by Anna Lowe
They took one slow step toward each other, and she rushed through the rest when he crumpled to the ground, utterly spent.
Kyle! It came out as an anguished yelp.
She circled him, letting her fur brush his. Just as she’d let her wolf take over in the fight, she let it care for Kyle now, licking his bloodstained neck in long, careful strokes. She sniffed him, begging for some sign.
Please be okay. Please be okay...
Panic built when he didn’t reply, until a voice registered in her mind, weary and distant. I’m okay. But if I tell you, you might stop, and this feels too good.
Jesus. Had she been in human form, she might have sung her joy, but her wolf settled for a thin whine and licked on. Kyle tasted of blood and grit and desert sand, but under it all, she tasted pure relief.
Mate. My mate.
She curled around him and closed her eyes, blocking away the heavy shadows of the night while she counted the beats of his heart. For a time, that was her whole world, that cocoon of him and her and the night. Her and her mate.
But soon, too soon, the desert stirred. Her head popped up. There was movement out there, an approaching mass. One moment, it was just her and Kyle, and the next, a riot of frenzied voices was breaking on to the scene. The Twin Moon wolves had arrived.
About fucking time, she thought she heard Kyle think. But there was a soft edge to the complaint; even she knew how far the ranch was. How they even knew to come was a mystery to her. But if Kyle could push his thoughts into her mind, he could probably send them over distances, too.
She curled herself tighter around Kyle and did her best not to growl too openly at anyone who came close. It was his pack; they’d do him no harm. But the fighting instinct was still in her veins, and she wasn’t ready to trust anyone. And she certainly wasn’t part of the pack. She stiffened, wondering what would happen next.
A dark, brooding presence that could only be Ty swept past, sniffing Kyle, then moving on to Greer. Stef let her head pop up to study him, suddenly fearful. She and Kyle had just killed two members of another pack. What consequences would there be?
The din faded to a hush as the others took stock of the scene, anxious and subdued. One wolf let out a mournful whine while another licked Kyle’s fur. As one wolf after another came by, snuffling anxiously, she could sense relief and elation fill the air. Kyle’s packmates had been worried for him. Deeply worried. But he was all right, and she could practically hear the collective exhale.
She rubbed him with her muzzle, reinforcing the message. He had a home—a real home with an honest pack whose members held him dear. Did he get it?
Kyle’s head bobbed, and she imagined him gulping hard away his emotions. Maybe he was more a part of this pack than he’d ever dared to imagine. Maybe he finally saw himself as something more than an outsider. Because the message coming from all the wolves around them said the same thing: he belonged.
His eyes closed, but she could sense his heart swell. Yeah, he got it, all right.
She glanced around as more wolves and a handful of humans approached. Some of the faces were familiar, others new. There was an Amazon of a woman with a bow in her hand, and the arrow notched in the string had a silver tip. She frowned and approached Greer’s body slowly. Only after a kick did the woman slowly let down her guard.
“He’s dead, Rae,” someone assured her.
“Better be.” Rae’s voice was gruff.
Stef wondered who Rae was, and what Greer had done to earn her spite. If the man was so obviously hated, though, maybe she wouldn’t be in such big trouble for playing a role in his death. Did she dare hope?
A pair of human feet appeared at her side, and Cody’s happy-go-lucky voice immediately put her at ease. “Playing possum, Kyle?”
Stefanie heard Kyle’s weak rumble. Can’t a guy nurse his wounds?
“I’d say your she-wolf is doing that.”
Stefanie felt Kyle tighten into a laugh then choke at the pain in his ribs. She slid her body right, nudging Cody out of the way. What Kyle needed now was time to heal. Peace.
Peace, and you. His unspoken words filled her with warmth.
Cody chuckled and moved away. “All right, all right, I get the picture. He needs a little more nursing, right?”
A lot more, she couldn’t help but add as Cody winked at the champagne-colored female brushing along his side, whisking her tail in approval.
Kyle let out a low rumble of agreement and relaxed into her frame. She felt the weight of him, pressing into her side, and decided she’d never felt quite that good.
Don’t worry, she pushed the thought his way. I’ll keep you.
Keep me? Kyle murmured in mock protest.
Keep you safe, she replied, snuggling her body alongside his.
EPILOGUE
Ten months later…
Kyle bent over the stack of mesquite and loaded up his arms then made for the bonfire pit. He had to weave around half a dozen packmates to do so, all of them scurrying with preparations for the summer solstice: a day the pack celebrated with a barbecue of epic proportions. There’d be games for young and old alike, followed by a feast. The meat of six Angus steer had been slow-roasting in an earth oven overnight, packed in canvas sacks soaked with hickory-scented barbecue sauce. The steak would come out tender and juicy; a real treat. That would be followed by a bonfire and a maybe even a sing-along, if the kids got Cody started, as they always did.
Everyone was in high spirits. Everyone but Kyle.
“Hey, Kyle?”
He dumped the armful of firewood by the pit and turned to Cody. “What?”
It must have come out sharper than he intended because Cody put two hands up in defense. “I guess Stef’s not back yet, huh?”
