“Nah, I like her when she’s mad,” he called back.
“They fight a lot,” Ashley put in from beside Case, and Zak bit back a laugh as he watched Del’s face flush crimson in the darkness.
Around them, police milled about along with medics all examining the coyotes strewn along the sand. Zak didn’t bother with any of it, instead watching the whole thing play over Del’s face. He’d hated to learn she’d kept something from him as big as this, but then, he’d done the same by not admitting he knew. He hoped she could forgive him—at least long enough to marry him.
“Georgia,” Del said finally. “She told you.”
“Or I could have figured it all out myself,” he said.
“Georgia,” Del repeated, louder, as the woman herself sauntered up in a pair of rain boots and a house coat. “I might kill your nephew.”
“You wouldn’t be the first to try,” Georgia shot back, picking her way over the rocks and desert clay. “Damned late nights…” she muttered to herself as she walked carefully toward them from her own still-idling car.
“Georgia also told me how you two met during your last internship,” Zak said casually. “That you both wanted the statue to come out to end the fighting.”
Del tensed like he knew she would but he kept right on going. “I think it’s cool. You and my aunt already friends. Makes things easier.”
“What things?” Del asked and the irritation in her voice made him want to grin but he kept his expression carefully blank.
Zak wound an arm around Del’s waist, pulling her close and breathing her in. The statue was safe. She was okay. And now, he just needed to convince her to be his. “Marry me, princess,” he whispered against her hair.
She looked up at him but instead of anger he saw only uncertainty. “You really want to marry me?” Del asked.
“Of course.” Zak grinned. “Haven’t I been telling you that this whole time? I was willing to trick you if I had to but I wasn’t letting you get out of it.”
“I thought you only wanted to marry me so your family wouldn’t be run out of town,” Del said.
“Babe. I already ran myself out of town once. I wouldn’t give a shit if it happened again. But I couldn’t bear walking away from you a second time. I’ve loved you since we were kids,” Zak said. “Marrying you has nothing to do with money or power or feuds. I like fighting with you way too much to want to change that anyway.”
Del didn’t look nearly as amused or elated as he’d hoped. “There’s something you should know,” she said quietly. “The real statue—I deciphered the name. It says Sanford. So, it’s neither of us. I want you to know that before you marry me. It won’t secure your place or your family’s—”
“Princess,” he said, reaching for her and drawing her close. “I know. It’s both of us,” he whispered, out of ear shot of the others.
“Both…?” Del looked up and her eyes lit. “San-toni, Arms-ford,” she said slowly.
He nodded. “Both of us.”
“Holy hyphens,” she breathed. “All along, I thought … So that means it’s neither—until it’s both.”
“Which means you have to marry me. Sorry.”
“Huh.” She bit her lip. “I guess that’s one option.”
“One option?” he repeated, irritation finally getting the better of him. “Woman—”
Del laughed and threw her arms around him. “I love you, Zak Armsford.” She reached up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his gorgeous mouth. “Of course I’ll marry you, Mr. Sanford.”
Zak didn’t let her get another word in after that. His mouth stole even her breath as he lost himself in his mate.
“Uh, kids, can we do this after,” Georgia said.
“After what?” Del asked.
Georgia held up the phone lit with the time. “Your wedding started five minutes ago.”
Zak’s lips curved. “Always doing things backwards,” he murmured and Del laughed.
“Let’s go do this right—finally,” she said.
Chapter Twenty
Vie met them at the front door. She stopped pacing and rushed toward Del, irritation morphing into panic. She looked down at Del’s ruined dress, her eyes widening. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s a long story,” Del said, noting her own mother’s pristine white pants-suit with matching heels. She sighed—and found herself bothered by none of it as Zak came up beside her and slipped his hand into hers.
“We can talk about it later,” Zak said, kissing Del’s cheek and beaming at Vie. “Is anyone still here?”
“Yes and they’re getting restless. Drea’s been trying to calm them.” Vie sniffed as if this were all Del’s fault.
Zak nodded. “Ashley?” he called, turning. Ashley joined them, her hair crooked in the bun she’d thrown on top of her head. Her dress was in just as bad shape as Del’s, but she looked clear-eyed and unbothered by the events of the night.
“Let’s get in there and give ‘em a show,” Ashley said.
Georgia joined them and Vie’s chin came up. Both women regarded each other in a long moment of silence. Del held her breath, certain her mother was about to say something awful. But finally, Vie exhaled and simply nodded. “Georgia,” Vie said primly.
“Vie,” Georgia said simply.
And with that, they all fell into step. Del caught Zak’s eye and he only shrugged. She smiled, more relaxed than she’d been in ages despite the family tension. She faltered as she finally remembered the statue again and what they were about to do.
“What is it?” Zak asked, falling behind with her while the others went on ahead.
Del bit her lip. “Should we tell them now—or after?” she asked, watching Vie and Georgia walk stiffly along together.
Zak’s smile turned devilish. “After, obviously. It’ll be our wedding gift to them.”
Del snorted and they resumed their walk to the gardens where the guests waited.
