by J. L. Madore
“Your belongings,” Zophia said, raising her hands to catch the whips of chestnut hair striking her face. She frowned. As if she commanded the wind itself, the air grew still around them. “As the Keeper of Lives in Progress, I deemed your losses unacceptable. I therefore return the things which mean the most to you.”
Hannah swallowed, her eyes wide. “Is this possible?”
The soul-crushing loss of her family history eased and I sent a private thanks to Zo. The loss of the house was terrible, and cleaved her in two, but the memories tied to her heirlooms meant so much more to her.
I wiped her tears and kissed her cheek. We’ll store your things and rebuild. Just like it was. I can fix this for you, doc. There were too many witnesses to the fire to magically undo the destruction, but once time passes, Zo and I will ask Castian to put your home back. I’ll work the farm while you finish your vet schooling, I’ll help Riley with her homework so you can get back to who and what you want to be. You asked me to stay once, and I didn’t . . . please, ask me again.
The tears that warmed my palms gained momentum. Were they happy tears? There, in front of my BFF and sister, I pledged my future to her. My support. My love. I sorted out my stuff and came back stronger than ever.
“No,” she said, her voice tripping over emotion. Wrapping herself around my chest, she sobbed against my leather jacket. “No, that’s not what I want.”
Her words hung in the still, cold air and my mind went numb. No. Always no. My heart shattered behing my ribs. Maybe I never had a shot of winning her back. Maybe her heart was lost to me from the moment I walked away.
“Uh . . . we’ll give you two a sec, ’kay?” The sadness on Cowboy’s face as he and Zo turned toward the truck sealed the deal. This was a dead-end and I was the last to realize it.
Hannah grew stiff in my arms and pulled back. When she saw the tears brimming my eyes, she gasped and gripped my jaw in both her hands. “No no no, I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I want you, yes. I want you to stay with me, but no, I don’t want to be tied to this farm and the cattle and a vet practice.”
What? I searched her face hard to make sure I didn’t just hear what I wanted. You want me? You trust me to fix what I broke?
“Stay with me, Savage. Be my family.”
I pinched my eyes tight, and the built-up tears fell.
Hannah popped up on her toes to give me a quick kiss. “For the first time in my life, my family obligations have lifted. I don’t want it to be the same as it was, I want to join you in your world. I want to travel and laugh with your family, and leave this lonely landscape, for love.”
I swiped rough fingers over my eyes, and she read my next question without a word passing between us.
“I’m sure. Like you said about being a soldier, being a country girl is who I am, not where. I miss having people in my life, and squabbles and opinions and all the glorious chaos that comes with family. I want that for Riley. I want babies and cousins, and didn’t even realize how much until dinner last night. Your family is an inspiring mishmash of personalities and, from what I gathered, there are many more additions I haven’t even gotten to know yet.”
Can we ask Riley to give up her world and her friends?
Hannah laughed. “Last night, she pestered Reign about enrolling in his academy all through dessert. Then, she went out and rode a giant black panther through the woods with three handsome elves, a Werewolf, and his coyote wife. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
A piercing whistle had us turning to where Cowboy stood at the truck. “Bree’s back, and she found something you lost yesterday.”
“Chief!” Hannah bolted toward the ball of black-and-white fur, curled in Bree’s arms. Her pup let off a whine as she set him on the tailgate of the truck. “He’s hurt. How bad?”
Bree shrugged. “I’m not sure. I tracked him a couple of miles west and found him in a culvert under a side road, curled up to die. He’s weak, but Jade can fix him up if his injuries aren’t natural.”
“I’ve got this, HB.” Cowboy scooped her dog up and disappeared in the next instant. Bree followed her mate.
“What does that mean?” Hannah asked, searching my face, her expression pleading.
I gathered her shaking hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. Magic isn’t all-encompassing. There is a balance to all things and a price to be paid for altering a course. Jade’s magical healing costs her a great deal of energy, but if a patient’s condition is due to natural causes, nothing she does will change the outcome.