Kyle grunted an answer before reaching for the baby who was crawling toward the ashes of the last bonfire they’d held, months earlier. He hooked a finger under the boy’s overalls and lifted him into the air. It was Ty and Lana’s younger kid. Amazing how the little guy had grown. At the last bonfire, he’d been a helpless baby. Now he was crawling on all fours. Kind of a miracle, if he thought about it.
He got stuck in the moment, somehow, looking at the child, feeling the wiggle of the tiny body testing his strange new position in the air.
“Thanks!” Lana came running up to take over. She cuddled the child close and turned away, cooing a mild reproach at her son. “What’s my little boy doing over here? Daddy needs you over there!”
Kyle stood blinking in her wake, thinking he wouldn’t have minded holding the little guy a minute longer. Then he caught Cody giving him one of the knowing looks he excelled at.
He scowled in return and dusted off his hands. The ashes were from the last big event, a send-off for Tyrone, the pack’s retired alpha and the father of Ty, Tina, and Cody. With Greer dead, North Ridge needed a strong leader to put the pack in order.
“Should be you, Kyle,” Ty had grunted at the time, piercing him with those black-brown eyes. Having killed the North Ridge alpha in a fair fight, it was Kyle’s right to take over that pack. It made sense: North Ridge could use a fresh face and steady, quiet leadership to rebuild after years of Greer’s oppressive rule.
“You’re just what they need,” Tina had insisted.
She wasn’t the only one. Many of Kyle’s packmates—as well as North Ridge wolves relieved to be free of Greer’s heavy-handed ways—had urged him to take over.
“Not interested,” he had responded, again and again. As much as running a pack appealed to the alpha in him, he had no desire to leave Twin Moon Ranch. For the first time in his life, he felt at home.
Stef understood it best. While others shook their heads and whispered of a missed opportunity, she knew. Neither he nor she was interested in another move.
So old Tyrone, the retired Twin Moon alpha, had headed north to “knock some sense into that disgrace of a pack,” as he so delicately put it, and Kyle was secretly relieved. So was everyone else at Twin Moon Ranch. O
ld Tyrone was a respected leader but not an easy character to have around. Let him go to North Ridge, they nodded to each other, for as long as it might take for a new alpha to emerge. Someone who could run the pack properly.
Kyle had no regrets. He rubbed his hands on his jeans and gauged the wood pile. Still not enough. He turned with a sigh and headed back for another armful just as two kids came hurtling by with a big black dog in slobbery pursuit.
“Cody! Cody!” cried one.
“Daddy! Daddy!” yelled the other, and Kyle recognized Cody’s older daughter. Only Cody’s kids had hair that shade of blond. That was all the greeting the girls got off before rushing off on whatever mission they were on.
“Hi, sweetie!” Cody called after the kids then caught up with Kyle. “Hey, Tina wanted to know if…” he started then broke off. “I’ll ask you later.”
Kyle glowered at him. “Why later?”
“Because you’re easier to talk to when Stef is home,” Cody said with that smile he never extinguished. Everything was funny to Cody, even when the world was dark.
Kyle knew it only seemed dark at this moment; it always felt like that when his mate was away. Deep in his bones, he knew that life was good. Very good. But he was a greedy bastard who wanted his mate around—all the time, if he had his way. Being separated for normal working hours was hard enough, but Stefanie’s job sometimes called for overtime. The company had been delighted to have her back once everything settled down and promptly assigned her to their growing Arizona consultancy. She only traveled away a couple of times a month—and never, ever to questionable places. He made damn sure of that. Still, she was away too often for his taste. But what could he do? His job was important, and so was hers. At least he knew she’d be safe now that she’d been marked. As his.
The thought made him stand a little taller, a little prouder. She’d marked him, too, and he fingered the spot now. His favorite scar.
Mine, the wolf growled inside.
He was about to crack a reply to Cody when two arms circled him from behind and a familiar warmth pressed into his back.
He let out a long, relieved breath. “You’re home.”
Stef kissed the side of his neck and there it was, the sun coursing back into him. “Hmmm,” she agreed, “home.”
He turned and pulled her into a smothering clinch of a hug—because a kiss would have taken far more coordination than he could muster with his spirit singing the way it was. Home is wherever you are.
“Hey, Stef! You’re back!” Cody called.
“Hey Stefanie, how was your trip?” Tina asked. She dropped her voice as she brushed by, balancing a tower of paper plates. “Next time make it a little shorter. Make our lives easier, will you?”
Stefanie turned to face him, and although she was pointing an accusing finger at his chest, all he saw for a moment was her eyes: the deep honey-brown he’d always loved. There were sparks of pure gold, too, a permanent mark of her Changeling days, though the gray and green tones had faded away as she settled into her shifter body.
“You haven’t been snapping at everyone, have you?”
“Yes!” Tina called over her shoulder.
“No!” Kyle insisted.
“Yes!” Cody yelled.
“Maybe,” Kyle grunted, pulling her close again. So he got a little cranky when his mate was away. Was that his fault?
“Hey, Stef,” Heather said as she jogged by with water jugs in each hand. “I called you for my team in the soccer game.”