When they rounded the hedge, Ashley took charge, directing Del and the others into position. Del was glad. It distracted her from noticing all the faces of her friends—she was pretty sure they were all matching shades of shock. A Santoni marrying an Armsford. This was a historical day.
Zak’s hand found hers at the altar and she looked up into his dark eyes, losing herself there. It settled her nerves. She swallowed.
“You ready?” Ashley whispered.
Del nodded.
“Hell yeah,” Zak said and Ashley launched into a speech about true love and partnership.
Del’s smile grew bigger and bigger until, by the last “I do,” she thought her heart would burst with the joy. She’d actually done it. She’d found her fated mate AND united the two feuding families in peace once and for all.
“You can kiss the bride now,” Ashley finished and Del caught her wink just before Zak scooped Del up in his arms and planted a long, deep kiss on her open mouth.
The crowd hooted and cheered. When Zak didn’t show any signs of slowing, Del shoved lightly. Then harder. Finally, she pried him away, her cheeks flushed.
“Caveman,” she teased.
“Princess,” he shot back.
She reached up and landed another kiss on his mouth. “That’s Queen Sanford to you,” she said and he laughed.
Epilogue
Zak tipped the left corner of the sign down an inch or two, balancing easily on the extension ladder. “What about now?”
“Still crooked,” Del called from the floor.
He gave it another nudge.
“Perfect!”
Finally. He’d been messing with that sign all morning by himself. Up and down the ladder just to keep checking on it. He’d been ready to give up when Del had stopped by. Opening an official office was hard work. Shit, special ops in the military hadn’t been this hard. Well, it hadn’t been this tedious anyway. Kenneth’s offer to open a Shifters, Inc. office had been too good to pass up. But Zak was only just beginning to understand the paperwork end of thi
ngs that came with owning something. Even with Del handling the money, he already wanted to be done with this part and back out in the field already.
With the sign in place, he climbed back down the ladder and wiped his hands on his already dirty cargo pants.
“Where’s Ashley?” Del asked. “I thought she was helping you set up.”
“She had a kickboxing class or something,” he said.
“That girl fit right in here,” Del said and Zak had to agree. But he was glad she wasn’t going back to her old life—and her uncle. Georgia had agreed to let Ashley stay with her as long as she liked. Ashley seemed to enjoy the deal since it gave her a chance to stare at Cade who occasionally stared back. And with Janet’s impounded car newly in her possession—sans two slashed tires—Ashley no longer stowed away in his Jeep’s backseat. Which was a good thing since he and Del had spent a couple of nights back there recently.
Zak set the ladder aside and brushed himself off as best he could. Drywall dust clung to him, though, no matter what. Satisfied it was the best he’d get, he started toward Del.
She held up a hand to ward him off. “Whoa, that’s close enough,” she said and he smirked at the sight of her all clean and fresh-looking in her navy dress with matching heels. Her hair was perfectly styled too. He’d loved her in khakis and hiking boots but this wasn’t too bad either.
“What’s the matter, afraid of getting a little dusty?” he asked, still stalking slowly toward her.
She backed away, eyes wide. “Yes, as a matter of fact. Considering I have a finance meeting with the bank in an hour, I can’t afford to get dirty.”
His eyes lit and he kept his hands away but reached down to nuzzle her neck. “Dirty Del,” he whispered in her ear and felt her shudder and relax despite her protests. “I think it fits perfectly.”
She giggled. “I do miss being dirty,” she said on a sigh.
That was it. He’d only been playing before but now… he couldn’t just stop this with her talking like that to him. He ran a hand along the hemline of her dress. She shoved him away half-heartedly.
“Zak, you have tons to do before the inspection on this place. Kenneth will have your head if you fail it.”
“Nah. Shifters, Inc. can wait,” he said. “Besides, Kenneth can have my head. You have other parts of me. Besides, I want to work my own site, search for … important artifacts buried deep.” He slipped his hand under her dress and ran his fingers up along her thigh.
Del giggled again and he felt his cock harden at the sound of her sexy laugh. Before he could solve that particular problem, the door opened and his aunt Georgia walked in. She stopped just inside the door when she spotted Zak and Del.
“Oh, I see you two are already getting started on cubs,” Georgia said, an amused gleam in her eye. “Del, I’ll meet you at the bank.” She turned and left without another word.
“That was awkward,” Zak muttered.
Del looked up at Zak apologetically. “Sorry. She didn’t mean… It’s okay. I know you don’t want cubs,” she said.
“What the hell? Of course I want cubs,” he said.
“But—you told me you didn’t. When we were on the road last month in that diner…”
“I didn’t want to pass on a shitty legacy like my father did to me,” he said. He shook his head and closed the distance between them again, uncaring about dirt and her dress or anything else as he looked into her eyes. “I want cubs with you, Delilah Sanford. I want everything with you,” he said.
“Me too.” She smiled up at him. “And now that you’re legit—”
“Legit?”
“This satellite office of Shifters, Inc. Kenneth gave you means you’re officially a businessman now. You’re not a criminal anymore,” she said, batting her lashes.
He pretended to scowl. “I was never a criminal,” he said.
“Sure,” she said and rolled her shoulder in a shrug.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re baiting me,” he said.
