Stonybrooke Shifters: The Complete Collection

by Leela Ash

  The depression didn’t lift until he checked his email and grinned at the unexpected surprise waiting for him there. His friend Larry had always had a bad habit of hacking and sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong. But now, for the first time, that annoying little habit seemed to have the answer to all of Dean’s prayers.

  Maybe things were finally looking up, after all.

  18.

  “Leah, it’s so good to see you!”

  After three days on the road (it probably would have been fewer if she had been able to avoid taking so many bathroom breaks), Janie finally arrived at her best friend’s house.

  Leah and Tom had been living together for the past year and a half, and the place was a decent size for that area of California.

  “I missed you so much! I’ll show you to your room.”

  Leah led Janie upstairs and into the guest bedroom, then quickly closed the door behind herself.

  “Show me the belly.”

  Janie blushed and pulled her shirt up. Several more tendrils of purple had begun to snake out from her navel, and the mound where the pups were growing–she was convinced it was a litter of at least three–had grown twice the size it had been originally.

  “How did you know?” Janie asked, looking down at the floor.

  “Oh please! I’ve known you my whole life. When you told me you quit, and I saw the tabloid pictures, maybe I put two and two together… How many do you think you’re having?”

  “Two or three,” Janie said. “Maybe more, but that’s uncommon in human mothers.”

  “Listen to you!” Leah exclaimed, laughing. “You’re the expert now, are you? How does daddy feel about the little bundles of joy?”

  Janie swallowed hard and looked away. “He doesn’t know about them.”

  “What?!” Leah exclaimed. “How can he not know?! Can’t shifters sense that kind of thing or something?”

  “Maybe he could have if I would have stuck around a little bit longer.”

  “You have to tell him, Janie! This isn’t right!”

  “I can’t,” Janie said, hot tears burning her eyes. It was the first time she had allowed herself to actually cry about this. “It would put them in danger. And Dean… the bear shifters have been really on the offense lately. I just couldn’t bring myself to put them in harm’s way…”

  “Okay, okay,” Leah said, hugging her friend and fishing a tissue off the end table. “I understand. You can stay here as long as you need. But I’ve got to warn you. I don’t know anything about giving birth to wolf pups. This is all new turf for me.”

  “You and me both,” Janie said, finally smiling again. Her emotions had been out of control lately. She went from wanting nothing more than to speak to Dean to hating him for ever putting her in this position to begin with. Nothing seemed to be good enough.

  “Well, settle in and then do your best to make it down for dinner if you’re up to it. We start at 7pm usually. All right?”

  Janie nodded and Leah smiled kindly at her before leaving.

  It was nice knowing she had a friend that she could depend on through thick and thin. No matter what happened, there would always be that.

  ***

  “Are you all right, Janie?”

  Janie’s face was tense with pain, and she swallowed hard. She had been with Leah for the past few months, too independent to stay at her mom’s house, but too scared to venture out on her own during her first pregnancy. Her best friend didn’t care at all, and they’d been enjoying the experience as they had back in college.

  “I don’t think so,” Janie gasped, a contraction jolting her forward. She cried out in agony and soon, she could hear the urgent footsteps of Leah and Tom heading toward her.

  “Her water broke,” Leah said in a loud whisper. Tom immediately left the scene, scurrying around the house to get the diaper bag and suitcase of clothes they had prepared months in advance.

  Janie closed her eyes, silent tears streaming down her face. What she wouldn’t give for the man holding her suitcase to be Dean.

  But that was all but impossible. From the media coverage, it seemed that he didn’t seem to care one way or another that she was gone. Sure, he hadn’t been rumored to be dating anybody, in the throes of his nasty divorce, even if he was, his PR department would take care of the publicity. Still, it would have been nice to see at least some indication that he missed her.

  Another contraction nearly brought her to tears, and soon, Leah was ushering Janie out of the house and into the big SUV parked in the driveway. Tom was already behind the wheel, the picture of panic incarnate. If Dean had been driving, she knew she would have felt safe and cared for no matter what happened. He wouldn’t let on that he was scared even if the world was on fire.