“Wait a minute!” Lana chipped in from a few steps away. “Rae and I called her for our team.”
“I call her,” Kyle growled, and the others laughed and moved on.
“How was your trip?” he whispered then, keeping her close, the line of her body assuring him she really was back.
“It was fine. But you know what?” Her eyes shone with good news. “Remember that condo complex in Sedona I was telling you about? They’re going full solar, and we got the contract!”
He found himself hanging on to a breath, wondering if it meant what he hoped.
“So only short trips from now on.” She seemed as happy with the news as he was. “For the next couple of months, anyway.”
His hopes faded. “What happens after that?”
“I told the company I’d be needing some time off,” she said, tucking her chin into the nook by his shoulder. “I think it’s finally time for our own home improvement project.”
He drew a blank on that one. They already had solar panels on the house and had started installing a solar array on the biggest barn on the ranch. He knew Stef had grand plans for more, but those would be long-term, community projects. So what kind of home improvement did she mean?
“What project?”
“The one you keep harping on,” she said, poking his belly.
His heart stuttered. Ever since Greer had introduced the idea of a child, he hadn’t been able to erase the image. He’d been carefully feeling his mate out on the topic, but Stef said she wanted to settle in and concentrate on her career for a while longer. Kyle could understand about wanting to prove yourself, so he hadn’t pushed it. But if she was really ready…
“You mean, that project?” he managed, poking her back.
The healthy tan of her cheeks went a little pink as she nodded.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure if you’re sure.” And Jesus, she really looked sure. Glowing. Happy. His.
“I’m sure!” he blurted.
Stefanie laughed. “Definitely?”
“Definitely.”
“Not just possibly?”
He grabbed her finger before she could tease him any more. “Not possibly. Not maybe. Definitely.”
“Good,” she smiled and pulled him into a kiss. “Because I’m that sure, too.” She drew a finger down his cheek and whispered, “Thanks for waiting.”
He got lost in her lips for a while, and when his brain clicked back into gear, he had to clear his throat. Definitely had more of an effect on him than he expected it to.
Stefanie smiled and swept him into a kiss that had a little more tongue and a lot more heat.
“Hmmm,” he murmured, tugging her closer. “How about we get started right now?”
She glanced around. “You mean, now, now?”
“Now, now,” he grinned, pulling her in the direction of the old bunkhouse. They’d fixed it up for the times they stayed over on the ranch. A home away from home of sorts, and one they were considering fixing up for a permanent move. Living out on the farthest edge of the ranch was gradually losing its appeal. A wolf belonged with his pack, after all.
“The good thing about being part wolf,” he started, slinging an arm across her shoulders, “is that you’re entitled to take yourself for a walk whenever you want.”
Stef wound her hand behind his back and slipped it into the rear pocket of his jeans as they strode away from the others. “Just a walk, huh?”
He held back an answer, because otherwise his lips might move straight into another kiss and they’d never make it to the privacy of the bunkhouse.
They walked to the top of a rise and paused there, taking in the view. The ranch was a flurry of barbecue preparations, but the meandering trail to the old bunkhouse beckoned in the opposite direction. Beyond, the hills rose in layers until they merged with purple mountains far, far away. There was a time when the view had made him feel like an outsider looking in. But not any more. He felt Stefanie’s body rise then dip in a satisfied sigh.
Yeah, he knew just what she meant. It was good to be home.
<<< >>>
Thank you so much for reading Desert Fate! Read on for a sneak peek at Zack and Rae’s story in Desert Hunt: the Prequel to the Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch series.
Thank you
Thank you for reading Desert Fate! I hope you enjoyed it and that you will leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews help readers make informed choices, and they also help an independent
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If you’re hungry for more of Twin Moon Ranch, you can get a free short story by signing up for my newsletter. That will get you a free copy of Desert Wolf, a fun, sexy, and action-packed story—all yours here! Signing up for the newsletter will also make sure you get updates about special deals and new releases in this series.
Read on for a sneak peek of Zack and Rae’s story in Desert Hunt: the Prequel to the Twin Moon Ranch series. In it, you’ll get to see many of the characters you’ve grown to love in the Twin Moon Ranch series.
Other books in this series
Desert Moon (Book 1)
Desert Wolf 1 and 2 (short stories)
Desert Blood (Book 2)
Desert Fate (Book 3)
coming soon:
Desert Heart (Book 4)
Desert Hunt (the Prequel)
Also by Anna Lowe…
Travel and Adventure Romances
Uncharted Waters
Uncharted Territory
Veiled Fantasies
Ocean Fantasies
visit www.annalowebooks.com
Recommended reads
If you liked this book, try one of these Western Paranormal Romances…
Her Werewolf Bodyguard (Moon Pack Rules) by Michele Bardsley
The Quick and the Fevered (Fevered Hearts) by Heather Long
Alpha Wolf (Black Mesa Wolves) by J.K. Harper
…or one of these sexy shapeshifter stories from authors I love:
Claiming His Fate (Feral Breed Motorcycle Club) by Elllis Leigh
