by Aliya DalRae
Nadia stared at Maggie for a moment longer, then with a curt nod, she turned and walked out the door, leaving Maggie alone with her Werewolf.
Chapter Ten
P atrick woke up shivering on the floor of his lodge, the blankets he’d fallen asleep upon twisted beneath him. With the silver out of his system, he’d managed to change in his sleep, and though he was rather itchy from the previous night’s injuries, they were all mostly healed.
He sat up with a groan and looked at the bed, hoping to see his Maggie there, but she was nowhere to be found. He levered himself to his feet, and after a long stretch he grabbed a pair of sweats and headed for the door.
Most of the wolves remaining at the camp were aware of Maggie’s presence there, though Patrick had chosen to keep her segregated from all but Nadia since she’d arrived. While he was certain none of them would harm her, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with her being out among them, especially on her own.
When he opened the door he was relieved to see her sitting on the front step, a thin blanket around her shoulders as she sat hunched against the cool morning air.
He joined her on the step, making her jump.
“You’re—awake,” she said, but he knew what she meant.
“And human,” he added with a wink. He offered her a sly smile, but it faded when she refused to meet his eye. “Maggie?”
After a moment she sat up tall and turned to him, though it was his bare shoulder she looked at rather than his face. “It looks good,” she said. “A little red, but almost like it never happened. It’s—remarkable.”
Patrick laid his palm against her cheek, then lifted her chin until their eyes met. “Talk to me, Mags.”
She covered his hand with hers, and drew it into her lap as she looked out into the forest.
“Nadia said some things last night that got me thinking.”
Patrick tensed, unsure where this was going. Someday he would have to tell Maggie about his indiscretion with Nadia, but not now. Not until she knew more about the Pack, about wolves and how the change affected them. She’d still be pissed, but he hoped that once she knew more, she would stand a better chance of forgiving him. Not that he would ever forgive himself.
“You took over this—Pack—so you could bring us home?”
Some of the tension eased out of Patrick’s shoulders as he answered, “Yes, I did.”
“How did you do that? What was involved?”
Patrick blew out a breath, knowing now what Nadia had revealed.
“I had to challenge the old Alpha to a fight, and I had to win.”
“So you beat him up and sent him on his way?” Maggie looked at him, one eyebrow cocked.
“No. It was a fight to the death.”
Maggie shivered and released his hand to tighten the blanket around her. “So what if you had lost?”
“Well, then I would be dead and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He tried to smile again, but her scowl told him this wasn’t the time.
“So you were prepared to die to bring our family back together?”
Patrick was nonplussed. “Of course. Maggie, I’ve told you over and over again I would die for you, for our daughter. Did you think I was just blowing smoke up your skirt?”
“No,” she said. “No, it’s just…” She stared off into the forest again and whispered, “it’s not often a person is put to that test.”
Patrick wrapped his arm around Maggie’s shoulders and pulled her to him, his bare skin still warm in spite of the morning cold. Maggie snuggled against him and rested her head against his chest.
“I could have lost you forever,” she whispered.
“I wasn’t about to let that happen.”
“What about Jessica?”
Patrick squeezed her shoulder and rubbed her arm to soothe her, seeking comfort from the contact as well. “We’ll keep tabs on her, I promise. If we ever feel that she is in a bad place, or that she is not being treated well, we will swoop in and bring her home. But Maggie, you’ve seen what kind of things happen around here. There are still Dumbasses out there trying to take me down, and the Pack is still young under my leadership. Most are taking to me well enough, but you never know when something will happen as it did last night.” Patrick swallowed hard, and Maggie rubbed his leg.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said, and Patrick nodded.
“He was a good wolf, an even better man. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him and Butch. They saved me, Maggie. Gave me the means to take back my life. The Pack won’t be the same without Poppy.”
They sat together in silence for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts as they stared across the courtyard at the pine trees swaying in the breeze.
“Nadia said I needed to make a choice, too.” Maggie said, as though in answer to an unasked question.
“Did she, now?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“And what have you decided?”
“Two weeks ago, if you had asked me to give up my child to be with you I would have said yes without any hesitation. I would have given up a limb, several, if it meant seeing you again, holding you again.
“But that was with my brain full of drugs, and you were all I could think about. I didn’t give our daughter the life she deserved, and I should have. Now, I’m never going to have that chance. I know you made the right decision for her, but now? I have a feeling this is something I’m going to regret until the day I die.”
“We both will, Mags, but…”
“No, you don’t have to explain it. I know exactly why you did it. I’m still in no condition to be a proper mother to her and, well, you’re a Werewolf.”
Patrick stifled a chuckle and let her continue.
“Nadia said I needed to be sure that you are who I want, that I can accept all of this without blaming you for any of it.”
“And?”