  “Easy does it,” Leah said, helping Leah into the back seat and sitting beside her.

  They sped off to the hospital, where Leah was quickly admitted.

  “Are you all right?” Leah asked. “Do you want anything? Should I call your mother?”

  Dean. All she wanted was Dean. She was having their child alone, without him, and he had no idea. What was going to happen to her? Would she ever be able to tell him?

  Labor was agonizingly painful, but after twelve long hours of excruciating pain and tears shed, both for her own pain and the pain of not being able to share the experience with Dean, something miraculous happened.

  A tiny wail erupted into the room and soon, she was holding an 8lb. 8oz. baby boy in her arms. She had expected there to be more in there, she’d read horror stories about litters of pups being born to human mothers that left doctors astonished, but as soon as she looked at her baby she knew he had been her only.

  “He’s beautiful,” Leah gasped when everybody was finally allowed in to visit. “I can’t believe it. What are you going to name him?”

  Janie’s voice shook, but she said the name as firmly as she could muster.

  “Dean.”

  19.

  “You have no idea how close you are to losing the company,” Dean’s lawyer sighed. He’d just had a private meeting with Kiera’s lawyers and Dean groaned loudly.

  “Then you’re not doing your job!” he barked.

  Dean stormed out of the room, bitter and disillusioned. Not only did he have Kiera breathing down his neck, just a few steps away from single-handedly destroying his empire, but the private detective he’d hired to keep tabs on his mother hadn’t been able to find any trace of Janie. He’d been looking pointlessly for months to no avail.

  For some reason, he just couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was the first time a woman had so completely consumed him. Even being married to Kiera hadn’t been this emotional. He’d mostly let himself get away with his own fantasies. Finding a woman who could tolerate his uncompromising attitude and give him the family he so desperately wished for. He wanted a family. A family that loved and cared for him, unlike his own parents. But now, all of that had gone to hell. He would never lay hands on another woman again. Not if he felt anything toward her. A family was out of the question now. Suddenly, the phone in Dean’s pocket rang and he answered quickly.

  “What do you want?”

  “Dude! You’ll never guess!” Larry exclaimed. Dean frowned.

  “Never guess what?” Dean asked with a tired sigh. He couldn’t handle any more disappointments right now.

  “I just got something juicy, dude. Something really juicy.”

  “On Kiera?” Dean asked, his heart tremoring with excitement.

  “On Kiera.”

  Larry sounded giddy and Dean grinned to himself.

  “What is it?”

  “Come to my office tonight. As soon as you can. We’ve got to get this out to the media. Like now. But I want to see what you think first.”

  “Of course,” Dean said, already worming his arm into the sleeve of his jacket. “I’m on my way.”

  ***

  Dean’s eyes widened and he grinned smugly. Yes, this was a wealth of info
rmation indeed.

  “How did you find this?” Dean breathed, his eyes scanning the files in delight.

  “I have my ways,” Larry said proudly. “Unfortunately, I can’t reveal my sources.”

  “Perfect.”

  Somehow, though, even though this was going to take care of all of his problems, he still couldn’t help but feel sad. Janie had been gone from his life for a year at this point, and when she left, she had taken part of him with her.

  “Larry, do you think you could do me one last favor?” Dean asked, hating himself for this pathetic, desperate drive to see Janie again.

  “Sure, dude,” Larry said distractedly, clicking at folders on his computer so that Dean could see, in detail, all of the ways his ex-wife was going to stack an even longer jail sentence onto herself. “What is it?”

  “I need you to help me find somebody.”

  “Your mom?” Larry asked, his eyes flickering briefly to Dean. They had gone down that road before as well, when the private detective had been out of the picture.

  “No. A former employee of mine. She’d been harassed by Kiera and the bear shifters more than once. I want to make sure she’s all right.”

