by Lori King
“My mommy is a princess! You can borrow her!” Axel shouted, breaking the sadness and the tension.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, princess. Now, say good-bye to your brothers.”
Liam, and Ryley stood in front of her with their arms crossed over their chests and frowns marring their faces. Liam growled as he shot a glare at Cadence and Mateo. “There’s still time to back out.”
She shook her head and hugged him tightly. “No, there’s not. I love them, Li. I need them.”
He sighed and relaxed, hugging her back. “If you ever need anything, picklenose…”
“I know. I’ll call.”
Ryley growled in her ear as he hugged her from the side. “You better. If you don’t I’ll tell Tina and she’ll kick your ass.”
Tina and Shandi were both rolling their eyes as they hugged her good-bye, and then Rafe kissed her forehead and congratulated her. Last but not least she faced her Alphas.
“Devin, I don’t know how to thank you for everything that you did for the Diego pack,” she said, feeling Cadence and Mateo join her for this good-bye.
“No need. You’re family. Just go to Chicago and find your happily ever after, Whitney. You and Tawny deserve it.” He shook hands with the guys and hugged her before hugging Tawny.
Once all of the hugs were complete and the tears were drying up, she turned one last time and blew a kiss to her dad. When he pretended to catch it, she laughed and climbed into the rented van. Behind her, she heard Chance questioning Mateo. “Why does he call her picklenose?”
She and Tawny held hands as they left the Gray pack behind to start their new lives as Diegos, but Whitney knew that no matter how far away she was, the Gray wolves would always welcome her home. Meeting Cadence’s eyes in the rearview mirror, she blew him a kiss and giggled when he winked back.
Epilogue
“Caleb was five pounds six ounces, and Noelle was four pounds eight ounces. They are both adorable and perfectly healthy,” Victoria gushed, and Whitney felt a pang of disappointment that she wasn’t there to see her friend’s new babies.
“How is Caroline?”
“Doing great! She had a long labor, but she was a real trooper. I thought we might lose Devin a couple of times. He turned pretty green at the gills every time Delaky checked her to see how far along she was.”
Whitney laughed. “That would have been a sight to see. I’m so glad they are okay.”
“How are you today, sweetheart?” Her mom’s vibrancy dimmed a bit with concern, and Whitney forced a smile.
“I’m good, Mom. Just tired. I had no idea how exhausting pregnancy would be, and on top of that, things have been crazy here.” She tried to sound upbeat through her fatigue, but it was difficult. She really was worn thin. Instead of meeting her mom’s eyes in the computer screen, she focused on the framed award that hung over her desk. The photo spread she had done just before leaving the Gray pack den had turned out to be a fantastic stepping stone for her career. She had won several awards for them already, and now she had more work opportunities than she ever could have dreamed of. If only she didn’t already have such pressing matters to deal with in her new pack.
“You’re trying to do too much. Where are those men of yours? Do I need to have a chat with them?” Victoria said harshly.
Whitney shook her head and laughed. “No, Mom. They have taken on so much to keep me from stressing myself out. They’ve been wonderful.”
“Tell me about the pack.”
“I’ve already told you everything there is to tell, Mom. We talk every single day.”
“I know, but I miss you so much, sweetheart. I just want to feel like I’m still part of your life.”
Emotion clogged Whitney’s throat and she sniffled. “You are, Mom, I promise. How are Rafe and Ryley handling fatherhood?”
“Like you would expect, but they love those little munchkins. Axel and Jordy are perfect,” Victoria said proudly.
“Good. I better log off now, Mom. I need to meet Cara for a meeting with the pack elders. We’re trying to start figuring out how to bring a therapist in to talk with some of the pack members who are still dealing with PTSD because of Barton and Rolando, but we haven’t found one that we can trust yet.”
Victoria frowned, “Hmm. I think I remember a friend of your dad’s had a son go into psychology. I’ll have Henley give him a call and see what he can find out. It would be best if the therapist was a wolf and understood our world.”
“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
“Love you, too, sweetheart. Give the guys our love.”
Whitney clicked off the call and sat back in her chair staring silently at the blank screen. She wasn’t lying when she told her mom that there were pack members who suffered from PTSD. The only detail she had left out was that the one suffering the worst case was Tawny. Oh, she did her best to cover it, but her already thin frame had grown thinner over the last two months, and she had dark rings under her eyes that gave away her lack of sleep.
It wasn’t for lack of support. Chance and Tawny had become best friends. Their relationship was different than Whitney’s was with Tawny, but it seemed to be one of the only things keeping Tawny from spending the rest of her days in her bed avoiding the world. It didn’t help that Rolando left behind supporters who still fought Cadence and Mateo on every change they tried to implement and didn’t hesitate to show their disdain for the two Gray pack women who had joined the family.
No, things weren’t exactly hunky dory in the Diego den, but somehow Whitney was still truly happy. She found a sense of purpose in her role as Alpha-Bitch. Traumatized women came to her on a regular basis, and she had restructured many of the pack’s organizational systems in order to make the whole family work as a more unified group. There were hurdles, but she knew that this was where fate meant her to be.
A soft thump in her belly made her smile, and she turned to face the front door as Cadence and Mateo came in. Their eyes lit up when they saw her, and she hurried into their arms. As Mateo kissed her forehead, Cadence dropped to kiss her belly, murmuring hello to their child before swapping places with Mateo. They had done this every single day since they arrived in Chicago, and every day they made sure that she knew they didn’t care whose blood the child shared. They knew firsthand that blood didn’t determine the strength of a person.
“Caroline had her babies last night.”
Mateo’s eyes widened. “Did it go well?”
“Yep, a boy and a girl, Caleb and Noelle, healthy and happy.”
Cadence grinned at her. “That’s wonderful news, love. We’ll have to send them a congratulatory gift.”
“Already picked out and ready to ship. I was just waiting for the word,” she said, giggling when he picked her up in his arms. “What are you doing, wolf-man?”
“Sweeping my new wife off of her feet and into the bedroom,” he responded with a small growl in his throat. Whitney loved hearing them refer to her as wife. Once they arrived in Chicago and realized how much work they faced, they decided that a prompt wedding was the best option for them. Tawny and Mateo stood as witnesses in front of the judge, so that it was legal, and then they returned to the pack where their union was blessed by Ferouk, a young man who had appeared in the den the day after they arrived, and reminded Whitney distinctly of Delaky. He looked young, but according to Cadence, he carried the magic of many in his soul.
“I shouldn’t lollygag in bed, Cadence. I have a meeting with the elders in a half an hour,” she protested as he gently placed her on the bed. But once he released her she reached across the bed to pull out a tube of lube. They kept it in the drawer of the nightstand, just below a pair of framed photos of them. The first was the one she snapped the day she fell in love with them on the forest path just outside the clearing in the Gray pack den, and the second was of the three of them on their wedding day looking blissfully happy. Twisting back to face them both, she shot them a wicked smile and chucked the tube
at Cadence.
“Mateo, call Cara and tell her to cancel the meeting.” He winked at Whitney. “We have another meeting that just took priority.”
Whitney heard Mateo following Cadence’s directions just before she lost herself in his caress.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a full-time wife and mother of three boys, Lori King rarely has time to just enjoy feminine pursuits, but at heart she is a hopeless romantic. So she spends her days dreaming up Alpha men, and her nights telling their stories. She currently has books available in the following series: The Gray Pack, Apache Crossing, Sunset Point, and The Surrender Trilogy. Find out more about her current projects at http://www.lorikingbooks.wordpress.com.
For all titles by Lori King, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/lori-king
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