That seemed to stun them, and everyone else in the room. “True Mate?” The petite woman beside Grant Anderson gasped. From her dark hair and the mismatched eyes, he easily guessed this was Julianna’s mother. “Oh my. That changes things.”
“We thought you were a mage and kidnapped her.” Grant Anderson’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure which I prefer right now.”
“Grant!” His wife admonished with a chuckle. “Lovely to meet you, Duncan. I’m Frankie, and this is Julianna’s father, Grant.”
“Lovely to meet you, ma’am. Sir.”
“Ohh, that accent!” Frankie tittered. “No wonder Julianna couldn’t resist you.”
Duncan was introduced to the rest of the family, including the current Alpha, Lucas Anderson, his Lupa, Sofia, and the Alpha of New Jersey, Adrianna Anderson and her mate and consort, Darius Corvinus. Based on the fact that the two ladies were obviously pregnant, he guessed they were all True Mates.
“The kitchen is preparing our dinner,” Frankie declared. “Why don’t we all sit down and I can grab us some wine—er, make that sparkling water.”
“Wine, please,” Grant and Lucas declared at the same time.
“I’ll have the same, if you don’t mind, Mrs. Anderson,” he said.
“No problem.” Her dazzling smiled reminded him of Julianna’s. “And please, call me Frankie.”
When she returned with the wine as well as some appetizers, the atmosphere was still tense. From the way the oldest Anderson and the youngest were seated at the opposite ends of the table and ignoring each other, it was obvious that despite how hard Frankie tried to include them both in the conversation, things were not going to get better. He could feel the tension coming from Julianna and her distress over the whole situation. Duncan decided to do something about it.
“You all probably don’t know this, but I’ve been in love with Julianna since I was seven years old,” he declared.
Forks and knives clattered on plates, and all eyes turned to them.
“What?”
“How the hell—”
“You can’t be—”
Duncan raised his hand. “Aye, it’s true. From the first moment I laid eyes on her portrait.”
“The painting!” Isabelle cried as she shot up from her seat. “Hold on.” She dashed out of the door and returned, said portrait in hand. “When you guys left, I took this with me. I figured you might want it back.”
“Madre de dio,” Adrianna Anderson declared. “That’s you!”
Julianna rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Then she turned to Duncan. “Really?”
“Aye,” he nodded reverently and began to tell them the story of how he first saw the painting and how it had come into his hands. Everyone listened with rapt attention, including his mate, since he had never told her the story either. “And then a few days ago, the real thing walks into my house, and I realize she’s my True Mate.”
“No way,” Sofia said through a mouthful of pasta. “You can recognize your True Mate?”
“Yes, but Julianna didn’t believe me,” he said. “In fact, her first reaction was to punch me in the gut.”
“Sounds like Julianna, all right,” Isabelle said with a roll of her eyes.
“That’s after I stomped on your foot because you wouldn’t let me go,” Julianna added.
“Oh, such a romantic story,” Frankie said. “I’m sure your children will love to hear it someday. I mean … you are …”
They looked at each other and Julianna nodded, her eyes never straying from his.
“More grandchildren for us, then.” Frankie looked up at her husband, whose expression had softened.
“Every one of them a welcome blessing,” Grant Anderson declared. Though he wasn’t looking at anyone in particular except his wife, the thick tension in the room had lessened.
Frankie had tears in her eyes which she quickly wiped away. “I have to warn you,” she said to Duncan. “Twins run in my family.”
“In his too,” Julianna said with a sigh.
“No, they don’t.”
Julianna’s brows snapped together. “I saw Finlay and Fraser with my own eyes.”
Duncan could barely suppress the laugh bubbling in his chest. “They’re not twins—”
“Well, they sure did look identical to me.”
“—they’re triplets.”
A shocked silence hung in the air.
“Trip … lets?” Julianna choked.
“Yes. Fletcher lives abroad, so you haven’t met him.”
Everyone at the table looked at them, and the silence was broken by Isabelle Anderson’s rich laugh. “Oh. My. God. Triplets!”
“That’s not funny, Isabelle!” Julianna fumed.
“Yes, it is! Good Lord, talk about karma. Oww!” Isabelle cried. “Did you really have to hit me with your breadstick?”
“Stop it, you two,” Grant Anderson warned.
“She started it!” Isabelle and Julianna chorused.
