“Don’t worry,” Jordan groaned. “I don’t think we have time to make it to the hospital.”
“What?”
“When I said this baby’s coming now, I mean now.”
“Oh my,” Lily said. “Let’s get her upstairs to your bedroom.”
A few hours later, sometime after midnight, Jacqueline Hanako Forrest was born. Jackson was there for the birth of his second daughter, and a beaming Lily handed the baby to him. He leaned down and scented her. Sweet and flowery, just like her mother. Right after Katie was born, they all went to Washington D.C. to see the cherry blossoms when he recognized the scent. His wolf howled proudly. Another pup for us to protect, cherish and love.
“She’s beautiful,” he said, as he knelt down beside Jordan. He kissed her forehead and nestled the small bundle in her arms. “Just like her momma.”
“Oh,” she gasped. “Look at her. She’s perfect.”
“That she is.”
He stayed a few more minutes, just to make sure Jordan and Jacqueline were doing okay. He hated to leave them, but there was a roomful of people downstairs waiting to hear the news. He kissed his wife on the forehead and then headed downstairs.
“It’s a girl,” he announced.
“Congratulations, son,” Kaz said, coming up to him and giving him a big hug, then a pat on the back. “And I’m sorry,” he added jokingly.
“Oh, Kaz!” Patricia gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry.” Kaz pulled Austin to him. “Big brother will take care of them both, right? He’ll scare off all their boyfriends.”
“It’s a little early for that,” Jackson said, but based on the frown on his son’s face, he knew that Austin was probably having none of that boyfriend business. He was glad, because he had no plans of growing old prematurely once Katie and Jacqueline grew into their teens. The thought had him sweating bullets. “All right, they’re ready for you all to come in.”
They all filed upstairs, but Jackson hung back. Everyone crowded into the bedroom, oohing and aahing over little Jacqueline. Jordan cuddled Katie beside her so the little girl wouldn’t feel like she was being ignored because of the new baby. Austin, on the other hand, was given the honor of being the first to hold Jacqueline after her parents.
“Well, color me wrong,” Connor said as he came up behind Jackson. He had left one of Cliff’s favorite toys in the truck and gone outside to grab it. “Austin’s not going to grow up to be a criminal after all.”
Jackson chuckled. “No thanks to me.” He couldn’t help but wonder how his life would have turned out without his mate.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Connor said.
“You do?”
“Yeah.” His brother’s eyes landed on Evie and there was that look on his face. Jackson knew that look, because he probably wore the same one when Jordan was around. “I don’t know what I’d do without them, either.”
“How lucky could we get? We could never be where we are now without them.” Jordan had been his anchor, the other half of his soul. She was there when his burdens got too heavy, and soothed him when things got rough. But she also didn’t take his shit and matched him in every way.
“I agree, but,” Connor faced him, his expression serious, “It wouldn’t have mattered to you either way. You could have done it. Jackson, you were meant for this. For a family. And to be Alpha. You deserve it.”
“Connor—”
“I’m not done talking.” His brother held up a hand. “I’ve said that to you before, and still you keep doubting yourself. I’m just glad you found someone who made you believe in it.”
Jackson looked over at his family again. Austin was helping Jordan place Jacqueline in Katie’s small arms, cradling the baby’s head as he patiently whispered instructions to his sister. Jordan watched them carefully, then turned to meet his gaze from across the room. She mouthed “I love you” and her smile lit up the entire room.
While he wasn’t sure if he was meant for or deserved this, Connor was right about one thing. With his family, Jackson truly believed he could do anything.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for going on this journey with me.
If you liked this book, do consider leaving me a review!
By the way, if you want some SMEXY HOT bonus scenes featuring Jordan and Jackson.
Plus the story of how Sebastian Creed arrived in Shenandoah Valley
Then join my mailing list!
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And you’ll also get news when my releases come out, including when the next True Mate book comes out.
Thank you!
Alicia
P.S.
If you’re not familiar with my books, check out the two previews I have included in the back of this book.
The first is from All for Connor, which features to love story between Jackson’s twin and Evie.
And the second is from Fated Mates, the first story in the True Mates Series.
What are you waiting for? Go read them now!
Preview: All for Connor
Part of the Lone Wolf Defender Series
About six months ago…
“You lying, cheating bastard!” Evie King shouted into her phone.
“Evie, no,” Richard Brandis, Evie’s soon-to-be ex-boyfriend (again), pleaded, his voice crackling through the speakers of her cell. “I swear, babe, I didn’t mean to. It was an accident!”
“An accident?” she asked incredulously. “Was she walking by, tripped, and accidentally landed on your cock?”
“I was drunk. Me and the boys were celebrating landing another big account …”
“That’s not an excuse,” she retorted.
“Evie, honey bear, please. This is the last time.”
“No, Richard,” Evie said. “This is the last time.” She pressed the red button on the screen of her smartphone, wishing she still had a landline phone she could slam down. Instead, the line went dead with an unsatisfying electronic click.