“So, I’m actually hoping my dog got hurt by the wolves? That seems a little sadistic, doesn’t it?”
Savage chuckled. Our world isn’t perfect, doc. Most days, we hope for the best and prepare for a kick to the groin. If Jade’s able, Chief will live. If not, Bree’s lion brothers, Rhys and Bram, will do their best. They’re our resident animal medics.
Hannah rubbed the center of her chest.
“Too much?” Zo asked, her gaze a solid comfort.
Hannah looked anguished. “The coyote’s brothers are lions? The people of Haven seemed to open their homes and their families and take in any strays which needed a home.”
I nodded. That’s pretty much it.
Her smile suggested she liked that idea. “I’m ready to go back, but all my stuff . . . and I need to go to the police station, and then . . . I’m selling the cattle.”
Zo squeezed her hand. “I’ll collect Riley and we can watch over Chief and keep you posted. There’s nothing you can do there, so finish here and come home when you can.”
Hannah hugged Zo and lingered in the embrace.
I hoped they would be even closer than girlfriends. Maybe, one day soon, they’d be sisters.
EPILOGUE
Two weeks later
I reined my horse to a stop, dismounted, and tied the beast off on the rail post. Pointing up the sun-washed slope of the mountain, I indicated our final destination. Several hundred feet above, the shadowed entrance of the Dens sat almost hidden in the rocky tip of the mountain rise.
The plateau for the Dens is quite a hike. Are you sure you don’t want me to Flash us up there?
Hannah tied off Whisky Jack and grabbed the gift bag. She spent all morning fussing and fluffing the tissue, getting it just right. I didn’t see the point when they would just rip it open, but whatevs.
“Flashing makes you lazy. With the amount of booze you and your boys drink, you’ll all be sporting paunches if you don’t work it off. Fight the beer belly, husband.” She smacked my rock-hard abs, and she and Chief jogged up the first steps of the steep stone path.
I laughed and ran to catch up. Husband.
I would never tire of hearing her call me that. The ceremony was small—two dozen people, a ton of food, and a new tattoo for each of us. She chose the Talon hawk with Savage clutched in the raptor’s claws, and I chose a spiked mace with Hannah written in flourish beneath. She got the ball-and-chain reference immediately, and that was one of the many reasons I was ass over end in love with her.
She got me.
Smiling like an idiot, I took pleasure in the view of her ass in those painted on jeans. Working the slope, those muscled legs, the firm globes of her ass . . . yep, and just like that, I was rock hard and ready.
Gods, how had I survived without her? I swear, I never drew breath into my lungs until she said she loved me. Now, I was in-fucking-vincible.
Let the world come at me—I was ready and steady.
Let the three realms explode around us—we stood on solid ground. Sure, my god powers sizzled in the slurry of my cells, but that wasn’t the fuel to my fire. Hannah was my be-all-end-all. And Riley topped my life sundae, making every single thing in the world more perfect.
“So, who all lives up here?” she asked, pausing to catch her breath.
Bruin and Mika, the four orphaned lion cubs they took in, Mika’s grandfather. Cowboy and Bree. A Puma who works as their nanny. The guards. Pretty much any Were who wants or needs a hom
e.
When we reached the top, Bruin stood grinning at the top of the steps. In a tight t-shirt despite the damp January chill, his thick arms and chest threatened to bust loose of their cotton restraints. The bear seemed to have swollen in size since yesterday, and given the reason for our visit, I didn’t doubt he had.
Bear. Congrats, my man.
Bruin met me chest-to-chest and thumped my back. “Thanks. Mika did the hard part and rocked it like you read about. Seriously, that female amazes me more every fucking day.”
I know what you mean.
“Yeah, you do.” Bruin winked and bent to kiss Hannah’s cheek. “Welcome to my home, Hannah. Come in and see what we made.”