“Ay basta, stop!” Frankie got up from her chair. “Duncan will think I’ve raised you in a barn! Now, pipe down or no dessert.”
Julianna and Isabelle shirked back. Duncan was glad because he really was looking forward to the tiramisu Frankie had promised. And from then on, the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably.
Julianna leaned her head toward him and slipped her hand into his to give it a squeeze. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
He gave her a quick kiss on the nose. “Anything for you, darlin’.”
Epilogue
A few days later, Julianna and Duncan were at the Fenrir Corporation headquarters on their way to the top floor for the first official meeting of the Guardian Initiative. They’d told Lucas about Duncan’s new role as Caelkirk’s envoy, and so he was invited to join them.
They took the private elevators to the executive floor, and as the doors opened, Duncan smiled at her impishly. “What? See, I told you we wouldn’t be late.”
“Yeah, that’s because I told the Uber driver I’d give him an extra ten bucks to run that red light.”
“Och, as I recall, you were screamin’ like a banshee, pullin’ at my hair while I was between your legs—”
“Shush.” She glanced around, and let out a relieved breath when she saw there was no one there except Jared, who was sitting just outside of Lucas’s office. “Are we late?”
“Just in time, but you’re the last ones.” He opened the door. “Go right ahead.”
They rushed inside, where a small group of people were gathered around Lucas’s desk. Her brother raised a brow at them. “Finally, we’re all here.”
“Sorry … er, the Uber took a while,” she said as they sat on the last two empty chairs. She recognized almost everyone in the room, so it was only for Duncan’s benefit that Lucas made the introductions.
“Everyone,” Lucas began. “This is Duncan MacDougal, heir apparent to the Alpha of Caelkirk of Scotland, and also his envoy. I’ve invited him to join the Guardian Initiative, and he’s accepted. Duncan, you already know my mother and father. This,” he nodded to the older, blond man on his left, “is Daric Jonasson. He’s been a part of our clan for almost thirty years, and you’ve probably met his son, Cross.”
Duncan tensed beside her, but she put a hand over his. “I’ve met him,” he said.
Julianna rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe he was still sore about the whole Cross thing, but she supposed it was understandable, given how extra protective he was of her these days.
“This,” he indicated the young woman next to Daric, “is Mika Westbrooke, our cousin. She’s assistant director of the Special Investigations Division, and she and Daric will lead the team.” Mika nodded at Duncan and smiled at Julianna. While they weren’t particularly close while growing up, she got to know her cousin a lot as they worked together. She was smart, capable, and strong, and Julianna often joked she wanted to be like Mika when she grew up. And certainly, after over
coming the tragedy that happened to her a while back, Julianna’s respect for Mika grew tenfold.
“Also on our team are representatives from Lone Wolf Investigations. That’s Killian Jones, current director”—Lucas nodded to the older man with silver streaks in his dark hair—“And their junior associates, Arch Jones and Lizzie Martin.” The younger man was obviously Killian’s son, as he looked exactly like his father, save for the violet eyes. Lizzie she remembered, as she was her cousin Hannah’s sister-in-law. In the austere offices, she looked out of place with her neon-pink shirt, leather skirt and thigh-high boots, her strawberry blonde hair pulled up in pigtails. She popped the lollipop she was sucking on out of her mouth and waved at them.
“Finally, we also have Sebastian Creed and his son, Wyatt.”
Julianna felt her wolf shrink back warily, and Duncan sat up a little straighter in his chair. It wasn’t a surprise seeing as they were in this enclosed space with the world’s only dragon shifter. When she was much younger, all the kids in the clan had loved seeing Sebastian Creed transform into his gigantic, hundred-feet tall gold dragon. He would even give them rides. However, it seemed as they grew older and their wolves appeared, so did that sense of self-preservation. Though Sebastian was very much in control of his animal, she still felt apprehensive around him as her wolf recognized the predator in him that was very much at the top of the food chain.
“Lord Warwick,” the younger Creed said to Duncan.
Duncan’s brows knitted together. “I’m sorry, have we met before?”
Wyatt Creed was just as large and handsome as his father, but his eyes were such a light hazel that they were almost yellow. “I was in the same year at Eton as your brothers,” he explained. “We were introduced once. Baroness Oxley is my grandmother.”
His tone was posh, and there was something about his air that rubbed Julianna the wrong way. It was like he thought himself better than anyone else in the room.