“Mmm,” she said and turned—but not before he caught her smile.
He grinned. If she wanted to fight dirty—so be it. When she pretended to head for the door, he caught her and held on. “Mrs. Sanford,” he whispered, using their new legal last name. They’d combined their last names using the statue’s suggestion to make everything official. And because it pissed off Vie.
“Yes, Mr. Sanford,” Del asked with mock innocence.
He trailed kisses down her neck, cradling her to him as he stood behind her. He slipped his hand underneath her dress, positioning them out of sight of the front door just in case. “I think you’re going to be late for your meeting,” he whispered and she laughed.
She wasn’t getting away from him. Not today. Not ever. And he was very glad she liked it that way; his Fated Mate.
Turn the page for a sneak peek at what to read next from Heather Hildenbrand!
I’m what you call normal by day, and woo woo by night. As a college student, I spend my days in class and my evenings selling sage to PTA moms who do moon rituals to manifest better parking spaces. My best friend is a cat who likes pizza, and a “night out” includes hand delivering mysterious packages to the local “coven” of small business owners that repeatedly invite me to their meetings—clothing optional.
My life is weird. But it’s not magic. Magic isn’t real.
At least, that’s what I believed– right up until the moment he walks into my store.
Alex Channing is rude, brutish, and a constant pain in my ass. He’s also the hottest specimen I’ve ever seen. Maybe that’s why words fail me in his presence. Or maybe it’s the pinging feeling in my gut that says he’s more than what he seems.
But when he miraculously saves me from certain death, at the hand of a monster whose very existence shouldn’t even be possible, I’m forced to reconsider what’s real.
My denial is strong but the reality of who—and what—Alex really is can’t be ignored. Neither can the existence of the monsters who hunt me. The truth is, magic is real. And the only thing I’m more in danger of losing than my life—is my heart.
Turn the page to read a sneak peek!
A Witch’s Call
Prologue
Alex
Belladonna tasted nothing like I expected. I spat a mouthful of blackened roots onto the floor of the hut as a soft cackle broke the silence. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck and spine, soaking into the damp waistline of my ratty shorts. I scowled at the old woman standing over me, her dark presence obliterating what little light trickled in from the upper flap of her roughly crafted Amazonian home.
“Tastes like shit,” I muttered.
“Poison not yummy,” she said, her wide smile more gums than teeth.
My stomach rolled as the poison residue inside my mouth worked its way into my bloodstream. I clutched at my abs. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You throw up, you no get result,” she warned, her stale breath washing over me like a dry blanket in the humid space.
I fought the urge to vomit. To shove her back. To leap from the hut and get some space, put some distance between the crazy, old medicine lady and myself. I couldn’t do any of that. Not until I found a way to stop what was happening to me.
But so far, no matter what I’d tried, I hadn’t succeeded in curing myself.
The woman backed away and sat on the thin mattress that was really no more than a pile of dirty blankets and thinly stuffed pillows. The whole place smelled like B.O. She folded her hands in her lap and simply watched me. I guess that’s what you did when you didn’t have pesky distractions like television and internet. And other human interaction. Not even her own tribe would socialize with her. Which explained finding her hut all the way up on the jungly hillside almost half a mile from the others.
I braced myself on the tiny stool, waiting for the poison to do its worst. Wanting it to. I was willing to go through pretty much anything to save my own life at this point. Hence my three-day hike
into the jungle to visit Griska, the medicine woman whose tinctures had cured malaria, cancer, and heartbreak, according to the village locals and the obscure posting I’d found on the web.
But apparently, for Alex Channing, victim of a rabid werewolf bite—for the second time—Griska was useless. As were the dozen other things I’d tried already. My shoulder still burned and dripped a bloody ooze as if to prove my failures.
Dying a slow death was the best I could hope for. On a sigh, I sank back and waited for the poison.
Five minutes later, I hadn’t broken out in hives or a fever. The venom in my veins had done it again. Every attempt I made was burned away by it.
Disappointment stabbed at me and I shoved to my feet. Griska blinked and rose to follow me out. “We try again?” she asked.
I shook my head and turned back, debating the sanity of starting my three-day return hike in the middle of the day. But I couldn’t stand the thought of remaining at the scene of my latest failure any longer.
“No, once was enough, thanks,” I said.
I was being rude. I couldn’t bring myself to care enough to stop. I pressed the required bills into her hands and, while she counted them, I turned and marched into the jungle. It swallowed me up before she could reply.
Fear gnawed at the edges of my resolve as I trudged back to the South American airport. I was going home empty-handed. Again. Western Medicine had already failed me. Even Hunter medicine, experts at Werewolf anti-venom, hadn’t been able to tell me how to stop the progression of my disease. Or exactly what sort of disease it was.
I’d taken a leave of absence three months ago and done my own research. I had contacts. People in dark places with connections to an underground that had access to old magic. The stuff no one believed in anymore. Turns out they weren’t wrong. None of it had worked.
To top it off, my condition had worsened since then and now, I couldn’t afford to go back to work. They’d retire me for sure in the shape I was in. I had to find a cure.
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