“I love you, Paddy. I always have, and I always will. I’m not proud of the woman I was when you were gone, but I want to be someone you and Jessica both would be proud of. I want to help you with the Pack, if I can, to be here for you whenever you need me. I want to be strong, like you are Paddy, to be a good person and to never let you down again.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you are the man I fell in love with all those years ago, and whether you’re on two legs or four, you are still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. If you’ll have me, I want to stay here with you, to be your—mate.”
“You’re my wife, Maggie. You will always be my wife.”
Maggie leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, the passion they had both been missing igniting as their skin touched.
“There’s just one thing,” Maggie whispered, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his.
“What’s that?” Patrick asked, pulling her close, unwilling to relinquish the contact for even a moment.
“I never did get my Payday.”
Chapter Eleven
Six Months Later
M aggie stood next to Patrick, their hands linked as he spoke to the forty or so people who had gathered for the memorial. They were in the woods behind what Paddy referred to as “the Olde Cabin,” with an “e.” Apparently, it had belonged to Butch’s family when his father was the Alpha, and now an Alpha had taken up residence there again.
Patrick smiled down at her, then turned to address the crowd. “Thank you all for coming today. I know there are some who couldn’t be here due to their job responsibilities, but we know they are with us through the bond that ties us together.
“Poppy was a great man. Had he been a little younger, he would have been standing here today as your Alpha instead of me. More than likely he would’ve been giving the eulogy for my sorry ass, since I would have probably gotten myself killed without his help and guidance.
“Most of you knew him long before I came on the scene, but there is not a wolf among us who was not touched
or influenced by this amazing person. If you weren’t, well then, you just weren’t paying attention.
“The loss of Poppy has devastated the Pack, has devastated me. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save him, and can only hope that the death of the wolf who did this to him will be of some comfort to the Pack.
“We’ve brought Poppy here to spread his ashes in the woods where he ran as a young wolf. This property was once the place where great wolves roamed, where families gathered to celebrate holidays and the full moon, and it is my intention that this tradition will be resurrected. I only wish Poppy could have lived to celebrate the moment with us. Hopefully, by spreading his ashes here, he will be able to watch over us and guide us, as he did when he was alive.
“To Poppy.”
Patrick lifted the urn up to the Pack, and they repeated his words. “To Poppy.”
Turning his back to the Pack, Patrick walked several feet into the forest, lifted the lid to the urn, and with a wide arcing sweep, scattered its contents into the foliage. In their wolf forms, Butch, Nadia and Mitch sang their mournful wolf-song from deep in the woods, carrying the Pack’s grief and Poppy’s soul into the arms of Mother Moon.
~~~~~
Patrick was manning the grills as Maggie served drinks and managed the carry-in dishes the rest of the Pack had provided. Combining Poppy’s wake with what they were terming a “coming home party” rather than a house warming, had been a stroke of genius—Maggie’s of course.
Burgers were charring on one grill and steaks on another as their guests mingled on the patio or took tours of the now-completed log cabin that would be his and Maggie’s home for years to come.
“Heads up,” someone cried, as a football flew across the back yard, barely missing Patrick and his culinary exploits.
Someone else grabbed the ball out of the air, shouting a quick, “Sorry,” to the Alpha before carrying their game to the other side of the yard.
After flipping the last burger, Patrick looked up to see Maggie descending the steps from the rear of the house. The day was unseasonably warm, and she looked magnificent in a yellow sundress, her red hair bouncing around her shoulders as she approached him.
Her recovery was a day to day thing, some days being good and others not so much, but she was determined to leave her addiction in the past. She would never again have the same sweet innocence she’d had when he’d disappeared, but then they had both gone through some dramatic changes. He would take the bad with the good, and together they would soldier on.
He smiled down at her when she joined him at the grill.
“How’s the meat coming?” she asked, wrapping an arm around his waist as she examined his work.
“Great. Almost done. Want to hand me that platter?”
Maggie did as he asked, and soon heaps of barbequed goodness filled the plate, ready to be devoured by a hungry pack of wolves.
The meal was a huge success. The picnic tables that studded the yard were full of happy people with happy lives, each and every one honoring Poppy with stories of his kindness and often-gruff words of advice.
As they stood watch over the crowd, Patrick couldn’t get over how far he and Maggie had come. There was only one thing missing in their otherwise perfect lives.
As though he were reading his Alpha’s mind, David unfolded himself from one of the picnic tables and sauntered over to Patrick and Maggie, his hand in his hip pocket.
With a nod at Maggie, he turned to Patrick. “It was today,” he said, the smile he had born for most of the evening giving way to the solemnity he’d shown during the memorial service.
Patrick nodded, and Maggie grabbed his hand, squeezing it for all it was worth.