  That was half a truth, but Dean knew Janie well enough to know that her disappearance had been her own doing. Still, nobody else had to know that.

  “Of course,” Larry said. “Just give me the information and I’ll do my best.”

  “Thanks,” Dean said, lowering his eyes to the floor. If Larry could find Janie, maybe he could also find answers. But it had been a whole year. What all might he find?

  20.

  “Janie! Come quick! You’ve got to see this!”

  Janie rushed down the stairs as carefully as she could, holding baby Dean against her shoulder. She had just fed him and he hadn’t burped yet.

  She finally managed to walk into the living room where Leah was sitting on the edge of her seat and sat down with the baby propped up on her shoulder.

  “Look!” Leah exclaimed. “It’s Resner’s ex-wife! The skank!”

  Janie laughed and peered at the television set, shocked to see Kiera being led away in handcuffs. Information from her personal computers had been leaked to the police, and she was going down for fraud and drug trafficking, among other things. The best part was a video of Kiera cheating on Dean during their marriage with one of the bear shifter men she had seen with Kiera at the restaurant. Scandal was on every television channel, with Kiera in the center of it all. Her makeup was smeared and she looked old and tired. It was hilarious, in a way.

  Following close behind Kiera in handcuffs was the whole crew of bear shifters, each of them glaring down at the ground as they were led into a van in shackles.

  “All of them were caught?” Janie whispered, her heart racing with excitement. “They’re going to jail?”

  “All of them were caught,” Leah said, smiling broadly at Janie. “I think you have a plane to catch.”

  The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity as Janie packed the few belongings she had managed to bring with her to Leah’s house, and the many, many others that she needed in order to care for the baby, and boarded the flight back to Stonybrooke.

  Janie’s heart tremored at the thought of going back there, but she couldn’t keep little Dean a secret any longer. There was no longer any danger to her. They were free.

  Once she finally arrived to Stonybrooke, she checked into the same motel she’d lived in before she had abandoned Stonybrooke and picked up the phone, cradling the baby in her arms.

  “We’re going to call your daddy,” she whispered down at the baby. He looked at her with dark, mysterious eyes, and Janie kissed his tiny hands. She was just stalling now.

  “What? Who is this?”

  Dean’s voice was all business and impatient, and she remembered how surly he could be. It almost made her hang up right away.

  “Well?” Dean demanded. And then, after a beat, so quiet he barely heard him, “Janie?”

  God, his voice sounded good in her ears. She immediately started crying.

  “Who is this? What’s wrong? Are you all right? Do you need help?”

  “It’s Janie,” she breathed.

  “What?” Dean said, his voice suddenly soft and incredulous. “Janie? Are you all right? Where have you been?!”

  “I’m sorry,” Janie whispered. “I’d love to meet you at the diner. I think we should talk there.”

  The diner. It slipped out of her mouth like an answer to an unasked question. Where would she be safe to tell this dangerous, powerful man that she’d been hiding his child from him all this time? A public place. A place where someone Dean respected might protect her if things went wrong. If only for Dean’s own sake.

  “When?” Dean asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “An hour?” Janie guessed. She hadn’t walked there before, but with the baby and all their gear, it might take a while.

  “All right,” Dean said. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

  With trembling hands, Janie packed up the baby’s things and secured him in his little stroller. With her stomach doing flips, Janie walked all the way to Maurice’s diner. Dean wasn’t there yet, so she waited apprehensively at one of the booths, debating whether or not to keep the baby out of sight. But he’d been hidden for too long.

  There was commotion at the door and Janie turned. A beautiful black wolf had suddenly appeared, standing outside the door to the diner. It scratched its paws against the door and Maurice chuckled, shaking his head.

  “Human forms only, Dean! You know the rules.”

  Dean. Janie’s heart panged painfully in her chest.

  Dean howled in agitation and shifted back into his human form. Maurice shook his head and disappeared behind the counter, reappearing with a pair of pajama pants.