“Oh. Er, nice to meet you again. And please, just call me Duncan.”
“Now that everyone is here, I think we can begin,” Lucas said. “As you know, although the mages have been quiet again for the last couple of months, there have been two more attacks in the last weeks where they targeted Julianna, as well as Elise and Reed Wakefield.” He looked at Daric and Grant, who both nodded. “There’s something I need to share with the task force, something we’ve been trying to keep under wraps. However, it seems the mages have found out anyway, which is why I’ll tell you about it now. But we do ask that we keep this within this room, if possible. You see—”
A loud ringing pierced the air, making everyone reach for their pockets or purses.
Sebastian Creed stood up. “Sorry, that’s me … and …” He glanced at the screen. “Apologies, this is urgent. Please, go on.” He stepped to the side, cupping his hand over the phone as he spoke.
“As I was saying,” Lucas continued. “The dagger we have in our hands is capable of some truly powerful magic. It can allow for—”
Lucas was interrupted by an almost inhuman growl from Sebastian Creed. “WHAT THE FUCK?”
The air in the room suddenly became thick, and Julianna reached for Duncan’s hand as her wolf became agitated. Looking around at the other Lycans, it was obvious everyone could feel the rage burning from Sebastian. His hulking form was stretched to full height as he shouted into the phone.
“What do you mean you lost her? There’s nothing out there … sandstorms? I don’t give a fuck about sandstorms! With the money I’m paying you, you should have followed her to hell. I’m going to rip your head off and then I’m going to.…”
Julianna winced as Sebastian described in graphic detail what he was going to do to the caller’s head. Around them, everyone was eerily quiet and still as if afraid to say a word or break the tension in the air. Even the usually cool and collected Lucas looked unsure. Wyatt, however, stood up and walked over to his father.
“Where were you when she disappeared?” Sebastian turned to face them as his son put a hand on his shoulder. “The border of …” The atmosphere grew so thick it was hard to breathe.
Julianna thought for sure she was seeing things, but from the way Duncan shot up from his seat and placed his body between her and Sebastian, she knew it did happen. The man’s slate-colored eyes turned a brilliant gold, just like the color of his dragon scales.
“Sebastian.” Daric came close to him. “Calm yourself or I shall have to knock you out with a potion.”
His head snapped to the warlock. “Calm myself? How the hell can I?” he roared. “She’s gone. My daughter is fucking gone, despite all the goddamn people—idiots—I hired to watch her! What if it was Astrid?”
“We will find her,” Daric assured him.
“She’s one of us,” Lucas added. “Now, tell us what happened.”
Sebastian seemed to calm enough to sit down, and he began to talk.
“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph,” Duncan whispered. “Are things always this exciting around here?”
“Not usually.” But what could have made Sebastian nearly release his dragon? “Are you regretting joining this circus?”
He laughed. “No way. I almost saw a dragon.”
She looked warily at Sebastian, who seemed agitated again. “You must have a death wish, you crazy man.”
“Och, crazy, yes, but only for you.”
Despite the big storm brewing ahead, Julianna was glad that Duncan was by her side. Though it was only a while ago she wanted to get away from the crazy Scot, now she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with him.
Not quite The End …
A few days ago…
Desiree Desmond Creed, Deedee to her friends, placed her hands on her hips. I never thought I’d be in a mess like this, but here I am.
And how did she end up here? Well, as it did with most stories, this one started with a boy.
Er, man, really.
But she had known Cross Alexander Jonasson since he was a boy, and she was a girl. Indeed, their mothers were best friends and they were born months apart. They grew up together. Playmates. Neighbors. Best friends, along with his sister, Astrid.
And when she was of that age when girls started to notice boys, she noticed Cross.
How handsome he was.
How tall he was—which was rare especially after her unfortunate six-inch growth spurt at fourteen.
And how nice he was to her. He knew everything about her and she knew everything about her.
At least she thought she did.
So, after years of unrequited pining, she had hoped to make it … well, requited.
But as it turned out, it wasn’t.
In a fit of passion—or perhaps, the thought of the end of the world coming—she confessed her feelings to him. Which turned out to be unequivocally unrequited.
“I’m sorry, Dee. I love you, but only as a friend.”
And so, with her heart trampled, she did the only logical thing: run away halfway across the world.
Which is how she ended up lost in the desert, somewhere in between the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the midst of an impending sandstorm.
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