Evie wanted nothing more than to throw the phone against the wall as they did in the movies. But, she had already spent the last of her savings moving to New York City so she could pursue her dream of becoming a Broadway actress. Buying another phone would put her in the red or mean she’d have to take a couple of extra shifts at the diner.
The phone in her hand suddenly lit up, and her roommate’s name flashed on the screen. Talk about bad timing. Selena Merlin swore she was a powerless witch, but she somehow had a sixth sense when it came to Evie’s relationship with Richard. “Selena?” she answered, trying not to sound deflated.
“Evie-girl,” Selena said. “I’ve been calling you for the last thirty minutes, but you weren’t answering.”
“I was on the phone.”
“Really? Who were you talking to?”
Evie bit her lip and thought about lying, but Selena was her best friend. “Richard.” Her shoulders slumped.
“And what did Dick want?” Selena asked in an acerbic tone.
“His name is Richard,” she corrected for the 148th time.
“Dick is a perfectly acceptable nickname for Richard,” Selena retorted. “And what were you guys talking about for half an hour? Oh my God, you weren’t having phone sex, were you? Please tell me you’re not on the couch. I eat dinner there.”
“No, we weren’t.”
The five-second pause must have tipped off the almost-witch. “Shit. Not again, Evie.”
Evie sank down on the couch. “Yes.”
“What happened this time?”
“I got a video,” Evie said. “It was …” She wanted to throw up. Richard had probably meant to send the disgusting video to one of his buddies and sent it to her instead. This time, he couldn’t deny that he had had sex with another girl.
“Oh, Evie, I’m so sorry,” Selena said.
“Go ahead,” Evie sighed. “Say it.”
“Say what?”
She let ou
t a breath. “I told you so.”
“I would never say that to you.”
Evie thought that was generous of her. After all, Selena had been there for the first time she and Richard broke up. Someone had sent her a screenshot of him in a club, kissing some girl. She cried, and Selena supplied her with copious amounts of ice cream and cookies and listened to her moan and pour her heart out. Of course, three days later, Richard called her and explained that he didn’t sleep with that girl, just made out with her. He was out with his friends and was drunk, and he was missing her. Guilt had made her take him back. After all, they’d been together for four years when she decided to move to New York City from Kansas. Richard didn’t want to leave his lucrative job, so they thought they’d try the long-distance thing.
She’d forgiven him after he flew in and begged on his knees. They spent a dreamy week in New York, going to all the touristy spots and cuddling and kissing everywhere (including the viewing deck of the Empire State Building). It was pure bliss, and, when he left, Evie was sure their relationship was more solid than ever.
Of course, it didn’t take long before Richard stumbled again. Her brother, Arthur, had seen him on a date with some skank, and Evie confronted him over the phone. He denied it, of course, but he eventually broke down and confessed, telling her that they only went out and kissed, that was it. Despite Selena’s protests (“Once a cheater, always a cheater!”), Evie took him back. He promised he’d visit soon, but he was so busy at work.
Two fat tears rolled down Evie’s cheeks. “I should have listened to you.”
“Don’t cry. He’s not worth it.”
“I know.” Richard was a piece of shit. She knew that now. A lying piece of shit. “Are you coming home soon? Would you mind picking up a carton or four of Ben and Jerry’s?”
“Oh, Evie, I think you’re going to need something stronger than ice cream. In fact …”
Evie could almost hear the wheels in Selena’s head turning. “Selena, what are you planning?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“Good. Do exactly as I say, and everything will be okay. First, go to the fridge and pour yourself a glass of the Chardonnay I have in there.”
“Selena …”
“C’mon, just do it. Trust me,” Selena said, a hint of mischief in her voice.
“Fine.” Evie walked to the kitchen and grabbed the opened bottle of wine, still half full. She took out a wine glass, then poured herself a small amount, wrinkling her nose. It wasn’t that she didn’t drink. She had a beer or a glass of wine with dinner now and then, but she never saw the point of getting drunk. Despite having a Lycan as a mom, Evie was one hundred percent human and, thus, didn’t have a shifter’s fast metabolism (as evidenced by the extra 20 pounds or so she was always trying to lose) which meant she always felt a little tipsy after a glass or two. “Well, now what?”
“Take a drink,” Selena instructed. “A big gulp.”
Evie took a small sip. Hmmm … it wasn’t bad. “Okay.”
“I said take a big gulp, not a sip.”
“I already—how the hell did you know?”
“Because you’re a wuss and I’ve never seen you drink more than a glass,” Selena said in an exasperated voice. “Now be a good girl, fill up that glass and finish it off. I promise it’ll make everything better.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
Ugh, Selena was so bossy. “Fine.” She topped off the glass and took a big gulp. The wine burned her throat and she nearly choked, but she swallowed it down. She took another sip. The wine was cold but made her belly feel so warm and nice. This wasn’t so bad.
“Did you finish it all?” Selena asked impatiently.