“I thought you might want to have this.” David held out a photograph, and Patrick took it, looked at it, then handed it to Maggie. Her eyes turned bright with tears, and Patrick knew her emotions reflected his own.
“They seem like a real nice couple,” David continued. “I’ve asked around town about them, and everybody knows and likes them. I think Jessica is going to be real happy with them, and they are over the moon about her, as you can see.”
Maggie glanced at the picture again, then wrapped her arms around Patrick’s waist and pressed her cheek against his chest.
“Anyway, just thought you should have that,” David said again, before returning to the picnic table where several of the others were enjoying pie and homemade ice cream.
Maggie looked up at Patrick and smiled that beautiful smile of hers, the one that had driven him crazy from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. “She’s going to be okay,” she said, the single tear that leaked from the corner of her eye belying her smile and underlining the loss they both felt so acutely. Patrick smiled down at her.
“Yes,” he agreed, hugging her close to him. “Our baby is going to be just fine. This wasn’t my dream, and there will always be a hole in our hearts that only she could fill. But I’m glad that at least one of us will be able to lead a normal life.”
“It’s bittersweet,” Maggie agreed, wiping the tear away on Patrick’s shirt, “but all in all, I think we’re pretty lucky.”
Patrick glanced around the yard, at the laughing wolves he called family now, then down at the woman in his arms. Life had taken him down a dark road full of bizarre twists and turns, but ultimately he had found his way home.
All things considered, Patrick Dane was a happy man.
about the author
Aliya DalRae is the author of the Jessica Sweet Trilogy. Her debut novel, Sweet Vengeance, was published in February 2016, with the sequel, Sweet Discovery, becoming available in April 2017. The third and final book in the trilogy, Sweet Destiny, is well underway.
Born and raised in a farming community in rural Southwest Ohio, Aliya grew up a middle child, with an older and younger brother. Surrounded by corn and cows, it was not unusual for Aliya to immerse herself in books, her way of escaping the humdrum small town life to visit fantastic lands full of mystery, myth and legend. And of course, romance.
Aliya’s first love was musical theater, and as a teenager dreamed of one day performing on Broadway. Her early writing consisted mostly of poetry and songs. Those dreams were put on hold, as life intervened (as life often does), and she moved on with other pursuits.
After graduation, and a brief time living in England, Aliya returned to her home town, where she worked mainly in administrative positions, but her love for books never waned.
In 1992, Aliya met her immortal beloved, and they have been inseparable ever since. When not weaving romantic tales, she can be found working side by side with her husband in their furniture restoration business, where she weaves caned chairs instead.
Visit Aliya at:
http://aliyadalraeauthor.wixsite.com/aliyadalrae
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15019566.Aliya_DalRae
www.facebook.com/AliyaDalRae
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/aliya-dalrae
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Also by Aliya DalRae
THE JESSICA SWEET TRILOGY
Jessica Sweet is a small town girl with big time troubles. Her birth parents abandoned her, her adoptive parents are recently dead, and her visions are about to take on a life of their own. Enter Raven, the Vampire Race’s version of the boogeyman, and star of Jessica’s oldest and most frequent vision. And he’s drop dead gorgeous. This three-part series details Jessica and Raven’s rollercoaster relationship as they battle evil Sorcerers, feral Vampires, and their own doubts and downfalls.
SWEET VENGEANCE
SWEET DISCOVERY
SWEET DESTINY
SHORT STORIES
BEFORE JESSICA THERE WAS ANNA…
Malc
olm Gatta was a normal Feline Shifter with a normal Shifter life. However, the arrival of a new Clowder member has set him on a journey of love and loss that will lead him down a path of darkness…a path from which he would rather not return.
Bittersweet is a prequel to the Jessica Sweet Trilogy, covering the four years prior to Malcolm’s arrival at Jessica’s home. Take a peek into the life of everyone’s favorite Shifter. You’ll never look at King Kat the same.
BITTERSWEET
ANTHOLOGIES
In this collection of fabulous fairy tales, Aliya DalRae brings Once Upon a Time into Fallen Cross with these contributions:
Sweet Distraction
Kythryn’s heart is broken. The man she loves just married her sister, and in response she’s decided a night of heavy drinking is in order. When a tall, dark and mysterious man, a Cat Shifter like herself, no less, walks into the bar wearing high boots and a duster and makes a strange request, she cannot help her curiosity. (Because, you know, cat.) Following him out of the bar may have been a mistake, but it’s one that will change her life forever.
Bitter Beauty
Butch Montgomery is second in command to the Fallen Cross Wolf Pack’s newly appointed Alpha. Though life in the Pack is a bit tumultuous at the moment, things are definitely looking up. When a strange wolf wanders onto the Pack’s hunting land, Butch finds himself torn between an odd desire to bring her into the fold and protecting the solitude he’s only recently reclaimed.