  “Where did you go?” Dean exclaimed, rushing to Janie’s side once he’d dressed himself. “I’ve been worried sick. I thought…”

  Dean trailed off when he saw the baby, before looking into her eyes as if he finally understood.

  “Is this…”

  Dean moved forward and placed his hand on the baby’s head. His voice was wrought with emotion for the first time since she’d met him. “My pup!”

  Dean’s eyes lit up and he lifted the baby delicately, cradling him against his broad muscular chest. He was awestruck by the child and studied the baby’s perfect features for the longest time before looking back up at Janie.

  “What’s his name?” Dean asked, smoothing the baby’s soft hair, a small smile creasing his lips.

  “I… I named him after you. I didn’t know how long we’d have to hide. I thought we might never get to see you again.”

  Janie sobbed into her hands and soon, Dean was standing beside her, his strong energy comforting and protective.

  “You left because…”

  Janie nodded, her eyes still brimming with tears. “I wanted to tell you for so long… I knew when I saw the news that it was finally safe.”

  Suddenly, Dean’s lips were on hers and they were kissing passionately and with reckless abandon right in the diner, the baby nestled safely between them.

  “Come home with me,” Dean said, his eyes urgent. He took her hand and Dean turned to Maurice with a bright smile. “To my home. I want you two to be my family.”

  “I want that too,” Janie whispered, her eyes brimming with hot tears.

  “I’m a dad!” Dean shouted at the top of his lungs. The few people in the diner applauded and Dean beamed at Maurice.

  “And a wonderful dad you’ll be,” Maurice said, smiling kindly at Dean.

  Dean called for his limo and as soon as they were outside, Dean let out a celebratory howl. To their surprise, the baby in his arms joined in with a soft little whine of a howl and they exchanged shocked looks.

  “He’s never done that before!”

  “That’s my boy,” Dean said, nuzzling the soft hair on top of the baby’s head.

  The lim
ousine arrived shortly after and Janie found herself back in the comfortable little manor that Dean owned. The baby had fallen into a comfortable sleep against his father’s chest and Dean laid him carefully in the stroller.

  They pushed the baby to the bedroom across from Dean’s and went into Dean’s room to talk.

  As soon as Janie opened her mouth to speak, Dean’s mouth was hot against her. Janie moaned in pleasure; nobody had so much as touched her in the past year, except for the baby, of course, or the hug goodbye she had gotten from Leah. It left her extra sensitive to Dean’s touch, and every little brush against her skin left her tingling and wanting more.

  Their bodies were quickly entwined on the bed.

  “I thought you’d left me,” Dean said softly, burying his face in the sensitive nape of her neck and kissing her sensually. Janie’s body shivered in delight.

  “Not forever,” Janie whispered. “Just until it was safe for you… for us.”

  “This is a hell of a surprise,” he said, shaking his head and reaching his hand between her legs. He cupped her middle in his hands and stroked, sending a surge of heat coursing through her body that dampened his fingers and made Janie moan.

  “Stonybrooke is safe for now,” Dean whispered, kissing Janie’s temple and carefully sliding her clothes off. He quickly stripped himself after and found his place above her, looking down with eyes darkened with desperate need. “You and our pup will be safe here with me. The divorce has been finalized. You can marry me. We can have more children. Children I can witness the birth of.”

  Janie’s heart hammered hard in her chest, and she embraced Dean tightly. He chuckled, kissing her all over, and then suddenly pushed the tip of his cock inside her. Janie shivered in pleasure at the sudden feeling of his member and looked fearfully into Dean’s eyes.

  “How many do you want?” Janie whispered.

  “As many as I can get.”

  Their words were silenced by a languid, passionate kiss that left no more questions lingering on Janie’s mind. Dean slid himself inside of her swiftly, and she closed her eyes, relishing in the hot pleasure of his body. They stayed like that for a moment before Dean finally began to thrust, slow, steady, and hard.