She took the last gulp. “Uh-huh.” She felt lightheaded but so good. “Maybe I’ll have another one.” There was a numbness spreading through her, and it made her temporarily forget about Richard. No, she couldn’t forget about Dick (snicker), but the wine made everything seem less painful.
“Good,” Selena answered. “Now, here’s what you’re going to do. First, go to my closet and grab my red dress, the one in the garment bag. Put it on, then add your nicest pair of heels. Next, I’ll text you an address. You’re going to take a cab there. I’ll pay you back. Whatever you do, no matter what you see or feel, just find the entrance to the warehouse and meet me there. You’re going to feel like whatever you’re looking for isn’t there or that you should turn away. Ignore it. The wine will help. Just keep searching for the place; you’ll know it when you see it.”
“Selena, you’re not making any sense,” Evie said before taking another gulp of wine.
“Just do as I say. I’ll meet you there.” And with that, Selena hung up.
Two seconds later, her phone beeped with a message: 235 Princeton Street. Her map app told her that was all the way down in Soho. Jeez, the cab fare would be astronomical from Washington Heights, but now she was intrigued. And Selena said she’d pay. Since her roommate was the one more gainfully employed between the two of them, Evie would take her up on that offer.
She took a last gulp of wine and strode to Selena’s closet, grabbing the garment bag. Evie was a couple of inches taller than Selena, so the dress seemed painfully short, but it fit her frame just right. She quickly turned away from the full-length mirror in front of the closet. She needed to shed a couple of inches around her tummy and hips if she wanted to land any role in a Broadway show. Sure, her curves were okay for the regional theaters in Kansas, but this was the big leagues.
Her phone beeped, jolting her out of her thoughts. It was Selena, urging her to hurry up. So impatient. Where the heck were they going anyway?
The cab dropped her off in the approximate spot where 235 Princeton St. should have been. The GPS on her phone didn’t seem to be working, so Evie had to guesstimate where it was. She was still feeling warm and fuzzy from the wine, which didn’t help her concentration.
Even though it was a weeknight, this part of New York was usually lively, but this particular section seemed to be quiet. Weird. She looked up, searching for numbers in the small, darkened alleyway that was supposedly Princeton St. A strange, cold feeling passed over her, making her skin prickle, and a small voice in her head told her she should just go somewhere else. No. Selena said to just keep searching, so Evie kept walking down the alleyway, ignoring her instinct. Her head was still light from the half bottle of wine she had polished off (she took a last swig before she left, then decided to just finish the entire thing).
Her ears perked up when she heard some noise and saw a light up ahead. There was a line forming outside a warehouse. Ah, that must be it. Was this some secret club? How did Selena know it would be here?
Evie approached the queue of people, noticing how everyone seemed to be dressed in their best outfits. And that the crowd was mostly women, all dolled up for a night on the town. Everyone seemed excited, chatting and laughing with their friends. After standing in line for a few minutes, more women queued up behind her.
“Wow, this must be a popular club,” she remarked to the woman next to her.
The woman, a blonde in a hot pink dressed, giggled. “Well, it is Merlin’s.”
“Merlin’s?” Did Selena’s family own a club in Manhattan? She had never mentioned it before.
“Aww, are you a newbie, sweetie?” another woman asked. “Which coven are you from?”
Evie froze. This was a witch hangout. No wonder she felt strange walking here and it was hidden. Whoever owned it must have cast some sort of protection spell. “Um … Kansas,” she lied. It might be far enough away that the witch wouldn’t know anyone from there.
“Oh wow, are you visiting New York then?”
“Er, sort of.”
The blond witch giggled. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. We’re all here for the same thing.” She glanced behind her, at her girlfriends. “We’re from Jersey. We drove all the way here for the show.” The witch intro
duced herself as Mary and her friends as Alice, Felicity, and Gretchen.
“I’m Evie,” she said.
“Are you all alone?” Alice asked.
“Um, my friend Selena is already inside. I’m supposed to go in and find her.” She opened her black leather clutch and fished out her phone. Oh farts. The phone was dead. The GPS must have sucked up the battery. Well, if this club was called Merlin’s, then she was definitely in the right place. She’d just have to find Selena inside. But what would they do here? Selena wasn’t exactly the clubbing type. She didn’t even go to bars. Her roommate and best friend was a geek at heart and loved sci-fi and fantasy TV shows, books, and movies. Her idea of fun was watching Lord of the Rings for the millionth time.
“Oh, it’s our first time, too,” Mary said. “I’m looking forward to the show.”
“What show exactly?” That question made the other girls look at each other and burst into giggles.
“It’s a—oohh! Line’s moving.” Mary nudged her forward. “If you can’t find your friend, you can sit with us.”
Evie stumbled forward, nearly bumping into the group of women in front of her before steadying herself. The queue moved quickly, and they were ushered inside the warehouse doors. Red velvet ropes herded them, single file, all the way to the front where the bouncer was checking IDs. She slipped her hand into her handbag, ready to take out her driver’s license, when she suddenly stopped short.
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