Chief trotted off along the plateau path that wrapped the mountain, so Bruin told the guards standing sentinel to watch over him. I pointed up, and paused long enough in the rotunda foyer to allow Hannah to read the missive Mika hand-painted along the ceiling line.
We believe in the right to bear arms and the right to arm BEARS.
“Hannah!” Cowboy ran to greet her, scooped her up, and swung her around. “Welcome to our home.”
Bruin laughed. “I already covered that, Waylon.”
Cowboy moaned, and I got my hands moving. Get used to it. You’re not living that name down for the next decade. It’s a bit over the top country twang, don’t you think?
“Like I had any say in the matter.”
“Play nice, boys.” Hannah’s smile when she slid her arm around my back and linked her thumb into my beltloop nearly did me in. Gods, at this rate, I would need to cut this short and find a private spot to keep the honeymoon rolling.
“Bruin, tell me. How long was Mika’s labor?”
Bruin gestured past the huge harvest table in the dining room and down the hall. “All in, twenty-one hours, but only seven or eight of that was actually hard labor.”
“Says the male who sat, watched, and cracked jokes.” Mika rolled her eyes as we entered the great room. Seated on one of the leather couches sipping tea, she pointed over to the playpen set up near the fireplace.
“Don’t water down my whiskey, woman,” Bruin said, feigning insult. “I was a great birthing coach. Cowboy, back me up here.”
Hannah ignored the banter, bypassed the playpen, and went straight for the new mother. “You look wonderful, Mika. Congratulations.”
And she did. Aside from seeming a little tired, with her hair pulled back and wearing a t-shirt that Bruin had undoubtedly bought reading, “Grin and bear it,” Mika was as radiant as ever.
I left the women to unwrap the gift and talk about pushing and whatnot, and headed over to see the new arrivals. Amongst the ivory blankets, with their little eyes closed, and skin bare except for the fuzz of fur to come, lay three baby bears that would each fit into the palm of my hand.
Triplets? Bruin and his twin, Gemma, had been born after Risa and her twin, Emma. I was expecting two.
“Surprise!” Bruin laughed. “Yep. We thought we had it wrapped up after Briar and Bowen were locked down and then, bam, Braydon shot out.”
“Shot out?” Mika scowled at him. “Were you even in the same room as me? You’re unbelievable.”
Bruin snorted and waved away her censure. “So, yeah, triplet boys to add to the chaos of the quads we inherited.”
As if on cue, three lion cubs came barreling through the room mrowling and hissing, swatting each other with Kiara toddling after them at a run. “No bother da babies,” she shouted, waggling her finger. “Babies seeping.”
Bruin jogged over and scooped the little girl into his arms. “You tell them, princess. Boys, playroom if you’re roughhousing. Go on.”
Kiara placed her palms against Bruin’s cheeks and beamed. “I take good care of da babies.”
He kissed her forehead and snuggled her into his neck. The sweet girl purred loudly, her tight, golden locks resting against his tanned skin. “Yes, you do, my little lovie. You’re a great big sister.”
“And you have lots of brothers to watch over,” Hannah said, joining them. She brushed the back of her finger gently over one of the boys and smiled. “Oh, goodness. They are so adorable.”
“They’re adorable when they’re lying there growing,” Mika said, raising her hands to the stone ceiling, “but may the Earth Mother give me strength—six boys?”
Bruin laughed again and tossed Kiara into the air making her squeal. “Don’t tally things up yet, baby. This is only our first litter. We’ve got plenty of time to—” The thud of Mika’s shoe to Bruin’s gut made them all laugh. “What? Too soon?”
Hannah passed Riley a second helping of honeyed pastries and tried, yet again, to take it all in. Elora’s cooking, Jade’s hospitality, Were babies, warrior friends, the Highbornes, magic, the Realm of the Fair—the list was endless. And awesome. She meant that in the truest sense of the word. She looked around, filled with such an overwhelming sense of awe she didn’t know what to do with it.
