me. I smelled Draven and another vampire, then I found the scent I was searching for. Shifter, wolf, it was a sickly sweet scent. A scent that only meant illness or disease. Wolf followed that scent through the house and down the basement steps.

  The scene I found made Wolf laugh. These shifters had no idea who they were dealing with. Draven had the vampire held against the wall, his hand closing around his throat. The power flowing off him made even Wolf cringe, but held the other three on the ground.

  “What took you so long?” Draven chuckled. “These douchebags call themselves the leaders of the Resistance. All it took was one head vampire to cripple them. I have plans for this one,” he indicated the vampire in his hand. “Can you handle the shifters?”

  Wolf barked as we let loose our power. It slid over the shifters as Draven reigned his in. The powers flowed over each other like currents in a river. As soon as he released control of the shifters to me, Draven sank his teeth into the neck of his captive, draining him. Dust fell from his hand as he stepped back.

  “Jerome, the alpha is the only one you need, correct?” Draven had an evil grin, his fangs showing dripping with blood.

  I yipped in agreement.

  “My hunger has not been sated, may I?” His eyes glowed with his need for blood. Normally I would leave them to my guards, but elimination was our only option.

  “Boss, the rest of the house is secure. We are on our way.”

  “Hold at the top of the basement steps. Draven and I have things handled down here,” I replied.

  I turned my back on Draven, allowing him to have his way with the other two, my focus was on the so-called alpha lying prone on the floor in front of me. My power was more than he could handle. This diseased scum wouldn’t last much longer. I used my power to prohibit him from shifting to four paws. I needed answers.

  I shifted back. Wolf wasn’t happy, but I needed to speak with him, and could only do that in human form. “Is the Seattle sect the only group you have?” I demanded.

  He lay there refusing to answer through my next few questions. Draven stepped up beside me. “You won’t get anything from him, Jerome, his brain is too diseased to recognize the threat you are.” He stepped in front of me, pissing Wolf off. “Calm yourself, I obtained information from my lost child before destroying him. This sect is the only one they have. This one,” he looked over his shoulder at the shifter still on the floor, “had high dreams, but no leadership or structure. Let us do away with this one so we can get back to our own homes and families.”

  Wolf agreed with him, he was tired of playing with his toy. He was ready to get back to Suzanne and Mack. His family. Our family. I shifted again and let Wolf enjoy his kill. He made it quick, we were both ready to declare to Suzanne that she and Mack were our family.

  Wolf was ready to run and play with Mack and teach him all the things an alpha’s son should know.

  If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.

  Thanks for reading!

  EPILOGUE

  Six weeks later…

  SUZANNE AND MACK had taken to pack life like fish to water. She and I had many late night conversations learning about each other every day. Wolf pushed me to make this woman ours. I reminded him it had to be her choice. Plus I had to find a way to bind us since we were two different species. I consulted with Talia and she created a binding ceremony that would increase the magic from a mate’s mark and would cross the species barrier.

  Wolf had enjoyed spending quality time with Mack teachin
g him life lessons through games and chases. Within days that little boy had wrapped his paws around my heart and I never wanted to let him go. Wolf wanted him to be recognized as the alpha’s son. I told Suzanne just that. The only way would be to claim her as my mate. My soul mate had passed, but that didn’t mean I could never mate again, only that it wouldn’t be as deep a connection.

  We discussed the pros and cons of her joining the pack and taking my mate’s mark. I stood firm with Wolf that it was her choice to join with us. The pack had welcomed her and Mack with open arms and that little cub already had everyone wrapped around his little paws. Suzanne was resistant to begin with. Her time on the run had put a permanent hesitation and slowness to trust anything she was told created multiple hurdles that I had to coax her over. I knew she was tired of running and felt the pull not only of the pack but of the special bond that had begun to grow between us. She adamantly insisted that she couldn’t become my mate. It was unheard of for a Wolf to take a panther as a mate, but Wolf and I didn’t care. We wanted to protect, love, and care for Suzanne and her cub. Her hesitation only seemed to challenge Wolf and I. We so loved a good chase, and in the end she finally realized that the rules before didn’t apply now. Letting her guard down she chose to follow her heart and that lead us to this day.

  I watched as Mack ran amongst the pack and felt the love radiate from them to him as my pack gathered in the backyard. Wolf and I were preparing for that bonding ceremony. Marla had turned the backyard into a wonderland. Weaving fairy lights throughout the trees, draping gauzy fabric from the bottom limbs to the ground creating a filmy wall, giving it a feeling of separation from the world. Sterling and Talia stood beneath an arbor of twisted vines waiting for Suzanne and me to join them.

  I sensed her descend the stairs and gracefully approach me. I turned to take her in. Glowing in her yellow sundress. Her raven black hair falling down her back in cascades of curls, no makeup covered her face. She didn't need it, she glowed without it. She walked with the grace of her cat, and the confidence of a woman in love.

  I reached for her hands, taking them in mine and bringing her close. My mark graced her neck, having exchanged them just the night before. “Are you ready?” I squeezed her hands.

  “As long as I have you I’ll be ready for anything.” She leaned up, her cat shining through her eyes and kissed me.

  With her by our side we were ready for any challenge. The Pack was stronger with her in it.

  The End

  Continue the Black Mountain Pack Series in book one, Mack.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Time Travel and Paranormal Romance author. Her Destiny series takes you on a roller coaster ride through time with sexy Highlanders and sassy female heroines. If shifters are your kryptonite then check out her Black Mountain Pack series, which throws a twist on the traditional shifter lore.

  Miranda is a mother to two teenage boys who are sure they know it all, a 75lb lapdog, and a 15lb foot warmer. She is thankful her husband doesn’t mind the extra voices in her head. Miranda is an only child who grew up on a dairy farm in Illinois which left her plenty of time to make up stories in her head for entertainment. She currently resides in Tennessee where she wonders if Mother Nature will ever stop with the hormonal mood swings. She fuels herself with coffee, chocolate, and wine.

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