It filled her up and yet terrified her at the same time. How did she fit? What was her purpose here? Everything was different, yet fundamentally the same.
It was soooo much.
Preoccupied with her mind swirl, she missed something said at the table and Riley tapped her arm. “Hmm, I’m sorry?” she said, searching the expectant faces around the table.
Zophia’s warrior mate, the Goth demon, smiled and put her out of her misery. “Zo and Sav have a surprise for you. If you’re finished with dinner, we’re taking a walk.”
She glanced at Riley. Her sister’s shrug suggested that she too was in the dark. Rising from her seat, Chief got up and shook himself out, ready for the outing.
February rains had dissolved all but the most determined patches of snow, and though the ground was mucky, it remained frozen beneath the surface. They took the path that led toward Zophia’s massive home in the ancient rune clearing, and everyone chatted amongst themselves.
Aust had Riley walked with a massive russet wolf named Nightrunner. Zophia, Bree, and Jade chatted about Jade’s twins. Kobi, Galan, and Cowboy whispered about something. And she, again, tried to take it all in. She said she wanted the chaos of family.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
Savage squeezed her hand, checking in with her as he often did. Are you good? he asked with his look.
She nodded. Too good was probably the best answer.
There was a loud whoooop in the air a moment before Aust reached his arms out and caught an incoming ape. The animal swung in from a low-hanging branch and met his chest with a trust that spoke of how often he must’ve caught her in the past. “Hello, sweeting, did you miss me? Riley, this is Hoola.”
Riley raised her hand, and the little ape squeezed her finger. The smile on her face made Hannah’s year. Man, this life offered her sister so many more experiences. She needed to remember that. Sometimes she worried that uprooting them and moving was selfish on her part.
Then, in moments like these, that worry eased.
“I took a similar walk to this a few years ago,” Jade said, falling into step with her. “I hope it works out as well for you as it did for me.”
Hannah was about to ask what she meant when the group stopped and parted. In front of her sat a sprawling bungalow cabin, with large windows glowing warm from within and a trail of smoke rising from the fireplace. “What’s this?” she asked. “Who lives here?”
We do, Savage signed. Come inside and see.
Holding her hand, he led her to the front step where he whisked her into his arms and over the threshold. In the foyer, he set her back on her feet and started signing. Four bedrooms, two fireplaces, a big open concept country kitchen and living room combo. It’s not as big as Jade’s or Zo’s homes, by any means, but I thought—”
“I don’t care about big,” she said, toeing off her boots so she didn’t track mud. Tears warmed her cheeks as she rushed forward and stroked the surface of her beloved antique table.
He’d never be a wine-and-roses kin
d of man, but Savage showed her he loved her in different ways—the squeeze of her hand, her gran’s vase bursting with hydrangeas, the warmth of colors, the attention to detail.
Like a kid on Christmas morning, she searched the rooms, each time finding more of her things unpacked and placed with such thought and attention, her chest ached. Savage’s love language was something you had to learn to understand but once you did, you realized he spoke as loudly as any other man ever could.
“Thank you. But do you want to move out? You’ve told me a dozen times how glad you are to be home.”
It’s nice to see everyone on the regular, but that won’t change if we have our own place. My heart is at home with you. Your heart is at home with your things and your family. Here, we can both have what fills our souls.
She blinked at him and nodded. He understood her on a level she never expected. “How about we invite everyone in out of the rain and start this housewarming?”
His smile lit her up inside. The sooner they come in, the sooner they leave. Then we start christening the rooms. Did I tell you I can now cast privacy spells? All the sounds of lovemaking and no teen embarrassment in the morning.
She burst out laughing and threw her arms around his neck. “You’ve thought of everything, tough guy. It’s perfect.”
THE END, THANK YOU FOR READING
I sincerely hope you enjoyed Savage and Hannah’s story in, Savage Love. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the novel please leave a rating or review on Amazon. Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews and look forward to reading your thoughts.
In gratitude,
JL
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